Seismic response distribution expressions for on-ground rigid rocking blocks under ordinary ground motions.

Predictive relationships are offered for the response of on-ground 2D rigid blocks undergoing rocking. Among others, this is pertinent to (a) modern or classical antiquity structures that utilize rocking as a seismic protection mechanism and (b) freestanding contents (e.g., cabinets, bookcases, museum artefacts) located on the ground or lower floors of stiff buildings. Blocks of varying dimensions were subjected to a full range assessment of seismic response under increasing intensity levels of ordinary (no-pulse, no-long-duration) ground motions, parameterized by peak ground acceleration or velocity. Both response and intensity were normalized, allowing the fitting of general-purpose parametric expressions to determine the mean and dispersion of response for an arbitrary block of interest. These can be utilized in the same way as conventional strength-ratio/ductility/period relationships of yielding oscillators, to enable the rapid assessment or design of simple rocking systems.This research has been cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek National Funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH – CREATE – INNOVATE (project code: Τ1EDK-00956), project: "ARCHYTAS