A Seismic Hazard Prediction System for Urban Buildings Based on Time-History Analysis

Yongmei Zhai,Shenglong Chen

doi:10.1155/2020/7367434

Abstract

Seismic hazard prediction is essential for earthquake preparation in urban areas. Prediction methods based on refined the finite element method (FEM) models and time-history analysis require higher calculation, which is hard to apply universally. In this paper, by applying two simplified models and time-history analysis, the authors were able to develop a refined seismic hazard prediction system for urban buildings using MATLAB and OpenSees. The system is modular in design with a unified data interface to transfer data, where only the macro parameters of buildings are required to complete the computation work. Taking the campus of Tongji University as a test area, the system was applied to predict seismic hazard and compare it with the results of the vulnerability method by applying the seismic damage index to verify its reliability. The results show that the system can meet the needs of accuracy, efficiency, and visualization of seismic hazard prediction in urban areas.

Highlights

With the rapid development of the economy and expansion of urbanization in China, along with increased population density and urban building, a sudden unforeseen earthquake would undoubtedly magnify the resulting hazard [1]
E basic principle of the damage vulnerability matrix is to select various factors that affect the seismic performance of buildings based on historical seismic data and obtain the damage vulnerability index of the target area according to the actual situation of each factor [7]. is method has been widely applied due to its simplicity and usability [8,9,10]
E test area has experienced several developments and transformations throughout its history. e construction times of different buildings are diverse, and the distribution of structure types varies from generation to generation. e system developed in this study considers the influence of when the construction took place. e time of construction determines the design specifications adopted by the structure, which affects the value of the bearing capacity and the damage limit of the model. e distribution of construction time for different structural types in the test area is shown in Figure 13. is figure shows many of RC structures built since the 1980s, while the proportion of masonry structures gradually decreased

Summary

Introduction

With the rapid development of the economy and expansion of urbanization in China, along with increased population density and urban building, a sudden unforeseen earthquake would undoubtedly magnify the resulting hazard [1]. Seismic hazard prediction for buildings is an essential work for urban earthquake mitigation [2]. It refers to the quantity distribution of different damage states in a specific area (sample space) under the given seismic intensity; this distribution, called the seismic hazard matrix, is obtained through the calculation and statistics of typical samples [3]. E basic principle of the damage vulnerability matrix is to select various factors that affect the seismic performance of buildings based on historical seismic data and obtain the damage vulnerability index of the target area according to the actual situation of each factor [7]. The method ignores the duration and the spectral characteristics of ground motions and cannot reflect the damage state of specific buildings [11]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion