First Level Pre- and Post-Earthquake Building Seismic Assessment Protocol Based on Dynamic Characteristics Extracted In Situ

Abstract

The present work is concerned with the introduction of a new first level pre- and post-earthquake seismic assessment protocol for buildings that relies on the use of recorded structural response. As earthquakes represent a constant and unpredictable threat for the building stock around the globe, the protocols already in use for assessing the risk should be revised and should also take into account the information hidden in data recorded in the field. Nowadays, data collection does not require expensive equipment and over-qualified personnel. In this direction, the proposed seismic assessment protocol aims to illustrate the ease of widely adopting Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) equipment (e.g., accelerographs), based on the work that has been carried out over the past years on subjects related to earthquake risk estimation. Building taxonomy and damage estimation, like those found in Hazus®–MH and other hazard assessment tools, can be enriched and modified properly to distinguish and classify the very earthquake-prone buildings from the others, and tag them for further assessment and rehabilitation as seismic codes suggest.