Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
Overview
Earthquake disaster is increasingly of global concern as it threatens the world’s population, economy, and sustainable development. It is the responsibility of civil engineers to design and build earthquake-resistant structures, in order to minimize the earthquake risk. By reducing losses of lives and properties, socio-economical sustainability can be achieved. This unit provides the fundamental knowledge of the basic science of earthquakes and its effects on the natural and built environment. Basic theory of structural dynamics will be covered. Concepts and techniques of seismic analysis and design will be introduced.
Requisites
CVE20003 Design of Concrete Structures
or
Enrolment in a postgraduate course
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Quantify the nature of earthquake hazard and ground motions (K1,K2,K3,K4,S1,S2,S3)
- Analyse earthquake-generated forces on structures and evaluate their dynamic response to earthquakes (K1,K2,K3,K4,S1,S2,S3)
- Apply seismic analysis techniques including equivalent static method and response spectrum analysis (K1,K2,K3,K4,K5,S1,S2,S3)
- Explain seismic design philosophy and principles (K1,K3,K4,K5,S1,S2,S3)
- Use earthquake design codes for basic seismic analysis (K1,K2,K3,K4,K5,K6,S1,S2,S3)
- Describe the framework of performance-based earthquake engineering (K1,K3,K4,K5,K6,S1,S2,S3)
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-campus Class |
2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Live Online Lecture |
2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning |
8.50 | 12 weeks | 102 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual/Group | 80 - 90% | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
| Online Quiz | Individual | 10 - 20% | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
Content
- Basic seismology
- Earthquake ground motion
- Seismic hazard assessment
- Local site (soil) effects
- Dynamic response of single-degree-of-freedom systems
- Earthquake response spectrum concept
- Dynamic response of multi-degree-of-freedom systems
- Seismic design codes
- Seismic analysis methods
- Seismic design principles
- Vibration control techniques
- Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Verbal communication
- Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Technical literacy
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.