Study on the seismic evaluation method by considering the characteristics of existing mid- to high-rise buildings in Taiwan

The Mw 6.6 Meinong earthquake occurred on 6 February 2016 in the southern region of Taiwan. The earthquake caused significant damage in and around Tainan city, with a number of collapsed and severely damaged buildings and 117 deaths. Building reconnaissance includes commercial/residential buildings and school poorly configured buildings. The collapsed buildings all contained irregularities and soft-stories. The majority of older mixed-use buildings performed adequately, but severe column failures were observed in several taller apartment buildings constructed in the 1990s. In order to reduce the risk posed by critical structural weaknesses and improve the safety and resilience of these buildings, the efficient seismic performance evaluation and monitoring methods for mid-to-high rise buildings have to be developed for emergency need. The objective of this study is to survey the effects of soft/weak first story, non-ductile reinforcement, structural irregularity and structural redundancy on the seismic performance of mid-to-high rise buildings in Taiwan. In order to upgrade the applicability of the preliminary seismic evaluation procedure of building structures, a revised draft corresponding to actual case studies are proposed. Finally, some revised recommendations are referenced for the future modification. © 2019, Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering. All right reserved.