Abstract
Buildings of strategic importance should be able to resist seismic forces in accordance with potential earthquakes that may occur at the location and remain fully operational afterwards. However, many of them were constructed before the modern principles of seismic design were known (especially regarding detailing and ductility), and therefore may be considered substandard. The first step in mitigating the seismic risk of such structures is to assess their seismic performance and, in particular, to identify their structural deficiencies. This study presents a comprehensive methodology for the seismic performance assessment of individual buildings, applied to an existing reinforced concrete (RC) hospital. This building is of an irregular layout, constructed as a structural wall system, and it is located in the seismically active region of Croatia. It includes the assessment of seismic hazards on the location, ambient noise measurements, experimental determination of structural modal parameters, creation of a detailed numerical model calibrated with experimental data, and a seismic performance assessment using various analysis methods. As a result, the building collapse mechanisms were determined and critical structural elements identified, which is the basis for future actions directed to the reduction of its risk (e.g., applications of specific measures for a target retrofit, proposal of evacuation routes and safe places inside the building, etc.).
Highlights
The seismic resistance of critical infrastructure buildings is a key feature of community resilience, as earthquakes have caused more than 745,000 casualties and reported losses amounting to 661 billion USD worldwide over the past 20 years (1998–2017) [1]
A program for systematic seismic assessments and retrofitting buildings of strategic importance—such systematic seismic assessments andessential retrofitting buildings of strategic importance—such as program schools, for hospitals, major bridges and other facilities—does not exist. This is especially as schools, hospitals, major bridges and other essential facilities—does not exist. This is especially unfortunate taking into account the fact that most of the building stock in Croatia is very old, but still in use (and it, but still in will stay in use due to lack of financial resources to demolish old buildings and build new structures)
The building is irregular in plan and in height, which is very unfavorable for its dynamic response
Summary
The seismic resistance of critical infrastructure buildings is a key feature of community resilience, as earthquakes have caused more than 745,000 casualties and reported losses amounting to 661 billion USD worldwide over the past 20 years (1998–2017) [1]. In [9], the authors assessed the seismic vulnerability of an existing eight-story reinforced concrete (RC) hospital building, using numerical analysis and field monitoring data. The proposed methodology included the derivation of “time-building specific” fragility curves for a building. They concluded that field monitoring data is a very useful tool for determining the actual state of a building, which may differ significantly from the state assumed from the available design and construction documentation plans, and the structure may be more vulnerable than expected. A program for systematic seismic assessments and retrofitting buildings of strategic importance—such systematic seismic assessments andessential retrofitting buildings of strategic importance—such as program schools, for hospitals, major bridges and other facilities—does not exist. This is especially unfortunate taking into account the fact that most of the building stock in Croatia is very old (according unfortunate taking into account the fact that most of the building stock in Croatia is very old to census data more than 40% of buildings were built more than 50 years ago), but still in use (and it (according to census data more than 40% of buildings were built more than 50 years ago), but still in will stay in use due to lack of financial resources to demolish old buildings and build new structures)
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