Research Supported by LATBSDC
The Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council (LATBSDC) supports research aimed at advancing the analysis and design of tall buildings. Each year, the Council selects one research project for funding based on its technical merit, relevance to tall building design, and potential to advance engineering practice.
The research program focuses on topics that can provide a basis for the continued development of the LATBSDC Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings. Research findings are intended to be directly evaluated and, where appropriate, incorporated into future editions of the LATBSDC Guidelines, helping ensure that the document reflects current research, analytical capabilities, and advances in performance-based design.
The projects listed below have received research funding from LATBSDC in support of this objective.
Development of New Fragility Relations for Tall Building Design and Evaluation
Principal Investigator:
John W. Wallace, Distinguished Professor
University of California, Los Angeles
Award Year:
2026-2027
LATBSDC Funding:
$15,000
Project Status:
Ongoing — March 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027
Project Summary:
This project develops updated fragility relations for structural systems commonly used in modern tall buildings, with emphasis on reinforced concrete core walls, coupling beams, and slab-column connections. Existing FEMA P-58 fragility relations for these components are based in part on limited experimental data, simplified response parameters, or engineering judgment. The project will use more comprehensive experimental databases now available to develop improved fragility relationships that better represent component behavior, detailing, geometry, and relevant engineering demand parameters.
Relevance to LATBSDC Guidelines:
Improved fragility relations will provide a more reliable basis for evaluating damage, repair consequences, and functional recovery of tall buildings. The work directly supports the LATBSDC-funded resilience research led by Vesna Terzic and will improve the reliability of that project's functional-recovery assessments. The resulting relationships can provide supporting technical data for resilience and performance criteria considered in future editions of the LATBSDC Guidelines.
Key Outcomes / Deliverables:
Updated fragility relations for reinforced concrete core-wall components.
Improved fragility relations for coupling beams accounting for reinforcement detailing and aspect ratio.
Updated fragility relations for slab-column connections.
Improved component-level inputs for functional-recovery assessment of tall buildings.
Technical report documenting the research findings.
Journal paper presenting the results.
Presentation of results at the LATBSDC Annual Conference and potentially other national engineering conferences.
Related Publications and Resources:
Final research report and journal publication to be added upon completion of the project.