Evaluation of Seismic Assessment Procedures for Existing Reinforced Concrete Structures Damaged in the 2016 Meinong Earthquake

Abstract

The magnitude 6.4 Meinong Earthquake struck the Southern region of Taiwan in February 2016. This event resulted in unexpected damage relative to the magnitude. A study was undertaken to investigate the response of the buildings using advanced analysis tools and standards of practice. Most structures had non-ductile moment framing as the primary lateral-force resisting system. The most commonly observed response mechanism was soft-story resulting from apparent shear and/or flexure-shear damage to the first story. The initial phase of the study employed triage-type procedures, including the well-established ASCE 41 Tier 1 (preliminary screening) and a new process funded by FEMA and developed by ATC for the city of Los Angeles: ATC 78-7. The second phase of the study investigated the ASCE 41 Tier 3 procedure to determine seismic vulnerability through use of linear and nonlinear dynamic analysis. Information sourced from structural drawings (with material properties) and ground-motion recording stations provided a basis to simulate the seismic response. The results were compared with the observed damage pattern to evaluate the effectiveness of different modeling approaches in order to provide recommendations for improvements for ASCE 41.