New Earthquake Engineering Study Results from University of Auckland Described (Typological Study and Statistical Assessment of Parameters Influencing Earthquake Vulnerability of Commercial Rcfmi Buildings In New Zealand)

2019 APR 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Engineering Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Engineering - Earthquake Engineering. According to news reporting out of Auckland, New Zealand, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill (RCFMI) buildings comprise a significant proportion of commercial buildings constructed prior to the adoption of New Zealand’s modern seismic design codes in 1976. The characteristics and seismic performance of RCFMI buildings have not been previously investigated at a national level.”

Financial support for this research came from Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Auckland, “As part of the study reported herein, efforts were made to identify and document building characteristics, including building address, infill type (clay-brick or concrete-block masonry infill), wall morphology (cavity or solid wall), geometry (building footprint and height), building continuity, and age of construction. During sidewalk surveys the characteristics of 203 and 55 RCFMI buildings were observed and well documented in the Auckland and Dunedin regions, respectively. The surveyed RCFMI buildings were assigned to one of four typologies according to infill type and wall morphology.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “In addition to cataloguing the national stock of RCFMI buildings and investigating their characteristics, the study outlined herein was designed to provide a forecast of the earthquake vulnerability of existing commercial RCFMI buildings in New Zealand in an effort to quantify the cumulative earthquake risk.”

For more information on this research see: Typological Study and Statistical Assessment of Parameters Influencing Earthquake Vulnerability of Commercial Rcfmi Buildings In New Zealand. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 2019;17(4):2011-2036. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering can be contacted at: Springer, Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 Gz Dordrecht, Netherlands. (Springer - www.springer.com; Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - http://www.springerlink.com/content/1570-761x/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting R. Fikri, University of Auckland, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Auckland, New Zealand. Additional authors for this research include D. Dizhur and J. Ingham.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-018-00523-x. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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