Nonlinear Modeling of the Seismic Performance of a Building At Sankhu During the 2015 Nepal Earthquake

Abstract eng:
This paper discusses the simulation of the structural performance of a four-story school building in Sankhu, Nepal after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. The structure had a masonry-infilled reinforced concrete frame, which was severely damaged during the earthquake. The concentration of damage in the south end of the ground story indicates that the frame exhibited torsional response to the ground excitation. The seismic performance of the building is simulated in this study with a threedimensional model of the building which utilizes the strut modeling approach for infilled frames. The struts are calibrated using a novel approach which is based on a recently proposed simplified analytical tool for such structures. The simplified tool is validated with detailed FE models that combine the smeared and the discrete crack modeling approaches. The paper discusses the accuracy of the numerical model in simulating the seismic performance and in estimating the identified modal properties of the damaged building. The comparison indicates that the model, when subjected to the ground motion recorded in close proximity during the Gorkha earthquake, develops a similar damage pattern as the actual structure, while its modal properties match well with those estimated from the ambient vibration recordings obtained during a reconnaissance trip.

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