Seismic Fragility and Confidence Bounds for Gravity Load Designed Reinforced Concrete Frames of Varying Height
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 4
Abstract
Fragility estimates are developed to assess the seismic vulnerability of reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings, which were designed primarily for gravity loads. Five buildings of various heights (one-, two-, three-, six-, and ten-stories) are used to represent generic RC frame buildings of one- to ten-stories tall. Using a Bayesian methodology, probabilistic demand models are developed to predict the seismic structural demand using the peak interstory drift response for an imposed earthquake. Seismic structural capacity values are selected corresponding to the performance levels or damage state as specified in FEMA 356 or as computed by nonlinear pushover analyses. For each building, fragility estimates are obtained by assessing the conditional probability that the drift demand reaches or exceeds the drift capacity for a given earthquake spectral acceleration. Confidence bounds are developed to represent the epistemic uncertainty inherent in the demand models used in the fragility estimates. Bivariate fragility estimates, formulated as a function of spectral acceleration and the fundamental building period, are developed from the fragility estimates of the individual buildings. The bivariate fragilities can be used to quantify the seismic vulnerability of gravity load designed RC frame buildings one- to ten-stories tall.
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Acknowledgments
The writers wish to acknowledge the National Science Foundation and the University of Illinois, who funded this research through the Mid-America Earthquake Center (NSF Grant No. NSFEEC-9701785). The financial support provided by the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A&M University, where this research was conducted, is also appreciated. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the sponsors.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 4 • April 2008
Pages: 639 - 650
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: May 12, 2006
Accepted: Sep 18, 2007
Published online: Apr 1, 2008
Published in print: Apr 2008
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Reginald DesRoches
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