Seismic resilience for recovery investments of bridges methodology

Bridges are fundamental links for the movement of goods and people and bridge damage can thus have significant impacts on society and the economy. Earthquakes can be extremely destructive and can compromise bridge functionality, which is essential for communities. Evaluation of bridge functionality is thus fundamental in the planning of emergency responses and socioeconomic recovery procedures. It is especially useful to define parameters to assess investments in bridge infrastructure. Resilience is a key parameter that can identify decision making procedures necessary for recovery investments. In this regard, resilience can be defined as the rapidity of a system to return to pre-disaster levels of functionality. This aim of this work was to assess the lack of robust analytical procedures for quantifying systematic restoration for earthquake-damaged bridges, to provide a link between the assessment of resilience and its application in decision making approaches. The proposed methodology (called seismic resilience for recovery investments of bridges) uses functionality–time curves that allow quantification of resilience along with readable findings for a wider range of stakeholders. The results presented in this paper should be of interest to multi-sectorial actors (i.e. bridge owners, transportation authorities and public administrators) and could drive interdisciplinary applications such as the assessment of recovery techniques and solutions.

Seismic Isolation and Response Control

<p>The seismic resilience of new and existing structures is a key priority for the protection of human lives and the reduction of economic losses in earthquake prone areas. The modern seismic codes have focused on the upgrade of the structural performance of the new and existing structures. However, in many cases it is preferrable to mitigate the effects of the earthquakes by reducing the induced loads in the structures using seismic isolation and response control devices. The limited expertise in the selection and design of the appropriate system for new and existing structures is the main challenge for an extensive use of seismic isolation and response control systems in practice.</p> <p>This document aims to provide a practical guide by presenting a collection of the most commonly used seismic isolation and response control systems and a critical evaluation of the main characteristics of these systems. Comparisons of the key parameters of the design processes for new buildings with seismic isolation are presented, while the application of seismic isolation systems and response control systems for the retrofitting of existing structures is also examined, followed by various case studies from Greece, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Turkey.</p>

Self-centering seismic-resistant structures: Historical overview and state-of-the-art

This state-of-the-art review provides an overview of the evolution of self-centering structures from early historical structures that inherently exhibited a recentering response to modern systems engineered for enhanced seismic resilience. From the early research investigations that were conducted since the 1960s, to the sharp increase of interest in this topic over the last two decades, self-centering seismic-resistant structures that can mitigate both damage and residual drifts following major earthquakes have seen significant advances. These systems achieve the intended self-centering response by either allowing for the rocking of primary structural elements in a controlled manner, commonly coupled with mechanical restraints and energy dissipation devices, or by including self-centering devices as main structural or supplemental structural members. To better explain the concepts and the underlying mechanics governing their seismic response, detailed schematic illustrations were developed in this article, highlighting the fundamentals behind each of these systems. This article covers a historical overview, presents the state of the research and of the art, discusses general design challenges and practical considerations, and concludes with future research needs to advance the development and broader application of self-centering systems in real structures.

Based on Historical Seismic Damage Data to Rapidly Assessment the Vulnerability of Structures in Rural Village

This study investigated and classified typical structures in rural village and analyzed the vulnerability of various typical types of structures. Based on the statistics of earthquake damages with magnitudes above 5 from 1996 to 2013 in China, the damage matrixes of different types of structures in rural village are obtained. And The vulnerability index and the vulnerability equation of structure are crucial to assess the earthquake losses of typical structures under different magnitudes earthquakes. According to the seismic loss of different types of structures under different earthquake magnitudes, there are possible to improve the seismic resilience of the buildings in rural village. Moreover, the regional vulnerability is analyzed by &beta; probability distribution function, and the comprehensive seismic performance index of different types of agricultural buildings in the region is obtained. The main research is to predict the loss of different types of structures under different earthquake magnitudes in the future, and to provide technical support for different types of building in rural village reinforcement.