Development of an index assignment procedure compatible with the regional seismicity in the province of Quebec for the rapid visual screening of existing buildings

摘要

In the context of the seismic vulnerability evaluation of buildings, the score assignment method can be used as the first step of a multiphase procedure aimed at identifying hazardous buildings that must then be analysed in greater detail. Because the existing Canadian rapid visual screening procedure has not been updated since 1992, a new procedure is proposed based on a set of vulnerability indices for different cities in the province of Quebec. A seismicity level (low, moderate, or high) is attributed to each city using the spectral acceleration response values included in the 2005 edition of National building code of Canada (NBCC) and the criteria proposed in FEMA 310 Handbook for the seismic evaluation of buildings - a prestandard. The structural vulnerability indices (SVIs) are calculated using the recently improved nonlinear static analysis procedure in FEMA 440, Improvement of nonlinear static seismic analysis procedures for each seismicity level. The NBCC 2005 reference soil class C is considered in the calculation of the SVIs, and index modifiers for the building height, irregularities, and design and construction year. The application of these indices to the estimation of the probable damage distribution in building inventories is discussed at the end.