CEE 5470 Design for Seismic Loads
Homework 4 – Starting the design
Due September 22, 2023 by 5pm
You are the engineer of record for a four-story classroom building at Oxnard College at 4000 S. Rose
Ave, Oxnard, CA, 93033. You have design development level structural drawings (posted to Canvas), and
are ready to design the seismic force resisting system.
Office Building to
be Designed
Separate Building
Seismically
Separate
Building
Building Being Seismic
Designed Separation
General Information:
• You received a geotechnical report in which they conducted borings and shear wave velocity
tests and concluded that the soil was consistent with Site Class C. For the foundation, they
recommended spread footings bearing on on-site soils reinforced with a cement treated
aggregate compacted piers.
• The structural drawings with gravity framing for steel option are posted on Canvas.
• Loading:
o The exterior walls are heavy stone façade that is 5” thick on average.
o Include partition load in the seismic weight in accordance with ASCE 7-22 requirements.
o Live loads and snow loads are given on Sheet S1.0.1.
o For roof dead load include 15 psf for roofing, 10 psf for mechanical and ceiling, and the
weight of the framing and roof deck.
o For floor dead load include 5 psf for floor finish, 10 psf for mechanical and ceiling, and
the weight of the framing and slab.
o For calculating the weight of framing and slab, see the structural plans for member sizes
and concrete on metal deck assembly. You are encouraged to use strategies for
approximating overall weights, but do this in an organized and well-documented way.
• Assume steel special moment resisting frames in the long direction (E-W) and special
concentrically braced steel frames in the short direction (N-S). No columns should be used for
both the moment frame and the braced frame.
Tasks for Homework 4:
1. Get hazard information
a. Determine the values of Ss, S1, Sds and Sd1.
b. Make a nice plot of spectral acceleration vs. period (0 sec-4 sec) for the multiperiod
design response spectrum (it is not sufficient to use a screenshot of USGS website)
c. Determine the seismic design category for this building.
2. For the steel building option:
a. Copy the third floor plan, and clearly identify where you propose to locate the steel
moment frames and steel braced frames. Include 10 bays of moment frames in the E-W
direction, and four bays of braced frames in the N-S direction.
b. In an organized and clear way, calculate the seismic weight for each floor and the roof.
Calculate the total seismic weight for the building
c. Identify the seismic factors, R, Cd, Ωo and height limitations for the steel special
moment resisting frame.
d. Identify the seismic factors, R, Cd, Ωo and height limitations for the steel special
concentrically braced frame.
e. Evaluate whether the building has each type of structural irregularity. For torsional
irregularity, use 3rd floor and assume that the stiffness of one bay of braced frame is
equal to the stiffness of four bays of moment frame.
