The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute has published for its members the first comprehensive guidelines to meeting International Building Code (IBC) requirements and other engineering standards in regions of varying seismic hazard. “There has never previously been a publication that addressed seismic [design] needs as they related to precast concrete for all regions across the country and all code requirements,” says PCI Director of Technical Activities Jason Krohn. Seismic Design of Precast/Prestressed Concrete Structures, he adds, “was created especially because of the number of new provisions impacting seismic design in the last few code cycles.”

The ability to create a comprehensive design approach was simplified by the acceptance of IBC standards merging the previous three legacy model codes into one. “This manual now can provide unified procedures for designing precast/prestressed concrete structures for seismic requirements anywhere in the country,” Krohn affirms.

The manual presents approaches for designing precast structures to meet the seismic-design provisions of Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-02) and Commentary (ACI 318R-02), ASCE 7 Standard Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE 7-02), and the 2003 International Building Code. It was written by Ned Cleland, Ph.D, P.E., principal at the engineering consulting firm of Blue Ridge Design Inc. in Winchester, Va.; and S.K. Ghosh, Ph.D, principal in S.K. Ghosh Associates Inc., a seismic and building-code consultancy in Palatine, Ill. The authors examine various styles and classifications of precast concrete lateral-force-resisting systems and review code and behavior requirements. These requirements are then applied to realistic examples. The manual includes an examination of energy dissipation, ongoing research, diaphragm design and anticipated code developments.