Investigating the Inelastic Performance of a Seismic Code-Compliant Reinforced Concrete Hospital Under Long Sequence of Ground Motions Records

Abstract

In recent years, the seismic design of buildings has become an increasingly important issue due to the devastating earthquakes that have occurred around the world. In many regions, including North Cyprus, building codes have been developed to ensure that new constructions are designed to withstand seismic hazards. However, simply complying with building codes does not guarantee that a building will perform well during a seismic event. The inelastic behavior of a structure can significantly affect its seismic performance and may compromise its ability to remain functional and safe during and after an earthquake. Hospitals are critical facilities that must be designed to remain operational during and after a seismic event. The consequences of a hospital’s failure during an earthquake can be severe, as it can impact the ability to provide medical care to those in need. This paper presents a case study on the inelastic performance of a seismic code-compliant reinforced concrete hospital designed according to the TNRC-SC2015 requirements under a long sequence of ground motions records. Within the study context, a nonlinear time-history analysis is conducted using SAP2000 software to simulate the seismic response of the hospital. In general, the study highlights the effectiveness of designing hospitals to meet the TNRC-SC2015 requirements under a strong and long sequence of earthquake loads taking the recent Turkey-Syria earthquake as the case study. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.