• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.375-392
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• 2014

Time history analyses have been preferred commonly in earthquake engineering area to determine earthquake performances of structures in recent years. Advances in computer technology and structural analysis have led to common usage of time history analyses. Eurocode 8 allows the use of real earthquake records as an input for linear and nonlinear time history analyses of structures. However, real earthquake records with the desired characteristics sometimes may not be found, for example depending on soil classes, in this case artificial and synthetic earthquake records can be used for seismic analyses rather than real records. Selected earthquake records should be scaled to a code design spectrum to reduce record to record variability in structural responses of considered structures. So, scaling of earthquake records is one of the most important procedures of time history analyses. In this paper, four real earthquake records are scaled to Eurocode 8 design spectrums by using SESCAP (Selection and Scaling Program) based on time domain scaling method and developed by using MATLAB, GUI software, and then scaled and real earthquake records are used for linear time history analyses of a six-storied building. This building is modeled as spatial by SAP2000 software. The objectives of this study are to put basic procedures and criteria of selecting and scaling earthquake records in a nutshell, and to compare the effects of scaled earthquake records on structural response with the effects of real earthquake records on structural response in terms of record to record variability of structural response. Seismic analysis results of building show that record to record variability of structural response caused by scaled earthquake records are fewer than ones caused by real earthquake records.