PEER Reports

PEER Reports

Probabilistic Response Assessment for Building-Specific Loss Estimation, PEER Report 2003-03

Eduardo Miranda
Hesameddin Aslani
2003

The use of economic losses as measure of seismic performance is proposed. A methodology is developed to evaluate the expected annual loss in buildings resulting from the occurrence of earthquake ground motions. The methodology uses a component-based approach to estimate the expected loss in buildings.

A primary step in building loss estimation is a probabilistic evaluation of the structural response. A procedure aimed at computing the probability of exceedance of different types of engineering demand parameters (EDPs) is proposed. Emphasis is given to the estimation of the...

Experimental Assessment of Columns with Short Lap Splices Subjected to Cyclic Loads, 2003-04

Murat Melek
John W. Wallace
Joel P. Conte
2003

Splices in reinforced concrete columns in older buildings, or within the nonparticipating frames in some newer buildings, were typically designed as compression lap splices. Compression lap lengths are typically short (20 to 24db ), and only light transverse reinforcement is provided over the lap length. Observations of column damage following earthquakes have revealed that these splices perform poorly; however, relatively sparse information exists to assess the expected performance for typical conditions. To address these needs, a PEER Center research program was undertaken at...

Response Assessment of Nonstructural Building Elements, PEER Report 2003-05

Shahram Taghavi
Eduardo Miranda
2003

A database is developed in this study for the adequate organization, storage, and easy retrieval of information related to the seismic performance of nonstructural components and contents of commercial buildings. The database addresses several problems and aspects of nonstructural components including damage and cost information. The performance of nonstructural components including damage descriptions and information about ground motions and structures are investigated and collected in the database. Also included are numerous photos of damaged components with a detailed damage description...

Performance of Circular Reinforced Concrete Bridge Columns Under Bidirectional Earthquake Loading, PEER Report 2003-06

Mahmoud M. Hachem
Stephen A. Mahin
Jack P. Moehle
2003

The behavior of ductile reinforced concrete bridge columns subj ected to cyclic loading has been the subject of extensive research. It is now possible to predict with fair accuracy the strength and deformation capacities of those columns given a variety of parameters that include the section geometry, amounts of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement, slenderness ratio, axial load and material strengths. Nonetheless, some areas of uncertainty remain, including the response of such columns when subjected to one or more components of intense earthquake ground motions, and the ability of...

Uncertainty Specification and Propagation for Loss Estimation Using FOSM Method, PEER Report 2003-07

Jack W. Baker
C. Allin Cornell
2003

The estimation of repair costs in future earthquakes is one component of loss estimation currently being developed for use in performance-based engineering. An important component of this calculation is the estimation of total uncertainty in the result, as a result of the many sources of uncertainty in the calculation. Monte Carlo simulation is a simple approach for estimation of this uncertainty, but it is computationally expensive. The procedure proposed in this report uses the first-order second-moment (FOSM) method to collapse several conditional random variables into a single...

A Technical Framework for Probability-Based Demand and Capacity Factor Design (DCFD) Seismic Formats, PEER Report 2003-08

Fatemeh Jalayer
C. Allin Cornell
2003

Demand and capacity factor design (DCFD) is a probability-based load and resistance factor (LRFD)-like format used for performance-based seismic design and assessment of structures. The DCFD format is based on a technical framework that provides a closed-form analytical expression for the mean annual frequency of exceeding (or not exceeding) a structural performance level, which is usually defined as specified structural parameters (e.g., ductility, strength, maximum drift ratio) reaching a structural limit state (e.g., onset of yield, collapse).

This report, which is presented in...

Sequencing Repairs after an Earthquake:An Economic Approach, PEER Report 2003-09

Marco Casar
Simon J. Wilkie
2003

After recent earthquakes in the U.S. and Japan, the rebuilding of the gas, road, and electric power networks that constitute the lifelines infrastructure has shown that large welfare gains can be achieved by reshaping current emergency plans as incentive-compatible contracts with lifelines service providers. This report presents a class of mechanisms for repair works that a disinterested planner without comprehensive information about repair costs could adopt to implement in a preferred location and sequence. Such mechanisms would help to coordinate repair work among firms and set the...

A Beam-Column Joint Model for Simulating the Earthquake Response of Reinforced Concrete Frames, PEER Report 2003-10

Laura N. Lowes
Nilanjan Mitra
Arash Altoontash
2003

Experimental investigation of the earthquake response of reinforced concrete subassemblages indicates that stiffness and strength loss resulting from beam-column joint damage may be substantial. To simulate inelastic joint action, a joint element is developed that is appropriate for use with traditional beam-column elements in two-dimensional nonlinear frame analysis. The proposed element formulation includes four external nodes with a total of 12 external degrees of freedom; however, the element is a super-element and includes four additional internal degrees of freedom. The super-element...

The Fifth U.S.-Japan Workshop on Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering Methodology for Reinforced Concrete Building Structures, PEER Report 2003-11

2003

Considerable research is under way throughout the world to establish performance-based assessment and design methodology for buildings. Japan and the United States are at the forefront of this research effort, as well as efforts to implement the research results. The U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research in Urban Earthquake Disaster Mitigation, sponsored in Japan by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, and in the U.S. by the National Science Foundation, is funding collaborative research in Japan and the U.S. The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center in the U.S. has...

Implementation Manual for the Seismic Protection of Laboratory Contents: Format and Case Studies, PEER Report 2003-12

William T. Holmes
Mary C. Comerio
2003

Previous work at the University of California, Berkeley, identified the presence of a wide variety of equipment, tanks, material storage systems, and experimental setups in campus laboratories (Comerio and Stallmeyer, 2002). Development of a family of details to seismically restrain such contents revealed different physical conditions in the labs of each building that significantly affected the details (Comerio, 2003). In addition, interest in “do-it-yourself” seismic protection of contents generated by the Q-Brace Program on the campus resulted in extensions to the program that sometimes...