Fragility and Loss Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Residential Buildings Under Construction

The construction process of residential buildings comprises multiple phases of varying complexity that may last from several months to a few years, depending on the building size and the adopted design. In some cases, the process may be halted by unforeseen events such as the insolvency of the contractor firm. Moreover, if an earthquake occurs during the building process, it is necessary to perform a cost-benefit analysis between repairing the existing structure and demolishing it and start over. This paper presents a vulnerability assessment of a reinforced concrete residential building during its construction process. The process is ideally divided into four main phases. Each phase is represented by a finite element model that is used to perform non- linear dynamic analyses using a set of unscaled ground motions. Outputs of these analyses are represented through fragility curves for defined damage states, depending on different engineering-demand parameters. By associating the expected damage to the possible monetary loss, it is possible to represent the loss variation for the four considered construction phases and for increasing earthquake intensitiers. Obtained results may be of interest for contractor firms and insurance companies to preventively assess the risk related to the building construction.