Provides design professionals & local building officials with a standard methodology to evaluate buildings of different types & occupancies in areas of different seismicity throughout the U.S.

Provides engineers involved with the seismic evaluation of existing buildings with guidance concerning the potential earthquake related risk to human life posed by a building or building component.

In most parts of the developed world, the building stock and the civil infrastructure are ageing and in constant need of maintenance, repair and upgrading. Moreover, in the light of our current knowledge and of modern codes, the majority of buildings stock and other types of structures in many parts of the world are substandard and deficient. This is especially so in earthquake-prone regions, as, even there, seismic design of structures is relatively recent. In those regions the major part of the seismic threat to human life and property comes from old buildings. Due to the infrastructure's increasing decay, frequently combined with the need for structural upgrading to meet more stringent design requirements (especially against seismic loads), structural retrofitting is becoming more and more important and receives today considerable emphasis throughout the world. In response to this need, a major part of the fib Model Code 2005, currently under development, is being devoted to structural conservation and maintenance. More importantly, in recognition of the importance of the seismic threat arising from existing substandard buildings, the first standards for structural upgrading to be promoted by the international engineering community and by regulatory authorities alike are for seismic rehabilitation of buildings. This is the case, for example, of Part 3: Strengthening and Repair of Buildings of Eurocode 8 (i. e. of the draft European Standard for earthquake-resistant design), and which is the only one among the current (2003) set of 58 Eurocodes attempting to address the problem of structural upgrading. It is also the case of the recent (2001) ASCE draft standard on Seismic evaluation of existing buildings and of the 1996 Law for promotion of seismic strengthening of existing reinforced concrete structures in Japan. As noted in Chapter 1 of this Bulletin, fib - as CEB and FIP did before - has placed considerable emphasis on assessment and rehabilitation of existing structures. The present Bulletin is a culmination of this effort in the special but very important field of seismic assessment and rehabilitation. It has been elaborated over a period of 4 years by Task Group 7.1 Assessment and retrofit of existing structures of fib Commission 7 Seismic design, a truly international team of experts, representing the expertise and experience of all the important seismic regions of the world. In the course of its work the team had six plenary two-day meetings: in January 1999 in Pavia, Italy; in August 1999 in Raleigh, North Carolina; in February 2000 in Queenstown, New Zealand; in July 2000 in Patras, Greece; in March 2001 in Lausanne, Switzerland; and in August 2001 in Seattle, Washington. In October 2002 the final draft of the Bulletin was presented to public during the 1st fib Congress in Osaka. It was also there that it was approved by fib Commission 7 Seismic Design. The contents is structured into main chapters as follows: 1 Introduction - 2 Performance objectives and system considerations - 3 Review of seismic assessment procedures - 4 Strength and deformation capacity of non-seismically detailed components - 5 Seismic retrofitting techniques - 6 Probabilistic concepts and methods - 7 Case studies

This report, FEMA-351 - Recommended Seismic Evaluation and Upgrade Criteria for Existing Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings has been developed by the SAC Joint Venture under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide structural engineers with recommended criteria for evaluation of the probable performance of existing steel moment-frame buildings in future earthquakes and to provide a basis for updating and revision of evaluation and rehabilitation guidelines and standards. It is one of a series of companion publications addressing the issue of the seismic performance of steel moment-frame buildings. The set of companion publications includes: FEMA-350 - Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommended criteria, supplemental to FEMA-302 - 1997 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures, for the design and construction of steel moment-frame buildings and provides alternative performance-based design criteria. FEMA-351 - Recommended Seismic Evaluation and Upgrade Criteria for Existing Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommended methods to evaluate the probable performance of existing steel moment-frame buildings in future earthquakes and to retrofit these buildings for improved performance. FEMA-352 - Recommended Postearthquake Evaluation and Repair Criteria for Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommendations for performing postearthquake inspections to detect damage in steel moment-frame buildings following an earthquake, evaluating the damaged buildings to determine their safety in the postearthquake environment, and repairing damaged buildings. FEMA-353 - Recommended Specifications and Quality Assurance Guidelines for Steel Moment-Frame Construction for Seismic Applications. This publication provides recommended specifications for the fabrication and erection of steel moment frames for seismic applications. The recommended design criteria contained in the other companion documents are based on the material and workmanship standards contained in this document, which also includes discussion of the basis for the quality control and quality assurance criteria contained in the recommended specifications. The information contained in these recommended evaluation and upgrade criteria, hereinafter referred to as Recommended Criteria, is presented in the form of specific recommendations for design and performance evaluation procedures together with supporting commentary explaining part of the basis for these recommendations.

Provides a process for seismic evaluation of existing buildings in any region of seismicity. Buildings are evaluated to either the Life Safety or Immediate Occupancy Performance Level. Provides instruction to the evaluating design professional on how to determine if a building is adequately designed and constructed to resist seismic forces. All aspects of building performances are considered in terms of foundation/geologic, structural, hazard, nonstructural issues. Reflects advancements in technology; incorporates design professional experience; incorporates lessons learned during recent earthquakes; and much more.

The present volume contains a total of 23 papers centred on the research area of Seismic Assessment and Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings. This subject also forms the core of Project SfP977231, sponsored by the NATO Science for Peace Office and supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey [ TUBIT AK ]. Most of these papers were presented by the authors at a NATO Science for Peace Workshop held in Izmir on 13 - 14 May, 2003 and reflect a part of their latest work conducted within the general confines of the title of the NATO Project. Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey serves as the hub of Project SfP977231 and coordinates research under the project with universities within Turkey, e. g. Istanbul Technical University and Kocaeli University, and with partner institutions in Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: A few articles have also been contributed by invited experts, who are all noted researchers in the field. Altogether, the contents of the volume deal with a vast array of problems in Seismic Assessment and Rehabilitation and cover a wide range of possible solutions, techniques and proposals. It is intended to touch upon many of these aspects separately below. Earthquakes constitute possibly the most widely spread and also the most feared of natural hazards. Recent earthquakes within the first six months of 2003, such as the Bingol Earthquake in Turkey and the Algerian earthquake, have caused both loss of life and severe damage to property.