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Tips to Design Earthquake Resistant Str uctures

Tips to Design Earthquak e Resistant Structures Earthquak es and Natural Calamities Types of Seismic Waves Earthquak e Hazards Seismic Effect on Structures Building Stiffness and Flexibility Effect of Deformati ons in Structures How Earthquak es affect Reinforce d Concrete Buildings? Planning for Earthquak

Designing Earthquake Resistant Structures is indispensable. Every year, earthquakes take the lives of thousands of people, and destroy property worth billions and not everyone has home insurance, so many really suffer and have a hard time to recover. It is imperative that structures are designed to resist earthquake forces, in order to reduce the loss of life. Structural design plays an important role. Here, we will discuss different tips and techniques used in designing Earthquake Resistant structures.

What is an Earthquake?

An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the Earth caused by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the Earth's surface. For hundreds of millions of years, the forces of plate tectonics have shaped the Earth as the huge plates that form the Earth's surface move slowly over, under, and past each other. Sometimes the movement is gradual. At other times, the plates are locked together, unable to release the accumulating energy. When the accumulated energy grows strong enough, the plates break free causing the ground to shake. Most earthquakes occur at the boundaries where the plates meet; however, some earthquakes occur in the middle of plates. Ground shaking from earthquakes can collapse buildings and bridges; disrupt gas, electric, and phone services; and sometimes trigger landslides, avalanches, flash floods, fires, and huge, destructive ocean waves (tsunamis). Buildings with foundations resting on unconsolidated landfill and other unstable soil, and trailers and homes not tied to their foundations are at

e Resistant Structures Earthquak e Resistant Technique s and Design Philosoph y Constructi on Materials for Earthquak e Resistanc e Base Isolation Technique s For Earthquak e Resistanc e Energy Dissipatin g Devices for Earthquak e Resistanc e Active Control Devices for Earthquak e Resistanc e Case Study Base Isolation

risk because they can be shaken off their mountings during an earthquake. When an earthquake occurs in a populated area, it may cause deaths and injuries and extensive property damage. It is for this reason that it is often said,

System Case Study Energy Dissipatin g Devices Site Map

"Earthquake don't kill people, buildings do."

The dynamic response of building to earthquake ground motion is the most important cause of earthquake-induced damage to buildings. The damage that a building suffers primarily depends not upon its displacement, but upon acceleration. Whereas displacement is the actual distance the ground and building may move during an earthquake, acceleration is a measure of how quickly they change speed as they move. The conventional approach to earthquake resistant design of buildings depends upon providing the building with strength, stiffness and inelastic deformation capacity which are great to withstand a given level of earthquake-

generated force. This is generally accomplished through the selection of an appropriate structural configuration and the carefully detailing of structural members, such as beams and columns, and the connections between them. In contrast, we can say that the basic approach underlying more advanced techniques for earthquake resistance is not to strength the building, but to reduce the earthquake-generated forces acting upon it. By decoupling the structure from seismic ground motion it is possible to reduce the earthquake-induced forces in it. This can be done in two ways:
Increase natural period of structure by "BASE ISOLATION". Increase damping of the system by "ENERGY DISSIPATING DEVICES".

Next: Earthquakes and Natural Calamities Home | About Us | Company Profile | Articles | Our Projects | Contact Us

Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT BUILDINGS

Go to BOTTOM of PAGE PAGE INDEX: Background Procedure Building with base isolator Building with buttresses Conclusion

Earthquake-proof versus Earthquake Resistant

BACKGROUND:

Transamerica Building, San Francisco

Engineers would like to make every building earthquake-proof, but can't because it's too expensive. Instead, they recommend making

dams and public buildings earthquakeproof. All other buildings should be earthquake resistant to avoid deaths. The cost of repair is a fraction of the cost of earthquakeproofing these buildings (Knowing Earthquakes, p. 2-3). The Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco is earthquakeproof. It swayed more than one foot in the 1989 earthquake but wasn't damaged.

(Left) Tuned mass damper system

PROCEDURE
A) A nine layer overlapped building with a cross brace inside was made on the earthquake machine. Straight buttresses and a roof attached with plasticine were added. The handles of the earthquake machine were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for each trial was recorded.

Earthquake building with buttresses

B) A nine layer overlapped building with a cross brace inside was made and a roof was attached using plasticine. The building was built on a marble base isolator on the earthquake machine. The handles of the earthquake machine were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At

Earthquake resistant building with base isolators

the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for each trial was recorded.

RESULTS (A)
EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT BUILDING WITH BASE ISOLATOR 9 LAYER OVERLAPPED BLOCKS
cross braced 20 22 16 19.3 base roo isolato f r 10 14 16 13.3 28 28 24 26.7 cross braced/ roof/ base isolator 36 40 34 36.7

nine layer 10 12 12 averag 11.3 % improved stability

71

18

136

225

RESULTS (B)
EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT BUILDING WITH BUTTRESSES 9 LAYER OVERLAPPED BLOCKS
Nine layer 10 12 12 AVERAG 11.3 % 19.3 71 13.3 18 11.3 0% 20.7 83 Cross braced 20 22 16 Buttr Roof esses 10 14 16 12 10 12 Buttresses/ Roof/Cross braced 20 24 18

Improved stability

CONCLUSION
It is possible to make modifications to a building to make it earthquake resistant. The nine layer overlapped cubic building with buttresses, a roof, and cross braces was 83% more stable than the plain

nine layer building. The nine layer overlapped cubic building with cross braces, a roof and a marble base isolator was 226% more stable then a plain nine layer building. The base isolator is more effective at stabilizing the building than the buttresses because it actually absorbs more of the earthquake's energy.

Click here Click here to go BACK to go BACK to to INDEX ROOFS

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Click here to go to NEXT: PROBLEMS WITH THE EXPERIMENT

MATERIALS
Earthquake Machine :
25 71/2 cm compression springs Duct tape Staples Carpenter's stapler Wire 25 screw eyes Bamboo sticks Pliers Cutting shears Ply wood Circular saw

Experimentation:

Plasticine Bamboo sticks Crate wood for blocks Marbles Scissors

Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

PROBLEMS WITH THE EXPERIMENT

Go to BOTTOM of PAGE

1. THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE The holes drilled in the bottom board didnt match the position of the springs in the top board so all the springs couldnt stand up straight when the top piece of plywood was put on. The testing surface was too small so it was covered with a larger piece of Styrofoam. The marble base isolator was too heavy for the springs and made the machine top lean slightly to one side. It was hard to pull the handles in the same way every time so that the machine would shake the same. 2. STRUCTURAL STABILITY MODIFICATIONS AND BUILDING

a) Overlapping and Stability -The blocks couldnt be attached together because then the buildings wouldnt fall when being tested on the earthquake machine. The only way it was possible to do this experiment was if the blocks were not attached to each other. This meant that buildings

could only be stabilized to a certain point.

b) Height and Stability - There were no problems with this experiment except it would be good to see what happens to buildings with more layers. c) Buttresses and Stability - Using the blocks as buttresses, it was only possible to put buttresses on the first three layers of the buildings. Stacking more blocks to make a higher buttress didn't work. It toppled over. This left the top layers without a buttress.
d) Base Isolators and Stability - As mentioned above the marbles were too heavy for the machine causing it to bend over slightly to one side. Larger buildings such as a cross were too heavy to be placed on the marble base isolator at all because it would be too heavy for the machine. Many lighter substitutes were tried, such as peas, beads and Styrofoam balls but they all had their own problems.

e) Roofs and Stability - The roof couldnt be attached well enough to the rest of the building, so after a couple of shakes of the earthquake machine, it just fell off especially since the rest of the blocks in the building werent attached. The roof needs to be attached to the rest of the building to make sure the building stays together during an earthquake. If the roof starts to fall off, gravity and the forces of the earthquake could topple the building. f) Cross bracing and Stability - It was hard to find the right materials to make the cross braces and to fit the cross braces into the buildings. It was also difficult to attach the cross braces to the blocks. In some trials the building and the cross brace fell over because they werent attached to the earthquake machine well enough.

Nine layer building with buttressesthe top layers are not buttressed

Cross shaped buildingtoo big for base isolator

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Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS:
CROSS BRACING AND STABILITY
Go to BOTTOM of PAGE

PROCEDURE
A cross brace structure was constructed from plasticine and bamboo skewers. It was in the shape of either a cube or a rectangular prism depending on the building height to be tested. The cross brace structure was placed inside the buildings to be tested to see if it would stabilize the building. Cubic, overlapped buildings of three, six and nine layers of blocks were tested. The handles of the earthquake machine were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for each trial was recorded.

Rectangular cross brace

Nine layer building cross braced

RESULTS
CROSS BRACING AND STABILITY BUILDING WITH OVERLAPPED BLOCKS
3 LAYER 6 LAYER no cross cross no cross bracin bracin bracing g g 9 LAYER

no cross bracing

cross bracing

cross bracing

4 6 6
AVERAG

8 6 8 7.3

6 10 8 8

8 8 10 8.7

10 12 12 11.3

20 22 16 19.4

5.3
% improve d stabilit y

38

72

CONCLUSION
Cross bracing made a lot of difference in the stability of the three layer building and the nine layer building but not the six layer building. The stability of the nine layer building was increased by almost 75%. Neither the cubic nor the rectangular cross brace fit in the six layer building properly. It wasn't braced well enough and so little improvement was shown.

Click here Click here Click here to go to go BACK to to go to the BACK to BASE TOP of the INDEX ISOLATORS PAGE

Click here to go to NEXT: ROOFS

Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS:
BASE ISOLATORS AND STABILITY
Go to BOTTOM of PAGE.

PROCEDURE
A flat box with a layer of marbles in it was used as a base isolator. Cubic, overlapped buildings of three, six and nine layers of blocks were placed in turn on top of the marbles and tested on the earthquake machine for stability. The handles of the earthquake machine were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for each trial was recorded.

Marble base isolator

Nine layer overlapped building on marble base isolator

RESULTS
BASE ISOLATOR AND STABILITY BUILDING WITH OVERLAPPED BLOCKS
3 LAYER 6 LAYER 9 LAYER No No Bas Base Base Base e Isola Isola Isola Isol tor tor tor ator 8 8 8 8 6 8 8 20 22 20.7 10 14 16 11.3

No Base Isolator 4 6 6 Averag 5.3 % Improved stability

Base Isolator 28 28 24 26.7

51

159

136

CONCLUSION
A marble base isolator made a lot of difference to the stability of the buildings. It works because the marbles absorb the energy made when the earthquake machine vibrates and release it by rolling around. Without the base isolator, the bottom of the building sways faster than the top of the building. With the base isolator, the entire building moves as one unit and moves more slowly than the

base isolator. The base isolator improved the stability of the three layer building by 51%, the six layer by 159% and the nine layer building by 136%. This was unexpected because the nine layer building should increase the stability more than the six layer. This may be because it is already more stable because of its weight and the base isolator can't improve it much more.

Click here Click here Click here to go to go to BACK to go to the BACK to to TOP of the INDEX BUTTRESSES PAGE

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Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS:
BUTTRESSES AND STABILITY
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PROCEDURE
On the earthquake machine, buttresses were added to a rectangular building. The blocks were not overlapped. Three blocks were stacked on each of the four corners to act as buttresses. The handles of the earthquake machine were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine

had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for each trial was recorded. Three trials were done. Tests were done using straight buttresses and then slanted buttresses. Buttresses were also tested on cubic buildings where the blocks were overlapped. The same procedure as above was used.

Straight buttresses overlapped building

Slanted buttresses overlapped building

Straight buttresses non-overlapped building

RESULTS

BUTTRESSES AND STABILITY NON-OVERLAPPED AND OVERLAPPED BLOCKS

NO BUTTRESSES NONOVER LAPPED 2 2 2 AVERAGE 2 % Improved stability STRAIGHT BUTTRESSES SLANTED BUTTRESSES NONNONOVER OVER OVER OVER LAPPE LAPPE OVER LAPPED LAPPED D D LAPPED 4 6 6 5.3 8 11 10 9.7 12 6 8 8.7 16 12 14 14 6 8 10 8

385

64

600

51

CONCLUSION
Reinforcing the structure with buttresses makes the building more stable. For buildings where the blocks are not overlapped, straight buttresses improved the stability by 385%. For buildings with slanted buttresses, the increase in stability is 600%. For buildings with straight buttresses, the building pushed the buttresses forward until they fell off the earthquake machine. The slanted buttresses are harder to move because they are pressing against one another. For the building where the blocks were overlapped and had

straight buttresses, the stability is improved by 64%. Buttresses dont stabilize the overlapped buildings as much as the non-overlapped buildings. This is because of the arrangement of the blocks in the overlapped buildings already makes them more stable.

Click here Click here Click here to go to go BACK to to go to the BACK to BUILDING TOP of the INDEX HEIGHT PAGE

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Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS:
BUILDING HEIGHT AND STABILITY
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PROCEDURE
The effect of building height on stability was tested by making cubic, overlapped buildings of three, six and nine layers of blocks. The handles of the earthquake machine were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for

each trial was recorded.

Three Layer Building

Six Layer Building

Nine Layer Building

RESULTS BUILDING HEIGHT

BUILDING WITH OVERLAPPED BLOCKS

4 6 6 AVERAGE % improved stability 5.3

6 10 8 8 51

10 12 12 11.3 113

Click here Click here Click here to go BACK to go to the to go BACK to to TOP of the OVERLAPPING INDEX PAGE

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Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS:
OVERLAPPING AND STABILITY
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PROCEDURE
Four blocks were centered on the earthquake machine but not overlapped. A small rectangular building, three stories high, was built using more blocks. The handles of the earthquake machine Three layer non-overlapped were pulled back to the line then let go. When the machine had stopped shaking, the handles were pulled again and again until the building collapsed. Each pull of the machine was timed to last two seconds. Three trials were done. At

the end of each trial, the building was rebuilt. The data for each trial was recorded. Then another building was made but this time the blocks were overlapped and the building was square. The same procedure was followed as for the non-overlapped blocks.

Three layer overlapped

RESULTS OVERLAPPED BLOCKS AND STABILITY

NON-OVERLAPPED AND OVERLAPPED BLOCKS
3 LAYER
nonoverlapped 2 2 2 AVERAG E 2 % improved stability

6 LAYER

9 LAYER
overlapped 10 12 12 11.3 465

nonoverl nonoverla overlap appe overl pped ped d apped 4 6 6 5.4 170 2 2 2 2 6 10 8 8 300 2 2 2 2

CONCLUSION
Overlapping increased the stability of buildings because the blocks were all touching and the force from the earthquake machine was distributed evenly. The friction from the blocks rubbing one another stops them from falling down as quickly as when the blocks are not overlapped. The percent improved stability for the six layer overlapped building was 300% more than the non-overlapped one. The nine layer overlapped building was 465% more stable than the non-

overlapped.

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Index ~~ Background ~~ Purpose ~~ Hypothesis ~~ Materials ~~ Earthquake Machine ~~ Modifications: Overlapping - Height - Buttresses - Base Isolators - Cross Braces Roofs ~~ Resistant Buildings ~~ Problems ~~ Further Experimentation ~~ Bibliography

Bibliography
Go to BOTTOM of PAGE Agrawal, D.P. and Manikant Shah, "Earthquake Resistant Structures of Himalayas." www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/t_es/t_es_agraw_quake.htm "ArchNet Discussion Forum, Conflict and Natural Disasters." archnet.org/forum/veiw.tel?message_id=118715 "Design: Tuned Mass Damper." www.canberrasec.net/~fuyh/hchallenge/finalpro/structural.htm "Earthquake Protection: The Earth May Move, But Parliament Stays Put". http://www.ps.parliament.govt.nz/quake.htm FEMA, "Buildings: Structural Concepts." www.conservationtech.com/femaweb/fema-subweb-eq/02-02-earthquake... Horton, Robyn,

"K-State Researchers Shake Things up for Earthquakes." www.mediarelations.ksu.edu/web/news/newsreleases/ earthquakebuilding71300.html Japan Atlas, "Historic Sites: Todaiji Temple. webjapan.org/atlas/historical/his13.html Morris, Neil, Earthquakes. Crabtree Publishing Company. 1998 Pendick, Daniel, "Savage Earth: Building Safer." www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/earthquakes/html/sidebar3.html Schwartz, Karyn, "Predicting Earthquakes." www.pbs.org/newshour/science/earthquake/buildings.html Simon, Seymour, The Wonders of Our World: Earthquakes. Morrow Junior Books. 1991. "Structural Control System." www.takenaka.co.jp/takenaka_e/quake_e/seishin/.htm TIFAC, "Knowing Earthquakes," www.tifac.org.in/news/eqknow.htm Walker, Sally M., Earthquakes: A Caroirhoda Earth Watch Book. Cariorhuda Books. 1996. Click here to go to the TOP of the Page

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Source: Japan Society of Seismic Isolation

Base Isolated House

What is Base Isolated House?
Base isolated structure fends off violent shakings of quakes while earthquake-resistant housing uses the building itself to resist such tremors. Its isolation mechanism absorbs the earthquake force to convert severe vibrations into much smaller and slower ones. Thus it can protect your loved ones and property by preventing secondary damage caused by falling or dropping of the furniture or breakage of window glasses. 'Base isolated house' absorbs the earthquake energy and changes it to slower swaying. 'Earthquake-resistant house' secures your safety by holding out the tremors leveraging its own strength and resilience.

Base isolated House Earthquake Resistant House The technology called 'seismic isolation structure' which turns destructive seismic shakings into slower and softer ones prevents possible damage. This structure can evade the tremors, taking them in stride and safeguarding the building, not mention the human lives and property inside. 'Earthquake-resistant' technology enables the building to counter quakes by making its strength and resilience great enough to resist shakings. Although it can protect the building safely, it is accompanied by a risk that the fur-niture inside could fall or drop.

Hybrid seismic isolation system,the first of its kind for houses in japan

The hybrid seismic isolation system that incorporates ultra-low elastic multi-rubber with a speciallycoated slider is the first of its kind for houses in Japan.. Our efforts to untiringly and repeatedly conduct experiments have come to fruition at last, allowing us to provide quake-proof houses of outstanding performance at low cost

Multi-rubber Slider The laminated rubber plays a role in oscillating the building at a low frequency in the event of an earthquake and will bring it back to its original position after the quake. This absorbs the energy of an earthquake by sliding the building freely 360 degrees.

High performance was verified after 300 shakes, reducing earthquakes acceleration by 1/4 or 1/3.

In our development of seismic isolation systems, we carried out tests that actually shook a wooden 2story house built on the device about 300 times. As a result, we confirmed that our system is capable of easing quakes acceleration (intensity of vibrations) by 1/4 or 1/3 as well as securing safety to the point that even glasses on tables are prevented from trembling. We conducted public experiments applying actual oscillations at Hazama Technology Institute, which has large testing equipment of the highest standard in Japan. This has proven our credible quake isolation performance and high security.

Our performance in Japan

We have developed our base isolated houses, making their popularity our prime goal, and we have succeeded in cutting the cost substantially to one-half or to 1/3 of that of traditional isolation structures. Realizing this cost-reduction, we have already built 1,900 houses in Japan (as of April 2006). We are very proud that this accounts for more than 70% of Japans seismic isolation house market. "We want all the houses to be seismically isolated" We have a passion for creating safe houses every day.

Examples of base isolated buildings in the U.S.

San Francisco City Hall (The state of California)

Oakland City Hall (The state of California) USC University Hospital (The state of California) Back to top *enlargement Results of vibration of tests

*enlargement

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EARTHQUAKES 73
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By ram_m

EARTHQUAKES

San Francisco, April 18, 1906 at 5-15 AM a massive earthquake measuring 8.25 on the Richter scale devastated most parts of the city. The havoc was magnified in its intensity by the fire that erupted resulting in the collapse of nearly 25000 buildings and the death of about 700 people. The human misery was even greater---about 250,000 became homeless and the damage was estimated to be more than $350,000,000. Eighty three years later (1989) San Francisco was hit by another earthquake this time measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale. It is predicted that earthquakes of 1906 magnitude usually take place at intervals of 200 years, but the probability of earthquakes of 6.7 on the Richter scale before 2032 is about 62%. We cannot avert these acts of nature nor can we be complacent about it. So what can we do when nature strikes? This can answered only when we understand why and how earthquakes occur. WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES Part of the earth called plates; move in opposite direction due to forces acting upon it. This stretches the rock resulting in the formation of faults. When distortion reaches breaking point, the rocks begin to break. This break rapidly spreads along the fault releasing immense amount of energy. The movement of the rock can sometimes be up and down too. The origin of the earthquake where the initial break takes place is called the FOCUS. The point on the earth's surface directly above the focus is called the EPICENTRE. Sometimes earthquakes are preceded by foreshocks. But the problem is that it can be identified as one, only after the main earthquake has taken place. Aftershocks however are more common, which may continue for weeks or months and occurs due the readjustments in the position of rocks. CLASSIFICATION OF EARTH QUAKES Earthquakes are measured on the logarithm of the energy released and is expressed in Richter scale. Slight : Magnitude up to 4.9 on the Richter scale Moderate : Magnitude 5.0 to 6.9 Great : Magnitude 7.0 to 7.9 Very great : Magnitude 8.0 and more

INSTRUMENTS MEASURING EARTHQUAKES A Seismograph is the instrument which is used for measuring earthquakes. The first seismograph was invented in 132 AD by the Chinese astronomer Chang Heng. It was called Earthquake weathercock". The modern seismograph was however invented by the British geologist John Milne in 1880 who along with Sir James Alfred Ewing and Thomas Gray formed the Seismological Society of Japan which had funded the invention of seismograph. DEADLIEST EARTHQUAKES

The deadliest earthquake in recorded history took place in Shansxi, China on January 23, 1556. It is estimated that around 830,000 people perished in the great calamity and had a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale. However one of the largest earthquake in the twentieth century was on May 22, 1960 which took place in Chile. Quite often fallouts of earthquakes are tsunamis as in the case of the Indonesian earthquake of 2004, where an undersea earthquake of the magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter scale triggered a tsunami which killed nearly 150,000 people and released energy equivalent to 23000 Hiroshima type A-bombs. WHEN EARTHQUAKES STRIKES Remain cool and don't panic. Survival depends upon how you react in such emergencies. WHEN INSIDE DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON. This means that you should take cover under some heavy piece of furniture like a table and continue to remain there until the shaking stops. Ensure that you are not near a window or door and don't move around unnecessarily. If you are in bed, you may either seek cover under the bed or continue to remain there. But cover you head with a pillow. Never use an elevator.

WHEN OUTSIDE Move away from buildings, trees or power lines and stand in a clear spot Drop to the ground and remain like that until the shaking stops.

IF YOU ARE IN A CAR Slow down and find a clear space to stop. Avoid stopping under bridges, power lines or collapsing buildings. Switch off the engine, turn on emergency flashers and continue to remain inside.

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE Listen to emergency information on your battery operated radio. If your home is unsafe, get every one out. If there is a gas leak, open the windows and leave the building. If your electricity system is damaged, see sparks or smell hot insulation, switch of the electricity mains, but don't go near it if you have to step into water. Help your neighbors, particularly children, elderly people and those who are physically handicapped. It is not earthquake however that kill, people but buildings around us. Modern earthquake resistant buildings try to increase the natural period of the structure by base isolation and increase damping by energy dissipating devices.

Links The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html Early films on San Francisco earthquake http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/papr/sfhome.html Library of Congress collection http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/papr/sfhome.html Dos and don'ts during earthquakes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llim0NxpGGs The San Francisco earthquake of 1989 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW-TkpvKPl0&feature=related Sumatra earthquake http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPj41JySMLk&feature=related Asian Tsunami 2004 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NfKZAiWRoE Dos and don'ts when insuring your home. http://www.unitedpolicyholders.org/claimtips/tip_do_donot.html Designing earth quake resistant buildings http://www.architectjaved.com/earthquake_resistant_structures/planning_for_earthquake_resistant_ structures.html

San Francisco earthquake 1906

How earthquakes happen

Cheng Heng's Earthquake weathercock

Charles Richter

Earthquake resistant building

Probability of another earthquake in San Francisco

Seismic zoning in US

seismometer

Earthquakes: 2006 Centennial Update Price: $53.35

Nature Tech - Earthquakes (History Channel) Price: $2.06 List Price: $24.95

Earthquakes (reillustrated) (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Price: $2.48 List Price: $5.99

Nova: Earthquake the Science Behind the Shake Price: $24.34 List Price: $39.95

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starcatchinfo says:
13 months ago

WHAT A DEVASTATING AN EARTHQUAKE WILL BE umkeyra says:

7 months ago

Good informational hub.

Lots of resource links and videos. Also facts about earthquakes are useful too.

If you think it would be helpful to your readers, you can link to my earthquake maps which show the recent 'swarms' for up to the past 30-60 days and the current hot spots in the world. These come as different layers on a map so you can turn them on or off. Check out my hubs.
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Home > Information Area > How to Make Buildings Safer in Earthquakes

How to Make Buildings Safer in Earthquakes

What is an earthquake? Why do buildings fail in earthquakes? So, how can we make buildings resist earthquakes? So, how should we best design earthquake resistant buildings? What is an earthquake? The land we live on, and the seabed, are a crusty skin of light rocks floating on the soft centre of the earth, which is made of heavier molten rock and molten iron. This crusty skin is not one solid piece but is made up of lumps, separated by faults and trenches, or pressed together into mountains. These separate lumps, plates, are not static but are in slow motion, moved by convection forces in the molten core: and by gravitational forces from the Sun and Moon; and centrifugal forces from the Earths rotation. Some plates are moving apart, particularly in the Mid Ocean Trenches, where molten material pushes up and shoves the plates apart. Some plates are bumping into each other head on, and these push up mountains like the Himalayas (the whole of the Indian Sub Continent is moving Northwards and hitting Asia, for example). Some are sliding one over another, like the west coast of the Americas, where the land plates are sliding over the more dense ocean bed plates, causing the Andes and the Rockies to be thrust upwards. Some plates are moving along past each other, sticking together a while at a fault line, often in combination with bumping or sliding under/over (As in San Francisco). All of these movements cause earthquakes (and usually volcanoes as well). If the movement was steady, about a millimetre or so a year, no one would notice. But the plates tend to jam; the movement carries on, but the material where they touch is stretched, or compressed, or bent sideways. The material deforms (like stretching or compressing or twisting a bit of plastic). At some stage it reaches the breaking point along all or part of the joint, then it breaks, and there is a sudden movement. The movement may be tiny or may be several feet; but enormous amounts of energy are released, far more than the biggest Nuclear Bombs. The shock waves from this release of energy shoot out in all directions, like the ripples when you throw a stone in a pond: except that they travel faster through the land. They can be measured all around the whole world. This is an Earthquake. If this happens in the sea, a Tsunami is formed, which can travel at about 600 miles per hour, a long gentle swell until it reaches shallow water, when it can rear up as a huge steep wave, and then break. But that is another story. Prior to the Earthquake (earth quake) there are often little warning shakes, where highly stressed bits break, and the plate joints readjust themselves a little, but allow the main join to become more stressed. After the main Earthquake when the main join has failed and moved, there is another readjustment, and further bits around the fault become overstressed too, and they fail. These aftershocks can themselves be highly energetic Earthquakes. After the Earthquake, the area settles down again. But the movement carries on and the next Earthquake is already building up, remorselessly. People forget, and build buildings that are going to kill their children next time.

Back to Top Why do buildings fail in earthquakes? An Earthquake moves the ground. It can be one sudden movement, but more often it is a series of shock waves at short intervals, like our ripples from the pebble in the pond. It can move the land up and down, and it can move it from side to side. All buildings can carry their own weight (or they would fall down anyway by themselves). They can usually carry a bit of snow and a few other floor loads and suspended loads as well, vertically; so even badly built buildings can resist some up-and-down loads. But buildings are not necessarily able to resist any side-to-side loads, unless they have been built to do so. This weakness would only be found out when the Earthquake strikes, and this is a bad time to find out. It is this side-to-side load which causes the worst damage, often collapsing poor buildings on the first shake. The side-to-side load can be worse if the shocks come in waves, and some bigger buildings can vibrate like a huge tuning fork, each new sway bigger than the last, until failure. This series of waves is more likely to happen where the building is built on deep soft ground, like Mexico City. A taller or shorter building nearby may not oscillate much at the same frequency. Often more weight has been added to buildings, often at greater heights. Another floor, and another over that; walls built round open balconies and inside partitions to make more, smaller, rooms; rocks piled on roofs to stop them blowing away; storage inside. This extra weight produces great forces on the structure and helps collapse. The more weight there is, and the higher this weight is in the building, the stronger the building and its foundations must be to resist side earthquakes; many buildings have not been strengthened when the extra weight was added. Often, any resistance to the sway loading of the building is provided by walls and partitions; but these are sometimes damaged and weakened in the Main Earthquake. The building is then more vulnerable, and even a weak aftershock, perhaps from a slightly different direction, or at a different frequency, can cause collapse. In a lot of multi storey buildings, the floors and roofs are just resting on the walls, held there by their own weight; and if there is any structural framing it is too often inadequate. This can result in a floor or roof falling off its support and crashing down, crushing anything below. In many concrete framed buildings, thought has gone in to the design of the columns to resist sway load, and the columns appear perfect until Earthquake oscillations start. Small cracks appear in the concrete. The bonding of the stirrups (the small steel bars which bind the main reinforcement together) to the concrete weakens, the outer concrete crumbles (spalling), the main reinforcing bars can bend outwards away from the column and all strength disappears. This was beautifully demonstrated under the Oakland Freeway, where huge round concrete columns crumbled and crumpled. They have now been reinforced with massive belts around them. In a lot of multi storey buildings the lower floor has more headroom (so taller columns); and it often has more openings (so less walls); and it is usually stood on pinned feet with no continuity. So the ground-tofirst floor columns, which carry the biggest loads from the weight and the biggest cumulative sideways loads from the earthquake, are the longest and the least restrained and have the least end fixity. They are often the first to fail. It only takes one to fail for the worst sort of disaster, the pancake collapse so familiar to any one who has seen the results in Armenia, Mexico, Turkey, Iran, Peru, and now Pakistan and Kashmir. Sometimes buildings are built on soft soil; this can turn into quicksand when shaken about, leading to complete slumping of buildings into the soil. Some tall buildings can stay almost intact but fall over in their entirety. The taller the building, the more likely this is to happen, particularly if the building can oscillate at the frequency of the shock waves, and

particularly if some liquification of soft soil underneath has allowed the building to tilt. Back to Top So, how can we make buildings resist earthquakes? It is obvious, from all of the above. Buildings and their foundations need to be built to resist sideways load. The lighter the building is, the less the loads. This is particularly so when the weight is higher up. Where possible the roof should be of light-weight material. If there are floors and walls and partitions, the lighter these are the better, too. If the sideways resistance is to be obtained from walls, these walls must go equally in both directions. They must be strong enough to take the loads. They must be tied in to any framing, and reinforced to take load in their weakest direction. They must not fall apart and must remain in place after the worst shock waves so as to retain strength for the after shocks. If the sideways resistance comes from diagonal bracing then it must also go equally all round in both directions. Where possible, it should be strong enough to accept load in tension as well as compression: the bolted or welded connections should resist more tension than the ultimate tension value of the brace (or well more than the design load) and it should not buckle with loads well above the design load. And the loads have got to go down to ground in a robust way. If the sideways load is to be resisted with moment resisting framing then great care has to be taken to ensure that the joints are stronger than the beams, and that the beams will fail before the columns, and that the columns cannot fail by spalling if in concrete. Again the rigid framing should go all around, and in both directions. If the building resistance is to come from moment resisting frames, then special care should be taken with the foundation-to-first floor level. If the requirement is to have a taller clear height, and to have open holes in the walls, then the columns at this level may have to be much stronger than at higher levels; and the beams at the first floor, and the columns from ground to second floor, have to be able to resist the turning loads these columns deliver to the frame. Alternatively, and preferably, the columns can be given continuity at the feet. This can be done with fixed feet with many bolts into large foundations, or by having a grillage of steel beams at the foundation level able to resist the column moments. Such steel grillage can also keep the foundations in place. If the beams in the frame can bend and yield a little at their highest stressed points, without losing resistance, while the joints and the columns remain full strength, then a curious thing happens: the resonant frequency of the whole frame changes. If the building was vibrating in time with shock waves, this vibration will tend to be damped out. This phenomenon is known as plastic hingeing and is easily demonstrated in steel beams, though a similar thing can happen with reinforced concrete beams as long as spalling is avoided. All floors have to be connected to the framing in a robust and resilient way. They should never be able to shake loose and fall. Again all floors should be as light as possible. They should go all round each column and fix to every supporting beam or wall, in a way that cannot be shaken off. One way of reducing the vulnerability of big buildings is to isolate them from the floor using bearings or dampers, but this is a difficult and expensive process not suitable for low and medium rise buildings and low cost buildings. (Though it may be a good technique for Downtown Tokyo). Generally it is wise to build buildings that are not too high compared to their width in Earthquake areas, unless special precautions are taken. Back to Top

So, how should we best design earthquake resistand buildings? The first thing is to make the highest bit, the roof, as light as possible. This is best done with profiled steel cladding on light gauge steel Zed purlins. This can also have double skin with spacers and insulation. It can have a roof slope between 3 and 15 degrees. If it is required to have a 'flat' roof, this could be made with a galavanised steel decking and solid insulation boards, and topped with a special membrane. Even a 'flat' roof should have a slope of about 2 degrees. If it is required to have a 'flat' concrete roof, then the best solution is to have steel joists at about 2m, 6", centres, and over these to have composite style roof decking. Then an RC slab can be poured over the roof, with no propping; the slab will only be say 110mm, 4 1/2", and will weigh only about 180 kg/sqm. Such a slab will be completely bonded to the frame and will not be able to slip off, or collapse. If the building is a normal single storey one, then any normal portal frame or other steel framed building, if competently designed and built, will be able to resist Earthquake loads. If it is to have 2 or more stories, more needs to be done to ensure its survival in an earthquake. As with the roof, the floors should be made as light as possible. The first way is to use traditional timber joists and timber or chipboard or plywood flooring. If this is done it is vital that the timber joists are firmly through bolted on the frames to avoid them slipping or being torn off. The frame needs them for stability and the floor must never fall down. A better alternative is to substitute light gauge steel Zeds for the timber joists. These can span further and are easier to bolt firmly to the framework. Then, floor-boards or tongue-and-groove chipboard can easily be screwed to the Zeds. However in Hotels, Apartment buildings, Offices and the like, concrete floors may be needed. In such cases we should reduce the spans to the spanning capacity of composite decking flooring, and pour reinforced concrete slabs onto our decking. The decking is fixed to the joists, the joists into the main beams, the main beams into the columns and the concrete is poured around all the columns. There is simply no way that such floors can fall off the frame.

Click to Enlarge Once the floors are robustly fitted to the frames, the frames themselves must be correctly designed. Please look at the sketch above. Start at the bottom. The frame should not be built on simple pinned feet at ground level. Outside earthquake zones it is normal to build a 'Nominally pinned footing' under each column. This actually gives some fixity to the base as well as horizontal and vertical support. But in an earthquake, this footing may be moving and rotating, so rather than provide a bit of fixity, it can push to left or right, or up and down,

and rotate the column base, helping the building to collapse prematurely. Any pinned footing may actually be moving differently from other footings on the same building, and so not even be giving horizontal or vertical support, but actually helping to tear the building apart. So here Reidsteel would start with steel ground beams joining the feet together, and these should have moment resistance to prevent the bottoms of the columns from rotating. These ground beams may well go outside the line of the building, thus effectively reducing the height-to-width ratio as well, helping to reduce total over-turning. This ground beam may be built on pads or piles or rafts as appropriate. On loose soils, the bearing pressure should be very conservatively chosen, to minimise effect of liquification. Reidsteel would then fit the columns to these ground beams with strong moment connections. Either the connections should be strong in both directions, or some columns designed to resist loads in one direction and others in the other direction. The columns should not be the item that fails first: the ground beam should be able to rotate and form plastic hinges before either the connection or the column fails. The reason is that a column failing could instigate a collapse; the connection failing could instigate the column failure. In comparison, the plastic hingeing of the ground beam takes time, absorbs energy, and changes the resonant frequency of the frame while leaving the frame nearly full strength. Next, Reid Steel would fix the main beams to the outer columns with full capacity joints. This will almost always mean haunched connections. Great care would be taken to consider the shear within the column at these connections. The connections should be equally strong in both up or down directions, and the bolt arrangement should never fail before the beam or the column. In extreme earthquake sway, the beams should always be able to form hinges somewhere, in one or two places, without the column with its axial load failing elastically. In this way the frame can deflect, the plastic hinges can absorb energy, the resonant frequency of the structure is altered, all without collapse or major loss of strength. All this takes a little time until the tremor passes. The inner columns do not give a lot of sway resistance, but even so, should have connections which do not fail before the beam or the column. Then, the floors are fitted, Light-weight or conventional cladding is fitted to the frames, light-weight or thin concrete roofs are fitted as described above. You have a building that will behave very well in an earthquake. Nothing can be guaranteed to be able to resist any possible earthquake, but buildings like the ones proposed here by ReidSteel would have the best possible chance of survival; and would save many lives and livelihoods, providing greater safety from an earthquake.

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How to Build Earthquake-Resistant Housing

Contributor By eHow Contributing Writer Article Rating: (21 Ratings)

As earthquakes hit strongly in places as divergent as California, Tennessee, New York, Japan and Brazil, more builders, architects and property owners look for ways to build earthquakeresistant housing. Many construction companies specialize in building these types of structures. While no design can totally prevent earthquake damage, certain building systems can lessen it. Read the tips below for advice on how to build earthquake-resistant housing.
Difficulty: Challenging Instructions 1. Step 1 Add to Favorites Flag Article Email Print Article

Design ground beams for earthquake-resistant housing. Join steel beams together by the feet and allow them to go outside the line of the building to decrease the chance of the structure overturning.
2. Step 2

Build floors with a light material similar to the roof. Use plywood, chipboard or plain timber with joists bolted firmly to the floor for earthquake-resistant housing.
3. Step 3

Ensure that buildings resist sideways pressure. Build the roof with a lightweight material. Brace the building diagonally to resist sideways loads of debris.
4. Step 4

Construct wood-frame housing. Although it's lightweight, wood provides a strong resistance to earthquakes. Tie wall wells to the house foundation when building and nail wood firmly to studs to increase the earthquake resistance of the structure. Use a shear wall construction with studs forming the wall's shell and horizontal joists making up the floors and rafters supporting the roof.
5. Step 5

Establish a large panel system for residences. Set up concrete panels vertically and horizontally to surround the rooms in a apartment building. These panels uphold the building's structural integrity along with vertical and horizontal floor panels.
6. Step 6

Use a modular building system. Stack ready-made boxes and connect them together. The walls that form resist shaking caused by earthquakes from both directions. Pipes as well as wall and floor finishes fit in an earthquake-resistant concrete box.
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