Impact of aftershocks and uncertainties on the seismic evaluation of non-ductile reinforced concrete frame buildings

• The seismic performances of two non-ductile RC frame buildings were investigated.
• Influence of aftershocks and post-quake decisions were integrated in the evaluation.
• Direct loss, downtime, fatalities, and total loss were computed.
• Important aftershock characteristics were identified through correlation analysis.
• Impact of post-quake decisions and other uncertainty sources was examined.

There is increasing interest in sophisticated seismic performance evaluation that encompasses the ability to incorporate aftershock hazard. This paper presents a methodology to examine the seismic performance of two non-ductile reinforced concrete frame buildings with consideration of the interaction between the aftershocks and various post-quake decisions. The assessment investigates the direct loss, downtime, fatalities, and total loss for each of the buildings. A total of 60 recorded mainshock–aftershocks sequences are utilized. The variations in results between the method with and without consideration of aftershocks are compared. The characteristics of mainshock–aftershock sequences which may be the cause of the difference are discussed and identified. Important uncertainty sources for the post-quake decisions are also investigated through a sensitivity study.