A state-of-knowledge review of the influence of strong-motion duration on structural damage

The important role played by the duration of ground shaking in the response of saturated soil deposits is universally acknowledged, but no such consensus exists regarding the degree of influence that duration exerts on structural damage. There are several hundred papers in the literature that link structural damage to parameters related either directly or indirectly to the duration of strong ground motion. The conclusions of these studies differ widely with regard to the influence of strong-motion duration on structural demand. This paper provides a summary and critical review of the literature on this subject. It is found that studies employing damage measures related to cumulative energy usually find a positive correlation between strong-motion duration and structural damage, while studies employing damage measures using maximum response generally do not find strong correlations between duration and damage.