Structure-to-structure seismic damage correlation model

Abstract

Strong earthquake disasters can cause noticeable damage correlations among regional buildings with similar mechanical properties, termed structure-to-structure seismic damage correlation, which has a pronounced impact on the regional seismic risk assessment and therefore needs to be properly quantified. This study first introduces a time-domain analytical and equivalent frequency-domain analysis based on random vibration theory for calculating structure-to-structure seismic damage correlation coefficients. Subsequently, by employing the spatially consistent white noise excitation and the spatially varying white noise excitation with the Luco–Wong coherence function, the structural filtering effect and the ground motion spatial correlation effect are progressively incorporated, and an analytical interstructural damage correlation model incorporating structural dynamic properties and spatial distance is derived. Comparations with Monte Carlo simulations and existing empirical models demonstrate that the proposed analytical model possesses a clear physical basis and high reliability. Finally, a case study was conducted on a district having 29,461 buildings in Shanghai, China to illustrate the influence of interstructural damage correlation on the regional seismic risk. Results show that disregarding the interstructural seismic damage correlation can lead to underestimation of overall loss uncertainty.