Comprehensive Analytical Seismic Fragility of Fire Sprinkler Piping Systems

Keywords: Fire Sprinkler Piping System, Shaking Table Tests, Analytical Studies, Seismic Risk Assessment, Fragility Studies

Abstract: A comprehensive simulation methodology is developed for fire sprinkler piping systems and is used to generate seismic fragility parameters of these systems. This model is validated using the experimental results of four different piping subsystems, which incorporates a newly developed hysteresis model for threaded and grooved tee joints. Then, the modeling methodology is used to obtain the seismic response of selected fire sprinkler piping systems of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Hospital under two suites of ninety-six artificially generated tri-axial floor acceleration histories. As a result of this study, main run pipes with grooved joints, cable braces, and armover pipes are found to be more vulnerable compared to the other components. Also, by providing 3 in. and 8 in. clearance from large and small pipe diameters, respectively, the leakage failure in piping systems is more probable compared to the first pounding of the piping system with its surroundings.