Seismic fragility curves for reinforced concrete frame buildings in Canada designed after 1985

Performance of reinforced concrete frame buildings depends on seismic hazard of the region and vulnerability of the structure. Performance-based evaluation of buildings may be conducted through fragility curves developed for different levels of performance. Reinforced concrete frame buildings with 2, 5, and 10-stories, designed as moderately ductile buildings for Ottawa in Eastern Canada and fully ductile buildings for Vancouver in Western Canada were used to generate seismic fragility curves. The buildings were analyzed using PERFORM-3D software to assess seismic vulnerabilities. Incremental dynamic analysis was employed to generate fragility curves. Two sets of earthquake records compatible with uniform hazard spectra of 2010 NBCC were selected, where each set contained 20 records for each city. The fragility curves depict probabilities of exceedances for different damage states, and can be used for seismic vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete frame buildings in Canada designed and built after 1985.