Seismic Performance of Hospital Buildings Designed for IS Codes and NDMA Guidelines

Abstract

Hospital buildings have immense post-earthquake importance and must remain operational following a severe earthquake. This requires the hospital’s structure not to suffer any damage and that non-structural components remain operational. Many of the hospitals which did not perform well during the past earthquakes, were designed as per seismic-resistant building codes. Therefore, Performance-Based Seismic Design (PBSD) of hospitals and lifeline buildings has evolved over the past few decades. In PBSD, estimating the seismic performance of a building is an integral part of the design process. Seismic performance evaluation helps to determine the likelihood of experiencing various levels of damage to structural and non-structural elements, considering the potential range of earthquakes that could impact the building’s functionality. This dissertation evaluates and compares the seismic performance of hospital buildings with different structural configurations at varying seismic hazard levels. Specifically, the performance of RC moment frame buildings, dual system buildings, and base-isolated buildings are evaluated. The design of fixed base hospital buildings follows relevant Indian codes (IS 1893 (Part 1) 2016, IS 456 (2000), and IS 13920 (2016)) and NDMA guidelines, while base-isolated buildings adhere to the newly published IS 1893 (Part 6): 2022 and ASCE 7-22 standards. Three-dimensional models of 4- and 7-storey hospital buildings with similar plans, have been considered. Nonlinear modelling is carried out as per ASCE 41-17 guidelines. The performance of hospital buildings at Design Basis Earthquake (DBE) and Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) hazard levels is evaluated by pushover analysis, and the results are compared with non-linear time history analysis (NLTHA) results.