An Open-Source Nonstructural Element Database to Shorten the Tech Transfer Gap Between Nonstructural Research and Building Design

Observations since the 2011 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake, and subsequent earthquakes around the globe have revealed two important findings that are shaping structural engineering research and design: (1) there is a pressing need for functional recovery design solutions to support long-term community resilience, and (2) damage to nonstructural components is often the leading cause of loss of building function after earthquakes. However, the readily available nonstructural fragility data most often used by engineers and researchers to inform decisions about the influence of nonstructural elements on building performance is fragmented and outdated. To address this critical data collection and dissemination gap, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed the Nonstructural Element Database (NED), an open source and public repository that organizes nonstructural experimental test data and seismic fragilities into a robust SQL database. Through an extensive literature review, we collected over 2000 experimental test records and explicitly related experimental records to seismic fragility models. The relational and open-source architecture of the NED database promotes data transparency, reuse, and scalability, where observations of nonstructural damage can be continuously uploaded to an online repository and directly queried by engineers and researchers for use in seismic risk assessment and design. By providing a centralized and public repository of nonstructural element data, NED can facilitate a better understanding of how nonstructural elements perform during earthquakes and support better decision-making to reduce the impact of earthquakes on communities.

Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements (SPONSE), Yokohama, Japan.