Assessment of Seismic Fragility of Structures with Consideration of the Quality of Construction

A method for the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of structures with consideration of the quality of construction is demonstrated on the example of single-story, industrial reinforced-concrete frames designed according to Eurocodes. Two experimental models of the prototype are considered: a structure erected under strict control of the workmanship and a structure with significant deficiencies in the arrangement of the reinforcement. Fragility analysis is performed for four damage states. The epistemic and aleatory uncertainties in the seismic demand and capacity for each damage state are determined. Among the considered different errors in the assembling of the reinforcement, the tying of the stirrups and the arrangement of the reinforcement in the beam-column joints are identified as critical deficiencies, which should be strictly controlled. The damage states of the studied structures are related to the European Macroseismic Scale and it is illustrated that the quality of construction does influence considerably the observed macroseismic intensity.