Performance-based seismic financial risk assessment of reinforced concrete frame structures

Abstract

Engineering facilities subjected to natural hazards (such as winds and earthquakes) will result in risk when any designed system (i.e. capacity) will not be able to meet the performance required (i.e. demand). Risk might be expressed either as a likelihood of damage or potential financial loss. Engineers tend to make use of the former (i.e. damage). Nevertheless, other non-technical stakeholders cannot get useful information from damage. However, if financial risk is expressed on the basis of probable monetary loss, it will be easily understood by all. Therefore, it is necessary to develop methodologies which communicate the system capacity and demand to financial risk. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) was applied in a performance-based earthquake engineering context to do hazard analysis, structural analysis, damage analysis and loss analysis of a reinforced concrete (RC) frame structure. And the financial implications of risk were expressed by expected annual loss (EAL). The quantitative risk analysis proposed is applicable to any engineering facilities and any natural hazards. It is shown that the results from the IDA can be used to assess the overall financial risk exposure to earthquake hazard for a given constructed facility. The computational IDA-EAL method will enable engineers to take into account the long-term financial implications in addition to the construction cost. Consequently, it will help stakeholders make decisions.