Fragility Assessment of Light-Frame Wood Construction Subjected to Wind and Earthquake Hazards

A fragility analysis methodology is developed for assessing the response of light-frame wood construction exposed to stipulated extreme windstorms and earthquakes. Performance goals and limit states (structural and nonstructural) are identified from a review of the performance of residential construction during recent hurricanes and earthquakes in the United States. Advanced numerical modeling tools provide a computational platform for risk analysis of light-frame wood building structural systems. The analysis is demonstrated for selected common building configurations and construction (defined, e.g., by roof sheathing, truss spacing, and roof or shear wall nailing patterns). Limit state probabilities of structural systems for the performance levels identified above are developed as a function of 3-s gust wind speed (hurricanes) and spectral acceleration (earthquakes), leading to a relation between limit state probabilities and the hazard stipulated in ASCE Standard 7, “Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures.”