Seismic risk assessment of chilean reinforced concrete wall buildings
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2026
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Abstract
En esta investigación se realizó una evaluación de riesgo sísmico en edificios de muros de
hormigón armado (HA), tipología utilizada en regiones de alta sismicidad, como Chile. Si
bien se ha demostrado un buen desempeño en la prevención del colapso, se han registrado significativas pérdidas económicas por daño en componentes, indicando que este único objetivo es insuficiente para los estándares actuales. El código sísmico chileno carece de métricas explícitas para limitar dichas pérdidas económicas por sismos intensos, por lo que se requieren evaluaciones de riesgo sísmico que cuantifiquen el desempeño mediante variables de decisión para mitigar potenciales daños en eventos futuros. La primera parte de este estudio analizó parámetros de modelación para representar el comportamiento no lineal de edificios de muros de HA, ya que los modelos analíticos son claves en evaluación de riesgo sísmico. Tres parámetros fueron analizados mediante un análisis de sensibilidad, construyendo curvas de fragilidad y calculando probabilidades de colapso. Los resultados identificaron que la deformación residual del hormigón y el amortiguamiento impactan significativamente en el desempeño ante el colapso, mientras que la discretización vertical mostró baja sensibilidad cuando se aborda correctamente. Basado en esto, se entregan recomendaciones para modelaciones futuras. La segunda parte evaluó el riesgo sísmico de un amplio grupo de arquetipos chilenos de muros de HA, analizando el impacto de la altura, densidad de muros, tipo de sitio y confinamiento en el colapso y pérdidas económicas. Los resultados mostraron que el confinamiento es el parámetro más influyente en el colapso. Para las pérdidas económicas, el confinamiento aumentó las pérdidas anuales esperadas al incrementar la capacidad de deformación de los muros previo al colapso, mientras que la densidad de muros y el tipo de sitio mostraron un impacto menor e impredecible. Se encontró que los parámetros estudiados afectan más al desempeño frente al colapso que las pérdidas económicas, las cuales están controladas por los componentes no estructurales.
This dissertation conducted a seismic risk assessment of Chilean reinforced concrete (RC) wall buildings. This typology has been constructed in many high-seismic regions, like the U.S., New Zealand and Chile, showing in general successful in collapse prevention during past earthquakes. However, significant economic losses from component damage have been observed, suggesting that preventing collapse is insufficient for today’s standards. Despite this, the current Chilean seismic code does not include explicit performance metrics targets that aim to control collapse prevention while limiting consequences from high-intensity seismic events. Thus, seismic risk assessments that quantify buildings' performance through decision variables are required to mitigate potential damage in future events. The first part of this study focuses on modeling parameters to accurately represent fragility curves of RC wall buildings. Three parameters were analyzed through a sensitivity analysis, where collapse fragility curves were derived, and collapse probabilities were computed. Results showed that residual concrete strain and damping formulation have a significant impact on collapse performance, while vertical discretization showed little variability when correctly addressed. Based on findings, recommendations for parameter selection are provided for future modeling. The second part of this study focused on seismic risk assessment of a large group of Chilean RC wall archetypes. The impacts of building height, wall density, site class, and confinement on collapse and economic losses were evaluated. Results showed that confinement impact on collapse performance was the most impactful. For economic losses, confinement incremented EALs because it increases the building deformation capacity, while wall density and site class showed a lower and unpredictable impact. Furthermore, it was found that parameters impacted more on collapse performance than in economic losses estimated, as non-structural components controlled the losses.
This dissertation conducted a seismic risk assessment of Chilean reinforced concrete (RC) wall buildings. This typology has been constructed in many high-seismic regions, like the U.S., New Zealand and Chile, showing in general successful in collapse prevention during past earthquakes. However, significant economic losses from component damage have been observed, suggesting that preventing collapse is insufficient for today’s standards. Despite this, the current Chilean seismic code does not include explicit performance metrics targets that aim to control collapse prevention while limiting consequences from high-intensity seismic events. Thus, seismic risk assessments that quantify buildings' performance through decision variables are required to mitigate potential damage in future events. The first part of this study focuses on modeling parameters to accurately represent fragility curves of RC wall buildings. Three parameters were analyzed through a sensitivity analysis, where collapse fragility curves were derived, and collapse probabilities were computed. Results showed that residual concrete strain and damping formulation have a significant impact on collapse performance, while vertical discretization showed little variability when correctly addressed. Based on findings, recommendations for parameter selection are provided for future modeling. The second part of this study focused on seismic risk assessment of a large group of Chilean RC wall archetypes. The impacts of building height, wall density, site class, and confinement on collapse and economic losses were evaluated. Results showed that confinement impact on collapse performance was the most impactful. For economic losses, confinement incremented EALs because it increases the building deformation capacity, while wall density and site class showed a lower and unpredictable impact. Furthermore, it was found that parameters impacted more on collapse performance than in economic losses estimated, as non-structural components controlled the losses.
Description
Tesis (Magíster en Ciencias de la Ingeniería)--Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 2026
TESIS EMBARGADA HASTA EL 01 DE MARZO DE 2027
TESIS EMBARGADA HASTA EL 01 DE MARZO DE 2027
Keywords
Edificios de muros de hormigón armado, Evaluación del colapso por sismo, Evaluación de riesgo sísmico, Parámetros de modelación, Reinforced concrete wall buildings, Seismic collapse assessment, Seismic risk assessment, Modeling parameters