Comparison of the seismic effects on a structure reinforced with concrete shear walls and equipped with seismic isolators

One of the largest earthquakes that Turkey has experienced, the Kahramanmaraş earthquake, occurred on February 6, 2023. This 7.7 Mw earthquake caused a high rate of human casualties and extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. Among the damaged structures were schools in the region, many of which collapsed due to the earthquake. Among the damaged structures, schools located in the region are also included. As a result of the earthquake, many school buildings sustained damage. This study analyzes the performance of a school building in Hatay province that was severely damaged. Within the scope of the analysis, the building was modeled using SAP2000 software, and nonlinear time-history analysis was performed. The performance analysis of the building was carried out in four different scenarios: the unstrengthened model, the model with the existing strengthening shear wall, the model strengthened by adding shear walls, and the model using seismic isolators. The results of the performance analysis, according to the Turkish Seismic Code, revealed that when real earthquake records were applied to the structure, both the unreinforced model and one with the existing strengthening shear wall were subjected to collapse, while the model strengthened by adding shear walls was found to be at the damage control stage. In contrast, the model utilizing seismic isolators was observed to remain in the Continuous Serviceability state. The natural vibration period, story displacements, base shear forces, and internal forces occurring in the columns for different models were evaluated in detail.