Effect of buoyancy loads on the tsunami fragility of existing reinforced concrete frames including consideration of blow-out slabs

Currently available performance-based methodologies for assessing the fragility of structures subjected to tsunami neglect the effects of tsunami-induced vertical loads due to internal buoyancy. This paper adopts a generalized methodology for the performance assessment of structures that integrates the effects of buoyancy loads on interior slabs during a tsunami inundation. The methodology is applied in the fragility assessment of three case-study frames (low, mid and high-rise), representative of existing masonry-infilled reinforced concrete (RC) buildings typical of Mediterranean region. The paper shows the effect of modelling buoyancy loads on damage evolution and fragility curves associated with different structural damage mechanisms for existing RC frames with breakaway infill walls including consideration of blow-out slabs. The outcomes attest that buoyancy loads affect the damage assessment of buildings during a tsunami, especially in the case of mid and high-rise structures with blow-out slabs. The rate of occurrence of slabs uplift failure increases with the number of stories of the building, indicating the need to account for such damage mechanism when assessing the performance of structures. It is also found that buoyancy loads slightly affect the fragility curves associated to other structural damage mechanisms for existing RC buildings commonly monitored for fragility assessment

Engineering surveys of Sri Lankan schools exposed to tsunami

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affected 5% of Sri Lanka’s schools, severely damaging 108 and destroying 74. The catastrophe highlighted the critical role of schools in providing educational continuity during community recovery. Sri Lanka has since rehabilitated and rebuilt most of the destroyed schools along the coastline. However, there is a limited understanding of current levels of school exposure to tsunami. This hampers preparedness and risk reduction interventions that can improve community and educational tsunami resilience. This paper presents a multi-disciplinary school exposure database relevant to both vulnerability and loss modelling. The repository includes data on 38 schools and 86 classroom buildings, surveyed across the coastal districts of Ampara, Batticaloa and Galle in Sri Lanka, which were heavily affected by the 2004 tsunami. A new engineering rapid visual survey tool is presented that was used to conduct the physical assessment of schools for the exposure repository. School damage mechanisms observed in past tsunami inform the survey forms, which are designed to capture information at both school compound and building levels. The tsunami engineering survey tools are universally applicable for the visual assessment of schools exposed to tsunami. The surveys show that most Sri Lankan school buildings can be classified into three building archetypes. This means that future risk assessments can be conducted considering a small number of index buildings that are based on these archetypes with differing partition arrangements and structural health conditions. The surveys also raise three significant concerns. Firstly, most schools affected by the 2004 tsunami remain in the same exposed locations without any consideration for tsunami design or strengthening provisions. Secondly, Sri Lankan schools are fragile to tsunami loading and many of the schools in the Galle district suffer from severe corrosion, which will further affect their tsunami vulnerability. Thirdly, schools do not appear prepared for tsunami, and do not have adequate tsunami warnings nor evacuation protocols in place. These observations raise the urgent need to mitigate tsunami risk, including a holistic plan for tsunami retrofitting and for interventions to improve the tsunami preparedness of schools in Sri Lanka

Tsunami risk communication and management: Contemporary gaps and challenges

Very large tsunamis are associated with low probabilities of occurrence. In many parts of the world, these events have usually occurred in a distant time in the past. As a result, there is low risk perception and a lack of collective memories, making tsunami risk communication both challenging and complex. Furthermore, immense challenges lie ahead as population and risk exposure continue to increase in coastal areas. Through the last decades, tsunamis have caught coastal populations off-guard, providing evidence of lack of preparedness. Recent tsunamis, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, 2011 Tohoku and 2018 Palu, have shaped the way tsunami risk is perceived and acted upon. Based on lessons learned from a selection of past tsunami events, this paper aims to review the existing body of knowledge and the current challenges in tsunami risk communication, and to identify the gaps in the tsunami risk management methodologies. The important lessons provided by the past events call for strengthening community resilience and improvement in risk-informed actions and policy measures. This paper shows that research efforts related to tsunami risk communication remain fragmented. The analysis of tsunami risk together with a thorough understanding of risk communication gaps and challenges is indispensable towards developing and deploying comprehensive disaster risk reduction measures. Moving from a broad and interdisciplinary perspective, the paper suggests that probabilistic hazard and risk assessments could potentially contribute towards better science communication and improved planning and implementation of risk mitigation measures

Flexural performance of RC columns with FRCC jacketing

A new repair technique consisting on a light jacketing with Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Composites (FRCC) for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings has been recently proposed to reduce durability problems of RC members and enhance their capacity. In this work, the effects of FRCC jacketing on the flexural capacity of existing RC columns, with and without a pre-damage, has been evaluated of full-scale specimens under cyclic loading. Digital Imagine Correlation (DIC) was also adopted for understanding the strain distribution in the FRCC jacket. The results shown that the FRCC jacket without a proper anchorage slightly enhanced the flexural capacity of the column. The strengthened column experienced a low damage with respect to control column, but occurrence of premature failures did not allow the achievement of high levels of deformation capacity and ductility

Effect of buoyancy loads on the tsunami fragility of existing reinforced concrete frames including consideration of blow-out slabs

Abstract Currently available performance-based methodologies for assessing the fragility of structures subjected to tsunami neglect the effects of tsunami-induced vertical loads due to internal buoyancy. This paper adopts a generalized methodology for the performance assessment of structures that integrates the effects of buoyancy loads on interior slabs during a tsunami inundation. The methodology is applied in the fragility assessment of three case-study frames (low, mid and high-rise), representative of existing masonry-infilled reinforced concrete (RC) buildings typical of Mediterranean region. The paper shows the effect of modelling buoyancy loads on damage evolution and fragility curves associated with different structural damage mechanisms for existing RC frames with breakaway infill walls including consideration of blow-out slabs. The outcomes attest that buoyancy loads affect the damage assessment of buildings during a tsunami, especially in the case of mid and high-rise structures with blow-out slabs. The rate of occurrence of slabs uplift failure increases with the number of stories of the building, indicating the need to account for such damage mechanism when assessing the performance of structures. It is also found that buoyancy loads slightly affect the fragility curves associated to other structural damage mechanisms for existing RC buildings commonly monitored for fragility assessment

Comparative Analysis of Existing RC Columns Jacketed with CFRP or FRCC

Reinforced concrete (RC) columns typical of existing structures often exhibit premature failures during seismic events (i.e., longitudinal bars buckling and shear interaction mechanisms) due to the poor quality concrete and the absence of proper seismic details in the potential plastic hinge region. The Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) externally bonded reinforcement is known to be a valid technique to improve the shear capacity or the ductility of existing RC columns. However, few experimental tests have proven its effectiveness in the case of columns affected by shear interaction mechanisms. In this work, the behavior of existing RC columns with border line behavior between flexure and shear have been investigated in the case of poor quality concrete and light FRP strengthening with local jacketing and medium quality concrete and strong FRP strengthening with local jacketing, in order to highlight the effect of concrete strength on the effectiveness of the retrofit intervention. As an alternative to FRP jacketing; the effectiveness of the Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composite (FRCC) jacketing for the seismic strengthening of columns with highly deteriorated concrete cover or columns already damaged by an earthquake is also evaluated. Six full-scale RC columns have been tested under cyclic loading: one was used as a control specimen; four were strengthened in the potential plastic hinge region with carbon FRP (CFRP); and one was fully jacketed with FRCC. The comparison between poor and medium quality concrete columns showed that the CFRP local jacketing is more effective in the case of poor quality concrete. The FRCC jacketing appears to be a sound repair strategy and a suitable alternative to the FRP jacketing in case of poor quality; however, more experimental research is needed for improving this retrofit technique

Experimental Behavior of Nonconforming RC Columns with Deformed Bars under Constant Axial Load and Fixed Biaxial Bending

Although recent efforts have been made to understand the behavior of RC members subjected to cyclic biaxial bending, the experimental data available in the literature are still limited for making conclusions about the influence of biaxial actions on the inelastic response of RC columns. To analyze the effects of biaxial bending on the seismic behavior of existing RC columns with design characteristics nonconforming to modern seismic codes, the results of an experimental program on RC columns under constant axial load and cyclic uniaxial/biaxial bending are presented in this paper. The experimental data set consists of ten tests (seven new tests and three previously published by the authors) on full-scale columns reinforced with deformed bars: six square columns and four rectangular columns. The square columns are tested with diagonal cyclic displacement paths with inclination angles of 0°, 30°, and 45° with respect to the cross section principal axes and axial load ratios of 0.1 and 0.2. Rectangular columns are subjected to horizontal displacements with inclination angles of 0°, 30°, 45°, and 90° with respect to the cross section principal axes and an axial load ratio 0.1. The effects of different horizontal displacement orientations on column performance is investigated and discussed in terms of strength, deformation capacity, and damage at failure

Comparison of available shear strength models for non-conforming reinforced concrete columns

Field surveys in the aftermath of major seismic events, laboratory tests and numerical studies outlined that existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures are likely to exhibit premature shear failures. However, a proper quantification of the shear capacity of existing members with seismic details nonconforming to current seismic code is still a challenging task. Several models based on mechanical approaches or experimental observations are available in literature, current standards and guidelines. Nevertheless, the lack of a widely accepted theory often results in the use of old formulations, mainly developed for design purposes, to assess the shear strength of non-conforming RC members. This study investigates the available shear strength formulations. Eight capacity models commonly adopted in the current practice and worldwide standards or guidelines have been assessed comparing the model predictions with a unique database of 180 experimental tests properly selected to be representative of nonconforming RC members. Members with rectangular or circular cross-section, different aspect ratio (i.e. slender or squat) and shear or flexure-shear failure mode have been investigated. Meaningful statistics have been used to quantify the accuracy and the level of safety of each formulation. Several criticisms in the use of the available formulations are herein outlined. Suggestions for the model applicability have been provided in order to drive the reader to select the most appropriate shear strength formulation for assessment purposes. Finally, corrective factors have been calibrated to allow the use of the selected models with specific levels of safety