Abstract
Thick population density and its escalation propensity in seismically active regions of Pakistan has raised sincere concerns about the performance of building stock whose suboptimal performance and complete collapses led to a colossal number of casualties during the past earthquakes. The current research is inspired by the Kashmir earthquake of 2005 which consumed more than 80,000 lives, out of which, approximately 19,000 were children due to wide spread collapse of school buildings. A new database for existing reinforced concrete (RC) school buildings in seismic zone 4 of Pakistan has been developed using the surveyed information and presented briefly. The paper presents the statistics of the data collected through field surveys and professional interviews. It was found that the infrastructural authorities in the considered region developed some specific designs for school buildings, with varying architectural and structural configurations, which were eventually replicated throughout the area. In the current study, almost 2500 schools were surveyed for identifying versatile architectural and structural configurations, and subsequently, 19 different types had been identified, which were eventually used as representative stock for the schools in seismic zone 4 of Pakistan, Muzaffarabad district. The results of the study yield the brief of the collected data from the field and a consolidated methodology for establishing the analytical fragility relationships for one of the 19 structural configurations of the school buildings. A sample building from the collected data has been selected by considering the maximum number of students, and afterwards, the vulnerability is assessed by employing incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) which constitutes the presented methodology. Finally, the fragility curves are developed and presented for the said building type. The derived analytical fragility curves for the considered building type indicate its structural vulnerability and as a whole represent its satisfactory behavior. The vulnerability assessment process and the fragility development are described in an easy manner so that the domestic practicing engineers can readily become able to extend the application towards other school buildings in the region. The developed relationships can be employed for rational decision making so that essential disaster preparedness can be carried out by identifying any need for structural strengthening and interventions.
Highlights
Academic Editor: Constantin Chalioris ick population density and its escalation propensity in seismically active regions of Pakistan has raised sincere concerns about the performance of building stock whose suboptimal performance and complete collapses led to a colossal number of casualties during the past earthquakes. e current research is inspired by the Kashmir earthquake of 2005 which consumed more than 80,000 lives, out of which, approximately 19,000 were children due to wide spread collapse of school buildings
E results of incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) indicate that intrinsic properties of ground motions project substantial sensitivities to the seismic demand. e disparity in the structural response against different ground motions of the same intensities is primarily attributed to differences in the inherent nature of ground motions, i.e., energy distribution over frequency content and duration that predominantly affects the structural response
The first portion is primarily concerned with seismologists who can provide a realistic estimate of the potential seismic hazard that can hit a specific geographical area; while the second part, vulnerability, is usually addressed by the engineers and experts who design the facilities for versatile purposes. e current study is related with the second part and assesses the vulnerability of the considered typology of school buildings by establishing the hazard-damage relationships for the considered typology of structures and subsequently, by developing the generic fragility relationships
Summary
Academic Editor: Constantin Chalioris ick population density and its escalation propensity in seismically active regions of Pakistan has raised sincere concerns about the performance of building stock whose suboptimal performance and complete collapses led to a colossal number of casualties during the past earthquakes. e current research is inspired by the Kashmir earthquake of 2005 which consumed more than 80,000 lives, out of which, approximately 19,000 were children due to wide spread collapse of school buildings. It was found that the infrastructural authorities in the considered region developed some specific designs for school buildings, with varying architectural and structural configurations, which were eventually replicated throughout the area. Advances in Civil Engineering casualties, out of which almost 19,000 were school going children, and cumulatively, it affected about 3.5 million people [2] It was stated by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Report [2] that approximately, 67% of the educational institutions in the area faced complete destruction. Considering the prevailing state of the vague practice of BCP 2007 and its provisions, the current research is targeted to assess the seismic vulnerability of RC school buildings that were designed and constructed in Pakistan’s seismic zone 4 after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. Data collection was made in the whole of Muzaffarabad district of Kashmir as it is one of the most vulnerable zones and faced colossal devastation in the past due to earthquakes
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