Seismic resilience evaluation based on vulnerability curves for existing and retrofitted typical RC school buildings

Abstract

Schools should be considered as the most important structures in any society, in which children spend plenty of time. As a result, having a proper management of crucial engineering factors such as vulnerability and resilience of schools seems totally vital. The present study intends to deal with this issue in Iranian schools. As a case study, a high school located in Tehran built in 2000, retrofitted using reinforced concrete shear walls about a decade later is considered. In order to evaluate the seismic resilience of the mentioned school, both vulnerability and fragility curves are utilized. Furthermore, a new methodology based on regional economic conditions by utilizing vulnerability analysis is performed for loss estimations. The seismic resilience of this case study is evaluated in four hazard levels containing 50%, 20%, 10% and finally 2% in 50 years. An awareness factor in loss estimation equation is applied so as to take into account construction quality. The results clearly indicate a considerable influence of retrofitting on seismic resilience improvement and consequently on the reduction of structural vulnerability. As a final approach, it is concluded that the seismic resilience index could be estimated more realistically in terms of vulnerability curves rather than fragility curves. To assess the influence of resilience parameters on resiliency a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is presented at the end of this paper. Hence, the results of this paper would be crucial to find the proper, economic and resilient options for retrofitting of important structures such as school buildings to prepare as much useful information as possible for earthquake mitigation measures and disaster risk reduction programs.