Clermont, Emerson

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    Seismic rehabilitation of typical schools in Puerto Rico
    (2019-12-10) Clermont, Emerson; Martínez-Cruzado, José A.; College of Engineering; Guevara Guillén, José O.; Suárez, Luis E.; Department of Civil Engineering; Tirado-Corbalá, Rebecca
    Puerto Rico is located in an earthquake-prone region. Observations from recent studies of seismic activity in Puerto Rico have proven the expectation of a major earthquake that may occur at any given time. School buildings are one of the main infrastructures targeted by major earthquakes, due to the short column effect generated by the presence of partial masonry walls besides the columns. Unfortunately, the short column effect is usually not taken into consideration during the seismic analysis of the school buildings, and most of the public school buildings in Puerto Rico are built according to a limited number of prototype plans, hence, they are facing the same issue. As non-structural elements, masonry walls have a great influence on structures, they restrict the lateral displacement of the columns of the school buildings, which might cause a sudden shear failure of the columns. Schools are commonly used as shelters and they need to be in full operation and in proper conditions right after the earthquakes. The short column effect has caused severe damage in schools in past earthquakes, which leads to the reason why an adequate rehabilitation system for typical schools in Puerto Rico must be set in place. This research is designed to provide a solution for the seismic rehabilitation of typical public educational centers in Puerto Rico for the Department of Education. After all, the results obtained will be beneficial for existing schools and will serve as a guide that can be applied to further constructions of any similar structure.