Damping modification factor of pseudo-acceleration spectrum considering influences of magnitude, distance and site conditions

The damping modification factor (DMF) is used to modify the 5%-damped response spectrum to produce spectral values that correspond to other necessary damping ratios for seismic design. The DMF has been the subject of numerous studies, and it has been discovered that seismological parameters like magnitude and distance can have an impact on it. However, DMF formulations incorporating these seismological parameters cannot be directly applied to seismic design because these parameters are not specified in the present seismic codes. The goal of this study is to develop a formulation for the DMF that can be directly applied in seismic design and that takes the effects of magnitude, distance, and site conditions into account. To achieve this goal, 16660 ground motions with magnitudes ranging from 4 to 9 and epicentral distances ranging from 10 to 200 km are used to systematically study the effects of magnitude, distance, and site conditions on the DMF. Furthermore, according to the knowledge that magnitude and distance affect the DMF primarily by changing the spectral shape, a spectral shape factor is adopted to reflect influences of magnitude and distance, and a new formulation for the DMF incorporating the spectral shape factor is developed. In comparison to the current formulations, the proposed formulation provides a more accurate prediction of the DMF and can be employed directly in seismic design.