Effects of near-field pulse-like ground motions on the seismic resilience of RC shear wall buildings

This paper examines the effects of near-field pulse-like earthquake ground motions (GMs) on the seismic resilience, repair cost and time, and structural collapse risk of low-to-high-rise selected multi-story RC structures with special moment-resisting frames (SMRFs) and shear walls. Selected 5-, 10-, and 15-story structures are designed based on a seismically active region where pulse-like GMs are more likely to occur. Two different sets of near-field GMs are chosen based on the recommendations of FEMA P-695 to conduct nonlinear dynamic analyses. Subsequently, the methodology provided in FEMA P-58 is adopted to perform a comprehensive seismic performance assessment at various hazard levels. It is shown that the consideration of the effects of near-field pulse-like GMs can considerably increase the risk of structural collapse in RC shear wall systems, based on the ratio of the pulse period of ground motion records to the elastic first mode period, in comparison to the near-field GMs without a pulse. It is concluded that the stated ratio is a crucial parameter to assess the risk to the life safety (LS) of low-to-high-rise RC buildings. For frequently occurring seismic intensities, repairable damage to nonstructural elements is the main factor contributing to the total expected economic loss in the studied buildings, irrespective of the selected GM set and the number of stories. In addition, the contribution of collapse and demolition due to residual drift in the estimation of repair time is significant for pulse-like GMs.