Influence of Structural and Fragility Modeling Decisions in the Loss Assessment of RC Frame Buildings

Abstract eng:
Much advancement in structural modelling, seismic hazard analysis, and component fragility estimation techniques has been made in recent years; all of which have contributed to the feasibility of conducting building-specific loss estimates. This paper investigates the impact that certain modelling decisions can have on the outcome of loss estimates using a probabilistic performance-based earthquake engineering approach. These variations include assumptions on initial member stiffness, treatment of elastic damping, and the hysteretic properties of RC members. Further, the effect of the choice of component fragilities and decision variable formulation is investigated by implementing two loss models adopted in previous research efforts. Analyses are conducted for a benchmark four-story RC frame building that was previously assessed to allow a comparison with previous results and thereby confirm the reliability of the implemented methodology. The use of the expected annual loss to convey performance is shown to be the most sensitive to modelling decisions given the high contribution of lower intensity seismic excitations and initial accumulation of damage. Scenario-based loss assessments show a more consistent result between model variations that adopted the same loss model formulation. Finally, the two different loss models utilized in this study are shown to provide the largest source of deviation in loss estimates. This highlights the need for additional research, to more accurately define loss models for seismic assessment purposes.

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