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Project Title: Solutions to the Issue of Short-Period Building Performance

Client: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Purpose: To advance the roadmap developed on the ATC-116 Project to: (1) identify key missing elements of current modeling practice related to short period buildings; (2) develop a methodology to improve analytical modeling of short period buildings; (3) calibrate the methodology with observed performance of short period buildings in recent earthquakes; and (4) simplify the methodology into practical solutions that can be implemented in codes and standards.

This project produced the following reports:

FEMA P-2139-1, Short-Period Building Collapse Performance and Recommendations for Improving Seismic Design, Volume 1 – Overarching Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations

FEMA P-2139-2, Short-Period Building Collapse Performance and Recommendations for Improving Seismic Design, Volume 2 – Study of One-to-Four Story Wood Light-Frame Buildings

FEMA P-2139-3, Short-Period Building Collapse Performance and Recommendations for Improving Seismic Design, Volume 3 – Study of One-to-Four Story Special Reinforced Masonry Shear Wall Buildings

FEMA P-2139-4, Short-Period Building Collapse Performance and Recommendations for Improving Seismic Design, Volume 4 – Study of One-to-Four Story Steel Special Concentrically Braced Frame Buildings

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Project Title: Delivery of FEMA P-50/P-50-1 Training for the California Earthquake Authority

Client: California Earthquake Authority

Purpose: To conduct on-demand training for FEMA P-50, Simplified Seismic Assessment of Detached, Single-Family, Wood-Frame Dwellings, and FEMA P-50-1, Seismic Retrofit Guidelines for Detached, Single-Family, Wood-Frame Dwellings at locations selected by CEA, as well as develop the requirements to form the basis of a certification program to be implemented by others.

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Project Title: Development of a Prestandard for the Evaluation and Retrofit of One and Two Family Light Frame Residential Buildings

Client: California Earthquake Authority; Federal Emergency Management Agency

Purpose: This project developed a prestandard for vulnerability-based seismic assessment and retrofit of one- and two-family wood light frame residential buildings. The prestandard is supported by prescriptive, pre-engineered set of plans that can be adapted to retrofit crawlspace dwelling cripple walls, living-space-over-garage dwelling ground story bracing walls, masonry chimneys and masonry fireplace surrounds in wood light-frame dwellings, as well as the technical basis of the prestandard. ATC is currently developing a training course in accordance with the prestandard.

Published Reports: This project published the following reports.

ATC-110, Plan for Development of a Prestandard for Evaluation and Retrofit of Wood Light-Frame Dwellings (ATC, 2014)

FEMA P-1100, Vulnerability-Based Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Volume 1 - Prestandard

FEMA P-1100-2A, Vulnerability-Based Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Volume 2A – Plan Set for Crawlspace Dwellings

FEMA P-1100-2B, Vulnerability-Based Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Volume 2B – Plan Set for Living-Space-Over-Garage Dwellings

FEMA P-1100-2C, Vulnerability-Based Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Volume 2C – Plan Set for Masonry Chimneys

FEMA P-1100-3, Vulnerability-Based Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Volume 3 – Background Documentation

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Project Title: Development of ATC Design Guides

Funding Source: ATC Endowment Fund

Purpose: To develop design guides on selected topics including minimizing floor vibration, basic wind design information, tornadoes, serviceability issues, and risk category selection.

This project has produced the following reports:

ATC Design Guide 1, Minimizing Floor Vibration

ATC Design Guide 2, Basic Wind Engineering for Low-Rise Buildings

ATC Design Guide 3, Serviceability Design of Tall Buildings Under Wind Loads (also available for purchase in electronic format)

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Project Title: September 19, 2017 Puebla-Morelos, Mexico Earthquake: Seismological and Structural Observations by the ATC Reconnaissance Team

Funding Source: ATC Endowment Fund

Purpose: Following the magnitude-7.1 Puebla-Morelos, Mexico earthquake on September 19th of 2017, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) deployed to the field an interdisciplinary team of seismologists, structural and geotechnical engineers, tasked with performing reconnaissance and collecting building design and strong ground motion information. The team arrived in Mexico City on October 10th, 2017 and worked with local agencies and academic institutions for the duration of one week. The ATC-141 report documents the findings of the field team, including observation of earthquake effects for 70 buildings, microtremors recorded using monitoring instruments at 7 buildings, and a compilation of processed ground motion recordings from UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and CIRES (Center of Instrumentation and Seismic Records). This report also serves as a reference to two papers approved for publication in Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Spectra Journal.

Acknowledgements: The field team was primarily supported by the ATC Endowment fund, which was established in 1989 with a purpose to support projects of critical interest to structural engineering design practice, research, and education. Additional support was provided for instrumentation by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant #1810899. The contents of this report are the result of collaboration by universities (State University of New York at Buffalo, National Technical University of Athens, University of Greenwich, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), private engineering firms in the United States (Gilsanz Murray Steficek, WSP, Degenkolb Engineers, Forell/Elsesser Engineers, IDS Group, and Rutherford + Chekene), private engineering and architecture firms in Mexico (TEN Arquitectos, Grupo Colinas de Buen , PEI Diseño Estructural S.A. de C.V., Grupo Rioboo, Kali Design), and agencies and organizations in both Mexico and United States (Centro de Instrumentación de Registro Sísmico, Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenería Estructural, A.C., and Earthquake Engineering Research Institute).

Access: The ATC-141 report is provided here in its entirety free of charge, courtesy of the ATC Endowment Fund.

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