Damping modification factors for acceleration response spectra

DMF (Damping modification factors) are used to modify elastic response spectral values corresponding to damping ratio 5% to other damping levels. The influence of seismological parameters (magnitude, epicentral distances and site conditions) on DMF for acceleration spectra was analysed. The results show that for a given period as the magnitude or distance increase, the effect of damping on the seismic response will also increase, which indicates the response reduction from the structural damping will become more efficient. In the near-field of small earthquakes, the influence of site conditions on DMF is obvious, but it does not show a consistent rule. Furthermore, the DMF corresponding to different site conditions gradually close to unity with increasing magnitude and distance. The influence of the above mentioned parameters is related to the relative attenuation of the frequency components of the ground motion. The attenuation index alone is sufficient to take into account the influence. Based on these features, this paper proposes a formula of DMF for acceleration response spectra.