Theory and practice in reducing the vulnerability of residential buildings subjected to extreme loads - a multi hazard perspective

摘要

The spread of terror and war threats aimed against built up urban areas has extended considerably and attracts the attention and concern of many countries. The severity and potential danger of these extreme events was demonstrated most severely in several past events. Many countries, including Israel, are facing different threats of terror and war. Therefore, Israel is continuously engaged in theoretical and experimental research activities, related to response of civilian buildings to various war threats. Some of the experience gained in recent years, in relation to the structural response of RC residential buildings subjected to blast loads, can be very helpful in the development of improved design requirements of such buildings, aimed mainly at localization and reduction of the damage and prevention of the progressive collapse of buildings. Earthquake loading is another extreme loading that may cause large scale destruction to many buildings that had not been properly designed to withstand the strong ground shaking effects. Many countries in seismic areas have developed throughout the years their standards and codes for seismic design, and recently built buildings in these areas are designed according to these codes. Nevertheless, many older buildings, that had been designed and constructed prior to the development of the modern seismic codes, are still more vulnerable. Although the earthquake response and blast protection are entirely different disciplines, there exist many places where both types of extreme loads are potential threats to existing buildings. Therefore a multi hazard approach should be adopted to design the new buildings and to retrofit the existing buildings, to ensure that they will withstand these threats. This paper aims at over-viewing some aspects of these extreme load threats and address the resistance, performance, protection and strengthening of the structures that are subjected to these loads. It aims at generalizing the professional view and providing a better solution to an envelope of different possible extreme events.