Simulation of earthquake-induced hazards of falling exterior non-structural components and its application to emergency shelter design

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Author(s)
Xu, Zhen
Lu, Xinzheng
Guan, Hong
Tian, Yuan
Ren, Aizhu
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2016
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In addition to earthquake-induced structural collapse, hazards related to falling exterior non-structural components of buildings have also been recognized as a significant safety problem. A novel simulation method is proposed herein to reduce such type of hazard, which has rarely been studied in the existing literature. Using a multi-story concentrated-mass shear model and specific falling criteria for exterior non-structural components, the hazard ranges of falling objects in a building group are simulated. The uncertainty of ground motion is considered via the incremental dynamic analyses. Thus, the distribution probabilities ...
View more >In addition to earthquake-induced structural collapse, hazards related to falling exterior non-structural components of buildings have also been recognized as a significant safety problem. A novel simulation method is proposed herein to reduce such type of hazard, which has rarely been studied in the existing literature. Using a multi-story concentrated-mass shear model and specific falling criteria for exterior non-structural components, the hazard ranges of falling objects in a building group are simulated. The uncertainty of ground motion is considered via the incremental dynamic analyses. Thus, the distribution probabilities of falling objects during the design life of a building group can be predicted. A residential community area is considered as a case study for calculating the distribution probabilities of falling objects over a design period of 50 years and for selecting a suitable and safe site for an emergency shelter. This study is expected to provide a useful reference for emergency and disaster management.
View less >
View more >In addition to earthquake-induced structural collapse, hazards related to falling exterior non-structural components of buildings have also been recognized as a significant safety problem. A novel simulation method is proposed herein to reduce such type of hazard, which has rarely been studied in the existing literature. Using a multi-story concentrated-mass shear model and specific falling criteria for exterior non-structural components, the hazard ranges of falling objects in a building group are simulated. The uncertainty of ground motion is considered via the incremental dynamic analyses. Thus, the distribution probabilities of falling objects during the design life of a building group can be predicted. A residential community area is considered as a case study for calculating the distribution probabilities of falling objects over a design period of 50 years and for selecting a suitable and safe site for an emergency shelter. This study is expected to provide a useful reference for emergency and disaster management.
View less >
Journal Title
Natural Hazards
Volume
80
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2016 Springer Netherlands. This is an electronic version of an article published in Natural Hazards, January 2016, Volume 80, Issue 2, pp 935–950. Natural Hazards is available online at: http://link.springer.com/ with the open URL of your article.
Subject
Atmospheric sciences
Physical geography and environmental geoscience
Structural engineering