Advanced Seismic Assessment Guidelines, applicable to utility buildings, were developed by Stanford University (Bazzurro et al. 2004) as part of the PEER Lifelines Program, Building Vulnerability Studies (Project Task Number 507). The subject project, Task 508, applies these state-of-the-art guidelines in a detailed fashion to two example buildings, each with differing features and functions within the electric and gas utility network.
The first building studied is a three-story steel moment-frame building. The second building is an older type of utility structure of composite concrete and steel (mill building) construction. Rutherford & Chekene has also used the Guidelines to evaluate five additional buildings for Pacific Gas & Electric.
The objectives of the test applications are the following:
- Identify potential difficulties that Structural Engineers would encounter in using the procedures described in the Advanced Seismic Assessment Guidelines.
- Recommend possible revisions to the procedure to address any identified difficulties.
- Identify and make recommendations on other issues related to assessing the seismic reliability of utility structures and systems.
The conclusions of this report summarize the applicability of the Advanced Seismic Assessment Guidelines, key assumptions in implementation, and specific recommendations for engineers applying the Guidelines.
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