Adjust Earthquake Records to Match Target Spectra with Scientific Rigor

When you have real earthquake accelerograms — but they don’t exactly match the seismic demand defined by codes or project design criteria — you need a robust way to adjust them. SeismoMatch is the software tool that lets you do exactly that: take existing ground-motion records and match them to your target response spectrum. Unlike simple scaling, SeismoMatch utilizes advanced wavelet algorithms to modify the frequency content of the record while preserving its realistic non-stationary characteristics.

Whether you’re working under code-driven specifications (e.g. national seismic regulations) or a custom design spectrum, SeismoMatch transforms real data into realistic, code-compatible input for structural analysis.

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The Science of Spectral Matching

SeismoMatch goes beyond simple amplitude scaling. It employs industry-standard algorithms to ensure tight convergence to your target:

  • Wavelet-Based Matching

Implements the algorithms proposed by Abrahamson (1992) and Hancock et al. (2006), or Al Atik and Abrahamson (2010). This method adds wavelets to the time history to adjust the spectrum locally, preserving the “physics” of the original recording better than frequency-domain methods.

  • Preserve Ground Motion Characteristics

The software is designed to minimally alter the velocity and displacement time-histories, ensuring the matched record remains realistic for engineering use.

  • Mean Matched Spectrum

Simultaneously match a suite of records and automatically combine them to ensure the mean spectrum of the suite respects your pre-defined tolerance (essential for code compliance).

Code-Compliant Target Spectra

Define your target response spectrum using the rules from over 25 National Building Codes, including:

  • Eurocode 8 with more than 20 National Annexes
  • ASCE 41-23, ASCE 7-22, UBC 1997 (USA Codes)
  • National Building Code of Canada 2015
  • Notification 1457-2000 (Japanese Code)
  • NZS 1170.5:2004 (New Zealand Code)
  • NTC-18 (Italian Code)
  • TBDY 2018 (Turkish Code)
  • NCh 433 (Chilean Code)
  • NTE E.030 2016 (Peruvian Code)
  • NSR10 (Colombian Code)

  • NEC 2014 (Ecuadorean Code)

  • IS 1893 (Indian Code), NBC 105 (Nepalese Code)
  • SP 2007 (Pakistani Code)
  • NMX-R-079-SCFI-2015, MOC 2015 and NTC 2004 (Mexican Codes)
  • CSCR 2010 (Costa Rican Code)
  • INPRES-CIRSOC 2013 (Argentinian Code)
  • KDS 17 10 00 2018 (Korean Code)
  • INDICATIV P 100-1/2013 (Romanian Code)
  • AS 1170.4/2007 (Australian Code).
  • User-Defined Spectra: Define user-defined spectral shapes, or simply compute the spectrum of a specific accelerogram to match against.

Validation & Quality Control

Matching a record is only half the job; verifying its quality is also crucial. SeismoMatch automatically calculates key Strong-Motion Parameters for the matched accelerograms to ensure they haven’t drifted into unrealistic values:

  • Elastic Response Spectra: Verify the match across the full period range.

  • Peak Ground Acceleration, Velocity and Displacement

  • Acceleration , Velocity and Displacement RMS

  • Arias Intensity, Housner Intensity and Characteristic Intensity

  • Specific Energy Density and Cumulative Absolute Velocity

  • Predominant Period

  • Significant Duration

Who Uses SeismoMatch?

SeismoMatch supports a wide variety of professionals and organizations in earthquake- and structural-engineering – basically anyone who already has real ground-motion data but needs to adjust them to meet design or code requirements.

Typical users include:

  • Structural & geotechnical engineers performing seismic design, or structural assessment analyses. SeismoMatch lets them take real accelerograms from recorded earthquakes, and adjust them so their response spectra match exactly the target spectrum required by building codes or project specifications.

  • Design offices & consulting firms engaged in performance-based design or nonlinear dynamic analysis. These firms often need a suite of ground motions whose spectral properties satisfy design demands — SeismoMatch helps create such suites by matching multiple records at once and computing a mean matched spectrum within a predefined tolerance.

  • Researchers and academic institutions working on seismic hazard assessment or structural response under earthquakes. Because SeismoMatch supports sophisticated spectral-matching algorithms (the wavelets methods) and computes a wide array of strong-motion parameters, it’s well suited for studies comparing structural performance under different ground-motion inputs or developing new methods for seismic analysis.

  • Engineers working under various national or international seismic codes and standards — SeismoMatch allows the creation of target spectra based on 25+ national building codes, or user-defined/custom spectra. This flexibility is very helpful for projects in different countries or regions with different seismic regulations.

  • Practitioners involved in retrofitting or assessment of existing structures, where real earthquake records may exist but do not comply with current design spectra. By adapting recorded motions, SeismoMatch enables realistic, code-compatible dynamic analyses of existing buildings under potential seismic loading.

SeismoMatch is used by structural engineers, consultants, researchers, academic institutions, or any practitioner that requires realistic, spectrum-compatible ground-motion input, when using real earthquake records.

New in v2026

  • AI Assistant Integration: The new Seismosoft AI Assistant is now available within SeismoMatch to help you select the best matching parameters (period range, tolerance) and troubleshoot convergence issues instantly.

Key Capabilities

  • Spectral matching using advanced wavelet algorithms: SeismoMatch employs the sophisticated wavelet-based methods proposed by Abrahamson & Hancock (1992 / 2006) or the algorithm by Atik & Abrahamson (2010). This ensures the matched accelerograms retain realistic time-history characteristics while aligning closely with the target spectrum.

  • Support for multiple ground-motion records at once: Load and match many accelerograms simultaneously. SeismoMatch then produces a mean matched spectrum — useful when preparing a suite of records for nonlinear dynamic analysis.

  • Flexible input and output formats: The software reads common accelerogram formats (e.g. SMC, PEER NGA, Shake .eq, simple time-acceleration text formats), and supports both metric and imperial units.

  • Drift Correction: Automatic apply baseline correction and filtering to ensure matched records do not exhibit unrealistic displacement drift.

  • Customizable target spectrum — from codes, records or user-defined: Your target spectrum can be derived from more than 25 national building codes (including major standards), from an existing accelerogram, or from a custom spectrum file.

  • Visual Interface: Load, define targets, and match records without writing a single line of script.

  • Full integration and exportability: Results — both plots and tables — can be exported directly to spreadsheet or word-processing software. This makes it easy to include them in structural-analysis workflows or reports.

Ideal For

Converting existing accelerograms into code-compatible inputs

without losing the realism of time histories.

Adjusting real earthquake records

so that they satisfy design-spectrum requirements before use in structural dynamic analysis.

Preparing suites of spectrally matched ground motions

for performance-based design, nonlinear analyses or retrofit assessment.

Comparative studies or research

on the influence of ground-motion variability under different spectral demands.

Completely visual interface. No input or configuration files, programming scripts or any other time-consuming and complex text editing requirements.

Due to its full integration with the Windows environment, SeismoMatch allows for numerical and graphical results to be copied to any Windows application (e.g. MS Excel, MS Word, etc.), noting that the plots characteristics can be fully customised from within the program itself.

Licensing

Try our Earthquake Engineering Software Solutions for free by downloading a one month Trial Version*

Get a Commercial License and unleash the full potential of Seismosoft software and access to premium technical support.

Buy 2-5 SeismoMatch Licenses and get 25% discount or a 35% discount for 6 or more licenses!

Licenses for Academic Use & Discounts

We offer Αcademic Licences to users who are currently enrolled with an academic/research institution. If you are interested in receiving an Academic Licence, please request it by using the registration module at the start-up of the programs.

Students, Academic Staff and/or Universities may benefit from a 10% discount to all full Commercial versions of Seismosoft products and product bundles.

Don’t miss our Bundle Offers

Take advantage of our Bundle offer. Get 25% discount for the SeismoMatch and SeismoArtif Bundle!

Take advantage of our Bundle offer. Get 25% discount for the SeismoSelect and SeismoMatch Bundle!

Take advantage of our Bundle offer. Get 25% discount for the SeismoSelect, SeismoMatch and SeismoArtif Bundle!

* In Academic/Trial Version, a minimum tolerance equal to 0.30 can be used.