EARTHQUAKE PROBABILISTIC SAFETY AND LOSS EVALUATION OF BUILDINGS

RESRCH TO DEVELOP AN ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY FOR PROBABLISTIC SEISMIC EVALUATION OF STRUCTURAL AND NON-STRUCTURAL DAMAGE COSTS, BUILDING USE INTERUPTION COSTS, AND LIFE-SAFETY HAZ- ARD IS HEREIN PROPOSED. THE METHODOLOGY WHICH WOULD BE FUL-LY DEVELOPED AND COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED IN THE PHASE II PRO- EFFORT, WOULD BE SIMPLE TO USE, WOULD NOT REQUIRE DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF PROBABILISTIC METHODS, YET WOULD MAKE USE OF STATE-OF-THE-ART METHODS. THE RESRCH WILL BUILD ON EARLIER NSF-SUPPORTED WORK IN THE AREA OF ANALYTICAL PROBABILISTIC SAFETY ANALYSIS OF BUILDINGS UNDER EARTHQUAKE LOADINGS. THETECHNICAL APPROACH WILL CONSIST OF SITE HAZARD EVALUATION, RANDOM VIBRATION ANALYSIS CONSIDERING MATERIAL HYSTERETIC BEHAVIOR, AND ECONOMIC LOSS AND LIFE-SAFETY HAZARD EVALUA- TION. THE RANDOM VIBRATION ANALYSIS METHODS DEVELOPED IN EARLIER WORKS HAVE NOT FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THE HANDS OF PRACTICING ENGINEERS. CURRENT PROBABILISTIC METHODS IN USE ARE COMPARATIVELY SIMPLISTIC AND APPROXIMATE AND TEND TO RESULT IN OVERLY CONSERVATIVE DECISION-MAKING NOT IN THE IN-TEREST OF ECONOMY. THE INTENT HERE, AS STATED ABOVE, IS TO CONCENTRATE ON THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NECESSARY TO MAKE THE POWERFUL TOOLS, EMPLOYED ONLY AT UNIVERSITIES TO DATE, PRACTICAL TO IMPLEMENT. THIS WILL REQUIRE BOTH MATHE-MATICAL INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SIMPLIFIED USER INTER-FACES (INPUT AND OUTPUT).