Seismic vulnerability functional method for rapid visual screening of existing buildings

Abstract

Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) method for buildings was originally developed by the Applied Technology Council (ATC) in the late 1980's for potential seismic hazards. This is a simple and almost a quick way of assessing the building seismic vulnerability score based on visual screening. The logarithmic relationship between final score and the probability of collapse at the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) makes results somewhat difficult to interpret, especially for less technical users. This study is developed to improve the simplicity and usefulness of RVS methodology to determine the numeric scores for seismic vulnerability of buildings using vulnerability functional form. The proposed approach applies the existing method in FEMA 154 (2002) for calculating the building rank based on RVS method. In this study RVS scores are used to evaluate populations of buildings to prioritize detailed evaluations and seismic retrofits. The alternate non-logarithmic format of scoring scheme is much better meeting the needs of the project managers and decision makers, as they require results that are easier to understand. It shows the linear equivalent of RVS final scores which is consistent with the existing ranking systems used in the buildings management program such as budget allocation decision making. The results demonstrate that the weight determined for the factor of Region Seismicity, which is 0.4033, has the highest contribution to seismic vulnerability scores of buildings. The applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated through a hypothetical example to rank ten seismically vulnerable buildings.