Probabilistic assessment of the vulnerability of reinforced concrete buildings subjected to earthquake induced landslides

This study aims at the proposition of a probabilistic framework for the vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings subjected to seismically induced slope displacements due to landslide hazard. The proposed approach combines the seismic hazard analysis with the displacement hazard analysis and the fragility analysis of the structure. First, a probabilistic seismic hazard curve for the selected intensity measure(s) is derived together with the associated information for magnitude and magnitude/distance disaggregation based on a traditional probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA). Then, a displacement hazard curve is obtained based on the associated seismic hazard analysis results and appropriate scalar or vector models to predict the seismically induced slope displacements. Finally, a damage hazard curve of a typical RC frame structure subjected to the seismically induced landslide hazard is computed describing the annual rate of exceeding different damage limit states. Various sources of uncertainty are taken into account including the aleatory variability on the seismic and displacement hazard, the structural demand and the definition of damage limit states as well as the structure’s capacity. To incorporate epistemic uncertainties in the proposed framework, a logic tree analysis is proposed to derive a weighted mean and different fractiles damage hazard curves. The proposed approach is illustrated on a hypothetical low-rise RC frame structure impacted by the earthquake induced landslide hazard. The importance of the yield coefficients and displacement predictive models to the slope’s performance, structural response and vulnerability is highlighted.