Porter, K A (2000) Assembly-based vulnerability of buildings and its uses in seismic performance evaluation and risk-management decision-making. PhD thesis, Stanford University, USA.
Abstract
A methodology is presented to evaluate the seismic vulnerability of buildings on a building-specific basis. The methodology, entitled assembly-based vulnerability, estimates repair cost, repair duration, and loss-of-use cost as functions of spectral acceleration. It treats the building as a unique collection of standard assemblies with probabilistic fragility, repair costs, and repair durations. The procedure applies Monte Carlo methods to simulate ground motion, structural response, assembly damage, repair costs, and repair duration. The methodology is illustrated using a realistic example office building. The dissertation also presents a decision-analysis approach to making seismic risk-management decisions for individual buildings, using the assembly-based vulnerability methodology. The decision analysis accounts for the decision-maker's business practices and risk attitude, and produces a recommendation of the best alternative on an expected-utility basis. A detailed procedure for eliciting the decision-maker's risk attitude is presented. The methodology is illustrated using a realistic example decision situation. It is found that risk attitude can make a material difference in the selection of the optimal risk-management alternative, thus calling into question techniques that assume risk neutrality and rely on cost-effectiveness as the key measure of desirability. Various techniques are presented for developing empirical and theoretical assembly fragilities; these techniques are illustrated through the creation of fragility functions for a wide variety of structural, nonstructural, and content assemblies. The fragility functions can be reused in subsequent analyses. Fragilities, are defined within the framework of a standardized, detailed, and highly adaptable assembly taxonomy. The taxonomy can facilitate unambiguous communication of assembly types, fragilities, and costs.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Kiremidjian, A S |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | taxonomy; communication; decision making; performance evaluation; risk management; decision analysis; duration |
| Index terms: | repair, performance evaluation, methodology, decision-making, management decision, vulnerability, risk attitude, cost-effectivenes, duration, taxonomy, estimate, dissertation, acceleration, risk management, decision analysis, office building, seismic risk, neutrality |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, economics, maintenance engineering, research methods, decision-making and reasoning, financial risk, project controls, decision analysis, environmental hazards, construction type, risk assessment, research dissemination and communication, data analysis and analytics, ethical practice, financial and cost management |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Risk Management, Sustainability, Time Control, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here