Analyzing the Reduced Seismic Risk after Strengthening

One of the most destructive and terrifying nature hazards is earthquake. Although it is unavoidable, measures can be taken to minimize the damage including human lives and economic loss. Besides the precautionary actions in advance of earthquake, post-earthquake reconstruction and recovery programs also play a vital role. Generally, people will take it for granted that the response of buildings which have performed moderately well or have not been damaged but are found deficient on performance will be improved after retrofitting. However the effect of strengthening on cluster buildings within urban areas in terms of their vulnerability shift and hence risk reduction for the community have not been studied in details. Specifically the level of performance homogenization for the seismic response of retrofitted buildings is not quantified. In this project, the retrofitting strategies will be de

signed and detailed and the resulting models will then be analysed by nonlinear analysis procedures in order to develop fragility and vulnerability relationships for retrofitted buildings. Then to quantify the effectiveness of different strengthening strategies for urban area buildings, which will help providing a more robust and efficient way for engineers, stakeholders and government officers to select the best way for seismic retrofitting. The case study for this project is Sichuan, China.

Funding: China Scholarship Council (CSC)

Epicentre Staff Involved: Linghui Zhou, Dina D'Ayala, Carmine Galasso