Collapse Fragility Functions for Squat Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls with Different Design Parameters

Earthquake-related disasters are unpredictable in nature, thus leading to catastrophic consequences if structures are not adequately designed to mitigate such risks. Recent research studies have shown poor seismic performance demonstrated by buildings that had squat reinforced concrete shear walls as their main seismic force-resisting systems. This performance is mainly due to the complex nonlinear behavior, governed mainly by shear, as well as the wide range of design parameters of such walls. As such, developing seismic collapse fragility functions for such walls is still needed to link the probability of structural collapse occurrence to a ground motion intensity level. In this respect, the objective of this study is to conduct incremental dynamic analysis for squat reinforced concrete shear walls with different geometrical configurations and design parameters, and then use the analysis results to develop seismic collapse fragility functions in order to facilitate the quantification of the seismic collapse risk. To achieve this objective, OpenSees is used to develop numerical models that simulate the seismic response of different walls, designed with several configurations under different gravity load levels. The developed collapse fragility functions can be used to assess the adequacy of the design in mitigating seismic risks and eventually can be implemented by the different design standards to ensure the robustness and effectiveness of their design methodology.