Objective
A very important part of the building inventory in the seismic regions of Europe is by and large seismically deficient in the light of our current knowledge. In spite of this fact, only recently some guidelines or standards for assessment and redesign of existing buildings have emerged. Thus it is proposed to contribute to the mitigation of thc seismic risk associated to old existing buildings by further developing efficient tools for its assessment and redesign. The project is devoted to reinforced concrete buildings designed and built before formal seismic design provisions were available in codes or when the code provisions for the matter were related only to strength verifications disregarding any deformation or ductility checks. Thus, buildings covered by the project are essentially those built prior to the early 80's.
Because the earthquake does not represent for the structure a set of given lateral forces to be resisted, but rather a demand for accommodation of a given energy input or of given imposed dynamic (ground) displacements, deformations and displacements represent a much more rational basis for the seismic design of structures. For this reason displacement-based seismic design (DBD) is gaining attention, mainly for new structures, as a more rational alternative to the current force-based design approach. It is felt however that the assessment of existing structures provides even better ground for the application of displacement-based design concepts. In fact, since in this case the structure is known, deformation capacities of the members and of the structural system can be computed for given dimensions, reinforcement and material properties.
The objective of the proposed project is to develop and verify, through real case studies, a fully displacement-based approach for seismic assessment and strengthening of individual RC buildings. This procedure will be integrated into a costbenefit decision model, to be developed within the project, to support decision-making for the seismic upgrading of existing buildings. This objective is directly in line with the prionties of the second phase of the Environment and Climate RTD Programme, namely in what concerns "the safety of the citizen from environmental risks" and "a healthier planet for tomorrow".
The project, which is rather ambitious, assumes that knowledge about the as-built structure of the buildings is available and in this way the problem of limited knowledge of the actual structure is by-passed and handled through appropriate uncertainty factor.
The project comprises the following 5 workpackages:
1. Advances in Assessment. This workpackage is intended to develop a methodolog for displacement-based seismic assessment of RC buildings, with or without infill walls. It includes sub-tasks for the development of:
a) European displacement response spectra;
b) Deformation-based performance criteria;
c) Old component deformation capacity;
d) Evaluation of system displacement capacity; and
e) Displacement-based assessment.
2. Strengthening techniques. This workpackage comprises activities which strive to cast what is already available in strengthening technology into a displacement-based format. It includes sub-tasks for the development of:
a) Deformation-based design of new components; and
b) Performance-based strengthening of components.
3. Advances in Redesign. The aim of this package is to built on the achievements of workpackages 1 and 2 in order to develop an integrated displacement-based methodology for the redesign of RC structures. The workpackage will comprise the following subtasks:
a) Redesign concept;
b) Distribution of inelasticity in multi-storcy buildings;
c) Deformation-controlled member design; and
d) Redesign implementation.
4. Cost-benefit model for the support of strengthening policy decisions. The aim of this package will be the development of a model to assist the decision-making process on strengthening of individual buildings or groups of buildings. The model will be general and flexiWe enough to allow not only a "yes" or "no" answer for strengthening, but also the determination of the range of values of some control parameters under which seismic strengthening becomes an economically attractive alternative. The package will comprise the following sub-tasks:
a) Seismic hazard for spectral displacements;
b) Strengthening costs;
c) Fragility curves of buildings; and
d) Cost-benefit model.
5. Application Case Studies. In this workpackage the tools developed in the other workpackages will be applied for a number of case studies on representative old RC buildings in the earthquake-prone areas of Europe. The buildings to be studied will be actual ones in three regions which have been hit by strong earthquakes in the last decade or so.
Upon successful completion, the project shall lay the ground for future adoption of more rational and economic redesign and strengthening approaches, saving material resources and avoiding unnecessary demolitions. At an European level, its results can be used in the future revision of Eurocode 8: Part 1-4: "Repair and strengthening of buildings" thus fostering the strengthening effort needed in earthquake-prone areas of Europe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
1799 LISBOA
Portugal
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.