Reliability-based formulation of building vulnerability to debris flow impacts

Physical building vulnerability to debris flows is defined as the potential damage degree of buildings for a given debris flow intensity. In this paper, the physical characteristics of both debris flow intensity and building response are considered. Uncertainties in building capacity and debris flow intensity are explicitly quantified to evaluate the damage probability of a typical reinforced concrete building subjected to debris flow impact. Four damage states with clear failure mechanisms are defined using multi-source information from field observations, numerical simulation, and expert experience. Two series of fragility models are proposed based on practical debris flow impact pressure models. Several debris flow intensity measures are investigated. A better indication can be provided using the intensity measure that represents a specific failure mechanism; e.g., impact force (hv 2 ) for force-dominated failures or overturning moment (h 2 v 2 ) for moment-dominated failures, where h and v are debris flow depth and velocity, respectively. The corresponding fragility surfaces best express potential building damage. The intensity thresholds in the proposed fragility curves are consistent with those in empirical vulnerability curves. The methodology presented in this paper promotes vulnerability assessment using physics-based modeling, leading to a more reliable evaluation of building damage caused by debris flows.