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com

Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of

Buildings: A Review and Comparative Study
Prabhu Agrawal 1, S.K. Jaiswal 2
1 P.G.
Scholar, 2 Associate Professor
[email protected]

Dept. of Civil Engineering, Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg (C.G.), India

Abstract
India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world, where its economic stability
is hugely reliant on its infrastructure and people. In India, 85% of existing buildings are
unreinforced masonry (URM) and 5-7% are reinforced concrete and 5-7% are traditional
buildings. And most buildings do not qualify to resist earthquakes, technically we can say
they would not be able to resist earthquake loads. In the past, we have seen at the time of
several earthquakes, we lost millions of lives and the economy of that region. In the Study,
we have reviewed various research papers on Seismic Vulnerability and conclude its
findings.

Keywords: Seismic vulnerability, Existing Building, Vulnerability Assessment

1. Introduction

The country is threatened by India's expanding population and extensive unscientific structures
such as multistory luxury flats, vast manufacturing complexes, gigantic malls, supermarkets,
warehouses, and brick buildings. In the previous 15 years, ten big earthquakes rocked the country,
killing approximately 20,000 people. According to India's current seismic zone map (IS 1893:
2002), more than 59 per cent of the country's geographical area is at risk of moderate to severe
seismic hazard—that is, it is prone to shaking of MSK Intensity VII or above (BMTPC, 2006). In
fact, the entire Himalayan region is thought to be prone to massive earthquakes with magnitudes
more than 8.0-, with four such events occurring in the last 50 years.
Damage from earthquakes and floods is increasing all over the world, resulting in a major increase
in the loss of human life, economic assets, and infrastructure. We cannot currently prevent natural
disasters from occurring; however, the negative repercussions connected with them can be
significantly reduced by implementing better preventive techniques. Earthquakes can have a
significant impact on the built environment, and the extent of damage is largely determined by

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building types, materials, construction procedures, and institutional regulations. As a result, the
susceptibility of the existing building stock can have a significant impact on the number of
casualties, injuries, and asset losses in an earthquake. Different types of buildings, such as
residential, commercial, industrial, and educational structures, can sustain varying degrees of
infrastructure damage and fatalities. Exploring the seismic vulnerability of structures might thus
aid in comprehending the diverse concept of vulnerability and, more broadly, disaster risk.
1.1. Seismic Vulnerability

Vulnerability is defined as the inability to withstand a danger, and seismic vulnerability is

the likelihood of structural and non-structural damage to buildings, services,
infrastructures, and so on due to earthquakes. The three major components of seismic risk
assessment are hazard, vulnerability, and exposure. However, it is uncontrollable. On the
other hand, a community's susceptibility and exposure can be controlled and decreased to
a significant extent in order to lower total seismic risk. The seismic vulnerability of a
structure is a measure of its seismic capacity and is thus one of the most important aspects
of seismic risk assessment. When a structure's vulnerability is assessed, it suggests that a
thorough study and retrofitting are required.
A structure's seismic vulnerability can be defined as its vulnerability to damage caused by
ground shaking of a certain intensity. The vulnerability function relationship is established
by defining the expected damage for a building or a class of buildings as a function of
ground motion (Figure 1). The two most important parts of vulnerability assessments are
the building's capacity and seismic demand. The seismic damage is evaluated by
comparing the building's ability to resist restrictions (capacity) with the limitations on the
structure caused by earthquake ground motion. The susceptibility of those sections of a
building that are necessary for physical support when confronted with a violent earthquake
or another disaster is referred to as structural vulnerability.

Figure 1: Risk Associated with building

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(1) Hazard:

The occurrence of an earthquake of the significate magnitude capable of causing damage

to the man-made structure. The intensity at the epicenter is high.
It can’t be controlled in its occurrence.
(2) Exposure:

Objects and structure built by man which are exposed to the effects of the ‘hazard’. It can
be also expressed as the factor such as time period.
It can be controlled by man.
(3) Vulnerability:

Damageability of the ‘exposure’ under the action of the hazard; Weaker ones being more
vulnerable and ‘risky’ than the stronger ones.
It can be minimized by adopting the better preventive strategies.

(4) Location:

(i) How far the ‘exposure” is situated from the Hazard location nearer one being in the
greater danger than those far away.
(ii) Local site condition which can affect the hazard or the stability and exposure, such as
topography, soil condition, water table etc.
Seismic Risk = function {Hazard, Exposure, Vulnerability, Location}

1.2. Performance Based Seismic Design

(1) Performance-based Design is a philosophy of designing structures for predictable

building performance with design loads considered at initial stage.
(2) This approach is adopted in designing a new building or in evaluating an old existing
structure.
(3) In performance-based design, associated structural engineers recognize the specific
performance of the structure and discuss its philosophy with the owner of the
building.
(4) It is aggressively used in designing a seismic resistant structure.

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(5) It is a used in structure or designing a resilient structure stand against probable

seismic load.
(6) The performance-based design of structures considers the behavior of the
nonstructural members also.
(7) Because of the dynamic behavior of loads such as winds and blast loads, structural
engineers are now considering these sorts of structures.
(8) The structure's deformation is assessed in terms of a drift of monitoring the behavior
of structural and nonstructural elements. Guidelines such as FEMA 273 and FEMA
356 have outlined the drift's restrictions.
(9) The recommendations in FEMA 356 can be used to define the performance standards.
It can be expressed in terms of the building's lateral deflection/drift or as the hinge
formation.
(10) The occupancy level has three states defined Based on the rotation of the element;
the occupancy level has three states. They are specified based on the hinge's rotation.
The figure below, taken from the FEMA 356, depicts the formation of occupancy
levels based on global displacement.

Figure 2: Performance Criteria

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Figure 3: Performance Level Grid

Figure 4: Performance Level based on FEMA 273/356

Figure 5: Lateral Load vs. Deflection

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction
A comprehensive study of research papers is conducted over a period of approximately 15
years, with the study object in mind. The various standard research journals are studies
based on the building's seismic vulnerability and its causes. When reviewing the research-
based papers on Seismic Vulnerability, the authors' good amount of information and
conclusions are an excellent help in our research.
(1) Drian Fredrick C. Dyaa and Andres Winston C. Oretaaa 2015
 According to this research paper, the main reason for soft story buildings being
more vulnerable to earthquakes is the localization of seismic forces.
 Though the total demand on the building is reduced as a result of the increased
height, uneven demands on the building's areas result in a local hazard.
 The forces are concentrated on the segment of the building with the lowest
stiffness, which is where the soft story is located. This can be seen in the evolution
of the plastic hinges, the story drift of the buildings, and the design. These seismic
parameters demonstrate seismic demand localization. The building's risk has
increased due to increased hazards of specific types.
(2) Terala Srikanth, Ramancharla and Pradeep Kumar 2010
 Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) was performed on 16000 buildings in the cities of
Gandhidham and Adipur. The preliminary findings reveal a wide range of
construction practises, with RCC and masonry structures dominating. The RVS
scores of these structures indicate that, in general, the buildings are of low quality,
and that further evaluation and strengthening of the buildings is recommended.
 Gujarat is located in one of the world's most seismically active zones, and future
earthquakes of moderate to great magnitude cannot be ruled out. In this regard, a
comprehensive study of Gujarat's seismic risk assessment was conducted. Gujarat's
government chose Gandhidham and Adipur as pilot cities.
 A Rapid Visual Survey was carried out on 16000 buildings in Gandhidham and
Adipur. Based on the low scores, the area is potentially vulnerable to future
earthquakes. It is also suggested that preliminary and detailed analyses be
performed on 300 buildings in order to calibrate RVS scores.

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(3) Angelo Masi 2003

 The seismic vulnerability of some existing Reinforced Concrete buildings designed
only for vertical loads has been assessed. Nonlinear dynamic analyses with
artificial and natural accelerograms are used to calculate the seismic response.
 There are three types of frames studied: bare frames, regularly infilled frames, and
pilotis frames.
 The results show that the pilotis buildings are highly vulnerable: they are classified
as class B on the European Macro seismic Scale of 1998. (EMS98).
 On the contrary, regularly infilled buildings have a low vulnerability (EMS98 class
D): collapse in this case is considered unlikely even with strong earthquakes.
Buildings without infills exhibit intermediate seismic behaviour, with vulnerability
ranging between classes B and C.
(4) Babita Tamta and Vikram Kaintura 2021
 The study identifies poor construction quality, a lack of maintenance, and
noncompliance with safety standards as the primary reasons for the surveyed
buildings' increased vulnerability. According to Chamoli data, a total of 2120
masonry buildings (about 25% of those surveyed) have a high probability of Grade
5 damage and a very high probability of Grade 4 damage, whereas 533 buildings
(about 19% of those surveyed) have a high probability of Grade 4 damage and a
very high probability of Grade 3 damage in the event of earthquake shaking of
Intensity VIII or greater on the MSK scale. Rapid visual screening (RVS) can be
used effectively to assess the vulnerability of a large number of buildings while
requiring little computational effort.

According to the study, only 18.38 per cent of the surveyed masonry units fall into Grade
1 and Grade 2 (Table 3), which are considered safe in a seismic event. A large proportion
of the surveyed masonry building units (81.61 per cent) are thus likely to sustain major
damage in a seismic event, which is a serious issue that requires immediate correction.
9.05 per cent of the masonry building units surveyed have Grade 5 structural damage or
total or near total collapse. Furthermore, 47.09 per cent fall in Grade 4, indicating severe
structural failure of the roof and floor. The study emphasises the serious issue of
noncompliance with seismic safety codes and negligence of established engineering
norms.

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(5) Moustafa Moufid Kassem, Fadzli Mohamed Nazri, Ehsan and Noroozinejad
Farsangi 2020
 The authors attempted to present the most common empirical and analytical
methodologies in a concise manner in order to encourage researchers and
practising engineers to use it as a comprehensive guide and reference for their
future work.
(6) Amirhosein Shabani, Mahdi Kioumarsi and Maria Zucconi 2021
 This study examined simplified analytical methods for assessing the seismic
vulnerability of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, beginning with their
classification into three major groups: collapse mechanism-based, capacity
spectrum-based, and fully displacement-based methods. Finally, consideration was
given to the corresponding software packages that were created to aid in the
assessment process.

(7) Shunsuke Otani 2000

 A brief overview of the development of seismic vulnerability evaluation standards
for reinforced concrete buildings in Japan is provided. Damage statistics show that
even after damaging earthquakes around the world, severe damage was observed
in a relatively small percentage of existing buildings. To identify such vulnerable
buildings among the existing building stock, a simple screening procedure is
required. Following a discussion of the principles of seismic vulnerability
assessment using a simple single-degree-of-freedom system, applications to multi-
degree-of-freedom systems and irregularly configured structures are discussed. A
general procedure consistent with Japan's current design provisions is introduced.
(8) M. Panahi, F. Rezaie, and S. A. Meshkani 2013
 The current study's goal is to assess the seismic vulnerability of school buildings
in Tehran using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a geographic information
system (GIS). The peak ground acceleration, slope, and soil liquefaction layers
were used to create a geotechnical map for this purpose. Furthermore, the structural
materials, age of construction, quality, and seismic resonance coefficient layers
were identified as major factors influencing the structural vulnerability of school
buildings.

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 The AHP method was then used to assess the priority rank and weight of each
criterion's criteria (layers) and alternatives (classes) via pairwise comparison at all
levels. Finally, the geotechnical and structural spatial layers were superimposed to
create a seismic vulnerability map of school buildings in California.
(9) A. Formisano, F. M. Mazzolani and G. Florio, R. Landolfo 2010
 The work focuses on the development, validation, and large-scale application of a
quick methodology for seismic vulnerability assessment of historical masonry
aggregates typical of Italian town centres.
 The proposed procedure was first established by conducting parametric analyses
on a masonry structural unit representative of the municipality of Sessa Aurunca.
Then, within an investigation area of the historical centre of Torre del Greco, a
town in the district of Naples, a masonry building block was initially selected and
numerically analysed for form validation.
 Finally, the proposed methodology was applied to the entire surveyed area of Torre
del Greco, allowing for the creation of a damage map of the built up in relation to
a reference point.
(10) J.A. Razak, Shuib bin Rambat, Zhongchao Shi and Saiful Amri bin Mazlan
2021
 Sabah is vulnerable to seismic activity because of its location, which is near the
boundaries of three major active tectonic plates: the Eurasian, India-Australia, and
Philippine-Pacific plates. The 6.0 Mw earthquake that struck Ranau, Sabah, on
June 15, 2015, and killed 18 people, all of whom were Mount Kinabalu climbers,
raised many concerns, most notably the need for a seismic vulnerability assessment
for this region.
 To map seismic vulnerability in Ranau, Sabah, this study used frequency ratio
(FR)-index of entropy (IoE) and a combination of (FR-IoE) with an analytical
hierarchy process (AHP). The success rate and prediction rate for the areas under
the relative operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.853; 0.856 for the FR-
IoE model and 0.863; 0.906 for the (FR-IoE) AHP, respectively.
(11) L. Gerardo F. Salazar and Tiago Miguel Ferreira 2020
 Seismic risk is determined by the sum of multiple components produced by a
specific seismic intensity, which include seismic hazard, structural vulnerability,
and asset exposure at a specified zone.

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 By relegating ordinary dwellings to a second plane, most methods and strategies

used to assess the vulnerability of historic structures are specialised in buildings of
higher importance, either public or private. As a result, the purpose of this paper is
to present a seismic vulnerability assessment based on a limited urban area of
Mexico City's Historic Downtown, resulting in the analysis of 166 historic
buildings. The area's seismic vulnerability was assessed using a simplified seismic
vulnerability assessment method that included both qualitative and quantitative
parameters. The results were integrated into a Geographic Information System
(GIS) tool, which allowed to map vulnerability and damage scenarios for different
earthquake intensities, to better manage and analyse the human and economic
exposure.
(12) Nicola Chieffo, Marius Mosoarca, Antonio Formisano, Iasmina Apostol 2018
 The level of earthquake hazard, building vulnerability, and level of exposure are
all factors in assessing seismic risk in built-up areas. Large-scale vulnerability
assessment is a well-known topic for the protection of historical buildings and the
mitigation of the effects of natural phenomena on built-up areas. Timisoara will be
the European Cultural Capital in 2020, so knowing the number of unusable and
collapsed buildings in the event of an earthquake is critical for planning appropriate
future intervention strategies from structural and urban perspectives. Based on
these assumptions, the proposed research is being carried out in collaboration with
the University of Naples "Federico II," with the primary goal of focusing on the
seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings.
 To begin, the typological vulnerability classes of buildings have been defined using
the RISK-UE method in order to classify them from both a typological and
structural standpoint. Following that, a vulnerability form appropriate for masonry
aggregates was filled out for the study area buildings, and typological fragility
functions were derived for them in order to identify the most vulnerable
constructions.
 Finally, parametric analysis was performed by varying the seismic magnitude and
site-source distance to estimate seismic loss under earthquakes.
(13) Mohsen Alizadeh, Mazlan Hashim, Esmaeil Alizadeh, Himan Shahabi,
Mohammad Reza Karami, Amin Beiranvand Pour, Biswajeet Pradhan and
Hassan Zabihi 2018

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 The research was done in the study to assess the seismic vulnerability of residential
houses in an urban region using the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making model, which
included the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information
system (GIS). Tabriz, located near the North Tabriz Fault (NTF) in northwestern
Iran, was chosen as a case study. The NTF is a major seismogenic fault in Iran's
northwestern region. First, a geotechnical map was created using parameters such
as distance to fault, slope percentage, and geology layers. Furthermore, structural
construction materials, building materials, building block size, building quality,
and building floors were identified as key factors influencing the structural
vulnerability of residential buildings.
 Following that, the AHP technique was used to measure the priority ranking,
criteria weight (layers), and alternatives (classes) of each criterion at all levels
using pair-wise comparison. Finally, the layers of geotechnical and spatial
structures were superimposed to create a seismic vulnerability map of buildings in
Tabriz's residential area. According to the findings, the south and southeast areas
of Tabriz city have low to moderate vulnerability, while some areas in the north-
eastern area have severe vulnerability. Finally, the proposed approach provides a
practical and effective evaluation of the Seismic Vulnerability Assessment.
(14) G. Castellazzi, C. Gentilini, and L. Nobile 2013
 This paper presents an analysis of the seismic vulnerability of a church structure
through the study of three collapse mechanisms of its facade. The analysis was
performed using nonlinear finite element models and in accordance with Italian
standards for monumental and historical masonry buildings. Some macro elements
have been investigated using results from limit analysis and nonlinear finite
element analysis, with a focus on those that interact with the facade.
 The obtained results demonstrated the primary role of the interlocking effect of
lateral walls on facade behaviour, as well as the role of the church's conservation
status, cracking pattern, and previous damage state. Analyses have provided basic
information about the structural behaviour of the church under seismic loads,
highlighting that some of the mechanisms studied do not correspond to safe
conditions. As a result, appropriate retrofitting actions can be designed.
(15) Ehsan Harirchian, Kirti Jadhav, Kifaytullah Mohammad , Seyed Ehsan
Aghakouchaki Hosseini and Tom Lahmer 2020

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 The demand for occupancy has rapidly increased the construction rate, while
inadequate structure design has made structures more vulnerable. Buildings built
prior to the development of seismic codes are more vulnerable to earthquake
vibrations. The structural collapse results in economic losses as well as human life
losses. The use of various theoretical methods to analyse structural behaviour is
costly and time-consuming.
 As a result, for future developments, it is necessary to implement a rapid
vulnerability assessment method to check structural performances. As previously
stated, the procedure is known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). This method was
developed to identify, inventory, and screen potentially hazardous structures.
When poor construction quality fails to provide some of the required parameters,
the RVS process fails as a result, and multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM)
methods for seismic vulnerability assessment open a new door to dealing with such
a situation. The various RVS parameters can be taken into account in MCDM. In
several fields, MCDM evaluates multiple conflicting criteria in decision making.
The purpose of this paper was to bridge the gap between RVS and MCDM.
Furthermore, to define the relationship between these techniques, methodologies
from Indian, Turkish, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
codes have been implemented. The effects of structural seismic vulnerability have
been observed and compared.

3. Conclusion
From the study we have found the following point:
(1) The main reason for soft story buildings being more vulnerable to earthquakes is
the localization of seismic forces.
(2) The forces are concentrated on the segment of the building with the lowest stiffness.
(3) The seismic vulnerable existing Reinforced Concrete buildings are designed only
for vertical loads and not for horizontal (EQ load or Wind Load).
(4) The results show that the pilotis buildings are highly vulnerable: they are classified
as class B on the European Macroseismic Scale of 1998. (EMS98).
(5) On the contrary, regularly infilled buildings have a low vulnerability (EMS98 class
D): collapse in this case is considered unlikely even with strong earthquakes.
Buildings without infills exhibit intermediate seismic behaviour, with vulnerability
ranging between classes B and C.

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(6) simplified analytical methods for assessing the seismic vulnerability of

unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, beginning with their classification into
three major groups: collapse mechanism-based, capacity spectrum-based, and fully
displacement-based methods.
(7) The primary role of the interlocking effect of lateral walls on facade behaviour, as
well as the role of the conservation status, cracking pattern, and previous damage
state. Analyses have provided basic information about the structural behaviour of
the building under seismic loads, highlighting that some of the mechanisms studied
do not correspond to safe conditions. As a result, appropriate retrofitting actions can
be designed.
(8) The study identifies poor construction quality, a lack of maintenance, and non-
compliance with safety standards as the primary reasons for the surveyed buildings'
increased vulnerability. Rapid visual screening (RVS) can be used effectively to
assess the vulnerability of a large number of buildings while requiring little
computational effort.

References

[1] Drian Fredrick C. Dyaa, Andres Winston C. Oretaaa, “Seismic Vulnerability Assessment
of a Historical Church: Limit Analysis and Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis.”
[2] Terala Srikanth, Ramancharla and Pradeep Kumar, “Rapid Visual Survey of Existing
Buildings in Gandhidham and Adipur Cities,Kachchh, Gujarat”
[3] Angelo Masi, “Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Gravity Load Designed R/C Frames”
[4] Babita Tamta, Vikram Kaintura, “Case Study on Earthquake Vulnerability Assessment for
Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, India”
[5] Moustafa Moufid Kassem, Fadzli Mohamed Nazri, Ehsan and Noroozinejad Farsangi, “
The seismic vulnerability assessment methodologies: A state-of-the-art review”
[6] J.A. Razak, Shuib bin Rambat, Zhongchao Shi and Saiful Amri bin Mazlan, “Seismic
Vulnerability Assessment in Ranau, Sabah, Using Two Different Models”
[7] G. Castellazzi, C. Gentilini,L. Nobile, “Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of a Historical
Church: Limit Analysis and Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis”

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