Background
This course, which has been in operation for the past 13 years, was originally conceived as a means of
simultaneously training professional engineers as well as MSc students. It is an optional course in our
MSc Civil Engineering programme. Regarding the former set, the content of this course is essential for
engineers in order to understand modern building codes which are needed for ensuring public safety.
This is because there has been a revolution in the philosophy of the new building codes making them
much more sophisticated. The present international goal is “resilience” and performance-based design
is readily applicable to this major objective of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The following considerations provide the rationale for why training in the UWI course is now urgently
needed:
1. The latest released versions of the ASCE/SEI 7 (ASCE/SEI 7-22 and ASCE/SEI 7-16) and the IBC (IBC
2021 and (IBC 2018) require knowledge of performance-based seismic design for a thorough
understanding of its provisions because key concepts and terminology of performance-based
design are now being employed in these codes.
2. The new standard for performance-based seismic design (ASCE/SEI 41-17), is substantially more
complicated than the previous version of 2013, and the code development process for the 2022
edition has begun with the new ASCE 41 is scheduled for release in 2023.
3. The present international goal for the built environment is “resilience”, and performance- based
design is readily applicable to this major objective of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction.
4. In August 2019, the ASCE launched a pre-standard for Performance-Based Wind Design. This will
soon become a U.S.A standard and the model code for hurricane-resistant design.
The mechanism for including professional engineers as students of an MSc course is that they must
register as an “occasional student” if not intending to do the final exam, but “specially admitted” if they
do. The registration procedure is shown on the next page. This course has always had a high percentage
of its cohort coming from industry.
Course Information:-
Course Description: The “Performance-Based Seismic Design” course enables engineers to understand
and appropriately apply the most recent building codes: IBC 2021, and the ASCE 7-22, ASCE 41-17
These
skills are urgently needed given new developments and building safety requirements placing emphasis
on the concept of risk analysis as applied to new and existing buildings. There are 2 practical coursework
exercises involving (1) the quantitative assessment and possibly retrofit design of an existing building,
and (2) nonlinear dynamic analysis. There at 12 consecutive sessions from 4:006:00pm usually on
Thursdays and beginning from the third week of January. The sessions are to take place in the face-to-
face mode.
Learning Outcomes: The student shall: know and understand the principles of performance-based
seismic design of buildings per ASCE 41; be able to calculate the structural seismic retrofitting
requirements of a building; be able to determine the management strategies for seismic structural
retrofitting; know and understand the principles of the probabilistic risk assessment of a building; be
able to calculate the approximate seismic risk of a given building; know and understand the principles of
the regional seismic risk assessment per HAZUS.
Target Students: Practising structural or civil engineers.
Course Syllabus:
Introduction to the principles of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering and Consequence-Based
Earthquake Engineering; The Seismic Rehabilitation Design Process and Objectives; Capacity Spectrum
NSP Analysis; Coefficient Method NSP Analysis; Acceptance Criteria for Systems analysed by Linear
Methods and Nonlinear Methods; Retrofit and Management Strategies and Systems; SACFEMA
Reliability Analysis Method; Vulnerability Analysis Methods; Software for Pushover Analysis and NDP
Analysis; Regional Seismic Risk Assessment; Introduction to HAZUS.
Instructor: Richard Clarke PhD (quantitative seismic assessment and retrofit design specialist).
How To Access the Course:-
The university accommodates this possibility via enrolment as a student with the special designation of
“Occasional Student”. As indicated, the Occasional Student attends class along with students pursuing
degrees or diplomas and does not take the exam, but participates fully including submission of
coursework exercises. If the student’s attendance is above the minimum, the student receives a
certificate of attendance, at least from the department.
Important: If the following process is not completed before the start of the lectures, attend class while the
process continues.
Procedure:-
1. Apply to: “ Coordinator, MSc Civil Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering”, for departmental approval to take the course – CIEN 6030 Performance-Based
Seismic Design. Email richard.clarke@sta.uwi.edu
2. Upon receipt of departmental approval, begin the Registration Process by filling-out the
Application form. Apply as “occasional student” if you do not wish to sit the final exam, but
“specially admitted” if you do. The form can be obtained online from
https://sta.uwi.edu/resources/documents/SpecialAdmissionOccasionalExchangeStudyAbroad.doc
3. Email the School of Graduate Studies who will then guide you through the rest of the steps, or
provide any clarification (krista.ferreira@sta.uwi.edu).
4. At the end of the process, you will receive an ID number that will allow you to enter the online
system where the classes are conducted.
CONTACTS:
Miss Krista Ferreira –
Student Administration Assistant – Engineering; Graduate Studies & Research (OCR);
E-mail: krista.ferreira@sta.uwi.edu; tel/ext: (868)-662-2002 ext.83064ext. 83014
Richard Clarke –
Senior Lecturer – Structures; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; E-mail:
richard.clarke@sta.uwi.edu; tel: (868)7401010.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]