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Performance of RC cast-in-place buildings during the November 26, 2019 Albania earthquake

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Abstract

This paper documents performance of cast-in-place reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in the Durrës municipality during Albania earthquake of November 26, 2019 (MW 6.4). Both mid- and high-rise RC buildings were affected by the earthquake, experiencing structural and/or non-structural damage and even collapse in some cases. The authors performed a reconnaissance study after the earthquake and were involved in seismic assessment of buildings in the affected area. Besides the observations related to physical damage of RC buildings, the paper also presents results of a statistical analysis of damaged RC buildings in the Durrës municipality. The discussion in the paper is focused on damage patterns and failure mechanisms that are relevant for the seismic response of RC structures. Most common damage pattern observed after the earthquakes was related to masonry infill walls, which experienced damage and failure in some cases, and affected the performance of adjacent RC columns due to the infill/frame interaction. Taller RC framed buildings (10 storeys and higher) were expected to have RC shear walls; however, these walls were reportedly absent in the damaged buildings of this type. In some cases, masonry infill walls (instead of RC shear walls) were used in the elevator shaft areas, which resulted in inadequate seismic performance. A case study has been presented to illustrate seismic behaviour of mid-rise and high-rise cast-in-place RC buildings in the November 2019 earthquake, and is based on post-earthquake field observations and a detailed seismic assessment of two earthquake-damaged buildings. Finally, relevant lessons and recommendations are presented in light of the observed performance of RC buildings.

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Acknowledgements

Marko Marinković, Ivan Milicević and Svetlana Brzev gratefully acknowledge Serbian Association for Earthquake Engineering (SUZI-SAEE) for sponsoring their reconnaissance visit to Albania in December 2019. Nikola Blagojević gratefully acknowledges the Chair of Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, ETH Zurich, for providing financial support for the author's reconnaissance visit to Albania in December 2019. Markel Baballëku acknowledges the consulting company UTS-01 for providing information about the designs and material tests for the case study buildings and rapid assessment data. The authors are grateful to Ani Verzivolli for his contribution in collecting damaged building data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Engineering Mechanics and Theory of Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Marko Marinković

  2. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Rr. “M. Gjollesha”, Polytechnic University of Tirana, 54, Tirana, Albania

    Markel Baballëku

  3. NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal

    Brisid Isufi

  4. Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – ETH Zurich, Rämistrasse 101, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Nikola Blagojević

  5. Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Ivan Milićević

  6. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Svetlana Brzev

  7. Serbian Association for Earthquake Engineering (SUZI-SAEE), Belgrade, Serbia

    Svetlana Brzev

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  1. Marko Marinković
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  2. Markel Baballëku
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  5. Ivan Milićević
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Correspondence to Marko Marinković.

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Conflict of interest

Marko Marinković, Ivan Milicević and Svetlana Brzev received financial support for the reconnaissance visit to Albania in December 2019 from the Serbian Association for Earthquake Engineering (SUZI-SAEE). Nikola Blagojević received financial support for the same visit from the Chair of Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, ETH Zurich.

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Marinković, M., Baballëku, M., Isufi, B. et al. Performance of RC cast-in-place buildings during the November 26, 2019 Albania earthquake. Bull Earthquake Eng 20, 5427–5480 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-022-01414-y

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