BIM‑based seismic analysis of existing reinforced concrete buildings

Abstract

The work reported paper aimed to develop a BIM‑based framework to facilitate the process of seismic analysis of existing reinforced concrete buildings, through a streamlined set of modelling rules and interoperability between Autodesk Revit (BIM platform) and SeismoStruct (seismic analysis software). This is achieved through a visual programming script developed in Dynamo. The developed script can export geometry, sections, material properties, supports as well as reinforcement data for structural columns and beams. Furthermore, an important contribution of the framework was the consideration of infill walls which are normally ignored in the usual practices of design offices during the seismic assessment of existing buildings. The interoperability script can query the necessary information from the BIM model and export it to an XML (Extensible Mark‑up Language) that can be directly recognized by the seismic analysis software. The operational capacity of the framework was assessed on an example of a regular building. The seismic capacity of the building was then evaluated using pushover analysis in SeismoStruct, with an evaluation of the beneficial effects of consideration of infill walls, thus allowing more realistic assessments. Moreover, a method to input reinforcement data based on non‑graphical data was proposed, facilitating the quickness of the input of information to the BIM model and hence to the seismic analysis software.