PRESSAFE-disp: a method for the fast in-plane seismic assessment of existing precast RC buildings after the Emilia earthquake of May 2012

The existing precast reinforced concrete structures not specifically designed against earthquakes have proved to be very sensitive to seismic demands. After the lesson learnt from the Emilia earthquake of May 2012, causing many collapses and severe damage, reliable seismic design criteria have been established for the design of new precast structures and for the strengthening of the existing ones. Despite this, a large percentage of the existing precast buildings in the Italian territories actually has not been object of interventions and remains in an unsafe condition with regard to the seismic actions. In this context, the methods for a rapid seismic assessment can be very helpful both to estimate the current safety level of large building stocks and to plan the necessary strengthening interventions, possibly at the large scale of an industrial area. To this aim, the paper proposes the PRESSAFE- disp (PRecast Existing Structure Seismic Assessment by Fast Evaluation-displacements) method, useful for the fast evaluation of the fragility curves of precast structures. The damage criteria, applicable both to structural elements and non-structural cladding elements on the perimeter, have been selected in order to capture the damage mechanisms observed during the building inspections conducted by the authors in the aftermath of the 2012 Emilia earthquakes. The method allows a comprehensive explanation of the seismic in-plane behaviour of existing precast RC buildings and could be effectively adopted, for example, in earthquake loss estimations and seismic risk assessments of large Italian industrial areas, as well as of wide seismic-prone territories of the Mediterranean area.