An open-source framework for regional earthquake loss estimation using the city-scale nonlinear time history analysis

Abstract

Regional seismic damage simulation of buildings provides decision-makers with important information for earthquake disaster prevention and mitigation. Utilizing nonlinear time history analysis using multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) models for buildings, and the next-generation performance-based earthquake engineering, an open-source general-purpose scientific workflow for seismic damage simulation and loss prediction of urban buildings (referred to as SimCenter Workflow) is presented in this study. To introduce the SimCenter Workflow process in detail and demonstrate its advantages, a seismic damage simulation and loss prediction for 1.8 million buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area were performed using the SimCenter Workflow. The open nature and modularization of the SimCenter Workflow facilitate its extensibility and make it practical for researchers to apply to seismic damage simulations in other regions.