A Comparison of Rapid Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Methods for Existing Residential Buildings in Tabriz using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP): Case Study

Residential buildings in Tabriz, which were constructed according to the requirements of old seismic codes or considering no seismic code, should be assessed under the effect of seismic loads. To this end, the first step is the seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings within a short time before an earthquake occurs. To achieve reasonable results, it is necessary to study the accuracy and compatibility of existing seismic vulnerability assessment methods according to the conditions and characteristics of buildings in the region. Therefore, it is possible to select the most appropriate method for the rapid seismic vulnerability assessment (RSVA) by comparing the methods. In order to increase the accuracy of the comparison, the multi-criteria decision analysis method is used. To determine the accuracy of RSVA methods, three typical residential buildings were evaluated using rapid and quantitative (analytical) assessment methods. The structures examined in this investigation include two steel concentrically braced frame (CBF) buildings and one unreinforced masonry building.