In this talk, Prof. Hernandez will present the theoretical foundations of seismic vibration monitoring, on-going research on the topic, and some real-world applications.
Seismic risk as it relates to structures is a product of the seismic hazard, the structural vulnerability and the consequences of failure. Monitoring vibrations in building structures before, during and after potentially damaging earthquakes can provide valuable information regarding the structural characteristics of buildings and their vulnerability. In contrast to building codes and regulations, which address the building population as a statistical ensemble, vibration monitoring allows engineers and stakeholders to obtain individualized information about their particular building structure.
Information extracted from vibration measurements can be used to improve rapid screening, make better predictions regarding future performance during a potentially damaging earthquake, inform decisions regarding retrofit, and perform rapid post-earthquake assessments that can significantly improve community resilience. However, the process of measuring and interpreting vibrations is fraught with uncertainties arising from various sources, such as ambient noise, measurement noise, modeling errors, and human biases, among others. In this talk, Prof. Hernandez will present the theoretical foundations of seismic vibration monitoring, on-going research on the topic, and some real-world applications.