Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2024) | Viewed by 7489

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Interests: performance-based earthquake engineering; RC buildings; masonry infills; nonlinear modeling; fragility analysis; experimental testing
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Guest Editor
Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Interests: reinforced concrete buildings; masonry infills; nonlinear modeling; fragility analysis; experimental testing; large-scale vulnerability analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that earthquakes can produce significant losses to the built environment worldwide, especially in seismic prone areas characterized by a great exposure and vulnerable constructions. Among them, buildings certainly play a key role, so their seismic design, the analysis of their main vulnerabilities, and the strategies necessary to reduce such weak points are key issues for next-generation resilient cities. This is true both for newly designed buildings, which should be realized aiming at low damage in case of earthquakes, and for existing (low-standard) buildings, which can require significant seismic strengthening interventions to reduce expected seismic losses.

This Special Issue aims to collect works on the seismic design of new building systems or the assessment of existing ones, along with the analysis of strengthening strategies required to mitigate their potential vulnerabilities and reduce expected losses in case of earthquake. Both numerical and experimental studies are welcomed. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Methods of seismic analysis;
  • Seismic assessment of as-built buildings;
  • Seismic risk analysis;
  • Vulnerability studies;
  • Large-scale applications;
  • Analysis of case-studies;
  • Experimental studies;
  • Strengthening techniques.

Dr. Maria Teresa De Risi
Prof. Dr. Gerardo Mario Verderame
Prof. Dr. Humberto Varum
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • earthquake engineering
  • buildings
  • vulnerability assessment
  • seismic risk
  • retrofitting
  • seismic losses
  • seismic design

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 13570 KiB  
Article
Damage Evaluation and Seismic Assessment of a Typical Historical Unreinforced Masonry Building in the Zagreb 2020 Earthquake: A Case Study—Part I
by Mario Uroš, Marija Demšić, Marta Šavor Novak, Josip Atalić, Maja Baniček, Romano Jevtić Rundek, Ivan Duvnjak, Janko Košćak, Ante Pilipović and Snježan Prevolnik
Buildings 2024, 14(2), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020474 - 08 Feb 2024
Viewed by 548
Abstract
The city of Zagreb, the national capital and economic hub of Croatia, is situated in a seismically active region and hosts a significant array of historical buildings, from the medieval to Austro-Hungarian periods. These buildings possess varying but generally high degrees of vulnerability [...] Read more.
The city of Zagreb, the national capital and economic hub of Croatia, is situated in a seismically active region and hosts a significant array of historical buildings, from the medieval to Austro-Hungarian periods. These buildings possess varying but generally high degrees of vulnerability to seismic loading. This was highlighted in the Zagreb earthquake of 22 March 2020, emphasizing the need for seismic retrofitting in order to preserve this architectural heritage. In this paper, the seismic capacity of one such unreinforced masonry building is considered through a number of analysis methods, including response spectrum, pushover, and out-of-plane wall failure analyses. Given the advantages and disadvantages of the individual methods, their applicability and value in a seismic analysis is considered. Ambient vibration measurements before and after the Zagreb 2020 earthquake, used for model calibration, are also presented. Conclusions are drawn from each individual analysis and later compared. In conclusion, no single analysis method considers all relevant failure modes, and a combination of nonlinear static or dynamic analysis and out-of-plane analysis is recommended. Due to the large volume of the material, it is published in two parts, with ground motion record selection, dynamic analysis, and a comparison of the results published in part two. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems)
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21 pages, 8833 KiB  
Article
Seismic Performance Assessment of the 18th Century Jesuit College in Dubrovnik’s Old City
by Aanis Uzair, Lars Abrahamczyk, Ante Vrban and Davorin Penava
Buildings 2023, 13(8), 1904; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13081904 - 26 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1657
Abstract
The seismic performance assessment of heritage architecture presents many challenges due to the restrictions set forth by the conservation principles to protect the associated social and cultural values. These buildings are typically characterized by unreinforced masonry walls connected by tie-rods, vaults, and wooden [...] Read more.
The seismic performance assessment of heritage architecture presents many challenges due to the restrictions set forth by the conservation principles to protect the associated social and cultural values. These buildings are typically characterized by unreinforced masonry walls connected by tie-rods, vaults, and wooden floors. The era of construction dates to the time when seismic design regulations were largely unknown, making heritage structures potentially vulnerable to earthquake damage. This study presents the seismic performance assessment of the Jesuit College located in the southern part of the Old City of Dubrovnik. A series of field surveys were conducted to qualitatively examine the material composition and obtain geometrical details in part of the Croatian Science Foundation research project IP-2020-02-3531 entitled “Seismic Risk Assessment of Cultural Heritage in Croatia—SeisRICHerCRO”. The structural response is thoroughly investigated by means of a complex finite element model calibrated using the frequencies determined from ambient vibration measurements and material characteristics obtained from the literature review of representative cultural heritage buildings. The seismic performance is evaluated using linear static and response spectrum analysis in accordance with Eurocode 8 guidelines for the demand seismic action level. The numerical analysis indicates several structural components in the building exhibiting high shear stress concentration and exceeding the elastic tensile limit under the demand ground acceleration level. The assessment further reveals substantial out-of-plane bending of vulnerable wall components (identified by local mode shapes) at low peak ground acceleration levels. The stress concentration in numerous structural components leads to the identification of vulnerable zones where retrofitting measures are essentially required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems)
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18 pages, 5852 KiB  
Article
Vulnerability of Existing RC Building with Seismic Damage Scenarios: Case of Educational Buildings in Mostaganem City
by Sabeur Bendehiba, Sidi Mohammed El-Amine Bourdim, Hugo Rodrigues and Yassine Zelmat
Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1767; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071767 - 11 Jul 2023
Viewed by 815
Abstract
The present work aims to assess the large-scale seismic vulnerability of a set of 55 reinforced concrete educational establishments of different typologies (approximately 516 constructions) located within the urban perimeter of the city of Mostaganem. Among them, 328 buildings were constructed in accordance [...] Read more.
The present work aims to assess the large-scale seismic vulnerability of a set of 55 reinforced concrete educational establishments of different typologies (approximately 516 constructions) located within the urban perimeter of the city of Mostaganem. Among them, 328 buildings were constructed in accordance with the Algerian seismic regulation (built after 1980), while 188 constructions were built without a seismic design code (built before < 1980). This classification corresponds to the application/creation of this regulation following a major earthquake in Chlef (El Asnam) in 1980. Using the RISK-UE lm1 method, the vulnerability index was assessed based on a visual inspection for each building using an on-site inventory form to determine the general sources of seismic vulnerability. This strategy allows the prioritization of constructions according to their typologies, considering the structural system of the building and modifying factors, such as code level, maintenance condition, number of floors, plan and elevation irregularities, soil morphology, etc. The application of this methodology generated several seismic scenarios expressing the probable damage to the constructions, and the following results were suggested: The first two seismic scenarios have no damage corresponding to intensities I = 5; 6. The third scenario is characterized by low to negligible damage corresponding to intensity I = 7. Moderate damage was observed for the fourth seismic scenario (I = 8), while the fifth scenario generated by seismic intensity I = 9 presents moderate to heavy damage. The sixth scenario, with intensity I = 10, exhibits a relatively heavy damage balance. Starting from intensity I = 11, the damage becomes heavy to very heavy for the seventh scenario. Finally, the eighth scenario describes total destruction of the constructions. The results obtained from the application of this methodology on the educational buildings have been integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to better understand the seismic behavior of the structures and to estimate the magnitude of seismic risk. This facilitates simulation and enables efforts to be made to take concrete preventive measures to strengthen existing educational buildings, thus reducing the negative impact of future earthquakes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems)
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26 pages, 9733 KiB  
Article
Effects of Multi-Directional Seismic Input on Non-Linear Static Analysis of Existing Reinforced Concrete Structures
by Cristina Cantagallo, Marco Terrenzi, Enrico Spacone and Guido Camata
Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1656; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071656 - 28 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 861
Abstract
Recent studies have shown the importance of including the seismic input directionality in nonlinear analyses for an accurate prediction of the structural demand on frame structures. This paper proposes a new method that includes the multi-directionality of the input seismic forces in Nonlinear [...] Read more.
Recent studies have shown the importance of including the seismic input directionality in nonlinear analyses for an accurate prediction of the structural demand on frame structures. This paper proposes a new method that includes the multi-directionality of the input seismic forces in Nonlinear Static Analyses (NSAs). Conventionally, the pushover (PO) analyses apply monotonically increasing lateral loads in two directions that typically correspond with the building X and Y directions, that in the case of a rectangular plan are parallel to the building sides. Since in general the direction of the seismic input is a priori unknown, the effects of applying the PO load patterns along varying angles are studied in this paper. Two non-code-conforming reinforced concrete buildings are used as a case study. They have identical structural design but the first one is doubly symmetric while the second one has a significant plan asymmetry due to the translation of the center of mass. PO loads are applied to both structures at angles between 0° and 360° with 15° increments. The results of the NSAs are compared with those of multi-directional NHAs applied at the same angles. The structural demands show that the multi-directional NSAs are more conservative than the conventional NSAs, especially at the corners of the asymmetric- plan building where they can yield significantly higher demands. The base shear capacities in the X and Y directions decrease for intermediate angles due to the interaction between the responses in the X and Y directions that can be captured thanks to the columns’ fiber section discretization. On average the results of the multi-directional NSAs are closer to those of the NHAs, even though they are generally lower. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems)
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23 pages, 9737 KiB  
Article
Cyclic Behavior of Different Connections in Precast Concrete Shear Walls: Experimental and Analytical Investigations
by Ekkachai Yooprasertchai, Pongsak Wiwatrojanagul, Panumas Saingam and Kaffayatullah Khan
Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1433; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061433 - 31 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1096
Abstract
This study investigated the grouted sleeve splices and corrugated duct splices between shear walls and footing. In this regard, three shear walls were experimentally tested. One wall was cast monolithically with the foundation (RCWS), whereas two walls were precast. One wall was connected [...] Read more.
This study investigated the grouted sleeve splices and corrugated duct splices between shear walls and footing. In this regard, three shear walls were experimentally tested. One wall was cast monolithically with the foundation (RCWS), whereas two walls were precast. One wall was connected to the foundation using splice sleeves (PGWS), and another with corrugated duct splices (PCWS). All the walls were tested under reverse cyclic loading and a constant axial load. It was observed that the performance of specimen PGWS was controlled by rocking, and a premature connection loss was observed at one of the grouted sleeve splices. The hysteretic performance of specimen PCWS was close to that of specimen RCWS, whereas extensive pinching was observed in the hysteretic response of specimen PGWS. The peak load, ductility, secant stiffness, and energy dissipation of specimens RCWS and PCWS were in good agreement, whereas the energy dissipated by specimen PGWS was considerably lower than the corresponding values of specimens RCWS and PCWS. Nonlinear fiber-based modeling in OpenSees was performed using SFI-MVLEM elements. The predicted hysteretic response of the OpenSees model was in close agreement with the experimental response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems)
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18 pages, 13129 KiB  
Article
Numerical Model Calibration and a Parametric Study Based on the Out-Of-Plane Drift Capacity of Stone Masonry Walls
by Ibrahim Serkan Misir and Gokhan Yucel
Buildings 2023, 13(2), 437; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020437 - 04 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1589
Abstract
Failure under seismic action generally occurs in the form of out-of-plane collapses of walls before reaching their in-plane strength in historical stone masonry buildings. Consistent finite element (FE) macro modeling has emerged as a need for use in seismic assessments of these walls. [...] Read more.
Failure under seismic action generally occurs in the form of out-of-plane collapses of walls before reaching their in-plane strength in historical stone masonry buildings. Consistent finite element (FE) macro modeling has emerged as a need for use in seismic assessments of these walls. This paper presents the numerical model calibration of U-shaped multi-leaf stone masonry wall specimens tested under ambient vibrations and out-of-plane (OOP) load reversals. The uncertain elastic parameters were obtained by manual calibration of the numerical models based on ambient vibration test (AVT) data of the specimens. To obtain nonlinear calibration parameters, static pushover analyses were performed on FE models simulating quasi-static tests. The calibrated numerical models matched well with the experimental results in terms of load–drift response and damage distribution. As a result, the modulus of elasticity and tensile and compressive degrading strength parameters of masonry walls were proposed. A parametric study was conducted to examine the effects of different materials and geometric properties (tensile strength, aspect ratio, slenderness ratio, and geometric scale) on the OOP behavior of stone masonry walls. A quite different strain distribution was obtained in the case of a large aspect ratio, while it was determined that the geometric scale had no effect on the strain distribution. Tensile strength was the dominant parameter affecting the load–drift response of the models. Within the presented work, a practical tool for out-of-plane seismic assessment has been proposed for the structures covered in this paper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation of Building Systems)
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