Rapid seismic assessment of two four-storey R.C. test buildings

Seismic evaluation of existing reinforced concrete buildings that are classified as non-conforming to modern earthquake standards is an urgent priority, since this class of buildings represents the majority of the built environment throughout the world. To address this need a simple procedure for rapid seismic assessment (RSA) of the earthquake demand and available capacity of existing buildings has been devised and calibrated through field applications. RSA is based on first principles, considering the prevalent failure modes of the load bearing components of the structure, and easily accessible information regarding the geometric and material characteristics of the structure. In this paper the RSA method is further improved by introducing expressions for direct estimation of the local drift demands of the examined building at peak seismic response using the structure’s unique geometric and material properties. The accuracy of the RSA procedure is evaluated through application and comparison of the assessment results with the recorded seismic responses of two model experimental structures that had been tested under pseudo dynamic loads simulating earthquake effects, reported in the literature. The example structures were chosen because they were full-scale structures with relatively simple layout (planar frames), in order to develop an instructive paradigm of the RSA’s application for the interest of practitioners.