Seismic Damage Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings in Canada

Abstract

The emphasis on seismic design and assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structure has shifted from force-based to performance-based design and assessment to accommodate strength and ductility for required performance of building. RC frame structure may suffer different levels of damage under seismic-induced ground motions, with potentials for formation of hinges in structural elements, depending on the level of stringency in design. Thus it is required to monitor the seismic behaviour and performance of buildings, which depend on the structural system, year of construction and the level of irregularities in the structural system. It is the objective of the current research project to assess seismic performance of RC frame buildings in Canada, while developing fragility curves as analytical tools for such assessment. This was done through dynamic inelastic analysis by modelling selected building structures and using PERFORM-3D as analysis software, while employing incremental dynamic analysis to generate performance data under incrementally increasing seismic intensity of selected earthquake records. The results lead to probabilistic tools to assess the performance of buildings designed following the National Building Code of Canada in different years of construction with and without irregularities. The research consists of three phases; i) regular buildings designed after 1975, ii) regular buildings designed prior to 1975, and iii) irregular buildings designed prior to 1975. The latter two phases address older buildings prior to the development of modern seismic building codes. All three phases were carried out by selecting and designing buildings in Ottawa, representing the seismic region in eastern Canada, as well as buildings in Vancouver, representing the seismic region in western Canada. Buildings had three heights (2; 5; and 10-stories) to cover a wide range of building periods encountered in practice. The resulting fragility curves indicated that the older buildings showed higher probabilities of exceeding life safety and/or collapse prevention performance levels. Newer buildings showed higher probabilities of exceeding target performance levels in western Canada than those located in the east.