Performance of Fire Sprinkler Systems in the 2014 South Napa Earthquake: Numerical Modelling With Validation By Laser Scans of Aftermath


Abstract eng:
Several failures of fire sprinkler systems were observed after the 2014 South Napa earthquake, California, USA. In many cases, the failures were related to excessive displacements of these systems that led to interaction with the surrounding nonstructural components, e.g. suspended ceiling systems, light fixtures, and ventilation ducts. Due to this interaction and associated impact loading during the earthquake, some failures in pipe joints and sprinkler systems were observed. Since the fire hazard following the earthquake was still present right after the earthquake, the valves supplying water to the fire protection system were not closed for hours. As a result, water flooding damage of the contents of buildings occurred. Although such damage was relatively minor in some of the buildings, failure of the fire sprinkler system in a department store caused closure of the store for more than nine months and the store was eventually transferred to a new location. The total monetary loss associated with the goods damaged by water, lost wages and lost revenue can be in the order of hundreds of millions. In another case, the County Office Building, a two-story concrete shear wall structure, was subject to significant water damage due to sprinkler head failure upon potential impact with other nonstructural components. The sprinkler system ran for five hours without being shut off. All partition walls and floor coverings sustained extensive water damage, leading to the closure of the building for months. To investigate this significant performance problem introduced by such nonstructural components, the research team conducted laser scans of a parking structure with an exposed fire sprinkler system, which encountered a number of failures with some residual deformation. All these anomalies were captured by a laser scanner. An accurate computational model of the building and the fire sprinkler system was developed using the scanned geometry and the finite element method. Linear time history analyses were conducted on this detailed finite element model using the three components of a ground motion recorded near the building. The analysis results were compatible with the damage observed in the piping system.

Contributors:
Conference Title:
Conference Title:
16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Conference Venue:
Santiago (CL)
Conference Dates:
2017-01-09 / 2017-01-13
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 Record created 2017-01-18, last modified 2017-01-18


Original version of the author's contribution as presented on USB, paper 4359.:
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