The Seismic Provisions of the 1997 Uniform Building Code

Currently the most widely accepted code regulations in the United States for seismic design of structures and nonstructural components are those found in the Uniform Building Code ( UBC). The UBC seismic requirements were significantly revised in the 1997 edition. Among the issues addressed in the UBC revisions are near-source effects and ground acceleration dependent soil site amplification factors for both short- and long-period structures. Also, the design force levels in the 1997 UBC are based on strength design rather than allowable stress design, as had been used previously. Other significant changes include introduction of a redundancy/reliability factor, a more realistic consideration of story drift and deformation compatibility, and new equations for equivalent static forces for both structural and nonstructural components. This paper traces the recent history of the code development and describes the major elements of the 1997 UBC seismic provisions.