Lax Midfield Satellite Concourse Expansion: Role of Performance-Based Seismic Analysis in the Design of the New Superjumbo Aircraft Terminal

Abstract eng:
The new LAX Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) construction project is ongoing modernization of the Los Angeles Internation Airport. Essential facility like an airport is designed based on the importance factor (I) of 1.5 to achieve better seismic performance. That is, seismic design force is increased by 50% and the expected nonlinear story drift is reduced by 67% as compared to a typical building which has I = 1.0. As a result, it is expected that the building structure designed with I = 1.5 would be stronger and stiffer. However, the performances of buildings in past earthquakes have shown that there is no direct relationship between the prescriptive code approach and expected seismic performance. In addition, higher structural costs is not avoidable if I = 1.5 is used for the design. In these reasons, the procedure used for this project is to design the building based on the prescriptive requirements of the building code using an importance factor of only 1.25 followed by performance-based design using a nonlinear dynamic time history analysis to achieve the enhanced structural performance levels; (1) “Operational” after frequent earthquake (43-year return period), (2) “Immediate Occupancy” after rare earthquake (475-year return period), and (3) “Life Safety” after very rare earthquake (2475-year return period). This paper presents the results of this design methodology and demonstrates that this approach proves to be a much more efficient and reliable method for achieving the desired seismic performance objectives for the project.

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