Fragility assessment for new and deteriorated portal framed industrial buildings subjected to tropical cyclone winds

Abstract

Low-rise portal framed industrial buildings are widely used as warehouses, workshops and storage facilities. Damage surveys following severe tropical cyclones have shown that both structural and non-structural damage can occur to these buildings. While non-structural damage to the building envelope of portal framed industrial buildings are considered by several existing fragility models, almost none exist that include structural failures in the wind fragility assessment. This study develops a fragility assessment method for portal framed industrial buildings that accounts for wind-induced damage to both structural (steel portal frame and end wall frame) and non-structural (metal cladding system and fenestration) building components. Fragility curves are developed for a prototype industrial building located on the cyclone-prone east coast of Australia considering four damage states with increasing damage severity. A Monte Carlo simulation incorporating probabilistic models of the spatio-temporal variable wind pressures, wind-induced demands and component capacities is employed to conduct the fragility assessment for both individual building components and the building system under critical failure modes. It was found that the fragility of structural framing is non-negligible when wind speed exceeds 80% of the design level. Structural framing failure is a major contributor to the most severe damage state and is a necessary inclusion in the fragility assessment for this type of building. A sensitivity analysis also showed that fastener corrosion can significantly increase the fragility of deteriorated buildings near to coastlines, particularly for low levels of damage.