Repair Costs of Existing RC Buildings Damaged by the L'Aquila Earthquake and Comparison with FEMA P-58 Predictions

Recent seismic events are a unique opportunity to monitor and collect details of direct repair costs and the downtimes associated with massive reconstruction processes. This paper focuses on the actual repair costs of five RC buildings damaged by the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. The repair costs for structural and nonstructural components that experienced different types of earthquake damage are discussed and then used as a benchmark for the predictions. The comparison at both the building and component levels revealed that the FEMA P-58 methodology is suitable, in general, for application to different types of building stock. Ad hoc upgrades to the FEMA fragility database for components that are typical of the Mediterranean area are required. When implementing the proposed modifications, a reasonable level of consistency is achieved in terms of actual and predicted repair costs (differences in the range of 30–48%). A discussion on the actual repair costs and the main differences with the predicted costs for infills and partitions, structural subassemblies, floor finishes, and other acceleration-sensitive nonstructural components is provided, along with suggestions for further improving.

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REPAIR COSTS DUE TO INFILLS FOR RC BUILDINGS AFTER 2009 L’AQUILA EARTHQUAKE

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN 2015) ◽

10.7712/120119.6975.19979 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Carlo Del Gaudio ◽

Maria Teresa De Risi ◽

Gerardo Mario Verderame

Keyword(s):

L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Rc Buildings ◽

Repair Costs ◽

2009 L’Aquila Earthquake

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Empirical fragility curves from damage data on RC buildings after the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.1007/s10518-016-0026-1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 1425-1450 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Carlo Del Gaudio ◽

Giuseppina De Martino ◽

Marco Di Ludovico ◽

Gaetano Manfredi ◽

Andrea Prota ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fragility Curves ◽

L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Rc Buildings ◽

2009 L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Damage Data

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A component-level methodology to evaluate the seismic repair costs of infills and services for Italian RC buildings

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.1007/s10518-020-00944-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (14) ◽

pp. 6533-6570 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Teresa De Risi ◽

Carlo Del Gaudio ◽

Gerardo Mario Verderame

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Structural Components ◽

Rc Buildings ◽

Component Level ◽

Building Stock ◽

Damage Level ◽

Repair Costs ◽

Electric Equipment

Abstract The reliable estimation of seismic losses due to damage to buildings is paramount for the post-emergency management and the planning of recovery activities. For residential reinforced concrete (RC) infilled buildings, a significant role in the computation of seismic loss is played by non-structural components, above all infills, partitions and services, as shown in past earthquakes. In this work, a component-based methodology is proposed to assess seismic losses for residential RC buildings in Mediterranean region. The attention is focused on the repairing activities for masonry infills (typical enclosure or partitions elements in Italian and Mediterranean RC buildings), and for services (plumbing systems, electric equipment, floor/wall tiles…), commonly enclosed within the infill panels for the considered building typology. The described methodology can be used starting from the expected damage level to infills and partitions. It adopts given repair unit costs at different damage states of infills. The loss estimation methodology has been, first, validated by comparing predicted and actual repair costs for specific case-study buildings damaged by L’Aquila (Italy) 2009 earthquake. Then, the methodology has been applied to a wide dataset of RC buildings (about 2500 residential buildings) damaged by L’Aquila earthquake available from the literature, to show its possible application at a large-scale level. A good agreement between observed and predicted costs is obtained both for specific case-study buildings and for the wider building stock, especially when damage to structural components is very limited.

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Evaluation and considerations about fundamental periods of damaged reinforced concrete buildings

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-13-1903-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1903-1912 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

R. Ditommaso ◽

M. Vona ◽

M. R. Gallipoli ◽

M. Mucciarelli

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Structural Damage ◽

Fundamental Period ◽

L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Reinforced Concrete Buildings ◽

Rc Buildings ◽

Damage Level ◽

Concrete Buildings ◽

2009 L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Code Provisions

Abstract. The aim of this paper is an empirical estimation of the fundamental period of reinforced concrete buildings and its variation due to structural and non-structural damage. The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake has highlighted the mismatch between experimental data and code provisions value not only for undamaged buildings but also for the damaged ones. The 6 April 2009 L'Aquila earthquake provided the first opportunity in Italy to estimate the fundamental period of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings after a strong seismic sequence. A total of 68 buildings with different characteristics, such as age, height and damage level, have been investigated by performing ambient vibration measurements that provided their fundamental translational period. Four different damage levels were considered according with the definitions by EMS 98 (European Macroseismic Scale), trying to regroup the estimated fundamental periods versus building heights according to damage. The fundamental period of RC buildings estimated for low damage level is equal to the previous relationship obtained in Italy and Europe for undamaged buildings, well below code provisions. When damage levels are higher, the fundamental periods increase, but again with values much lower than those provided by codes. Finally, the authors suggest a possible update of the code formula for the simplified estimation of the fundamental period of vibration for existing RC buildings, taking into account also the inelastic behaviour.

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Evaluation of Repair Costs for Masonry Infills in RC Buildings from Observed Damage Data: the Case-Study of the 2009 L’Aquila Earthquake

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings9050122 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 122 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Maria De Risi ◽

Carlo Del Gaudio ◽

Gerardo Verderame

Keyword(s):

Earthquake Engineering ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Damage Scenario ◽

Reconstruction Process ◽

Masonry Infills ◽

Repair Costs ◽

Infill Panels ◽

2009 L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Observed Damage

The estimation of direct and indirect losses due to earthquakes is a key issue in the Performance Based Earthquake Engineering framework. In commonly adopted loss computation tools, no specific data related to masonry infill panels, widespread in moment-resisting-frame residential buildings, are available to perform a probabilistic assessment of losses. To fill this gap, specific fragility and loss functions have been recently proposed in the last years. To assess their validity and estimate the relevance of the repair costs due to infills after earthquakes with respect to the total reconstruction process, the present work analyses the Reinforced Concrete residential buildings with masonry infills struck by the 2009 L’Aquila (Italy) earthquake, focusing on the dataset of “lightly” damaged buildings, where only damage to masonry infills occurred. Based on available data related to these buildings, the observed damage scenario after L’Aquila earthquake is first obtained. The repair costs for infills are estimated given this damage scenario. The resulting estimated repair costs are then compared with the actual repair costs presented in the available literature. The percentage influence of infills on the total repair costs due to earthquakes for residential buildings is lastly computed, resulting on average equal to the fifty percent.

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A class-oriented mechanical approach for seismic damage assessment of RC buildings subjected to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.1007/s10518-018-0365-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 4581-4605 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Carlo Del Gaudio ◽

Paolo Ricci ◽

Gerardo Mario Verderame

Keyword(s):

Damage Assessment ◽

Seismic Damage ◽

L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Rc Buildings ◽

2009 L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Mechanical Approach ◽

Seismic Damage Assessment

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Lessons Not Learned: Why is There Still a Crisis-Level Shortage of Accounting Ph.D.s?

Accounting Horizons ◽

10.2308/acch-50703 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 313-330 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

R. David Plumlee ◽

Philip M. J. Reckers

Keyword(s):

Student Perceptions ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Doctoral Programs ◽

Cumulative Impact ◽

Program Administrators ◽

Accounting Faculty ◽

Present Information ◽

Different Types

SYNOPSIS: In 2005, an ad hoc committee appointed by the American Accounting Association (AAA) documented a crisis-level shortage of accounting Ph.D.s and recommended significant structural changes to doctoral programs (Kachelmeier, Madeo, Plumlee, Pratt, and Krull 2005). However, subsequent studies show that the shortage continues and the cumulative costs grow (e.g., Fogarty and Holder 2012; Brink, Glasscock, and Wier 2012). The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) recently called for renewed attention to the problem (AACSB 2013b). We contribute to the literature by providing updated information regarding responses by doctoral programs and, from the eyes of potential candidates, of continuing impediments to solving the doctoral shortage. In this paper, we present information gathered through surveys of program administrators and master's and Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program (ADS) students. We explore (1) the cumulative impact of the Ph.D. shortage as of 2013, including its impact on accounting faculty composition, across different types of institutions, (2) negative student perceptions of Ph.D. programs and academic accounting careers, which discourage applicants from pursuing Ph.D. programs, and (3) impediments facing institutions in expanding doctoral programs.

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Mechanics-based fragility curves for Italian residential URM buildings

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.1007/s10518-020-00928-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marco Donà ◽

Pietro Carpanese ◽

Veronica Follador ◽

Luca Sbrogiò ◽

Francesca da Porto

Keyword(s):

Reference Model ◽

Fragility Curves ◽

National Level ◽

Building Stock ◽

Damage Scenarios ◽

Complex Evaluation ◽

Proposed Model ◽

2009 L’Aquila Earthquake ◽

Damage States ◽

Observed Damage

Abstract Seismic risk assessment at the territorial level is now widely recognised as essential for countries with intense seismic activity, such as Italy. Academia is called to give its contribution in order to synergically deepen the knowledge about the various components of this risk, starting from the complex evaluation of vulnerability of the built heritage. In line with this, a mechanics-based seismic fragility model for Italian residential masonry buildings was developed and presented in this paper. This model is based on the classification of the building stock in macro-typologies, defined by age of construction and number of storeys, which being information available at national level, allow simulating damage scenarios and carrying out risk analyses on a territorial scale. The model is developed on the fragility of over 500 buildings, sampled according to national representativeness criteria and analysed through the Vulnus_4.0 software. The calculated fragility functions were extended on the basis of a reference model available in the literature, which provides generic fragilities for the EMS98 vulnerability classes, thus obtaining a fragility model defined on the five EMS98 damage states. Lastly, to assess the reliability of the proposed model, this was used to simulate damage scenarios due to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. Overall, the comparison between model results and observed damage showed a good fit, proving the model effectiveness.

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