Structural Aspects and Seismic Performance of 1-Story Precast Buildings in Turkey

A large-scale seismic performance assessment study based on 98 precast buildings, constructed in the high seismicity region of western Turkey, was performed. Structural properties of buildings were obtained from the design projects and then verified by site investigations. Statistical evaluations of inventory buildings have shown that stiffness and ductility capacity of existing buildings are insufficient. This situation indicates that structural deficiencies emphasized in recent earthquakes are not site specific, but wider and common. Seismic performance of precast buildings was estimated using two different demand spectrums and two different calculation methods. Demand spectrums were constructed by considering site-specific properties of the target region and properties of weak soil sites. Seismic performance of buildings was estimated using the capacity spectrum method and the equal displacement approach. Results of these methods indicate that damage distributions are significantly amplified by the weak soil properties. Distribution of building damages showed that the ratio of extensively damaged and collapsed buildings ranged from 20 to 80%, depending on the site amplification. A considerable amount of moderately damaged buildings implies that monetary losses may also be critical.