Seismic Evaluation Method of Typical Sprinkler Piping Systems in Hospitals

Seismic Evaluation Method of Typical Sprinkler Piping Systems in Hospitals

Recently, the seismic capacity of critical building structures (such as hospitals and high-tech factories) has improved due to the vigorous development of performance design concepts. As a result, major damage and economic losses caused by earthquakes has changed from predominantly structural to non-structural systems such as piping systems. The common failures to fire protection sprinkler systems resulting from seismic events include impact damage to ceiling boards, leaks to the one-inch threaded joints, and breakage of the hangers. In order to better understand the seismic vulnerability of the components mentioned above, this research revised the detailed numerical analysis method (Method A) developed by Yeh (2016). As an example, the NTU Hospital Yunlin branch was used to conduct fragility analysis of the components associated with the fire protection sprinkler system.