Reliability assessment of a building in Singapore subjected to future far-field earthquakes

Abstract

Singapore is not free from seismic tremors resulting from earthquakes from nearby countries such as Indonesia. The paper by Professors N.T.K. Lam, T. Balendra, J.L. Wilson and S. Venkatesan[5] noted that the history of such tremors reported no major structural damage, and that it is not clear if the rare occurrence of a high magnitude earthquake at close proximities would cause such damage. The report analyses the negative effects resulting from these ground motions propagated from far-field earthquakes. These effects can be the structural damage from displacements and psychological effects on Singaporeans through the movement of buildings in the form of velocity and acceleration. The Monte Carlo Method is first explored as it forms the basis of the report through the use of random sampling to obtain results. Thereafter, the Domain Decomposition Method (DDM) proposed by Professors Lambros Katafygiotis, Sai Hung Cheung[11] is adopted to provide a more efficient and accurate way to handle the low probability occurrences. Results show that the earthquakes do not cause damage to the structures. However, higher floors will experience tremors and possible discomfort.