Use of probability‐based measures for automated damage assessment

The use of component fragility functions for automatic damage assessment in instrumented buildings is described. Fragility functions used in this study provide a probabilistic mapping between peak structural response parameters and various levels of damage. The approach permits the estimation of damage in various types of components for each story of a building. Two types of fragility functions are used. The first permits the estimation of the probability of being in a certain damage state with knowledge on the level of maximum interstory drift ratio. The second permits the estimation of damage in acceleration‐sensitive components by providing estimates of the probability of being in a certain damage state with knowledge on the level of maximum peak floor acceleration. Calculation of the probability of reaching or exceeding a certain damage state as well as of being in a certain damage state are described. An example of a two‐story building is used to illustrate the use of the proposed approach.