Probabilistic evaluation of post-earthquake functional recovery for a tall RC core wall building using F-Rec framework

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed evaluation of the functional recovery of a 42-story reinforced concrete core wall building located at a site of high seismicity using a newly developed, fully probabilistic, and comprehensive analytical framework for the assessment of post-earthquake functional recovery of buildings. This innovative framework allows complete and detailed evaluation of the seismic performance of tall buildings considering all structural and nonstructural building components/systems, and the calculation of performance metrics relevant for the assessment of functional recovery, including building’s post-earthquake functionality along with the duration and path of functional recovery. A nonlinear model of the building is created in OpenSees using a recently developed three-dimensional macro model for RC walls. Building seismic response is obtained for three seismic hazard levels corresponding to Service-Level Earthquake (SLE), Design-Based Earthquake (DBE), and Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE). Based on the results of nonlinear analyses, damage-impaired losses are calculated using FEMA P-58 tools, while the building recovery process is evaluated using a novel framework for functional recovery (F-Rec framework). Building seismic performance obtained using new, advanced structural and recovery models suggest that the post-earthquake functionality of the tall building is primarily governed by the structural subsystem. In particular, for SLE, the functionality of the building is compromised mostly due to the damage to shear walls resulting in 3 to 6 months of functional recovery time (FRT); for DBE, the building’s functionality is fully impaired due to significant damage to slab-column connections and shear walls (FRT = 8 to 13 months); and for MCE, the building’s functionality is fully impaired due to significant damage to slab-column connections, shear walls, coupling beams, and partition walls (FRT = 12 to 16 months). Given the great contribution of tall buildings to community resilience, this study reveals a need for the development of design requirements for improving the post-earthquake functionality of tall buildings.