In particular, when designing a high-rise building, it is recommended that the entire collapse mechanism (i.e. strong column-weak beam mechanism) be planned and sufficient safety of the building be ensured by allowing earthquake damage to spread throughout the building and by ensuring that the energy generated by the earthquake is absorbed evenly by the entire building. However, it is a matter of serious concern that the damage on every floor causes extensive spreading of the area to be restored, greatly increases the repair cost, and lengthens the restoration period, making functional recovery difficult.
Developing design methods that consider the safety and post-seismic functionality of buildings is required to reduce damage to buildings and minimize damage to society from major earthquakes. A damage evaluation index which can properly evaluate the severity of the damage from the viewpoint of post-seismic functional recovery is necessary for such design. The authors in this study define the severity of the damage as that which repair time is becoming relatively large. And an “ideal repair time (
IRT)”, which is an index that relatively evaluates the severity of the damage, is proposed.
The
IRT has the following features:
1. Many factors influence the repair time other than the damage state. These factors include the social and surrounding environments, climate, adopted repair methods, work procedures, number of engaged workers, and work proficiency, among others. The repair time would still vary when these factors are different even if the damage state is the same. The
IRT is a damage evaluation index that targets only the damage state (i.e., amount, extent, and quality of the damage) by eliminating influences of factors other than the damage state.
2. From the comparison between the
IRT and repair time of damaged buildings in KOBE Earthquake, it was shown that the
IRT reasonably evaluates the relative increase in repair time generated by amount and extent of the damage. Furthermore, the validity of quantitative evaluation by
IRT was discussed, considering the calculation condition and its influence on repair time.
3. The
IRT evaluates the severity of the damage caused by its amount and extent. Therefore, the influence on the dysfunctional time by each damage in the building can be evaluated, and the damaged areas to be prevented can be identified. The analysis based on the
IRT allows structural designers to investigate the validity of the planned collapse mechanism, strength, and stiffness given to the building from the perspective of the post-seismic functional recovery.
4. The
IRT is an index that represents the dysfunctional time caused by the damage. From the
IRT, ordinary people with no special knowledge on structural engineering can easily understand the relative difference of the damage severity and the damage-resistant performance given to the building. An index that can indicate the necessity of the damage-resistant performance and the secured level of the performance to the owner of the building is significant.
View full abstract