Caractérisation des secousses sismiques typiques de l'Est canadien

Eastern North America (ENA) often experienced signifcant earthquakes although located in an intraplate tectonic environment. The seismic risk in this region remains fairly high because of its high population density. Only few historical seismic data from this region is available and the mechanisms that caused these seismo-tectonic events are still not well understood. In spite of this context, civil engineers devote their eorts to design safer and more economical structures. This report aims at characterizing ground motions typical of eastern North America and their eects on structures. The main two objectives of this study are : (i) to compile and characterize a large database of linear and non-linear response spectra of historical and synthetic accelerograms typical of Eastern and Western North America (WNA), and (ii) propose possible engineering applications of the characterization studies conducted. The report presents a comprehensive literature review addressing the state of the art in earthquake engineering. The computation of the linear and non-linear response spectra of a large database of earthquakes and their characterization depending on geographic location, i.e. East vs. West is conducted. A detailed study on seismic strength reduction factor is also carried out. Finally, possible engineering applications of this research for engineering seismology and performed-based design are discussed. This research required the development of several reliable and modular numerical tools. A efficient algorithm to compute constant ductility inelastic spectra is presented and illustrated in this report. A large database of response spectra of historical and synthetic accelerograms was built and analyzed statistically. We rst conrm the higher frequency content in ENA response spectra compared WNA spectra. Furthermore, we quantify the effect stochastic uncorrelation of the ground motions on their response spectra, and the related amplitude ratios between each earthquake component (horizontal and vertical ratios). This study highlights a large variation of these parameters depending of the period ix and distinct dierences between Eastern and Western Nord America as well as between historical and synthetic data.We also studied the seismic strength reduction factor (R) and we characterized its dependence on geographic location, magnitude, soil type and material post-hardening. Based on these results, an original R-¹-T relationships relating the strength (R), the ductility (¹) and the period (T) is developed. These relationships were calibrated using the database of ENA and WNA ground motions described previously. Finally, the thesis presents several possible engineering applications of this research and suggests new directions for future research.