A command line application written for a terminal-savvy structural engineer written in Python.
This application is a CLI alternative to the browser-based
application for retrieving seismic design and
analysis information. The motivation behind building it was picking up more CLI
development experience in Python with the argparse library.
Earthquake engineering is one facet of structural engineering concerning the design of structures under lateral loads and displacements associated with seismic activity. As a starting point, engineers often need a building code defined ground motion acceleration value to apply to a structure to simulate the lateral forces occurring on a structure during a design seismic event. Combining these accelerations with a structure's Lateral Force Resisting System (LFRS) and the building's own self-weight, an estimate of the design lateral force on a structure can be obtained.
By default, data prints to the terminal and like any CLI application, can also be redirected to a file.
Obtaining seismic design data from the ASCE 7-22 Standard at 34 Latitude, -118 Longitude, Risk Category II, and Site Class D:
$ python3 webspectra.py asce7-22 34 -118 II D
# writing output to a file: out.txt
$ python3 webspectra.py asce7-22 34 -118 II D > out.txtObtaining seismic design data from the NEHRP-2020 documents at 34 Latitude, -118 Longitude, Risk Category III, and Site Class B formatted to JSON and piping the JSON into Python's JSON validation tool:
$ python3 webspectra.py -o json nehrp-2020 34 -118 III B | python3 -m json.toolThe -s or --spectrum CLI option allows users to obtain spectrum series data
where available by the web service.
For example, the two period design spectrum formatted as CSV {period, ordinate} from the ASCE 7-22:
$ python3 webspectra.py asce7-22 -s two-design 34 -118 II DIn JSON,
$ python3 webspectra.py -o json asce7-22 -s two-design 34 -118 II D