TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES

1338 Arlegui St. Quiapo Manila

College of Engineering and Architecture

Civil Engineering Department

CE Design Project 1 – CE 435

Presented to the Faculty of Civil Engineering

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Structural Threshold Determination of Gregoria de Jesus

Elementary School in Tondo, Manila using Seismic Fragility Curve

Mark Angelo D. Almonte

Princess Eloi Antonio

John Alfred Cariño

Mary Joyce N. Rovira

2022
 INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

For decades, earthquakes have been seen as a natural cause of structure destruction that causes

catastrophic damage. It can strike abruptly and without notice at any time, and the damage caused by

earthquakes varies depending on the magnitude of the ground motion. Unique to Southeast Asia, the Philippines

are situated inside the Pacific Ring of Fire, making them a seismically vulnerable region. Earthquakes normally

take place on fault lines. In the Philippines, five active fault systems exist; the Western, Eastern, South, Central,

and Marikina fault, which is now known as the West Valley fault. The West valley fault is the most active of

the country's five active fault systems.

The 7.2 magnitude quake known as "The Big One'' is expected to produce by the West valley line, a

100-km fault line that extends through six cities in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces, and is regarded as the

most catastrophic event that might occur in the Philippines. When the "Big One '' strikes, 340,000 residential

structures will be partially demolished, 170,000 will collapse, 34,000 people will be killed, and 114,000 will be

injured. A secondary danger fire will erupt and consume about 17.1 km 2 of land, causing an additional 18,000

fatalities. Additionally, critical facilities and support infrastructure will suffer catastrophic destruction

(NDRRMC, 2004).

This phenomenon cannot be avoided by numerous constructions, including hospitals, residential

buildings, bridges, dams, and even public schools (Manoharan et al., 2021). According to a 2018 study by

Gilano, Miyamoto, and Nifuku, school buildings have been regarded as the least effective constructions in

comparison to other infrastructures. Frequently, older, non-ductile materials are used to construct school

buildings. This reduces the capacity of these buildings to resist seismic force. As an example, in Indonesia

earthquakes played a vital role in the destruction of many school buildings during 2007, the Sumatra

earthquake. It occurred after school hours which resulted in low casualties in the area. But unfortunately, this

circumstance seldomly happens during earthquakes. The same situation cannot be said in Pakistan in which

more than 170,000 students and more than 10,000 schools are affected. Meanwhile, the Sichuan earthquake in
China caused damage to thousands of school buildings and injured thousands of students (Miyamoto et al.,

2011).

People are not killed directly by earthquakes; poorly planned and fragile structures are the leading

source of fatalities (Stockton, 2015). The seismic resistance of structures may be inadequate due to the reason

that the structural system of the building is weak which causes more damage to properties or worse even with

life. To mitigate the effect of seismic and natural hazards, evaluation of the seismic resistance of existing

buildings or structures is essential before creating an appropriate renovation or upgrade regarding the structural

system (Ghobarah, 2000). A structural assessment is one of the procedures which check and identify the

structural integrity or strength of a building.

Structural assessment is important as the buildings have significant changes in form as well as their

internal and external state which we call a crack due to a variety of events such as natural disasters like

earthquakes, changes in building use, changes in occupancy number, substandard materials used and also the

age of the building. According to Architect Edison Padilla interviewed by Veritas, buildings should last

between 30 to 50 years. Any structures that collapse within 15 years before completion caused by an error in

plans and specifications are the liability of structural engineers as stated in Article 1723 of the Civil Code of the

Philippines.

The researchers chose to conduct this study since the building to be assessed is an old public school

building that can be severely damaged by an earthquake. The damage caused by this event not only affects the

building structure but also the economic state of the school and its community as well as the emotional state of

the students, teachers, and officials in the school. Building assessment can help prevent the severe damage

caused by earthquakes, ensuring a safer environment for the students and teachers in continuing their education

system.

Failure to explore the impacts of an earthquake on a structure might end in impoverishment and the

deaths of many people. Based on the results of this research, it will be feasible to determine if a structure should

be destroyed, rebuilt, or retrofitted in order to lower its seismic demand (ASCE, 2014).
 Through the improvement of seismic codes, fragility curves are utilized to mitigate the potential dangers

posed by earthquakes. The fragility curves were also used to lessen the cost of damage particularly after the

effect of the earthquake. Other than that, loss of life can be minimized. Hence, fragility curves show the

likelihood that a structure would suffer greater damage than a certain threshold depending on a seismic intensity

parameter (Remki & Kehila, 2017). The curves will be generated using simulation, with SAP2000 serving as

the simulation program.

To construct the fragility curve, a pushover analysis will be done using the capacity curve to determine

the drift value of the structure at its yielding point. Pushover analysis is a technique for describing the

performance of a structure as it absorbs stresses. Pushover analysis is performed by progressively applying a

monotonic lateral force to the structure until the necessary displacement is attained (Utami et al, 2021).

Researchers will utilize the fragility curve to estimate the seismic risk of Gregoria de Jesus Elementary

School. The implementation of pushover analysis will enable the evaluation, and the existing risk will be

discovered when the seismic assessment of the structure is performed.

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Ring of Fire, also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, is a volcanically and seismically active area.

The Philippines is one of the countries that are geographically located within the region. Therefore, earthquake

activity is so prevalent in the Philippines. As a result, it posed a serious threat to the region's infrastructures.

Essential facilities are among the most vulnerable infrastructures during earthquakes. Essential facilities

provide an indispensable purpose in society. Considered vital facilities, public schools are the principal source

of instructional value and emergency reasons. It is sometimes given in lieu of evacuation centers. Assessing the

seismic susceptibility of such infrastructure is useful for this aim. Some infrastructural difficulties were directly

connected to the age of the structures. The age of the structure is a determinant of its susceptibility to seismic

risks (Baylon & Uy, 2018).

This research focuses on Gregoria de Jesus Elementary School, a 17-year-old school located in Tondo,

Manila. It is a rectangular 4-story public school building with 4 classrooms on each floor and 2 comfort rooms.

Moreover, based on the PHIVOLCS Fault Finder Application, the West valley fault is 11.3 kilometers distant

and is the closest active fault line to the school.

 OBJECTIVES

Using a fragility curve, this study aims to assess the seismic response of Gregoria de Jesus Elementary

School. The fragility curve illustrates the extent of structural damage caused by various ground vibrations. The

researchers will be able to determine if the structure should be demolished, redesigned, or retrofitted using this

information. The building's static analysis will also include pushover analysis to estimate where and when

structural deformation may occur.

Following the previous discourse, the objectives are listed below:

1. To generate a structural plan of Gregoria de Jesus Elementary School using SAP2000 and design the

structural model using linear analysis.

2. To develop seismic fragility curves using nonlinear static and nonlinear dynamic analysis methods.

3. To calculate the structural threshold values of the building which will be prepared for structural health

monitoring.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The majority of Filipino students attend public schools, which are government-funded and free to study.

Public school education continues to be of poor quality; classrooms are big, instructional materials are few, and

instructors are underpaid. Studying is essential for mental growth, which cannot remain stationary indefinitely.

And the most concrete element influencing student achievement is the school's facilities and buildings. On top

of that, the school building significantly influences molding and regulating one's life because it is a location

where children are sheltered from outside forces while receiving ideas and information (Almack, 1925). A

school produces a large population density which must be adaptable during natural disasters such as

earthquakes and typhoons since they are frequently utilized as emergency shelters, contributing significant

value and function in post-disaster activities. This study is intended to evaluate the vulnerability of old school

buildings to seismic events and is helpful for the following:

This research will benefit individuals living within the area near the Gregoria de Jesus Elementary

School in Tondo, Manila, every time a natural disaster occurs, specifically seismic activities. This research will

verify that the structure requires modification and is safe to use as an emergency shelter, both of which are

necessary for post-disaster actions. This study will be a helpful instrument or material for those individuals

involved in school building maintenance.

This research will provide an accurate or fair assessment of the specified building structure utilizing the

structural threshold other than the intensity warrant based on the DPWH rules on earthquake recording

instrumentation for buildings (series 2015).

This research will be helpful to future researchers and students who will perform a study similar to this

one as a reference and credible source. This study will also generate valuable data that will be useful and

valuable, particularly in PHIVOLCS and other government organizations dealing with seismology in executing

natural disaster mitigation plans.

 This research will also assist engineers, particularly those who specialize in structural and earthquake

engineering, by using the data obtained from this study as a useful tool and source to strengthen other existing

structures to mitigate tragedies caused by tectonic occurrences.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of this research was bound to Gregoria de Jesus Elementary School in Tondo, Manila, and it

was about evaluating the building from any seismic event utilizing fragility curves to evaluate the chance of

damage to the structure. In this study, several types of analysis, software, methodologies, and rapid visual

screening (RVS) for the integrity check and structural model will be used to collect data. In addition, the

compressive strength of the structural concrete will be based only on the default material value from ASCE 41-

17 (Table 4-2. p. 43), and the non-destructive test will not be conducted.

The SAP2000 civil engineering software will be used to obtain the projected fragility curves as well as

to identify the structure's nonlinear and linear analyses, which will also be utilized to build the structural model.

The Gregoria de Jesus Elementary School obtained design plans that served as the only basis for the structure

model (structural and architectural plan). FEMA P-154 or the Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings for Potential

Seismic Hazards is the methodology and technical basis to determine if the structure is seismically hazardous by

obtaining data during the survey. The data from the analysis will be used in the methodology of this research to

generate a fragility curve limited to the capacity spectrum method, where the result is strongly dependent on the

reliability of the nonlinear structural model to plot the fragility curve; data from the analysis will be used.

The limitation of this research was not to include anything unrelated to structural and seismic

engineering, as well as newly constructed and restored structures. The ground motion data set for locals will

only have 25 data sets and a magnitude earthquake is confined only to 6 and above. Moreover, the number of

ground motion data sets for foreign will only have 25 data sets, and a magnitude earthquake is restricted to 7

and above. Furthermore, this study excludes the possibility of the expense of restoring the school building as a

result of seismic damage.