Luis A. Pinzón

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Luis A. verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD
• Researcher at Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua

We analyze the case of a building that collapsed in a multifamily complex of Tlalpan borough in Mexico City during the 19 September 2017 Central Mexico earthquake. Despite having similar materials and similar structural and geometric properties, this was the only building that collapsed in the complex. A structural analysis of the building and a st...

In this article, we present a strong‐motion database from earthquakes recorded by the Earthquake Engineering Laboratory at the University of Costa Rica. The database consists of 2471 three‐component accelerograms from 155 digitally recorded events. It covers the last 20 yr of measurements, including records from the 5 September 2012 Mw 7.6 Nicoya e...

The paper presents an iterative procedure for the time domain deconvolution in nonlinear elastoplastic materials. The approach is intended for the generation of input motions for dynamic soil–structure interaction (DSSI) numerical analyses when the desired earthquake is specified at the surface of a nonlinear soil deposit. The main advantage is tha...

In this paper, the correlation between different seismic intensity measures (IM) and engineering demand parameters (EDP) of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings was evaluated by means of nonlinear dynamic analyses (NLDA). The Costa Rican ground motion database and four RC buildings (4-, 6-, 8-and 10-stories) were considered in this research. Estimati...

Recent research have proven the importance of considering the directionality effect on the expected seismic damage of structures. However, it demands a high computational effort if the nonlinear dynamic analysis (NLDA) is used to estimate the seismic response. This paper presents a simplified approach to obtain peak response parameters for a buildi...

The Casco Antiguo of Panama (CAP) holds historical and architectural significance, acclaimed for its preservation initiatives. However, the protection of this heritage requires in-depth investigations tailored to the unique conditions of the area. This research delves into the intricate relationship between soil-building resonance, assessing their...

On 8 July 2024, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the province of Chiriquí in Panama, primarily impacting areas characterized by informal settlements and low-income neighborhoods. The earthquake was recorded by both the Panama Accelerographic Network and the Costa Rican Strong Motion Network, with accelerations exceeding 150 cm/s². The National Civ...

This article presents the results of an analysis of the directionality effect in strong motion records from the Costa Rican Database. A preliminary study was conducted, using four identical sensors placed at a site in different orientations, to validate the theoretical composition of signals used to estimate orientation-independent intensity measur...

This paper presents the results of a study to assess the effect of ground motion directionality on the stability of a slope under seismic loading. Stability conditions were determined through two-dimensional (plane strain) nonlinear dynamic analyses using the finite element method and the Newmark rigid block method. In the numerical calculations, t...

It is well established that site effects and the interaction between the structure and the ground play a significant role in the structural damage observed after major earthquakes. The latter fact, along with advancements in computation geomechanics, has made more common the use of numerical dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI) analyses, for i...

This article presents the findings of a study on the directionality effect observed in strong motion records. We set out to establish ratios between several seismic intensity measures that depend on sensor orientation (e.g., GMar, Larger) and others that are orientation-independent (e.g., RotDpp, GMRotDpp, and GMRotIpp), with the intention of propo...

In this study, a procedure to perform a time-domain deconvolution in nonlinear elastoplastic materials has been proposed. The aim is to develop accelerograms at the base of a finite element model (FEM) from surface records to perform soil-structure interaction analyses. This procedure is based on finding a relationship between the surface response...

Soil-structure interaction is a key aspect when calculating the dynamic response of nuclear structures in front of ground motions induced by earthquakes. However, modelling the seismic response in the time-domain using FEM-based models to represent the soil volume is computationally expensive because of the large number of elements involved. For th...

When dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI) analyses are performed, e.g. using the finite element (FE) method, the input signal is required at the base of the model. Nevertheless, acceleration records are usually available at the surface and, therefore, the desired motion must be deconvolved to the base. The latter is usually performed through t...

During strong earthquakes, structural damage usually occurs, resulting in a degradation of the overall stiffness of the affected structures. This degradation produces a modification in the dynamic properties of the structures, for instance, in the fundamental period of vibration (T1). Hence, the variation of T1 could be used as an indicator of seis...

El uso de procedimientos y metodologías estandarizadas para realizar análisis dinámico no lineales (ADNL) está en aumento. En este tipo de análisis, varios de los criterios pueden ser definidos de forma arbitraria o seleccionados a criterio del experto, tal es el caso de la selección de los acelerogramas a ser utilizados como dato de partida para e...

El uso de procedimientos y metodologías estandarizadas para realizar análisis dinámico no lineales (ADNL) está en aumento. En este tipo de análisis, varios de los criterios pueden ser definidos de forma arbitraria o seleccionados a criterio del experto, tal es el caso de la selección de los acelerogramas a ser utilizados como dato de partida para e...

In this paper, the soil profile of the Costa Rican Strong-Motion Network (CRSMN) stations is classified based on actual measurements and seismic regulations. The soil classification of the Costa Rican Seismic Code based on the average shear-wave velocity of the top 30 m (VS30) is used as a reference. The site fundamental period (Tf) is included as...

The seismic regulations for the seismic performance assessment of buildings use the maximum interstory drift, θmax, as a measure to control damage. This article presents a study of the seismic performance based on the θmax for steel buildings using Mexico's regulations and the RISK-UE and HAZUS guidelines. The capacity spectrum method is used to ev...

In this work, the directionality effects during the MW 7.8 earthquake, which occurred in Muisne (Ecuador) on 16 April 2016, were analyzed under two perspectives. The first one deals with the influence of these effects on seismic intensity measures (IMs), while the second refers to the assessment of the expected damage of a specific building located...

Earthquakes are defined as a "violent shaking of the Earth’s crust and mantle, caused by forces acting inside the Earth". In most cases, these forces are caused by an energy release process generated from the contact of the Earth’s tectonic plates. Other less common causes are the human-induced earthquakes or those generated through volcanic activi...

Estimations of seismic risk in urban areas should include quantifications of the expected damage to civil structures subjected to earthquakes. In buildings, this quantification depends on the maximum inter-story drift (MIDR), among other aspects. In this study, the correlation between several intensity measures (IMs) and the maximum inter-story dri...

In this paper, remote and in situ techniques to estimate the dynamic response of a building to ambient vibration are reported: data acquired through a real-aperture radar (RAR) interferometer and conventional accelerometers are analyzed. A five-story reinforced concrete housing building, which was damaged during the May 11th 2011 Lorca (Spain) eart...

The paper investigates directionality effects of ground motions in the context of dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI) analyses. The problem addressed corresponds to a nonlinear soil deposit, overlaying firm ground, where the input motion was derived from an acceleration time history recorded at a rock outcrop. A simplified procedure is propos...

Normally, the average of the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) ratios of the 5% damped response spectra of ground motions is used to classify the site of strong-motion stations. In these cases, only the three-orthogonal as-recorded acceleration components are used in the analysis, and all the vector compositions that can generate a different response fo...

In this study, a simplified approach to account for directionality effects on two-dimensional (2D) dynamic soil-structure interaction analyses (DSSI) is proposed. When an earthquake is recorded, the direction with the maximum intensities rarely corresponds with the orientation of accelerometers and, therefore, the maximum response of a system gener...

In this study, previous microzonation studies in Barcelona (Spain) were revisited, and available data on the predominant periods of soils in the city were compiled to develop an updated microzonation map of the city. In addition, the building database was updated and used to create a map of building fundamental periods. The crossing of soil predomi...

In this paper, a simplified non-invasive method to diagnose the safety state of buildings is tested. The method is based in remote sensing measurements of the natural vibrations of actual buildings using an interferometric Real-Aperture Radar (RAR). This non-invasive technique may allow us to detect damage in buildings by means of the change in the...

Recent researches have proven the importance of considering the seismic directionality effect. The performance of buildings subjected to earthquakes depends on its orientation respect to the seismic actions applied. This type of calculation is computed using the nonlinear dynamic analysis (NLDA) and rotating the acceleration horizontal components o...

Recent researches have proven the importance of considering the seismic directionality effect. The performance of buildings subjected to earthquakes depends on its orientation respect to the seismic actions applied. This type of calculation is computed using the nonlinear dynamic analysis (NLDA) and rotating the acceleration horizontal components o...

In this work, different zones of increased hazard due to resonance effects in Barcelona are identified. For this, all the available data from the predominant periods of soils was compiled to develop an updated microzonation map of the city. In addition, the building's database of the city was used to create a map of the building's fundamental perio...

Directionality effects on the expected strong ground motion in Italy are investigated. After a brief description of the directionality effect and the intensity measures involved, a wide Italian database of strong ground motion records is used, with a total of 949 horizontal accelerograms (two components). The analysis is performed for 5% damped res...

Structures with high lateral stiffness and/or with brittle to semi-brittle elements in their lateral resistant system may exhibit a rapid decrease of their shear capacity and a sudden loss of stiffness when lateral cyclic loads, as those produced by earthquakes, are applied. This behavior can be related to damage (partial or complete) of a particul...

In this paper, the directionality effects of the as recorded ground motions are investigated. The Italian accelerometric archive (ITACA) is used for this purpose. A number of 949 horizontal ground motion records (two components) are used. The following measures, resulting from different ways of combining the maximum values (m1,m2) of the two horizo...

En esta investigación se han comparado las medidas de intensidad del movimiento del suelo, para una base de datos con acelerogramas de Costa Rica, Nicaragua y El Salvador. Estas medidas están basadas en una serie de registros de aceleración ortogonales horizontales, rotados para todos los ángulos no redundantes, de tal manera que se proponen medida...

Esta Tesis de Grado ha sido realizada dentro de la Escuela de Ingeniería Civil, de la Facultad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, de la Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua de Panamá. El trabajo que contiene esta memoria ha sido desarrollado mediante un convenio entre la Universidad y la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (programas de Excelencia Académ...