The seismic performance of non-structural elements is now recognized to be a key issue in the seismic design and earthquake loss estimation of buildings. Reconnaissance reports and surveys carried out during past earthquakes, as well as advanced numerical loss estimation studies, indicated repetitively that a significant part of the observed earthquake related losses can be attributed to the damage to non-structural elements. Although poor seismic performance of non-structural elements has been observed repeatedly in past earthquakes, very limited research results are available to better understand the seismic behaviour of these components. Performance-based seismic design requires the harmonization of performances between structural and non-structural elements. With this aim, the Fifth International Workshop on the Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements (SPONSE) will be a special opportunity to share experiences and to discuss about the performance of non-structural elements during earthquakes, which can lead to a better understanding and characterization of their dynamic behavior.
The Workshop program has been designed for practicing structural engineers and researchers, and will include technical plenary presentations and group breakout sessions and discussions. Technical sessions are planned on the following topics:
- Performance based-seismic design of non-structural elements.
- Experimental study related to the seismic performance of non-structural elements.
- Modeling/Numerical simulation to predict the seismic behavior of non-structural elements.
- Evaluation of the seismic demand on non-structural components.
- Innovative techniques to mitigate the damage to non-structural elements.
- Standardization of qualification and fragility testing and design procedures.
- Loss estimation with special focus on non-structural elements.
- Practical implementation/installation of non-structural elements in buildings.
- Impact of non-structural elements on the seismic performance of buildings.
Past International SPONSE Workshops:
- Beijing, China (2014).
- EUCENTRE – Pavia, Italy (2015).
- Christchurch, New Zealand (2016).
- In 2017 the International SPONSE Workshop was replaced by a Special Session on the Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements organized during the 16th World Conference of Earthquake Engineering that was held in Santiago de Chile (Chile).
- In 2018 the International SPONSE Workshop was replaced by two Special Sessions on the Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements organized during the 16th European Conference of Earthquake Engineering that held in Thessaloniki (Greece) and the 11th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering that held in Los Angeles (California).
- EUCENTRE – Pavia, Italy (2019).