Seismic Engineering Fundamentals

This lecture covers the fundamentals of seismic engineering, focusing on topics such as plastic hinge analysis, force-based design shortcomings, and displacement-based evaluation methods. It discusses the challenges in estimating system periods, the relationship between ductility and geometry, and the importance of seismic capacity curves. The instructor explains the N2 method for evaluating structures, safety factors for deformation and displacement capacities, and the response of elastic single-degree-of-freedom systems to seismic forces.