Abstract:
Albania is a country prone to earthquakes due to its location in a seismically
active region, where the convergence of the tectonic plates often results in severe
geological dynamics. The November 2019 earthquake emphasized the need to improve
performance evaluation methods, due to the fact that many premodern buildings were
severely damaged. This study evaluates the seismic performance of a template
reinforced concrete building which is chosen to represent the commonly constructed
designs with premodern codes during the 1980s in Albania. The building’s seismic
performance is evaluated by conducting a modern approach known as Incremental
Dynamic Analysis (IDA). This analysis is performed using a series of dynamic time
history analyses, simulating the effects of various intensity scales from a set of 20
ground motion records on the horizontal and vertical direction of the structure. For
each ground motion, the IDA curves are constructed, and the limit states including
Immediate Occupancy (IO), Collapse Prevention (CP) and Global Instability (GI)
performance levels are allocated. To statistically categorize the generated data of the
multi – record IDA curves, three percentile curves are obtained as 16%, 50% and 84%.
In the end, the results from the demand calculations are evaluated to determine if they
exceed or meet the performance point derived from probabilistic seismic hazard maps
for the most seismically active region in the country
