A study on feasibility of SI for identification of earthquake damages in Taiwan

Using the actual damage data of the strong earthquakes in Taiwan, the effectiveness of the earthquake risk indices, namely, peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral intensity (SI), is verified. PGA and Housner's [Housner GW. Spectrum intensity of strong-motion earthquakes. In: Proceedings of symposium on earthquakes and blast effects on structures. EERI, UCLA; 1952] definition of SI are directly compared. A three-parameter spectral intensity system with spectral intensities SIa, SIv, and SId in the acceleration, velocity, and displacement regions, respectively, is discussed. Here, the effectiveness of SI, SIa, SIv, and SId has been compared by using the available earthquake-damage data in Taiwan. Three period ranges, namely, 0.1–0.6, 0.6–1.6, and 1.6–3.0 s were used for structures of 1–6 stories, 7–20 stories, and 21 and more stories, respectively. The results indicate that the three-parameter system is a good risk index of the damage potential of earthquakes.