Pushover-based seismic risk assessment and loss estimation of masonry buildings

A pushover-based seismic risk assessment and loss estimation methodology for masonry buildings is introduced. It enables estimation of loss by various performance measures such as the probability of exceeding a designated economic loss, the expected annual loss, and the expected loss given a seismic intensity. The methodology enables the estimation of the economic loss directly from the results of structural analysis, which combines pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis of an equivalent SDOF model. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by means of two variants of a three-storey masonry building both of which have the same geometry, but they are built, respectively, from hollow clay masonry (model H) and solid brick masonry (model S). The probability of collapse given the selected design earthquake corresponding to a return period of 475 years was found to be negligible for model H, which indicates the proper behaviour of such a structure when designed according to the current building codes. However, the corresponding probability of collapse of model S was very high (46%). The expected total loss given the design earthquake was estimated to amount to 28 000 € and 290 000 €, respectively, for models H and S. The expected annual loss per 100 m² of gross floor area was estimated to amount to 75 € and 191 €, respectively, for models H and S. For the presented examples, it was also observed that nonstructural elements contributed more than 50% of the total loss.     

Fuzzy rule based seismic risk assessment of one-story precast industrial buildings

Efficient tools capable of using uncertain data to produce fast and approximate results are more practical in rapid decision-making applications when compared to conventional methods. From this point of view, this study introduces a risk assessment model for one-story precast industrial buildings by fuzzy logic which builds a bridge between uncertainty and precision. The input, output and relations of the fuzzy based risk assessment model(FBRAM) were determined by reference buildings. The Monte Carlo simulation method was used to handle uncertainties associated with the structural characteristics of the reference buildings. Section dimension, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, column height related to building elevation, confinement ratio and seismic hazard are regarded as input and the plastic demand ratio is considered as the output parameter by the mathematical formulation of strength and deformation capacity of the buildings. The supervised learning method was used to determine the membership function of fuzzy sets. Fuzzy rules of FBRAM were constructed from Monte Carlo simulation by mapping of inputs and output. FBRAM was evaluated by a group of simulated buildings and two existing precast industrial buildings. Comparisons have shown significant agreement with analytical model results in both cases. Consequently, it is anticipated that the proposed model can be used for the seismic risk mitigation of precast buildings.     

Optimal control of linear buildings under seismic excitations

Considerable effort has been devoted to develop optimal control methods for reducing structural response under seismic forces. In this study analytical solution of the linear regulator problem applied widely to the control of earthquake‐excited structures is obtained by using the sufficient conditions of optimality even though almost all of the optimal controls proposed previously for structural control are based on the necessary conditions of optimality. Since the resulting optimal closed–open‐loop control cannot be implemented for civil structures exposed to earthquake forces, the solution of the optimal closed–open‐loop control is carried out approximately based on the prediction of the seismic acceleration values in the near future. Upon obtaining the relation between the exact optimal solution and future values of seismic accelerations, it is shown numerically that the solution of the optimal closed–open‐loop control problem can be performed approximately by using only the first few predicted seismic acceleration values if a given norm criteria is satisfied. Calculated performance measures indicate that the suggested approximate solution is better than the closed‐loop control and as we predict the future values of the excitation more accurately, it will approach the optimal solution. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simplified estimation of seismic risk for reinforced concrete buildings with consideration of corrosion over time

Throughout the world, buildings are reaching the end of their design life and develop new pathologies that decrease their structural capacity. Usually the ageing process is neglected in seismic design or seismic risk assessment but may become important for older structures, especially, if they are intended to be in service even after they exceed their design life. Thus, a simplified methodology for seismic performance evaluation with consideration of performance degradation over time is presented, based on an extension of the SAC/FEMA probabilistic framework for estimating mean annual frequencies of limit state exceedance. This is applied to an example of an older three-storey asymmetric reinforced concrete building, in which corrosion has just started to propagate. The seismic performance of the structure is assessed at several successive times and the instantaneous and overall seismic risk is estimated for the near collapse limit state. The structural capacity in terms of the maximum base shear and the maximum roof displacement is shown to decrease over time. Consequently, the time-averaged mean annual frequency of violating the near-collapse limit state increases for the corroded building by about 10% in comparison to the typical case where corrosion is neglected. However, it can be magnified by almost 40% if the near-collapse limit state is related to a brittle shear failure, since corrosion significantly affects transverse reinforcement, raising important questions on the seismic safety of the existing building stock.     

Evaluating assumptions for seismic assessment of existing buildings

This paper evaluates the American FEMA 356 and the Greek GRECO (EC 8 based) procedural assumptions for the assessment of the seismic capacity of existing buildings via pushover analyses. Available experimental results from a four-storeyed building are used to compare the two different sets of assumptions. If the comparison is performed in terms of initial stiffness or plastic deformation capacities, the different partial assumptions of the procedures lead to large discrepancies, while the opposite occurs when the comparison is performed in terms of structural performance levels at target displacements. According to FEMA 356 assumptions, effective yield point rigidities are approximately four times greater than those of EC 8. Both procedures predicted that the structure would behave elastically during low-level excitation and that the structural performance level at target displacement for a high-level excitation would be between the Immediate Occupancy and Life Safety performance levels.     

Cursory seismic drift assessment for buildings in moderate seismicity regions

This paper outlines a methodology to assess the seismic drift of reinforced concrete buildings with limited structural and geotechnical information. Based on the latest and the most advanced research on predicting potential near-field and far field earthquakes affecting Hong Kong, the engineering response spectra for both rock and soil sites are derived. A new step-by-step procedure for displacement-based seismic hazard assessment of building structures is proposed to determine the maximum inter-storey drift demand for reinforced concrete buildings. The primary information required for this assessment is only the depth of the soft soil above bedrock and the height of the building. This procedure is further extended to assess the maximum chord rotation angle demand for the coupling beam of coupled shear wall or frame wall structures, which may be very critical when subjected to earthquake forces. An example is provided to illustrate calibration of the assessment procedure by using actual engineering structural models.     

Numerical efficiency assessment of energy dissipators for seismic protection of buildings

This paper presents a two-dimensional numerical study on the nonlinear seismic response of buildings equipped with two types of energy dissipators: Constant Friction Slip Braces (CFSB) and Adding Damping and Stiffness (ADAS). Three types of reinforced concrete buildings with 3, 7 and 15 storeys, representatives of the short-medium- and long-period ranges, are considered. Dissipators are placed in steel diagonal braces in all the floors. The sliding threshold (or yielding) forces for each mechanism are selected using two different criteria: (i) they are taken as 50, 75 and 100 per cent of those generated by the equivalent static lateral forces recommended by the UBC-91 for a ductile moment resisting frame and (ii) they are constant in the whole building (this constant value is chosen equal to the maximum forces obtained with the previous criterion). The input consists of ten recorded earthquakes (normalized with respect to their Housner intensity) corresponding to medium and stiff local soil conditions. Average values on the ten registers are given for the maximum horizontal displacement, the base shear, the energy dissipated and the interstorey drift. The possibility of failure in some devices has been numerically simulated to assess the robustness of the system. The obtained results show that both devices are useful to reduce the response compared to the bare frame and that CFSB is more efficient than ADAS; for 7- and 15-storey frames the lateral displacement with CFSB is even smaller than the one for the braced frame (rigid connections instead of dissipators). The conclusions are expected to provide simple design guidelines. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear numerical assessment of the seismic response of hillside RC buildings

Major damage has been reported in hilly areas after major earthquakes,primarily because of two special conditions:the variation in the seismic ground motion due to the inclined ground surface and the irregularities caused by a stepped base level in the structure.The aim of this study is to evaluate possible differences in the responses of Chilean hillside buildings through numerical linear-elastic and nonlinear analyses.In the first step,a set of response-spectrum analyses were performed on four simplified 2D structures with mean base inclination angles of 0°,15°,30°,and 45°.The structures were designed to comply with Chilean seismic codes and standards,and the primary response parameters were compared.To assess the seismic performance of the buildings,nonlinear static(pushover)and dynamic(time-history)analyses were performed with SeismoStruct software.Pushover analyses were used to compare the nonlinear response at the maximum roof displacement and the damage patterns.Time-history analyses were performed to assess the nonlinear dynamic response of the structures subjected to seismic ground motions modified by topographic effects.To consider the topographic modification,acceleration records were obtained from numerical models of soil,which were calculated using the rock acceleration record of the Mw 8.01985 Chilean earthquake.Minor differences in the structure responses(roof displacements and maximum element forces and moments)were caused by the topographic effects in the seismic input motion,with the highly predominant ones being the differences caused by the step-back configuration at the base of the structures.High concentrations of shear forces in short walls were observed,corresponding to the walls located in the upper zone of the foundation system.The response of the structures with higher angles was observed to be more prone to fragile failures due to the accumulation of shear forces.Even though hillside buildings gain stiffness in the lower stories,resulting in lower design roof displacement,maximum roof displacements for nonlinear time-history analyses remained very close for all the models that were primarily affected by the drifts of the lower stories.Additionally,vertical parasitic accelerations were considered for half the time-history analyses performed here.The vertical component seems to considerably modify the axial load levels in the shear walls on all stories.     

A pushover procedure for seismic assessment of buildings with bi-axial eccentricity under bi-directional seismic excitation

A new modal pushover procedure is proposed for seismic assessment of asymmetric-plan buildings under bi-directional ground motions. Although the proposed procedure is a multi-mode procedure and the effects of the higher and torsional modes are considered, the simplicity of the pushover procedure is kept and the method requires only a single-run pushover analysis for each direction of excitation. The effects of the frequency content of a specific ground motion and the interaction between modes at each direction are all considered in the single-run pushover analysis. For each direction, the load pattern is derived from the combined modal story shear and torque profiles. The pushover analysis is conducted independently for each direction of motion (x and y), and then the responses due to excitation in each direction are combined using SRSS (Square Roots of Sum of Squares) combination rule. Accuracy of the proposed procedure is evaluated through two low- and medium-rise buildings with 10% two-way eccentricity under different pairs of ground motions. The results show promising accuracy for the proposed method in predicting the peak seismic responses of the sample buildings.     

进行甲类建筑地震危险性评价的几个问题

从现行的有关规范出发，探讨了对甲类建筑进行地震安全性评价的途径和思路，并以河北省疾病防治和控制中心大楼为例分析了几种方法和思路的实际计算结果，从而确定了最终的计算方法，并探讨了其合理性。     

Earthquake risk assessment of buildings accounting for human evacuation

A primary goal of earthquake engineering is to protect society from the possible negative consequences of future earthquakes. Conventionally, this goal has been achieved indirectly by reducing seismic damage of the built environment through better building codes, or more comprehensibly, by minimizing seismic risk. However, the effect that building damage has on occupants is not explicitly taken into account while designing infrastructure. Consequently, this paper introduces a conceptual framework and numerical algorithm to assess earthquake risk on building occupants during seismic events, considering the evacuation process of the structure. The framework combines probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, inelastic structural response analysis and damage assessment, and couples these results with the response of evacuating agents. The results are cast as probability distributions of variables that measure the overall performance of the system (e.g., evacuation times, number of injured people, and repair costs) for specific time windows. As a testbed, the framework was applied to the response of a reinforced concrete frame building that exemplifies the use of all steps of the methodology. The results suggest that this seismic risk evaluation framework of structural systems that combine the response of a physical model with human agents can be extended to a wide variety of other situations, including the assessment of mitigation actions in communities and people to improve their earthquake resilience. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Methodology for practical seismic assessment of unreinforced masonry buildings with historical value

Historical constructions are part of the world heritage, and their survival is an important priority. Comprising mostly unreinforced, load‐bearing masonry, heritage buildings may date anywhere from antiquity to the 19th and early 20th century. Being exposed to the elements over the years, they are in various states of disrepair and material degradation. Based on postearthquake reconnaissance reports, these structures occasionally behave rather poorly, even in moderate seismic events, undergoing catastrophic damage and collapse, whereas retrofitting is governed by international conventions regarding noninvasiveness and reversibility of the intervention. The complexity of their structural systems (continuous structural components, lack of diaphragm action, material brittleness, and variability) challenges the established methods of condition assessment of preretrofitted and postretrofitted heritage constructions. The most advanced state of the art in materials and analysis tools is required, far more complex than with conventional buildings. Thus, an assessment procedure specifically geared to this class of structures is urgently needed, in order to assist engineers in this endeavor. The objective of this paper is the development of a performance‐based assessment framework that is palatable to practitioners and quite accurate in seismic assessment of unreinforced masonry buildings with no diaphragm action. The underlying theoretical background of the method is illustrated with reference to first principles: global demand is obtained from the design earthquake scenario for the region, using empirical estimates for the prevailing translational period of the system; deformation demands are localized using an approximation to the translational 3‐D shape of lateral response, estimated using a uniform gravitational field in the direction of action of the earthquake; acceptance criteria are specified in terms of relative drift ratios, referring to the in‐plane and the out‐of‐plane action of the masonry piers. The quantitative accuracy of the introduced procedure is evaluated through comparison with detailed time‐history dynamic analysis results, using a real life example case study. Qualitative relevance of the results is evaluated through comparison of the location and extent of anticipated damage estimated from the proposed assessment procedure, with reported records of the building damages that occurred during a significant past earthquake event.     

Physics‐based probabilistic seismic hazard and loss assessment in large urban areas: A simplified application to Istanbul

A set of 3D physics‐based numerical simulations (PBS) of possible earthquakes scenarios in Istanbul along the North Anatolian Fault (Turkey) is considered in this article to provide a comprehensive example of application of PBS to probabilistic seismic hazard (PSHA) and loss assessment in a large urban area. To cope with the high‐frequency (HF) limitations of PBS, numerical results are first postprocessed by a recently introduced technique based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), providing broadband waveforms with a proper correlation of HF and low‐frequency (LF) portions of ground motion as well as a proper spatial correlation of peak values also at HF, that is a key feature for the seismic risk application at urban scale. Second, before application to PSHA, a statistical analysis of residuals is carried out to ensure that simulated results provide a set of realizations with a realistic within‐ and between‐event variability of ground motion. PBS results are then applied in a PSHA framework, adopting both the “generalized attenuation function” (GAF) approach, and a novel “footprint” (FP)‐based approach aiming at a convenient and direct application of PBS into PSHA. PSHA results from both approaches are then compared with those obtained from a more standard application of PSHA with empirical ground motion models. Finally, the probabilistic loss assessment of an extended simplified portfolio of buildings is investigated, comparing the results obtained adopting the different approaches: (i) GMPE, (ii) GAF, and (iii) FP. Only FP turned out to have the capability to account for the specific features of source and propagation path, while preserving the proper physically based spatial correlation characteristics, as required for a reliable loss estimate on a building portfolio spatially distributed over a large urban area.     

Estimation of seismic demands on isolators in asymmetric buildings using non‐linear analysis

A procedure based on rigorous non‐linear analysis is presented that estimates the peak deformation among all isolators in an asymmetric building due to strong ground motion. The governing equations are reduced to a form such that the median normalized deformation due to an ensemble of ground motions with given corner period T_d depends primarily on four global parameters of the isolation system: the isolation period T_b, the normalized strength η, the torsional‐to‐lateral frequency ratio Ω_θ, and the normalized stiffness eccentricity e_b/r. The median ratio of the deformations of the asymmetric and corresponding symmetric systems is shown to depend only weakly on T_b, η, and Ω_θ, but increases with e_b/r. The equation developed to estimate the largest ratio among all isolators depends only on the stiffness eccentricity and the distance from the center of mass to the outlying isolator. This equation, multiplied by an earlier equation for the deformation of the corresponding symmetric system, provides a design equation to estimate the deformations of asymmetric systems. This design equation conservatively estimates the peak deformation among all isolators, but is generally within 10% of the ‘exact’ value. Relative to the non‐linear procedure presented, the peak isolator deformation is shown to be significantly underestimated by the U.S. building code procedures. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the quantification of local deformation demands and adequacy of linear analysis procedures for the seismic assessment of existing steel buildings to EC8-3

The application of performance-based design and assessment procedures requires an accurate estimation of local component deformation demands. In the case of steel moment-resisting frames, these are usually defined in terms of plastic rotations. A rigorous estimation of this response parameter is not straightforward, requiring not only the adoption of complex nonlinear structural models, but also of time-consuming numerical integration calculations. Moreover, the majority of existing codes and guidelines do not provide any guidance in terms of how these response parameters should be estimated. Part 3 of Eurocode 8 (EC8-3) requires the quantification of plastic rotations even when linear methods of analysis are used. Therefore, the aim of the research presented in this paper is to evaluate different methods of quantifying local component demands and also to answer the question of how reliable are the estimates obtained using the EC8-3 linear analysis procedures in comparison to more accurate nonlinear methods of analysis, particularly when the linear analysis applicability criterion proposed by EC8-3 is verified. An alternative methodology to assess the applicability of linear analysis is proposed which overcomes the important limitations identified in the EC8-3 criterion.     

Consideration of aging and SSI effects on seismic vulnerability assessment of RC buildings

At present, the seismic vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings is made considering fixed base conditions; moreover, the mechanical properties of the building remain intact in time. In this study we investigate whether these two fundamental hypotheses are sound as aging and soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects might play a crucial role in the seismic fragility analysis of RC structures. Among the various aging processes, we consider the chloride-induced corrosion based on probabilistic modeling of corrosion initiation time and corrosion rate. Different corrosion aspects are considered in the analysis including the loss of reinforcement cross-sectional area, the degradation of concrete cover and the reduction of steel ultimate deformation. SSI is modeled by applying the direct one-step approach, which accounts simultaneously for inertial and kinematic interactions. Two-dimensional incremental dynamic analysis is performed to assess the seismic performance of the initial uncorroded ( \(\hbox {t}=0\) years) and corroded ( \(\hbox {t}=50\) years) RC moment resisting frame structures, having been designed with different seismic code levels. The time-dependent fragility functions are derived in terms of the spectral acceleration at the fundamental mode of the structure \(\hbox {S}_{\mathrm{a}}(\hbox {T}_{1}\) , 5 %) and the outcropping peak ground acceleration for the immediate occupancy and collapse prevention limit states. Results show an overall increase in seismic vulnerability over time due to corrosion highlighting the important influence of deterioration due to aging effects on the structural behavior. Moreover, the consideration of SSI and site effects may significantly alter the expected structural performance leading to higher vulnerability values.