In order to reduce the potential of damage in the buildings subject to ground movements caused by earthquakes, special care
should be taken, so their structural characteristics provide the capacity to support the dynamic forces induced by earthquakes.
For the conditions that exist in the city of Managua, i.e., short natural periods and near epicentres, it is advisable the
construction of flexible buildings, with long fundamental periods that reduce the possibility of resonance that would cause
amplifications in the seismic forces.
Nevertheless, whether the constructions resist the seismic forces opposing to them (rigid structures) or absorbing them by flexing
without failing (flexible structures), it should be considered carefully the advantages of both, and special cautions about the
structural calculation should be taken, regarding the seismic forces for which the building is designed.
Also, the quality during the construction process, regarding both the construction materials and the supervision of the works,
should fulfil demanding norms that guarantee the security of the structures against seismic events.
Results of this work stand out the peculiarities of the dynamic behaviour at some points within the city. A detailed study of
the characteristics of the soils in these sites; their depth and composition, mechanical and dynamics properties, will allow to
determine the amplifications that would develop during an earthquake, specially in those areas where the soil profiles present
relatively long natural periods. The potential of geologic effects, as slips, should also be established and, in places like those
near lake Xolotlán, the potential of liquefaction would be of interest.
Materials that conform the more common deposits throughout the city are also characterized in an incomplete way from the point
of view of their dynamic properties, since some of those characteristics are calculated with indirect methods, such as the
Standard Penetration Test. Even when it doesn't seem that such properties differ dramatically of the supposed in this work, a
better knowledge of properties like the shear wave velocity, or the investigation of the shear modulus and the damping of the
materials, is desirable.
Equally necessary it is to investigate the composition, thickness and the mechanical and dynamic properties of the Las Sierras
Group, applying geophysical and geotechnical methods, to determine accurately the basement underlying the soil deposits.
It is very important to carry out complete studies of the areas where geotechnical and geophysical records don't exist, therefore
not properly covered in this work, some of them dedicated to the urban expansion, so that it become possible to evaluate the
seismic hazard in such areas.
Specifications for designing the structures should consider the soil-structure interaction, which can be particularly complex
when the buildings are rather "incrusted" in the ground.
Other cities in Western Nicaragua require investigations to establish the seismic hazard to which they are exposed, since some
are at a shorter distance from the Wadatti-Benioff zone and they are equally susceptible of being affected by earthquakes
originated in the Nicaraguan Graben.
Finally, with the aim of improving the National Regulation for the Construction, extensive studies should be carried out in
order to establish seismic design coefficients required to propose a design spectrum.