Seismic load
Appearance
Seismic load is one of the basic concepts of earthquake engineering which means application of an earthquake-generated agitation[1] to a building structure or its model. It happens at contact surfaces of a structure either with the ground,[2] or with adjacent structures,[3] or with gravity waves from tsunami.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Haitian_national_palace_earthquake.jpg/225px-Haitian_national_palace_earthquake.jpg)
Seismic loading depends, primarily, on:
- Anticipated earthquake’s parameters at the site
- Geotechnical parameters of the site
- Building structure’s parameters
- Characteristics of the anticipated gravity waves from tsunami (if applicable).
Sometimes, seismic load exceeds ability of a structure to resist it without being broken, partially or completely. Due to their mutual interaction, seismic loading and seismic performance of a structure are intimately related.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Earthquake damage.