Evaluation of Failure Probability for Emergency Power Supply Systems in Hospitals

Evaluation of Failure Probability for Emergency Power Supply Systems in Hospitals

The unpredictability of earthquakes is one of the major reasons for the occurrence of building damage and casualties during earthquake events. In addition to earthquake-induced structural damage to buildings, ground shaking can also cause critical effects on nonstructural components and systems in buildings. This study aimed to develop a probability-based approach for evaluating seismic damage to emergency power supply systems(EPSSs) in Taiwanese hospitals. Four case hospitals that were damaged during the Chi-Chi earthquake(September 21, 1999) were investigated. A component scoring system developed by the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research in the United States was referenced as the basis for developing seismic fragility curves for the components in the EPSSs of the case hospitals. Additionally, the logic tree method was employed to evaluate the failure probability of the EPSSs. The results exhibited acceptable consistency with the recorded damage status of the investigated systems, thereby verifying the feasibility of the proposed approach.