Performance-based methodology for assessing seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings

This paper presents a performance-based methodology for the assessment of seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings. The vulnerability assessment methodology is based on the HAZUS methodology and the improved capacity- demand-diagram method. The spectral displacement (Sd) of performance points on a capacity curve is used to estimate the damage level of a building. The relationship between Sd and peak ground acceleration (PGA) is established, and then a new vulnerability function is expressed in terms of PGA. Furthermore, the expected value of the seismic capacity index (SCev) is provided to estimate the seismic capacity of buildings based on the probability distribution of damage levels and the corresponding seismic capacity index. The results indicate that the proposed vulnerability methodology is able to assess seismic damage of a large number of building stock directly and quickly following an earthquake. The SCev provides an effective index to measure the seismic capacity of buildings and illustrate the relationship between the seismic capacity of buildings and seismic action. The estimated result is compared with damage surveys of the cities of Dujiangyan and Jiangyou in the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, revealing that the methodology is acceptable for seismic risk assessment and decision making. The primary reasons for discrepancies between the estimated results and the damage surveys are discussed.

Investigation of Effects of Capacity Spectrum Method on Performance Evaluation of Multi-Story Buildings According to the IRAQI Seismic Code Requirements

The aim of this study is to assess the performance objectives defined in the Iraqi Seismic Code (ISC) in order to make a realistic evaluation related to Performance-Based Seismic Design (PBSD) of multi-story reinforced concrete buildings and also to compare and evaluate structural response demands obtained from nonlinear static analysis procedures according to two versions of the capacity spectrum method (CSM) which are recommended in ATC 40 and ATC 55. Two groups of three-dimensional RC buildings with different heights, designed according to Iraqi Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (IBC), are investigated. Pushover analyses are carried out to determine the nonlinear behavior of the buildings under three different seismic hazard levels, for two Iraqi seismic zones, of earthquake loads. In order to determine performance levels of the buildings, maximum inter-story drift demands and plasticizing sequence are determined and compared with the related limits using the CSM recommended in ATC 40 and ATC 55. From the results of this research, it can be concluded that RC buildings designed according to the Iraqi codes sufficiently provide the performance objectives stipulated in the ISC. Comparing structural response quantities obtained from the two versions of CSM, effects on performance evaluations of the buildings are investigated comparatively, as well.

Influences of nonassociated flow rules on seismic bearing capacity factors of strip footing on soil slope by energy dissipation method

Seismic bearing capacity factors of a strip footing placed on soil slope were determined with both associated and nonassociated flow rules. Quasi-static representation of earthquake effects using a seismic coefficient concept was adopted for seismic bearing capacity calculations. A multi-wedge translational failure mechanism was used to obtain the seismic bearing capacity factors for different seismic coefficients and various inclined angles. Employing the associated flow rule, numerical results were compared with the published solutions. For bearing capacity factors related to cohesion and equivalent surcharge load, the maximum difference approximates 0.1%. However, the difference of bearing capacity factor related to unit weight is larger. With the two flow rules, the seismic bearing capacity factors were presented in the form of design charts for practical use. The results show that seismic bearing capacity factors related to the cohesion, the equivalent surcharge load and the unit weight increase greatly as the dilatancy angle increases, and that the nonassociated flow rule has important influences on the seismic bearing capacity.

Probabilistic analysis of ultimate seismic bearing capacity of strip foundations

This paper presents a reliability analysis of the pseudo-static seismic bearing capacity of a strip foundation using the limit equilibrium theory. The first-order reliability method(FORM) is employed to calculate the reliability index. The response surface methodology(RSM) is used to assess the Hasofer e Lind reliability index and then it is optimized using a genetic algorithm(GA). The random variables used are the soil shear strength parameters and the seismic coefficients(khand kv). Two assumptions(normal and non-normal distribution) are used for the random variables. The assumption of uncorrelated variables was found to be conservative in comparison to that of negatively correlated soil shear strength parameters. The assumption of non-normal distribution for the random variables can induce a negative effect on the reliability index of the practical range of the seismic bearing capacity.

Seismic stability of reinforced soil walls under bearing capacity failure by pseudo-dynamic method

In order to evaluate the seismic stability of reinforced soil walls against bearing capacity failure,the seismic safety factor of reinforced soil walls was determined by using pseudo-dynamic method,and calculated by considering different parameters,such as horizontal and vertical seismic acceleration coefficients,ratio of reinforcement length to wall height,back fill friction angle,foundation soil friction angle,soil reinforcement interface friction angle and surcharge.The parametric study shows that the seismic safety factor increases by 24-fold when the foundation soil friction angle varies from 25°to 45°,and increases by 2-fold when the soil reinforcement interface friction angle varies from 0 to 30°.That is to say,the bigger values the foundation soil and/or soil reinforcement interface friction angles have,the safer the reinforced soil walls become in the seismic design.The results were also compared with those obtained from pseudo-static method.It is found that there is a higher value of the safety factor by the present work.

Seismic bearing capacity of strip footing on partially saturated soil using modal response analysis

The present study proposes a novel and simplified methodology to assess the seismic bearing capacity(SBC) of a shallow strip footing by incorporating strength non-linearity arising due to partial saturation of a soil matrix. Furthermore, developed methodology incorporates the modal response analysis of soil layers to assess SBC. A constant matric suction distribution profile has been considered throughout the depth of the soil. The Van Genuchten equation and corresponding fitting parameters have been considered to quantify matric suction in the analysis. SBC has been obtained for three different geomaterials;viz. sand, fly ash and clay, based on their predominant grain size and diverse soil water characteristics curve(SWCC) attributes. Variation of SBC with different modes of vibration and damping ratio are reported for ranges of matric suction pertinent to the geomaterials considered in the study. The relative significance of matric suction on SBC has been reported for suction values within the transition zone of each geomaterial. It is observed that the SBC of sand is drastically reduced, with matric suction reaching beyond the residual suction value. The SBC of fly ash remains constant beyond the residual suction value, whereas the SBC of clay shows an increasing trend toward the practical range of matric suction values.

Seismic damage of mountain tunnels during the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake

A number of mountain tunnels suffered significant damage to various extent during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China.Damage ranging from small to heavy cracking was observed both at the portal and inside the tunnels,while some sections close to the faults completely collapsed.A summary of qualitative data collected from reports and papers is presented regarding the behavior of the 55 mountain tunnels near the epicenter during the earthquake.Based on the seismic investigation and data collection of mountain tunnels,the tunnel damage is classified into six most common damage models involving cracking,spalling,shear failure,dislocation,pavement uplift and collapse.Detailed study and discussion are then carried out on the damage models.In order to examine the influencing factors of the damage magnitude of the mountain tunnels,the correlations between epicentral distance,earthquake intensity,overburden depth,geological condition and damage levels are analyzed.The relationships between earthquake parameters and different damagemodels are developed and discussed.Also,suggestions are provided to improve the seismic resistance of mountain tunnels.

Effects of riverbed scour on seismic performance of high-rise pile cap foundation

To explore the seismic performance of a high-rise pile cap foundation with riverbed scour, a finite element model for foundations is introduced in the OpenSees finite element framework. In the model, a fiber element is used to simulate the pile shaft, a nonlinear p-y element is used to simulate the soil-pile interaction, and the p-factor method is used to reflect the group effects. A global and local scour model is proposed, in which two parameters, the scour depth of the same row of piles and the difference in the scour depth of the upstream pile and the downstream pile, are included to study the influence of scour on the foundation. Several elasto-plastic static pushover analyses are performed on this finite element model. The analysis results indicate that the seismic capacity （or supply） of the foundation is in the worst condition when the predicted deepest global scout depth is reached, and the capacity becomes larger when the local scour depth is below the predicted deepest global scout depth. Therefore, to evaluate the seismic capacity of a foundation, only the predicted deepest global scout depth should be considered. The method used in this paper can be also applied to foundations with other soil types.

Performance-based concept on seismic evaluation of existing bridges

Conventional seismic evaluation of existing bridges explores the ability of a bridge to survive under significant earthquake excitations. This approach has several major drawbacks, such as only a single structural performance of near collapse is considered, and the simplified approach of adopting strength-based concept to indirectly estimate the nonlinear behavior of a structure lacks accuracy. As a result, performance-based concepts that include a wider variety of structural performance states of a given bridge excited by different levels of earthquake intensity is needed by the engineering community. This paper introduces an improved process for the seismic evaluation of existing bridges. The relationship between the overall structural performance and earthquakes with varying levels of peak ground acceleration （PGA） can successfully be linked. A universal perspective on the seismic evaluation of bridges over their entire life-cycle can be easily obtained to investigate multiple performance objectives. The accuracy of the proposed method, based on pushover analysis, is proven in a case study that compares the results from the proposed procedure with additional nonlinear time history analyses.

Seismic reliability analysis of urban water distribution network

An approach to analyze the seismic reliability of water distribution networks by combining a hydraulic analysis with a first-order reliability method （FORM）, is proposed in this paper. The hydraulic analysis method for normal conditions is modified to accommodate the special conditions necessary to perform a seismic hydraulic analysis. In order to calculate the leakage area and leaking flow of the pipelines in the hydraulic analysis method, a new leakage model established from the seismic response analysis of buried pipelines is presented. To validate the proposed approach, a network with 17 nodes and 24 pipelines is investigated in detail. The approach is also applied to an actual project consisting of 463 nodes and 767 pipelines. The results show that the proposed approach achieves satisfactory results in analyzing the seismic reliability of large-scale water distribution networks.

The use of the node-based smoothed finite element method to estimate static and seismic bearing capacities of shallow strip footings

The node-based smoothed finite element method(NS-FEM)is shortly presented for calculations of the static and seismic bearing capacities of shallow strip footings.A series of computations has been performed to assess variations in seismic bearing capacity factors with both horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations.Numerical results obtained agree very well with those using the slip-line method,revealing that the magnitude of the seismic bearing capacity is highly dependent upon the combinations of various directions of both components of the seismic acceleration.An upward vertical seismic acceleration reduces the seismic bearing capacity compared to the downward vertical seismic acceleration in calculations.In addition,particular emphasis is placed on a separate estimation of the effects of soil and superstructure inertia on each seismic bearing capacity component.While the effect of inertia forces arising in the soil on the seismic bearing capacity is non-trivial,and the superstructure inertia is the major contributor to reductions in the seismic bearing capacity.Both tables and charts are given for practical application to the seismic design of the foundations.

Study on vulnerability matrices of masonry buildings of mainland of China

The degree and distribution of damage to buildings subjected to earthquakes is a concern of the Chinese Government and the public.Seismic damage data indicates that seismic capacities of different types of building structures in various regions throughout mainland of China are different.Furthermore,the seismic capacities of the same type of structure in different regions may vary.The contributions of this research are summarized as follows：1）Vulnerability matrices and earthquake damage matrices of masonry structures in mainland of China were chosen as research samples.The aim was to analyze the differences in seismic capacities of sample matrices and to present general rules for categorizing seismic resistance.2）Curves relating the percentage of damaged masonry structures with different seismic resistances subjected to seismic demand in different regions of seismic intensity（VI to X）have been developed.3）A method has been proposed to build vulnerability matrices of masonry structures.The damage ratio for masonry structures under high-intensity events such as the Ms 6.1 Panzhihua earthquake in Sichuan province on 30 August2008,was calculated to verify the applicability of this method.This research offers a significant theoretical basis for predicting seismic damage and direct loss assessment of groups of buildings,as well as for earthquake disaster insurance.