Implementing Open-Source Information Systems for Assessing and Managing the Seismic Vulnerability of Historical Constructions

Abstract

The characterisation of the seismic vulnerability of historical constructions represents a complex problem in which the typological variability, the difficulty of performing reliable large-scale assessments and dealing with a large database all play a role. Nevertheless, reducing the uncertainty regarding the structural vulnerability of the existing building stock (mostly for small and/or isolated human settlements) is key for risk assessment and management. The present work proposes a novel approach based on the integration of a series of open-source tools for assembling a vulnerability-oriented database that is linked to a series of external services for increasing its capabilities. The database was implemented in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment and contains the survey of a seismic vulnerability index for masonry constructions based on an adapted version of the GNDT-II approach. A customised Python-based software for reading, managing and editing the database is herein presented. This program allows the execution of the most typical operations with no assistance from the GIS environment, facilitating user interaction. Furthermore, the calculations regarding the vulnerability index and levels of damage have been implemented in this program. Alternatives for distributing the database are implemented and discussed, such as cloud-based distribution and the use of the Transactional Web Feature Service (WFS-T) protocol for its virtual publishing. The entire framework herein presented is a replicable and feasible workflow that can be set even with reduced infrastructure, allowing a progressive enlargement.

Evaluación de la vulnerabilidad sísmica de edificios históricos de mampostería usando modelos semánticos apoyados en evidencias empíricas: Aprendizajes en México

“…El Catálogo, la base de datos editable en sitio y el software descrito representan, en conjunto, un sistema completo (Figura 6) que permite elaborar los modelos semánticos de vulnerabilidad sísmica a partir de información nueva y existente, con la capacidad de interpretar de manera semiautomática los datos de entrada para devolver índices de vulnerabilidad y niveles potenciales de daño ante un determinado sísmico. Los aspectos técnicos de la implementación se encuentran reportados en el trabajo de Ramírez Eudave et al, tomando como punto de partida los principios de uso de software libre y de acceso abierto [28].…”

“…Este procedimiento obvia algunos aspectos fundamentales del tratamiento de datos, como la selección de parámetros significativos para explicar los resultados, pues se está partiendo de un modelo semántico previamente diseñado para representar la vulnerabilidad sísmica de construcciones en mampostería. La implementación técnica de esta calibración se reporta pormenorizadamente en el trabajo de Ramírez Eudave et al [28], donde se detallan los pasos y ajustes seguidos. Los resultados de esta calibración, reportados en la Tabla 2, demuestran cambios sustanciales en varios de los parámetros.…”

A Typological-Mechanical Approach to Assess Large-Scale Seismic Fragility of Masonry Buildings in Historical Centres

“…In addition, it should be considered that, for this scale of application, huge amount of data has to be gathered, managed and structured in order to be easily searchable and rapidly post-processed. In a such process, GIS environment represents a suitable tool allowing the integration and elaboration of different types of georeferenced information, making possible the construction of an informative structure useful for the implementation of different large-scale seismic vulnerability assessment procedures [8][9][10][11][12][13].…”