Review of methods on prediction of seismic damage for buildings

The predictive methods of seismic damage for buildings in the world are reviewed in this paper. These methods can be classified as detertministic methods, probabilistic methods, and inference methods. The deterministic methods are come out in the earlier times, and include historical statistical seismic damage method, specialist evaluation method, fuzzy analogy method, half-experience and half-theory method, structural theory method and development analysis method. While the probabilistic methods are formed lately, and they can provided more information such as building damage matrix on the aseismatic capability of buildings. Enclosed much historical damage data, having reasonable inferring rules, inference methods can provide good results. Recently, the inference models include fuzzy logic inference model, database inference model and simulation inference model.