<p>Developing countries typically suffer far greater than developed countries as a result of earthquakes. Poor socioeconomic conditions often lead to poorly constructed homes that are vulnerable to damage during earthquakes. Literature review in this study highlights the lack of existing fragility curves for buildings in developing countries. Furthermore, fragility curves derived using empirical data are almost nonexistent due to the scarcity of post-earthquake damage data and insufficient ground motion recordings in developing countries. Therefore, this research proposes a methodology for developing empirical fragility curves using ground motion data in the form of USGS ShakeMaps.</p> <p>The methodology has been applied to a case study consisting of damage data collected in Bantul Regency, Indonesia in the aftermath of the May 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake in Indonesia. Fragility curves for non-engineered single-storey unreinforced masonry (URM) homes have been derived using the damage dataset for three ground motion parameters; peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA). The fragility curves indicate the high seismic vulnerability of non-engineered URM homes in developing countries. There is a probability of 80% that a seismic event with a PGA of only 0.1g will induce significant cracking of the walls and reduction in the load carrying capacity of a URM home, resulting in moderate damage or collapse. Fragility curves as a function of PGA and PSA were found to reasonably represent the damage data; however, fits for several PGV fragility curves could not be obtained. The case study illustrated the extension of ShakeMaps to fragility curves, and the derived fragility curves supplement to the limited collection of empirical fragility curves for developing countries. Finally, a comparison with an existing fragility study highlights the significant influence of the derivation method used on the fragility curves. The diversity in construction techniques and material quality in developing countries, particularly for non-engineered cannot be sufficiently represented through simplified or idealized analytical models. Therefore, the empirical method is considered to be the most suitable method for deriving fragility curves for structures in developing countries.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

O emprego de processos construtivos inovadores sem o domínio da tecnologia apropriada e sem a observância de requisitos mínimos de desempenho, conduz de maneira geral, a edifícios com sérios problemas patológicos. Por estas razões, a Alvenaria Estrutural, que tem sido empregada com prioridade na construção de edifícios habitacionais, nos últimos anos no Brasil, tem apresentado aqueles problemas com indesejável extensão e gravidade. Este trabalho procura estabelecer a tecnologia mais adequada para a construção de edifícios em Alvenaria Estrutural Não Armada, em especial, para a que utiliza o bloco sílico-calcário. Procura-se também salientar os aspectos ainda não suficientemente conhecidos e que necessitam, por isto, ser pesquisados. São apresentadas as principais características dos materiais empregados. O elemento construtivo essencial do processo - a parede resistente - é sistemicamente analisado sob diferentes abordagens. Como complemento, a análise é extendida para o edifício. No estudo, é enfatizado o mais comum e menos compreendido problema patológico da alvenaria sílico-calcária: as fissuras por retração na secagem. A tecnologia construtiva apropriada é estritamente condicionada pela necessidade de que seja evitada a ocorrência destas fissuras. Em resumo, este trabalho objetiva colaborar para o projeto e a construção de edifícios competentes e duráveis, o que, infelizmente, não tem sido a regra, quando processos inovadores são empregados. / Pathological buildings problems certainly occur when innovative constructive processes are employed without knowing their own technology and without getting to minimum performance requirements. Based on these reasons, the engineered masonry which has been mainly employed on housing constructions in Brazil during the last years, shows up severs pathological problems. This study aims to describe the most appropriate known technology for unreinforced engineered brickworks, mainly for that one employing calcium silicate bricks. Therefore, the important parameters which are not yet suitably known are pointed out, thus requiring further research. The materials main characteristics are introduced. The bearing wall which is the most important constructing element is systemically analised under different approaches. Coming at the end the concepts are extended to the whole building itself. Emphasis is given in this study to drying shrinkage cracking as the most usual problem in calcium silicate brickworks and to its mechanisms not yet fully understood. The correct building technology avoids the cracking problems by using the mentioned materials and processes. Summarising , this study intends to cooperate for the correct and durable housing buildings which unfortunately are not usual nowadays when innovative constructive processes are applied.

O emprego de processos construtivos inovadores sem o domínio da tecnologia apropriada e sem a observância de requisitos mínimos de desempenho, conduz de maneira geral, a edifícios com sérios problemas patológicos. Por estas razões, a Alvenaria Estrutural, que tem sido empregada com prioridade na construção de edifícios habitacionais, nos últimos anos no Brasil, tem apresentado aqueles problemas com indesejável extensão e gravidade. Este trabalho procura estabelecer a tecnologia mais adequada para a construção de edifícios em Alvenaria Estrutural Não Armada, em especial, para a que utiliza o bloco sílico-calcário. Procura-se também salientar os aspectos ainda não suficientemente conhecidos e que necessitam, por isto, ser pesquisados. São apresentadas as principais características dos materiais empregados. O elemento construtivo essencial do processo - a parede resistente - é sistemicamente analisado sob diferentes abordagens. Como complemento, a análise é extendida para o edifício. No estudo, é enfatizado o mais comum e menos compreendido problema patológico da alvenaria sílico-calcária: as fissuras por retração na secagem. A tecnologia construtiva apropriada é estritamente condicionada pela necessidade de que seja evitada a ocorrência destas fissuras. Em resumo, este trabalho objetiva colaborar para o projeto e a construção de edifícios competentes e duráveis, o que, infelizmente, não tem sido a regra, quando processos inovadores são empregados. / Pathological buildings problems certainly occur when innovative constructive processes are employed without knowing their own technology and without getting to minimum performance requirements. Based on these reasons, the engineered masonry which has been mainly employed on housing constructions in Brazil during the last years, shows up severs pathological problems. This study aims to describe the most appropriate known technology for unreinforced engineered brickworks, mainly for that one employing calcium silicate bricks. Therefore, the important parameters which are not yet suitably known are pointed out, thus requiring further research. The materials main characteristics are introduced. The bearing wall which is the most important constructing element is systemically analised under different approaches. Coming at the end the concepts are extended to the whole building itself. Emphasis is given in this study to drying shrinkage cracking as the most usual problem in calcium silicate brickworks and to its mechanisms not yet fully understood. The correct building technology avoids the cracking problems by using the mentioned materials and processes. Summarising , this study intends to cooperate for the correct and durable housing buildings which unfortunately are not usual nowadays when innovative constructive processes are applied.