The development of a selection criteria model for the type of seismic retrofitting scheme applicable to Philippine buildings

Abstract

The Philippine Archipelago lies in a highly sensitive position in the Asian continent, named the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and it is one of the most seismically active and disaster prone areas in the world. In the Philippines, where a percentage of the buildings are structurally out of date, seismic retrofitting is of utmost importance. This study presents an overview of various rehabilitation strategies such as Seismic Isolation, Passive Energy Dissipation and Active Systems. An analysis of the rehabilitation process given by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is presented. The most significant factor affecting the modifications is the level of seismic activity in the Philippines. The direct implication of such a level of seismicity is directly seen in that the third phase of the rehabilitation process is Systematic Rehabilitation. Another direct effect is in the method of component analysis for the Philippine setting, which calls for the use of nonlinear analysis methodologies. This rehabilitation process was modified to provide a selection criteria model that was suited to meet the Philippine setting.