Introduction to Computational Earthquake Engineering

Book excerpt: This book introduces new research topics in earthquake engineering through the application of computational mechanics and computer science. The topics covered discuss the evaluation of earthquake hazards such as strong ground motion and faulting through applying advanced numerical analysis methods, useful for estimating earthquake disasters. These methods, based on recent progress in solid continuum mechanics and computational mechanics, are summarized comprehensively for graduate students and researchers in earthquake engineering. The coverage includes stochastic modeling as well as several advanced computational earthquake engineering topics. Contents: Preliminaries: Solid Continuum Mechanics; Finite Element Method; Stochastic Modeling; Strong Ground Motion: The Wave Equation for Solids; Analysis of Strong Ground Motion; Simulation of Strong Ground Motion; Faulting: Elasto-Plasticity and Fracture Mechanics; Analysis of Faulting; Simulation of Faulting; BEM Simulation of Faulting; Advanced Topics: Integrated Earthquake Simulation; Unified Visualization of Earthquake Simulation; Standardization of Earthquake Resistant Design; Appendices: Earthquake Mechanisms; Analytical Mechanics; Numerical Techniques of Solving Wave Equation; Unified Modeling Language. Key Features Includes a detailed treatment of modeling of uncertain ground structures, such as stochastic modeling Explains several key numerical algorithms and techniques for solving large-scale, non-linear and dynamic problems Presents applications of methods for simulating actual strong ground motion and faulting Readership: Graduate students and researchers in earthquake engineering; researchers in computational mechanics and computer science.