On seismic assessment of rc buildings - a case study of an actual irregular structure

Abstract eng:
In the paper, a practice-oriented procedure for the seismic assessment of building structures is summarized. It is based on the N2 method, which has been implemented in Eurocode 8 for pushover based nonlinear analysis. The procedure is applied to an existing multi– storey reinforced concrete (RC) building which is asymmetric in plan and irregular in elevation. The structural system consists of structural walls and frames. The building was designed in 1962 for gravity loads and minimum horizontal loading (2% of the total weight). The main results presented in terms of global and local seismic demands are compared with the results of non-linear dynamic time-history analyses. The capacities of structural elements are determined according to Eurocode 8-3. As expected, the structure would fail when subjected to the design seismic action according to Eurocode 8. The most critical is the shear capacity of some structural walls in the lower stories. If the shear capacity of the structural elements was adequate, the structure would be able to survive the design ground motion according to Eurocode 8 in spite of very low level of design seismic forces. Due to large uncertainties which are involved both in determination of the seismic demand and capacity, only rough estimates of the seismic behaviour can be obtained.

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