Since the occurrence of earthquakes and their properties are very uncertaineven with the present knowledge it is too difficult to define reasonabledesign ground... » 

Since the occurrence of earthquakes and their properties are very uncertaineven with the present knowledge it is too difficult to define reasonabledesign ground motions especially for important buildings. In the seismicresistant design of building structures the concept of performancebaseddesign has become a new paradigm guaranteeing the maximum satisfaction ofbuilding owners. The quality and reliability of the performancebased designcertainly depend on the scientific rationality of design ground motions. Inorder to overcome this problem a new paradigm has to be posed. To the authorsknowledge the concept of critical excitation and the structural design basedupon this concept can become one of such new paradigms. This book introduces anew probabilistic and energybased critical excitation approach to overcomeseveral problems in the scientific and rational modelling of ground motions.The author hopes that this book will help the development of new seismicresistant design methods of buildings for such unpredicted or unpredictableground motions. First comprehensive book for critical excitation methods Including updated cuttingedge research Applicable to other worstcase analysis problems Including comprehensive review of critical excitation methods Including verification by comprehensive recorded ground motions «