Seismic Evaluation Methods for Fire-Protection Sprinkler Piping Systems in Buildings

Seismic Evaluation Methods for Fire-Protection Sprinkler Piping Systems in Buildings

Fire-protection sprinkler piping systems are likely to be harmed during earthquakes due to their vulnerability and mechanical properties. Even worse, leakage and falling objects caused by damaged piping and adjacent ceiling systems significantly affect the normal operation of critical buildings such as hospitals. This research aims to quantify the seismic capacity of sprinkler piping in hospitals by means of fragility curves, to enable a seismic evaluation or a performance design. A typical sprinkler piping system in a medium-scale hospital in Southern Taiwan, which was damaged due to the 2010 Chia-Shen earthquake, was taken as an example. Experimental results of in-situ ambient vibration tests and shaking table tests of the piping sub-system were used to verify the accuracy of the numerical model, including hangers, screwed fittings of small-bore pipes, adjacent partition walls, and ceiling boards. Fragility curves of the sprinkler piping system were then established according to a number of numerical analysis results, and a simplified seismic evaluation method was suggested as well.