In a seismic design, a structural demand by an earthquake load is determined by design response spectra. The ground motion is a three-dimensional movement; therefore, the design response spectra in each direction need to be assigned. However, in most design codes, an identical design response spectrum is used in two horizontal directions. Unlike these design criteria, a realistic seismic input motion should be applied for a seismic evaluation of structures. In this study, the definition of horizontal spectral acceleration representing the two-horizontal spectral acceleration is reviewed. Based on these methodologies, the horizontal responses of observed ground motions are calculated. The data used in the analysis are recorded accelerograms at the stations near the epicenters of recent earthquakes which are the 2007 Odeasan earthquake, 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, and 2017 Pohang earthquake. Geometric mean-based horizontal response spectra and maximum directional response spectrum are evaluated and their differences are compared over the period range. Statistical representation of the relations between geometric mean and maximum directional spectral acceleration for horizontal direction and spectral acceleration for vertical direction are also evaluated. Finally, discussions and suggestions to consider these different two horizontal directional spectral accelerations in the seismic performance evaluation are presented.

On November 15, 2017, Pohang earthquake occurred. Its local magnitude was announced to be ML=5.4 by Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Ground motion data recorded at KMA stations were obtained from their data bases. From the data, horizontal and vertical response spectra, and V/H ratio were calculated. The horizontal spectra were defined as GMRotI50 spectra. From the statistical analysis of the GMRotI50 spectra, a mean plus one standard deviation spectrum in lognormal distribution is obtained. Regression analysis is performed on this curve to determine the shape of spectrum including transition periods. Applying the same procedure, the shape and transition periods of vertical spectrum were obtained. These results were compared with the Korean standard design spectra, which were developed from domestic and overseas intra-plate earthquake records, and Gyeongju earthquake response spectra. The response spectra of Pohang earthquake were found to be almost identical with the newly proposed design spectra. Even the V/H ratios showed good agreement. These results confirmed that the method adopted when developing the standard design spectra were valid and the developed design spectra were reliable.

In this study, we develop and propose damping correction factors for the Korean standard design spectra. The newly proposed Korean standard design spectra has been given only for 5% damping ratio. But in practice, engineers need design spectra for damping values other than 5%. To obtain design spectra for various damping values from the standard spectra, damping correction factors are derived. These factors modify the shape of design spectra in accordance with the damping ratio. Response spectra for various damping values are calculated from the earthquake records that had been used to calculate standard design spectra. They consist of 55 records from 18 earthquakes occurred in overseas intraplate regions and Korea. The regressed spectra for the damping values ranging from 0.5% to 50% are compared with standard spectra at three regions acceleration, velocity and displacement sensitive regions. The regression analysis of these data rendered formula for damping correction factors. Finally, a single formula for damping correction factors is recommended that is valid for both horizontal and vertical design spectra and that is applicable to the entire range of periods. One thing to note that recommended damping correction factors is valid for the design spectrum of the rock grounds because the design spectra was developed based on the earthquake records of the rock ground.

On September 12, 2016, Gyeongju earthquake occurred. Its local magnitude was announced to be ML=5.8 by Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Ground motion data recorded at KMA, EMC and KERC stations was obtained from their data bases. From the data, horizontal and vertical response spectra, and V/H ratio were calculated. The horizontal spectrum was defined as geometric mean spectrum, GMRotI50. From the statistical analysis of the geometric mean spectra, a mean plus one standard deviation spectrum in lognormal distribution is obtained. Regression analysis is performed on this curve to determine the shape of spectrum including transition periods. Applying the same procedure, the shape and transition periods of vertical spectrum was obtained. These results were compared with the Korean standard design spectra, which were developed from domestic and overseas intraplate earthquake records. The response spectra of Gyeongju earthquake were found to be almost identical with the newly proposed design spectra. Even the V/H ratios showed good agreement. These results confirmed that the method adopted when developing the standard design spectra were valid and the developed design spectra were reliable.

The vertical design spectrum for Korea, which is known to belong to an intra-plate region, is developed from the ground motion records of the earthquakes occurred in Korea and overseas intra-plate regions. From the statistical analysis of the vertical response spectra, a mean plus one standard deviation spectrum in lognormal distribution is obtained. Regression analysis is performed on this curve to determine the shape of spectrum including transition periods. The developed design spectrum is valid for the estimation both spectral acceleration and displacement. The ratio of vertical to horizontal response spectrum for each record is calculated. Statistical analysis of the ratios rendered the vertical to horizontal ratio (V/H ratio). Subsequently the ratio between the peak vertical ground acceleration to the horizontal one is obtained.

The design spectrum for Korea, which is known to belong to an intra-plate region, is developed from the ground motion records of the earthquakes occurred in Korea and overseas intra-plate regions. The horizontal spectrum is defined as geometric mean spectrum, GMRotI50. From the statistical analysis of the geometric mean spectra, a mean plus one standard deviation spectrum in lognormal distribution is obtained. Regression analysis is performed on this curve to determine the shape of spectrum including transition periods. The developed design spectrum is valid for the estimation both spectral acceleration and displacement.