Special Issue "Seismic Safety Assessment of Existing Constructions"

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Xavier Romão
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: risk management; multihazard risk; vulnerability assessment; disaster impact assessment
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Earthquake engineering experts, public authorities, and the general public agree on the idea that the seismic safety and performance of the built environment is a matter of high priority. Furthermore, the widespread interest in methods addressing the seismic safety assessment of existing constructions reflects the global perception that such constructions are often exposed to disproportionate levels of seismic risk, as well as the need for rational and cost-effective interventions on the built environment. These methods range from standard-based approaches, that in many cases are based on simplified assumptions to ease their application, to fully probabilistic performance-based procedures that can express expected earthquake impacts using metrics more relevant to stakeholders.

In light of these considerations, the objective of this Special Issue is to present and discuss different methodologies for the seismic safety assessment of existing constructions, ranging from simplified to fully probabilistic structure-specific approaches, as well as their application to different types of constructions. Original contributions containing fundamental and applied research, case studies, or reviewing the state-of-the-art are encouraged for submission to this Special Issue.

Dr. Xavier Romão
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • standard-based method
  • performance-based seismic assessment
  • probabilistic risk assessment
  • probabilistic loss assessment
  • displacement-based assessment
  • advanced modeling of structures
  • simplified modeling of structures
  • seismic performance criteria

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Stochastic Dynamic Analysis of Cultural Heritage Towers up to Collapse
Buildings 2021, 11(7), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11070296 - 07 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 564
Abstract
This paper deals with the seismic vulnerability of monumental unreinforced masonry (URM) towers, the fragility of which has not yet been sufficiently studied. Thus, the present paper fills this gap by developing models to investigate the seismic response of URM towers up to [...] Read more.
This paper deals with the seismic vulnerability of monumental unreinforced masonry (URM) towers, the fragility of which has not yet been sufficiently studied. Thus, the present paper fills this gap by developing models to investigate the seismic response of URM towers up to collapse. On mount Athos, Greece, there exist more than a hundred medieval towers, having served mainly as campaniles or fortifications. Eight representative towers were selected for a thorough investigation to estimate their seismic response characteristics. Their history and architectural features are initially discussed and a two-step analysis follows: (i) limit analysis is performed to estimate the collapse mechanism and the locations of critical cracks, (ii) non-linear explicit dynamic analyses are then carried out, developing finite element (FE) simulations, with cracks modelled as interfacial surfaces to derive the capacity curves. A meaningful definition of the damage states is proposed based on the characteristics of their capacity curves, with the ultimate limit state related to collapse. The onset of slight damage-state is characterised by the formation and development of cracks responsible for the collapse mechanism of the structure. Apart from these two, another two additional limit states are also specified: the moderate damage-state and the extensive one. Fragility and vulnerability curves are finally generated which can help the assessment and preservation of cultural heritage URM towers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Safety Assessment of Existing Constructions)
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Article
Kriging Metamodel-Based Seismic Fragility Analysis of Single-Bent Reinforced Concrete Highway Bridges
Buildings 2021, 11(6), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11060238 - 31 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1098
Abstract
Uncertainty quantification is an important issue in the seismic fragility analysis of bridge type structures. However, the influence of different sources of uncertainty on the seismic fragility of the system is commonly overlooked due to the costly re-evaluation of numerical model simulations. This [...] Read more.
Uncertainty quantification is an important issue in the seismic fragility analysis of bridge type structures. However, the influence of different sources of uncertainty on the seismic fragility of the system is commonly overlooked due to the costly re-evaluation of numerical model simulations. This paper aims to present a framework for the seismic fragility analysis of reinforced concrete highway bridges, where a data-driven metamodel is developed to approximate the structural response to structural and ground motion uncertainties. The proposed framework to generate fragility curves shows its efficiency while using a few finite element simulations and accounting for various modeling uncertainties influencing the bridge seismic fragility. In this respect, a class of single-bent bridges available in the literature is taken as a case study, whose three-dimensional finite element model is established by the OpenSees software framework. Twenty near-source records from different sources are selected and the Latin hypercube method is applied for generating the random samples of modeling and ground motion parameters. The Kriging metamodel is then driven on the structural response obtained from nonlinear time history analyses. Component fragility curves of the reinforced concrete pier column are derived for different damage states using the Kriging metamodel whose parameters are established considering different modeling parameters generated by Monte Carlo simulations. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed framework in interpolating the structural response and deriving the fragility curve of the case study with any input conditions of the random variables. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Safety Assessment of Existing Constructions)
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Article
Seismic and Coastal Vulnerability Assessment Model for Buildings in Chile
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030107 - 09 Mar 2021
Viewed by 842
Abstract
This article proposes a vulnerability assessment model for evaluating buildings’ expected seismic performance, as well as their vulnerability to tsunamis. The objective of this assessment is to provide appropriate information for decision makers regarding the need of repairs and reinforcement of buildings or [...] Read more.
This article proposes a vulnerability assessment model for evaluating buildings’ expected seismic performance, as well as their vulnerability to tsunamis. The objective of this assessment is to provide appropriate information for decision makers regarding the need of repairs and reinforcement of buildings or other mitigation measures that need to be applied in a territory. A procedure for assessing seismic vulnerability and another methodology for evaluating tsunami vulnerability faced by coastal structures is presented. Finally, a method that integrates both procedures is proposed, providing a combined index of vulnerability. The assessment model was applied to the central area of the city of Talcahuano, Chile, which was affected by the 2010 Maule earthquake and tsunami. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Safety Assessment of Existing Constructions)
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