INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF NON-STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

With the development and implementation of performance-based earthquake engineering, harmonization of performance levels between structural and non-structural elements becomes vital. Even if the structural elements of a building achieve a continuous or immediate occupancy performance level after a seismic event, failure of architectural, mechanical or electrical elements can lower the performance level of the entire building system. This reduction in performance caused by the vulnerability of non-structural elements has been observed during recent earthquakes in Italy and worldwide. Moreover, non-structural damage has limited the functionality of critical facilities, such as hospitals, following major seismic events. The investment in non-structural elements and building contents is far greater than that of structural elements and framing. Therefore, it is not surprising that in many past earthquakes, losses from damage to non-structural elements have exceeded losses from structural damage. Furthermore, the failure of non-structural elements can become a safety hazard or can hamper the safe movement of occupants evacuating buildings, or of rescue workers entering buildings. In comparison to structural elements and systems, there is relatively limited information on the seismic design of non-structural elements. Basic research work in this area has been sparse, and the available codes and guidelines are usually, for the most parts, based on past experiences, engineering judgment and intuition, rather than on objective experimental and analytical results. Often, design engineers must start almost from square one after each earthquake event: to observe what went wrong and to try to prevent repetitions. This is a consequence of the empirical nature of current seismic regulations and guidelines for non-structural elements.

The International SPONSE Association organized a technical session within the 18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE2024), which will be held in Milan from 30 June to 5 July 2024. Researchers and practitioners involved in this area are welcome to join the session and to present their contributions. More details are available at the following link: Technical Session NSE-1.
For any questions, feel free to contact us at: gmagliul@unina.it; gmosqueda@ucsd.edu; daniele.perrone@unisalento.it

The Fifth International Workshop on Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements (SPONSE) will take place on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California (USA) on December 5 to 7, 2022. The Workshop is organized jointly by the Applied Technology Council (ATC), the European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) and the International Association for the Seismic Performance Of Non-structural Elements (SPONSE). The workshop is hosted by the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University. Please visti the following link for more information: https://5sponseworkshop.sponse.eu/