On Thursday 5th May, a seminar entitled “Seismic performance of existing RC buildings: field evidences, research and design standards” held by Prof. Humberto Varum, full professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), will take place in room Pedeferri (building 6).

Abstract:

The existing building stock is characterized by multiple types of structural systems. Architecture requirements in many situations demanded complex structural systems, sometimes not in line with the general structural design code recommendations. The structural solutions adopted in design may enforce stiffness and strength irregularities, both in-plan and in-elevation. In other perspective, many existing buildings with RC framed or walls structural systems may present strong irregularities, particularly in the bottom storey, due to the absence of infill panels, for the location of stores or garages.

In this seminar, it is given an overview of the damages observed in existing RC buildings in recent earthquakes. The strategy proposed in modern codes for the seismic design of buildings is briefly presented and discussed. A brief presentation of the research work (experimental and numerical) carried out at the University of Porto (FEUP) is presented. To conclude, some suggestions of research lines are advanced in support to the future development of seismic design codes.

Speaker’s Biosketch:

Humberto Varum is currently full professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal. Previously, he was associate professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where he had taught from 1997 to 2014. Since October 2010, he is Honorary Lecturer at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College of London (UCL), London, United Kingdom. In 2012, he was professor of the Master in “Evaluation Control and Reduction of Environmental Seismic Risk”, at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy. Since July 2016, he is Visiting Professor at the College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fujian, China. He is director of the PhD program in Civil Engineering at FEUP.