Seismic vulnerability assessment for tilt-up concrete buildings in Mid-America

This paper focuses on seismic vulnerability assessment for tilt-up concrete buildings in Mid- America.Tilt-up construction is commonly used for low-rise industrial and commercial buildings and has several advantages, including a large open space and low construction costs. However, many tilt-up concrete buildings were damaged during previous earthquakes in theWestern United States (U.S.) and other regions.Typical damage included collapse ofwall panels and roof diaphragms due to connection failures.To capture these potential failure mechanisms, a nonlinear finite element model is developed and dynamic analyses using synthetic ground motions for Memphis, Tennessee, are performed to assess dynamic behavior of the buildings. Then, fragility curves that provide a probabilistic measure of the seismic vulnerability of typical tilt-up buildings using demand models for multiple limit states are developed. This study shows that the vulnerability of typical tilt-up structures in Mid-America is significant when seismic hazards are high.