18CIVL21H Earthquake Resistant Design 2018/19-S1

Individual Research Assignment

SUMMARY:
This research exercise is structured in two parts which are assigned on an individual basis. The
first part relates to methods of analysis employed in earthquake design, while the second part
relates to design code procedures for enhancing the performance of structural systems under
earthquake excitation.

RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT (1)

This research assignment is worth 10% of the total weighting of this course.

Requirements
You are required to use all available resources in the library and online to form a comprehensive
background knowledge about one method of analysis from the list below.

The academic research paper must be in a professional format with concise technical writing
proficiency, and must be no less than 3000 words.

Available Research Topics

1. Equivalent Static Load Analysis
2. Pushover Analysis
3. Response Spectrum Analysis
4. Linear Dynamic Analysis
5. Non-linear Dynamic Analysis
6. Other…

You are then required to compile an academic research paper including all acquired information
that would serve as a comprehensive reference for the subject matter, in-addition to giving a brief
presentation (with the possibility of a discussion) explaining your findings. The research paper
should include a detailed definition of the method along with all procedures associated with it
(analysis guidelines, code requirements, code comparison, etc…). It is preferable to use the
available online databases since they provide more elaborate concepts and up-to-date code
variations for each of the analysis methods.

Submittals:
As per the module specifications, each student is required to submit a research paper, for each
part, (3000 words each) about their research topic by the due date. The report should cover the
following:
Date Assigned: Week 1 , 2018 , Due Date: Week 4
18CIVL21H Earthquake Resistant Design 2018/19-S1

The report should cover the following:

• Introduction and problem statement;

• Background about analysis methods;
• Details of the selected method and its limitations;
• Code requirements;
• Critique of the selected method;
• Conclusions.

You must mention how this method differs than others.

Criteria for Assessment:

• Each research paper accounts for 10% of the total mark.
• Each paper will be evaluated based on presentation, completeness and correctness and
will account for 50% of its mark.
• Each student will be evaluated on his paper through a discussion which accounts for 50%
of the paper mark.

Date Assigned: Week 1 , 2018 , Due Date: Week 4