A contribution to the seismic performance and loss assessment of old RC wall-frame buildings

Abstract

This paper deals with the seismic performance and loss assessment of old RC wall-frame buildings in Lisbon, Portugal. These structures are characterised by non-ductile columns and RC walls made with smooth rebars and light transversal reinforcement. They were erected before the introduction of modern seismic codes in the 1980s and represent an important proportion of the city’s building stock. The research reported in this paper focuses on the seismic vulnerability assessment of this building typology. An analytical procedure is proposed to estimate the fragility functions of non-ductile reinforced concrete walls with smooth reinforcing bars and light transversal reinforcement, taking into account strength penetration effects. To illustrate the procedure, a case study building is considered. The approach used for the seismic performance assessment adopts component-based fragility and loss functions for the damage assessment of the structural and non-structural drift-sensitive elements, adapted to the Portuguese reality, and a storey-based approach for acceleration-sensitive non-structural elements. The results provide the economic loss of the building as a function of the ground motion intensity level. Finally, results are compared in terms of expected annual losses with other non-ductile RC building typologies.