Book reviews 337

detailed design of structural walls of vari- In this respect, the material is presented (United States), National Building Code o f
ous plan forms. Treatment is similar to very clearly with over 100 worked-out Canada and the Mexico Federal District
Chapter 4 on the design of columns. Chap- illustrative examples, and is sufficiently Code.
ter 9, design of flat slabs, includes frame detailed and carefully integrated by cross- The remainder of the text is devoted t(~
analysis and design for punching shear. referencing to make it perfectly feasible a conventional approach to structural
Also included are tables and charts to for a student to use the book for inde- dynamics theory, commencing with simple
assist design. Chapter 10, design of con- pendent study, if not in conjunction with a single-degree-of-freedom oscillators (Part
nections, gives typical connection details taught course programme. In a similar I) subjected to free vibration, harmonic,
including aspects of achorage length that manner, practising engineers should have periodic and arbitrary forms of excitation.
need to be checked. Chapter 11 has general no difficulty in studying the subject by The numerical and computational aspects
figures, tables and charts to aid designers. means of this book. Secondly, the infor- of the evaluation of dynamic response are
The main strength of the book is the mation presented in this book will be of given lengthy coverage, with helpful prac-
inclusion in each chapter of all the aspects special value to those engineers engaged tical advice on the suitability of particular
that need to be considered in order to pro- in actual seismic design and who want to methods for different types o f problem
vide complete design of a member. The improve their understanding of the subject. Particular attention is given to an expla-
examples provided in each chapter are of Particularly attractive to many will be the nation of damping mechanisms (both vis-
a more practice-orientated nature than is aim to keep the mathematics as simple as cous and non-viscous), and their incorpor-
common in standard text books. each topic will permit, with analytical pro- ation into theoretical models. This
The main weakness of the book is that cedures clearly summarized to emphasize emphasis is also carried over into Part 1I
while the approach adopted is of value to their key steps. The worked examples of the book dealing with multi-degree-of-
a young designer, it is likely to put off an include many comprehensive and realistic freedom systems.
undergraduate student. As a first book in scenarios, where the physical interpretation The mode of presentation, and in parti-
explaining the basic mechanics of the of results is stressed. Photographs of struc- cular the application of structural dynamics
behaviour of reinforced concrete as a tures, and recordings of structural motions theory to conduct parametric studies that
material, this book does not make any during actual earthquakes have been bring out several fundamental issues in the
attempt in that direction. included to relate the presentation to the earthquake response and design of multi-
In summary this is a "How to?'" txx~k real world. storey buildings, should help the reader to
rather than a "'Why.w" ty,~k. The book is In view of the txx~k's sub-title, it. is no achieve a deeper understanding of the sub-
very well produced to a very high quality. surprise to discover that the applications of ject and to apply with confidence structural
Many of the diagrams are excellent and theoretical principles are drawn mainly dynamics theory in tackling practical prob-
British Standards Institution could usefully from the earthquake analysis, response and lems. thus narrowing the gap between
incorporate some in the new editions of BS design of structures. This is an especially theory and practice.
8110. There are a few printing errors but interesting feature of the text. and indeed
they are unlikely to cause any serious earthquake engineering provides the ideal A. M. Chandler
problems to the reader. source of material for such examples, in
The book can be warmly recommended view of the wide-ranging issues that arise
to a young engineer in a design office or in modern computation of seismic
Disaster planning, structural
even for an experienced engineer involved response and the associated design of assessment, demolition and
in design only occasionally. multistorey buildings. Several chapters recycling
deal specifically with seismic-related C. De Pauw and E. K. Lauritzen
Bha~ issues, such as Chapters 6 and 7 in Part I (editors)
(Chapters I - 8 ) which cover the linear E & FN Spon, London (1994)
Dynamics of structures: theory (elastic) and nonlinear (inelastic) response ISBN 0-419-19190-9 (hardback)
of simple systems including the use of
and applications to earthquake design and response spectra. In Part II of One of the greatest technological chal-
engilneering the book (Chapters 9-17), the linear multi- lenges of modern times is to prevent and
Anil K. Chopra storey building response to earthquake relieve damage to the built environment
Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, ground motion is covered, including deal- and to protect society in general from the
NJ (1995) ISBN 0-13-855214-2 ing (by modal analysis) with such prob- effects of natural disasters. Whilst the
lems as the torsional response of asymmet- majority of the published work in this field
in recent years, numerous books on earth- ric-plan buildings and the response of concentrates, naturally, on improved
quake engineering and structural dynamics systems with multiple support excitation. design techniques and the determination of
have been published, but this extensive A short but well-written introduction is response, it is clear that one of the major
729-page book by Professor Chopra of the also given to the theory and applications aspects of the challenge involves the limi-
University of California, Berkeley, sets out of the finite-element method. Finally, the tation and utilization of the large amounts
to fill a niche that exists between more seismic theme is developed fully in Part ili of building and indusuial waste, which
elementary books and books written for (Chapters 18-21) which covers the inelas- originate from the clearing efforts in the
advanced postgraduate or research studies. tic response of buildings to strong earth- aftermath of natural disasters. The utiliz-
The author is a well-known expert in these quakes, including the concepts of ductility, ation of the waste by recycling has to date
fields, and his b(x)k will be valuable to stu- and the importance of correct configur- received little attention, and a convincing.
dents not only in earthquake-prone regions ation. Part 1II goes on to cover the theory practical methodology for its implemen-
bm also in other parts of the world, as a and applications of base-isolation for tation has yet to be proposed. Nevertheless
knowledge of structural dynamics is essen- buildings. This latter section is the first this is an intriguing challenge, as recycling
tial for modern engineering. attempt to include isolation as part of a will provide opportunities for saving
The style of the book and the order in textbook on structural dynamics, and pro- energy, time and resources.
which topics are covered are undoubtedly vides a welcome and very practical intro- This btx)k has been compiled from the
reminiscent of other well-known texts in duction to the topic. The application of research findings of a task force estab-
this field. Two aspects, however, make this structural dynamics in seismic design lished in the early 1980's by RILEM, The
book stand out from the rest. The first is codes is given brief coverage at the end of International Union of Testing and
its sheer readability, which is no easy task the book, focusing mainly on the pro- Research Laboratories for Materials and
when t'aced with such a complex subject. visions of the Uniform Building Code Structures. The work was jointly spon-