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Sponsored by ASCE's Geo-Institute's Technical Committees

INSTRUCTORS: 
Nico Luco, Ph.D
Peter Powers
Domniki Asimaki, Sc.D

Purpose and Background

These presentations were recorded at the 2024 GI Web Conference.

“The ASCE 7-22 Chapter 21 Site-specific MCER and MCEG Ground Motion Hazard Analysis Procedures” by Nico Luco (40 minutes)

This presentation provides a detailed explanation of the methodologies used to compute site-specific Maximum Considered Earthquake Risk (MCER) and Geometric Mean (MCEG) ground motions. The presentation covers key updates to the ASCE 7-22 standard, including the incorporation of 22 spectral periods, probabilistic risk-targeted ground motions, and deterministic lower limit constraints. Using the USGS National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM), the speaker explains how probabilistic and deterministic approaches are combined to develop design spectra for various site classes. Flowcharts and case studies illustrate how professionals can apply these procedures to generate site-specific seismic design values. This session equips the audience with practical insights into navigating updated ASCE 7-22 provisions to ensure safe and reliable seismic design.

“USGS software tools for these site-specific ground motion hazard analyses” by Peter Powers (34 minutes)

This presentation provides an overview of advanced tools developed by the USGS for seismic hazard assessment and design. The presentation highlights the Earthquake Hazard Toolbox, which integrates web applications for probabilistic hazard curves, site-specific disaggregation, and deterministic response spectra. Key features include the ability to input site-specific parameters like VS30 values, analyze fault contributions, and compute risk-targeted ground motions for design. Step-by-step examples demonstrate how professionals can access and utilize these tools to assess seismic hazards, compute spectral accelerations, and evaluate site-specific earthquake risks. This session equips the audience with practical knowledge to incorporate USGS tools into seismic design processes, ensuring accuracy and compliance with modern building codes.

“A Data-Driven Ground Motion Synthesis Framework, with Physics-Informed Input Motions and Nonlinear Site Response” by Domniki Asimaki (48 minutes)

This presentation discusses an innovative approach to generating realistic ground motion time series for earthquake engineering applications. The framework combines machine learning models with physics-informed simulations, enabling the generation of site-specific three-component waveforms that reflect both frequency and phase correlations. By leveraging neural operators, the method interpolates ground motion parameters across continuous spaces, improving accuracy and efficiency compared to traditional stochastic or physics-only models. The presentation highlights case studies demonstrating the framework’s ability to predict ground motion in data-scarce scenarios while capturing aleatory variability. The audience will gain insights into applying this technology for nonlinear structural analysis and seismic hazard assessment of critical infrastructure.

Benefits and Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of these sessions, you will be able to:

• Explain how machine learning models combined with physics-informed simulations can generate realistic site-specific ground motion time series.
• Describe how the USGS Earthquake Hazard Toolbox is used to compute probabilistic hazard curves, perform disaggregation, and calculate deterministic response spectra.
• Define the Maximum Considered Earthquake Risk (MCER) and Maximum Considered Earthquake Geometric Mean (MCEG) ground motions as outlined in ASCE 7-22.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Achievement of the learning objectives will be assessed through a short post-test.

Who Should Attend?

• Geotechnical Engineers
• Engineering Geologists
• Owners and Operators of Civil Infrastructure
• Consultants
• Public Agency Staff
• Specialty Contractors

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion

This course is worth 0.2 CEUs/2 PDHs. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short post-test online and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 365 days from the course purchase.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]