Decision-Making Challenges During Earthquake Response of Service Station Structures

Effective post-earthquake decision-making requires reliable information regarding the structural damage to infrastructure. Service stations—commonly known as gas stations—represent critical infrastructure whose failure can have severe consequences in urban areas, including fires, casualties, property damage, and health risks. This study investigates the seismic behavior of such structures using a 1:10 scaled model tested on the shaking table at Peruvian-Japanese Center for Seismic Research and Disaster Mitigation. The experimental response was analyzed using signal processing techniques and modal identification within a bandpass frequency range of 1 to 5 Hz. Based on similitude laws, an equivalent full-scale dynamic model was calibrated to represent the real structure’s response. Subsequently, following SEAOC recommendations and the Peruvian Seismic Design Standard (NTE E.030), 150 capacity analyses were performed on service station models, considering structural height as the primary variable. For each height, force–drift relationships were derived, and corresponding peak ground accelerations were calculated for deterministic seismic events. The resulting damage intervals provide quantitative thresholds for evaluating the seismic performance of service stations. These outcomes can be incorporated into Sistema Experto Integrado para la Evaluación de Daños por Sismo, an expert system for seismic damage assessment in urban environments.