Seismic Design - Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings

In Seismic Design - Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings, you'll learn ...

• Seismic triggers that require building owners to retrofit their buildings
• How extremely vulnerable building types can be identified by observation - without the need for statistical analysis
• The three levels of evaluation in ASCE 31-03, Seismic Evaluation of Existing Buildings
• The reliability of seismic evaluations

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 3 CPD

Length: 65 pages

Prior to the introduction of modern seismic codes in the U.S. in the late 1960s, many structures were designed without adequate detailing and reinforcement for seismic protection. Furthermore, many of those U.S. seismic codes enforced in the 1960s and even into the 1970s are now considered suspect.

It is widely recognized that the most significant seismic risk in the U.S. resides in our existing older building stock. Seismic retrofitting is the modification of an existing building to make it more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers, the need for seismic retrofitting is well acknowledged.

This course describes the many issues associated with the risk from existing buildings, including common building code provisions covering older buildings, evaluation of the risks from any one given building and what levels of risk are deemed acceptable, as well as methods of mitigation of these risks through retrofit.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain why so many existing buildings have inadequate seismic performance
• Assess the importance of nonlinear response in seismic design
• Identify code requirements covering the seismic retrofit of existing buildings
• Describe seismic triggers that require building owners to retrofit their buildings
• Compare passive versus active code provisions
• Differentiate between green-, yellow-, and red-tagged buildings following an earthquake
• List FEMA documents that provide guidance on seismic rehabilitation
• Define HAZUS software and explain how it is used to estimate earthquake damage
• Classify FEMA model building types, along with their common seismic deficiencies
• Analyze expected performance based on building type
• Diagnose extremely vulnerable building types or components by observation without relying on statistical analysis
• Interpret the three levels of evaluation in ASCE 31-03, Seismic Evaluation of Existing Buildings
• Determine the data required for seismic evaluation of existing buildings
• Evaluate the reliability of seismic evaluations
• Distinguish the three basic categories of measures taken to retrofit a building
• Summarize the five basic issues that are always of concern to building owners when considering the retrofit of a building to improve seismic performance
• Examine examples of retrofit projects employing steel braced frames and steel moment frames
• Outline special issues associated with the seismic evaluation and retrofit of historic buildings

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 15 questions. CPD credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.