Evaluation of Seismic Assessment Procedures for Existing Reinforced Concrete Structures Damaged

Presented by Laura Lowes, University of Washington; Dawn Lehman, University of Washington; and J. Sumearll, University of Washington

The 2016 southern Taiwan earthquake resulted in damage to multiple existing reinforced concrete buildings. Following the event, researchers and practitioners assembled an extensive data set including pictures of damage and structural engineering drawings for multiple buildings. These data were used to evaluate current methods for assessing the earthquake vulnerability of existing reinforced concrete buildings. Specifically, the ASCE 41 Standard for Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings was used to evaluate the existing buildings for the 2016 earthquake demand, and vulnerabilities predicted using ASCE 41 were compared with observed damage. ASCE 41 linear and nonlinear analysis methods were used, and the impact of various modeling assumptions were investigated. This presentation considers two reinforced concrete buildings constructed in ~1970; the buildings were primary reinforced concrete frame buildings but included some partial infill and a few masonry walls. Results of the study include recommendations for improving ASCE 41 to facilitate its application as well as to improve vulnerability assessment.