Spectral acceleration (SA) is a unit measured in g (the acceleration due to Earth's gravity, equivalent to g-force) that describes the maximum acceleration in an earthquake on an object – specifically a damped, harmonic oscillator moving in one physical dimension. This can be measured at (or specified for) different oscillation frequencies and with different degrees of damping, although 5% damping is commonly applied.1 The SA at different frequencies may be plotted to form a response spectrum.
Spectral acceleration, with a value related to the natural frequency of vibration of the building, is used in earthquake engineering and gives a closer approximation to the motion of a building or other structure in an earthquake than the peak ground acceleration value,12 although there is normally a correlation between [short period] SA and PGA.2
Some seismic hazard maps are also produced using spectral acceleration.
External links
External links
- Spectral Acceleration Hazard Map of California – for 1 sec period Archived 2015-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
- 2005 National Building Code of Canada – Spectral Acceleration Hazard Maps for various periods
- Revision of Time-Independent Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Maps for Alaska
- What is a ground shaking hazard map? – Includes explanations of SA and PGA
References
References
- Intensity Measure Type (IMT) Archived 2015-10-04 at the Wayback Machine OpenSHA, accessed 2011-04-14
- FAQs – What is "spectral acceleration" or SA? United States Geological Survey, accessed 2011-04-14