INTRODUCTION

Earthquake-resistant structures are designed

and constructed to withstand various types of
hazardous earthquake exposures at the sites of
their particular location.
According to building codes, earthquakeresistant structures are meant to withstand the
largest earthquake of a certain probability that is
likely to occur at their location. This means the
loss of life should be minimized by preventing
collapse of the buildings for rare earthquakes
while the loss of functionality should be limited
for more frequent ones.
Building designed to prevent total collapse,
preserve life, and minimize damage in case of an
earthquake or tremor. Earthquakes exert lateral
as well as vertical forces, and a structure's
response to their random, often sudden motions
is a complex task that is just beginning to be
understood.
Earthquake-resistant
structures
absorb and dissipate seismically induced motion
through a combination of means: damping
decreases the amplitude of oscillations of a
vibrating structure, while ductile materials (e.g.,
steel) can withstand considerable inelastic
deformation. If a skyscraper has too flexible a
structure, then tremendous swaying in its upper
floors can develop during an earthquake. Care
must be taken to provide built-in tolerance for

some structural damage, resist lateral loading

through stiffeners (diagonal sway bracing), and
allow areas of the building to move somewhat
independently.

General principles for seismic

resistant
buildings
(i)Structures should not be brittle or collapse
suddenly. Rather, they should be tough, able to
deflect or deform a considerable amount.
(ii) Resisting elements, such as bracing or shear
walls, must be provided evenly throughout the
building, in both directions side-to-side, as well
as top to bottom.
(iii) All elements, such as walls and the roof,
should be tied together so as to act as an
integrated unit during earthquake shaking,
transferring forces across connections and
preventing separation
iv) The building must be well connected to a
good foundation and the earth. Wet, soft soils
should be avoided, and the foundation must be
well tied together, as well as tied to the wall.
(v) Care must be taken that all materials used
are of good quality, and are protected from rain,
sun, insects and other weakening actions, so
that their strength lasts.
(vi) Unreinforced earth and masonry have no
reliable strength in tension, and are brittle in
compression. Generally, they must be suitably
reinforced by steel or wood.

Seismic performance
Earthquake or seismic performance defines a
structure's ability to sustain its due functions,
such as its safety and serviceability, at and after
a particular earthquake exposure.

A structure is, normally, considered safe if it

does not endanger the lives and well-being
of those in or around it by partially or
completely collapsing
A structure may be considered serviceable if
it is able to fulfil its operational functions for
which it was designed.
Building should survive a rare, very severe
earthquake by sustaining significant damage
but without globally collapsing.
Building should remain operational for more
frequent, but less severe seismic events.

GENERAL PLANNING AND DESIGN ASPECTS

The behaviour of building during earthquakes
depends critically on its overall shape, size and
geometry. Hence, at planning stage itself,
architects and structural engineers must work
together to ensure that the unfavourable
features are avoided and a good building
configuration is chosen. If both shape and
structural system work together to make the
structure a marvel.
If we have a poor configuration to start with, all
the engineer can do is to provide a band-aid
improve a basically poor solution as best as he
can. Conversely, if we start-off with a good
configuration and reasonable framing system,
even a poor engineer cannot harm its ultimate
performance too much.

Size of Buildings

In tall buildings with large weight-to-base size

ratio the horizontal movement of the floors
during ground shaking is large. In short but very

long buildings, the damaging effects during

earthquake shaking are many. And, in buildings
with large plan area, the horizontal seismic
forces can be excessive to be carried by columns
and walls.

Horizontal Layout of Buildings

Buildings with simple geometry in plan perform

well during strong earthquakes. Buildings with

re-entrant corners, like U, V, H and + shaped in
plan sustain significant damage. The bad effects
of these interior corners in the plan of buildings
are avoided by making the buildings in two parts
by using a separation joint at the junction.

Vertical Layout of Buildings

Earthquake forces developed at different floor

levels in a building need to be brought down
along the height to the ground by the shortest

path, any deviation or discontinuity in this load

transfer path results in poor performance of
building. Buildings with vertical setbacks cause a
sudden jump in earthquake forces at the level of
discontinuity. Buildings that have fewer columns
or walls in a particular storey or with unusually
tall storey tend to damage or collapse which is
initiated in that storey. Buildings on sloppy
ground have unequal height columns along the
slope, which causes twisting and damage in
shorter columns that hang or float on beams
have discontinuity in load transfer. Buildings in
which RC walls do not go all the way to the
ground but stop at upper levels get severely
damaged

Adjacency of Buildings

When two buildings are close to each other, they

may pound on each other during strong shaking.
When building heights do not match the roof of
the shorter building may pound at the midheight of the column of the taller one; this can be
very dangerous.

Configuration
Earthquake is a natural phenomenon occuring with all uncertanities.
Engineering design aims to link economics, social, environmental and
safety factor to produce the best solution. India is a large country. Nearly
two thirds of its area is earthquake prone. A large part of rural and urban
buildings are low-rise buildings of one two three stroyes. Many of them
may not be adequately designed from engineers trained in earthquake
engineering. Most loss of life and property due to earthquakes occur due
to collapse of buildings. The number of dwelling units and other related
small-scale constructions might double in the next two decades in India
and other developing countries of the world. This amplifies the need for a
simple engineering approach to make such buildings earthquake resistant
at a reasonably low cost.
The behaviour of a building during earthquakes depend critically on its
overall shape, size and geometry, in addition to how the earthquake
forces are carried to the ground. Hence, at the planning stage itself,
architects and structural engineers must work together to ensure that the
unfavourable features are avoided and a good building configuration is
chosen. The main objective of seismic resistant construction is that the
structure does not collapse during mild earthquakes. This also helps in

preventing catastrophic failure of the suructure giving sufficient warning

during severe earthquakes thereby saving precious lives.
In this presentation emphasis will be given to the performance of
unengineered buildings during earthquake and some methods to reduce
the damages during earthquake.
EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Earthquake is a natural phenomenon occurring with all uncertainties.
Among all the natural calamities, the most devastating one is earthquake.
During the earthquake, ground motions occur in a random fashion, both
horizontally and vertically, in all directions radiating from epicenter. These
ground motions cause structures to vibrate and induce inertia forces on
them. Hence structures in such locations need to be suitably designed and
detailed to ensure stability, strength and serviceability with acceptable
levels of safety under seismic effects.

The interest of an engineer in earthquakes is mainly from design point of

view. He studies them so that the structure he builds can safely withstand
the earthquake shocks and the associated erratic ground motion.
At present, the principle of earthquake-resistant design of building
has two aims:
1.

The building shall withstand with almost no damage to moderate

earthquake which have probability of occurring several times during life of

a building.
2.

The building shall not collapse or harm human lives during severe

earthquake motions which have a probability of occuring less than once

during the life of the building.
In the former case deformation of the structures remain within the elastic
range.

In the latter case, they may exceed the elastic limit and the building
should be designed with sufficient ductility to survive collapse.
In order to satisfy these aims, building design should conform following
rules:
(a)

The configuration of the building (Plan and elevation) should be as

simple as possible.
(b)

The formation should generally be based on hard and uniform

ground.
(c)

The members resisting horizontal forces should be arranged so that

torsional deformation is not produced.

(d)

The structure of the building should be dynamically simple and

definite.
(e)

The frame of the building structure should have adequate ductility in

addition to required strength.

(f)

Deformations produced in a building should be held to values, which

will

not

provide

obstacles

to

safety

use

of

building.
2.0 Classification
Intensity of an earthquake is measured by an instrument called
Richter Scale. Classifications of earthquakes are as follows:
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 above

-

An earthquake of magnitude below 2.0 on the Richter Scale usually

cant be felt .
-

An earthquake of magnitude below 4.0 on the Richter Scale dont

cause any damage.

-

An earthquake of magnitude over 5.0 on the Richter Scale usually can

cause minor damage.

-

An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 and above is considered strong and

cause
substantial damage.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 and above is a major earthquake and

renders worst possible damage.

Seismic Design Philosophy for Buildings:
Severity of ground shaking at a given location during an earthquake can
be minor, moderate and strong. Relatively speaking, minor shaking occurs
frequently, moderate shaking occurs occasionally and strong shaking
rarely. For instance, on average annually about 800 earthquakes of
magnitude 5.0-5.9 occur in the world, while the number is only about 18
for magnitude range 7.0-7.9, and the rare earthquake may occur only
once in 500 years or once in 2000 years. As we know that the life of the
building itself may be only 50 or 100 years, a conflict arises: whether to
design the building to be earthquake proof where in there is no damage
during the strong but rare earthquake shaking or should we do away with
the design to building. Clearly, the former approach is too expensive and
the second approach can lead to a major disaster. Hence, the design
philosophy should lie somewhere in between these two extremes.
Seismic Risk to Buildings in India:
The construction may generally be classified into two types:
1.

Non-Engineered Building Construction

2.

Engineered Construction including building and infrastructure

Non-Engineered buildings are those which are spontaneously and

informally constructed in various countries in the traditional manner

without any or little intervention by qualified architects and engineers in
their design. Such buildings involve field stone, fired brick, concrete
blocks, adobe or rammed earth, a combination of wood with these
traditional locally available materials in their construction . Cement and
lime are sometimes used as mortar. Reinforced concrete lintels, floor, roof
slabs and beams are also being increasingly used. In some cases, use of
reinforced columns and beams is also made particularly for shopping
centers and school buildings, but here also a post beam type simple
concept is frequently adopted in a non-engineered manner without taking
into consideration the stability of the system under horizontal seismic
forces. Masonry buildings of all types, except those constructed with

earthquake resisting elements, are at the greatest risk of heavy damage

in seismic zoneIII and of destruction to collapse in zones IV and V.
Classification of Seismic Zones in India:
The earthquake resisting features specified to be incorporated while
constructing any new building depend on the seismic intensity, zone in
which the building is located, the base soil and the functional use of the
building, whether considered important or ordinary. The extra cost of
these resisting features will vary accordingly.
India is divided into 5 seismic zones in ascending order of magnitude of
earthquake. The map was taken up for further revision after the Lathur
earthquake of 1993. the resulting revised map published in IS:18932002(part I) where in the number of zones has been reduced to 4 i.e. II to
V only, zone I being merged in zone II , and zone III now further expanded
in the peninsular area.
The seismic zone map shows that of the total land area of the country,
seismic zone V covers 12%, zone IV 18% and zone III about 27%, thus
57% could be subjected to damaging e earthquake intensity, masonry
building in particular.
Indian Seismic Codes:
The Indian Standard Code to be followed for earthquake resistant
structures are as follows:
IS 1893-2002, Indian Standard Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of
Structures (5th Revision)
IS 4326-1993, Indian Standard Code of Practice for Earthquake Resistant
Design and Construction of Buildings (2nd Revision)
IS 13827-1993, Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving Earthquake
Resistance of Low Strength Masonry Buildings
IS 13920-1993, Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detaling of
Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces
IS 13935-1993, Indian Standard Guidelines for Repair and Seismic
Strengthening of Buildings
Seismic Effects on Structures:

Inertia forces in structures:

Earthquake causes shaking of the ground. So the building resting on it will
experience motion at its base. From Newtons I Law of Motion, even
though the base of the building moves with the ground, the roof has a
tendency to stay in its original position. But since the walls and columns
are connected to it, they drag the roof along with them. This tendency of
the roof to continue to remain its previous position is known as inertia. In
the building, since the walls or columns are flexible, the motion of the roof
is different from that of the ground.
Horizontal and Vertical Shaking:
Earthquake causes shaking of the ground in all three directions- along two
horizontal directions (x &y) and the vertical direction (z). During the
earthquake, the ground shakes randomly back and forth along each of
these directions. All structures are primarily designed to carry the gravity
loads in the vertical direction. Hence, most structures tend to be adequate
against vertical shaking. However, horizontal shaking along x and y
directions remains a concern. Structures designed for gravity loads, in
general, may not be able to safely sustain the effects of horizontal
earthquake shaking. Hence it is necessary to ensure adequacy of the
structures against horizontal earthquake effects.
Causes of Earthquake Damage:
The conventional masonry, particularly in un reinforced and nonengineered structures, being very weak in resisting tensile and shear
stresses, leads to disastrous collapse of the entire building/ structure,
causing heavy damage to property and loss of lives.
The main deficiencies in the conventional non- engineered/ un-reinforced
masonry construction and other reasons for the extensive damage in such
buildings are:
1.

Heavy dead weight and very stiff buildings, attracting large seismic

inertia forces.
2.

Very low tensile strength, particularly with poor mortars.

3.

Low shear strength, particularly with poor mortars.

4.

Brittle behavior in tension as well as compression.

5.

Weak connection between wall and wall.

6.

Weak connection between roof and wall.

7.

Stress concentration at corners of doors and windows.

8.

Overall un symmetry in plan and elevation of the building

9.

Un symmetry due to imbalance in the sizes and positions of openings

in the wall.
10.

Defects in construction, such as use of sub standard materials,

unfilled joints between bricks.

3.0 Behavior of Brick Masonry Wall
Masonry buildings are brittle structures and one of the most vulnerable of
the entire building stock under strong earthquake shaking. Thus, it is very
important to improve the seismic behavior of masonry buildings. A
number of earthquake-resistant features can be introduced to achieve this
objective.
Ground vibrations during earthquakes causes inertia forces at locations of
mass in the building. These forces travel through the roof and walls to the
foundation. The main emphasis is on ensuring that these forces reach the
ground without causing major damage or collapse. Of the three
components of a masonry building (roof, wall and foundation, Fig1 (a)),
the walls are most vulnerable to damage caused by horizontal forces due
to earthquake. A wall topples down easily if pushed horizontally at the top
in the direction perpendicular to the plane (termed weak direction), but
offers much greater resistance if pushed along its length (termed strong
direction, Fig 1 (b)).
Horizontal inertia forces developed at the roof transfers to the wall acting
either in the weak or in the strong direction. If all the walls are not tied
together like a box, the walls loaded in their weak direction tend to topple.
(Fig 2(a))
To ensure good seismic performance, all walls must be joined properly to
the adjacent walls. In this way, walls loaded in the weak direction can take
advantage of the good lateral resistance offered by walls loaded in strong

direction (Fig 2(b)). Further, walls also need to be tied to the roof and
foundation to preserve their overall integrity.
Improving Behavior of Masonry Walls
Masonry walls are slender because of their small thickness
compared to their height and length. A simple way of making these walls
behave well during earthquake shaking is by making them act together as
a box along with the roof at the top and foundation at the bottom. A
number of construction aspects are required to ensure this box action.
Firstly, connections between the walls should be good. This can be
achieved by
(a)

Ensuring good interlocking of the masonry courses at the junction.

(b)

Employing horizontal bands at various levels, particularly at the lintel

level.
Secondly, the size of the doors and window opening need to be kept
small. The smaller the opening, larger is the resistance offered by the wall.
Thirdly, the tendency of wall to topple when pushed in the weak direction
can be reduced by limiting its length-to-thickness and height-to-thickness
ratios. Design codes specify limits to these ratios. A wall that is too tall or
too long in comparison to its thickness, is particularly vulnerable to
shaking in its weak direction. (Fig (3))
4.0 Importance of Reinforcements in Masonry Building
The walls, if constructed with plain masonry would be incapable of
resisting the magnitude of horizontal shear and bending forces imposed
on them during earthquakes. For this reason, in the modern reinforced
masonry systems, reinforcing steel is incorporated to resist the shear and
tensile stresses, so developed. When these walls are subjected to lateral
forces acting on them, they behave as flexural members spanning
vertically between floors and horizontally between pilasters/ lateral walls.
Therefore reinforcement in both vertical and horizontal directions is
required to be provided to develop resistance against torsion.
Load Considered

This standard deals with earthquake resistant design of structures and is

applicable to buildings; elevated structures; bridges; dams etc. It also
gives a map which divides the country into five seismic zones based on
the seismic intensity.
IS 1893 was initially published in 1962 as `Recommendations for
Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures and then revised in 1966. As a
result of additional seismic data collected in India and further knowledge
and experience gained the standard was revised in 1970, 1975 and then
in 1984.
Consequent to the publication of this standard on account of earthquakes
in

various

parts

of

the

country

including

that

in

Uttar-

Kashi, Latur and Bhuj and technological advancement in the field, the
Sectional Committee decided to revise the standard into five parts which
deals with different types of structures:

Part 1 : General provisions and Buildings

Part 2 : Liquid Retaining Tanks Elevated and Ground
Supported
Part 3 : Bridges and Retaining Walls
Part 4 : Industrial Structures Including Stack Like Structures
Part 5 : Dams and Embankments

IS 1893(Part 1):2002 `Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design

of Structures : Part 1 General provisions and Buildings

This standard contains provisions that are general in nature and

applicable to all structures. Also, it contains provisions that are specific to
buildings

only.

It

covers

general

principles

and

design

criteria,

combinations, design spectrum, main attributes of buildings, dynamic

analysis, apart from seismic zoning map and seismic coefficients of
important towns, map showing epicenters, map showing tectonic features
and lithological map of India.

Following are the major and important modifications made in this revision:
a)

The seismic zone map is revised with only four zones, instead of five.

Erstwhile Zone I has been merged to Zone II and hence Zone I does not
appear in the new zoning; only Zones II, III, IV and V do. The killari area
has been included in Zone III and necessary modifications made, keeping
in view the probabilistic Hazard Evaluation. The Bellary isolated zone has
been removed. The parts of eastern coast area have shown similar hazard
to that of the killari area, the level of Zone II has been enhanced to Zone
III and connected with Zone III of Godawari Graben area.
b)

b) This revision adopts the procedure of first calculating the actual

force that may be experienced by the structure during the probable

maximum earthquake, if it were to remain elastic. Then the concept of
response reduction due to ductile deformation or frictional energy
dissipation in the cracks is brought into the code explicitly, by introducing
the `response reduction factor in place of the earlier performance factor.
c)

The values of seismic zone factors have been changed; these now

reflect more realistic values of effective peak ground acceleration

considering Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) and service life of
structure in each seismic zone.

d)

A clause has been introduced to restrict the use of foundations

vulnerable to differential settlements in severe seismic zones.

Here it is worthwhile to mention that it is not intended in this standard to
lay down regulation so that no structure shall suffer any damage during
earthquake of all magnitudes. It has been endeavoured to ensure that as
far as, possible structures are able to respond, without structural damage
to shocks of moderate intensities and without total collapse to shocks of
heavy intensities.

IS 1893(Part 4):2005 `Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of

Structures: Part 4 Industrial Structures Including Stack Like
Structures
This standard deals with earthquake resistant design of the industrial
structures (plant and auxiliary structures) including stack-like structures
such as process industries, power plants, textile industries, off-shore
structures and marine/port/harbour structures.
In addition to the above, stack-like structures covered by this standard are
such as transmission and communication towers, chimneys and stack-like
structures and silos (including parabolic silos used for urea storage).
The characteristics (intensity, duration, etc) of seismic ground vibrations
expected at any location depends upon the magnitude of earthquake, its
depth of focus, distance from the epicenter, characteristics of the path
through which the seismic waves travel, and the soil strata on which the
structure stands.
The response of a structure to ground vibrations is a function of the nature
of foundations, soil, materials, form, size and mode of construction of
structures; and the duration and characteristics of ground motion. This

standard specifies design forces for structures standing on rocks or soils,

which do not settle, liquify or slide due to loss of strength during
vibrations.
The design approach adopted in this standard is to ensure that structures
possess minimum strength to withstand minor earthquakes (DBE)which
occur frequently, without damage; resist moderate earthquakes (DBE)
without significant structural damage though some non-structural damage
may occur; and withstand a major earthquake (MCE) without collapse.
IS 4326:1993 Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction of
Buildings - Code of Practice
This standard provides guidance in selection of materials, special features
of design and construction for earthquake resistant buildings including
masonry construction, timber construction, prefabricated construction
etc. In this standard, it is intended to cover the specified features of
design and construction for earthquake resistance of buildings of
conventional types. The general principles to be observed in the
construction of such earthquake resistant buildings as specified in this
standard are Lightness, Continuity of Construction, avoiding/reinforcing
Projecting and suspended parts, Building configuration, strength in various
directions, stable foundations, Ductility of structure, Connection to nonstructural parts and fire safety of structures.
Special Construction Features like Separation of Adjoining Structures,
Crumple Section, Foundation design, Roofs and Floors and Staircases have
been elaborated in the standard. It also covers the details pertaining to
the type of construction, masonry construction with rectangular masonry
units, masonry
strengthening
reinforcing

bearing walls, openings

arrangements,

details

for

framing

hollow

of

block

in bearing walls, seismic

thin

load

masonry,

with precast components and timber construction.

bearing

walls,

flooring/roofing

IS 13827:1993 Improving Earthquake

Resistance

of

Earthen

Buildings Guidelines
The guidelines covered in this standard deal with the design and
construction aspects for improving earthquake resistance of earthen
houses, without the use of stabilizers such as lime, cement, asphalt, etc.
The provisions of this standard are applicable for seismic zones III, IV and
V. No special provisions are considered necessary in Zone II. However,
considering inherently weak against water and earthquake, earthen
buildings should preferably be avoided in flood prone, high rainfall areas
and seismic zones IV and V.
It

has

been

recommended

that

such

buildings

should

be

light,

single storeyed and of simple rectangular plan. Qualitative tests for the
suitability of soil have been suggested.
Guidelines for Block or Adobe Construction, Rammed earth construction,
Seismic strengthening of bearing wall buildings, Internal bracing in
earthen

houses

and

earthen

constructions

with

wood

or

cane

structures have heen elaborated in this standard.

IS 13828:1993 Improving Earthquake Resistance of Low Strength

Masonry Buildings Guidelines
This standard covers the special features of design and construction for
improving earthquake resistance of buildings of low-strength masonry.
The provisions of this standard are applicable in all seismic zones. No
special provisions are considered necessary for buildings in seismic zone II

if cement-sand mortar not leaner than 1:6 is used in masonry and through
stones or bonding elements are used in stone walls.
The various provisions of IS 4326:1993 regarding general principles,
special construction features, types

of construction, categories

of

buildings and masonry construction with rectangular masonry buildings of

low strength dealt with in this standard. There are however certain
restrictions, exceptions and additional details which are specifically
included herein.

IS 13920:1993 Ductile Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Subjected to Seismic Forces Code of Practice

This standard covers the requirements for designing and detailing of

monolithic reinforced concrete buildings so as to give them adequate
toughness and ductility to resist severe earthquake shocks without
collapse.
The provisions for reinforced concrete construction given in this standard
apply

specifically

to

monolithic

reinforced

concrete

construction. Precast and/or prestressed concrete members may be used

only if they can provide the same level of ductility as that of a monolithic
reinforced concrete construction during or after an earthquake.
Provisions

on

minimum

and

maximum

reinforcement

have

been

elaborated which includes the requirements for beams at longitudinal

reinforcement

in

beams

at

joint

face,

splices

and

anchorage

requirements. Provisions have been included for calculation of design

shear force and for detailing of transverse reinforcement in beams.

Material specifications are indicated for lateral force resisting elements of

frames. The provisions are also given for detailing of reinforcement in the
wall web, boundary elements, coupling beams, around openings, at
construction joints, and for the development, splicing and anchorage of
reinforcement.
Ductile Structure Framework of Earthquake Resistant of Highrise
Building

on

Exterior

Beam-Column

Joint

with

the

Partial

Prestressed Concrete Beam-Column Reinforced Concrete

Abstract
A monolithic exterior beam-column joints without plastic-hinges
on the beam is designed as a model structure of the Special
Moment brace using a partially prestressed concrete beams with
dimension of 250/400 mm, tensile reinforcements of 5 D13 and 3
D13 at the top section and bottom, respectively, and 1(one)
Freyssinet

tendon

with

(two)

strands

of

17.7 mm

and

transverse bars of 8-75 mm. The column is designed with

section dimension of 400/400 mm, with the main reinforcements
of 6 D16 + 4D13, and the transverse bars of 10-50 mm.
Experimental studies in laboratory are proposed with lateral load
dynamik (pseudo dynamic) applied on the beam, and static load
applied on the column as a stabilizer.The goal is to get the level
of ductility of the structure of = (_max/_(first yielding)),
calculated until the condition of stable structures. The expected
results could provide a basis in the development of framework
design of earthquake resistant structures.
Sarewall
Earthquakes don't kill people. People's houses in the midst of earthquakes
kill people. Look at the statisticsor the photographsand you'll know
that the vast majority of fatalities from earthquakes large or small come
from buildings, or parts of buildings, falling on people.
What better way to avoid tragedy then, but by tossing a house in the air
when an earthquake comes?

That's the general idea behind the levitating house developed by the
Japanese company Air Danshin. The product of inventor Shoichi Sakamoto,
the house sits, during more stable times, on a deflated air bag. When
sensors feel a tremor, they switch on a compressor within a second. The
compressor pumps air into an airbag, inflating it within a few more
seconds, and ultimately lifting the entire house a good three centimeters
off its supposedly earthquake-proof concrete foundation. There the
structure will hover, its inhabitants able to casually go about their
business, for the duration of the quake. Then the airbag deflates and the
house gently settles back down.

Diagram of how a house would levitate during an earthquake. Image: Air

Danshin
The company built such a house on a "shake table" and equipped it with a
few inhabitants, some furniture, and a couple of glasses of wine. When the
mock tremors hit, in front of a rapt, hardhat-outfitted audience, the
denizens hardly noticed, and not a drop of wine was spilled. The system
will be added to new, otherwise typically built homes of an appropriate
weight, and can be retrofitted to existing structures as well.
The Bronze Age saw the rise of several successful civilizations, including a
few that managed to build impressive cities with ordered grids and
sophisticated plumbing. Now, scientists think that tectonic activity may
have contributed to the demise of some of these ancient cultures. For

example, research conducted at the city of Megiddo (now part of presentday Israel) suggests that a massive earthquake may have devastated the
city, leading to the sandwich-like layers found in excavations. And a series
of earthquakes may have brought down the Harappan civilization (in
what's now Pakistan), which disappeared suddenly in 1900 B.C.E.
We're

just

as

susceptible

today

to

the

aftereffects

of

powerful

earthquakes. When exposed to the sudden lateral forces produced by

seismic waves, even modern buildings and bridges can fail completely and
collapse, crushing the people in, on and around them. If anything, the
problem has become worse as more people live in urban environments
and as structures have grown. Luckily, over the last few decades,
architects and engineers have devised a number of clever technologies to
ensure that houses, multidwelling units and skyscrapers bend but don't
break. As a result, the building's inhabitants can walk out unharmed and
start picking up the pieces.
On the next few pages, we've assembled 10 of these temblor-thwarting
technologies. Some have been around for several years. Others, like the
first item in our countdown, are relatively new ideas that are still being
tested.
Criteria

for

Safety

and

Design

of

Structures

Subject

to

Underground Blasts
This standard deals with the safety of structures during underground
blasting and is applicable to normal structures like buildings, elevated
structures,

bridges,

retaining

walls,

concrete

and

masonry

dams

constructed in materials like brickwork, stone masonry and concrete.

As underground blasting operations have become almost a must for
excavation purposes, this standard lays down criteria for safety of such
structures from cracking and also specifies the effective accelerations for
their design in certain cases.

IS 4991:1968 Criteria for Blast Resistant Design of Structures for

Explosions Above Ground
This standard covers the criteria for design of structures for blast effects
of explosions above ground excluding blast effects of nuclear explosions.
IS 4967:1968 Recommendations for

Seismic

Instrumentation

for River Valley Projects

This

standard

covers

recommendations

for

instrumentation

for

investigation of seismicity, study of micro tremors and predominant period

of a dam site and permanent installation of instruments in the dam and
appurtenant structures and in surrounding areas.
These standards endeavour to provide a guideline in designing
and repairing of buildings under seismic forces.

Plan of building
(i) Symmetry : The

building as a whole or its

various blocks should be kept symmetrical about
both the axes. Asymmetry leads to torsion during
earthquakes and is dangerous; Symmetry is also
desirable in the placing and sizing of door and
window openings, as far as possible.
(ii) Regularity: Simple rectangular shapes, behave
better in
an
earthquake
than
shapes
with
many
projections . Torsional
effects of ground motion are pronounced in long
narrow rectangular blocks. Therefore, it is
desirable to restrict the length of a block to three
times its width. If longer lengths are required
two separate blocks with sufficient separation in
between should be provided.

(iii) Separation of Blocks: Separation of a large

building into several blocks may be required so
as to obtain symmetry and regularity of each
block. For preventing hammering or pounding
damage between blocks a physical separation of
3 to 4 cm throughout the height above the plinth
level will be adequate as well as practical for
upto 3 storeyed buildings.
The separation section can be treated
just like expansion joint or it may be filled or
covered with a weak material which would easily
crush and crumble during earthquake shaking.
Such separation may be considered in larger
buildings since it may not
be convenient in small buildings.
(iv) Simplicity: Ornamentation invo1ving large
cornices, vertical or horizontal cantilever
projections, facia stones and the like are
dangerous and undesirable from a seismic
viewpoint. Simplicity is the best approach. Where
ornamentation is insisted
upon, it must be reinforced with steel, which
should be properly em-bedded or tied into the
main structure of the building.
(v) Enclosed Area : A small building enclosure
with properly interconnected walls acts like a
rigid box since the earthquake strength which
long walls derive from transverse walls increases
as their length decreases. Therefore structurally
it will be advisable to have separately enclosed
rooms rather than one long room. For unframed
walls of thickness t and wall spacing of a, a ratio
of a/t = 40 should be the upper limit between the
cross walls for mortars of cement sand 1:6 or
richer, and less for poor mortars.

(vi)
Separate
Buildings
for
Different
Functions: In view of the difference in
importance of hospitals, schools, assembly halls,
residences,
communication
and
security
buildings, etc., it may be economical to plan
separate blocks for different functions so as to
affect economy in strengthening costs.

REQUIREMENTS OF STRUCTURAL
SAFETY

As a result of the discussion of structural action

and mechanism of
the following main
requirements of structural safety of buildings
can be arrived at.
(i) A free standing wall must be designed to be
safe as a vertical cantilever. This requirement

will be difficult to achieve in un-reinforced

masonry in Zone A. Therefore all partitions inside
the buildings must be held on the sides as well
as top. Parapets of category I and II buildings
must be reinforced and held to the main
structural slabs or frames
(ii) Horizontal reinforcement in walls is required
for transferring their own out-of-plane inertia
load horizontally to the shear walls.
(iii) The walls must be effectively tied together to
avoid separation at vertical joints due to ground
shaking.
(iv) Shear walls must be present along both axes
of the building.
(v) A shear wall must be capable of resisting all
horizontal forces due to its own mass and those
transmitted to it.
(vi) Roof or floor elements must be tied together
and be capable of exhibiting diaphragm action.
(vii) Trusses must be anchored to the supporting
walls and have an arrangement for transferring
their inertia force to the end walls.
(vii) Masonary stone walls should be properly
interconnected by through stones.
(viii) Heavy masses at top should be avoided.

Earthquake Resistant Structures by Planning and

Design Approach
Earthquakes have plagued man for millennia. It is
a destructive force, which was once upon a time
declared to be wrath of God for infidelity of
human beings. But today, we understand what
causes earthquakes, and can design effective
mechanisms
to
mitigate
the
effects
of
earthquakes.
Basically, there is the Conventional approach to
achieving earthquake resistance, then there is
the basic approach, and nowadays, there are
active control Devices which can counteract the
effects of earthquakes on buildings.

Conventional Approach
Design depends upon providing the building with
strength, stiffness and inelastic deformation
capacity which are great enough to withstand a
given level of earthquake-generated force. This
can be accomplished by selection of an
appropriate structural configuration and careful
detailing of structural members, such as beams
and columns, and the connections between them.

Basic Approach
Design depends upon underlying more advanced
techniques for earthquake resistance is not to
strengthen the building, but to reduce the
earthquake generated forces acting upon it. This
can be accomplished by de-coupling the
structure from seismic ground motion it is
possible to reduce the earthquake induced forces
in it by three ways.
1.Increase natural period of structures by Base
Isolation.
2.Increase damping of system by Energy
Dissipation Devices.
3.Mitigate earthquake effects completely by
using Active Control Devices

Design Philosophy of Earthquake

Resistant Designs
Engineers do not attempt to make earthquake
proof buildings that will not get damaged even
during the rare but strong earthquake; such
buildings will be too robust and also too
expensive. Instead the engineering intention is
to make buildings earthquake-resistant; such
buildings resist the effects of ground shaking,
although they may get damaged severely but
would not collapse during the strong earthquake.
Thus, safety of people and contents is assured in
earthquake-resistant buildings, and thereby a

disaster is avoided. This is a major objective of

seismic design codes throughout the world.

Design Philosophy
1.Under minor but frequent shaking, the main
members of the buildings that carry vertical
and
horizontal
forces
should
not
be
damaged; however buildings parts that do
not carry load may sustain repairable
damage.
2.Under moderate but occasional shaking, the
main members may sustain repairable
damage, while the other parts that do not
carry load may sustain repairable damage.
3.Under strong but rare shaking, the main
members may sustain severe damage, but
the building should not collapse.
Earthquake
resistant
design
is
therefore
concerned about ensuring that the damages in
buildings during earthquakes are of acceptable
variety, and also that they occur at the right
places and in right amounts. This approach of
earthquake resistant design is much like the use
of electrical fuses in houses: to protect the entire
electrical wiring and appliances in the house, you
sacrifice some small parts of electrical circuit,
called fuses; these fuses are easily replaced after
the electrical over-current. Likewise to save the
building from collapsing you need to allow some
pre-determined parts to undergo the acceptable
type and level of damage.

Earthquake resistant buildings, particularly their

main elements, need to be built with ductility in
them. Such buildings have the ability to sway
back-and-forth during an earthquake, and to
withstand the earthquake effects with some
damage, but without collapse.

EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT TECHNIQUES

Conventional seismic design attempts to make
buildings that do not collapse under strong
earthquake shaking, but may sustain damage to
non-structural elements and to some structural
members in the buildings. This may render the
buildings non-functional after the earthquake,
which may be problematic in some structures,
like hospitals, which need to remain operational
in aftermath of earthquake. Special techniques
are required to design buildings such that they
remain practically undamaged even in a severe
earthquake. Buildings with such improved
seismic performance usually cost more than the
normal buildings do.
Two basic techniques are used to protect
buildings from damaging earthquake effects.
These are base isolation devices and seismic
dampers.

Seismic Base Isolation Technique

It is easiest to see the principle at work by
referring directly to the most widely used of
these advanced techniques, known as base
isolation. A base isolated structure is supported
by a series of bearing pads, which are placed
between the buildings and building foundation.
The concept of base isolation is explained
through
an
example
building
resting
on
frictionless rollers. When the ground shakes, the
rollers freely roll, but the building above does
not move. Thus, no force is transferred to the
building due to the shaking of the ground;
simply, the building does not experience the
earthquake.
Now, if the same building is rested on the flexible
pads that offer resistance against lateral
movements, then some effect of the ground
shaking will be transferred to the building above.
If the flexible pads are properly chosen, the
forces induced by ground shaking can be a few
times smaller than that experienced by the
building built directly on ground, namely a fixed
base building .The flexible pads are called baseisolators, whereas the structures protected by
means of these devices are called base-isolated
buildings. The main feature of the base isolation

technology is that it introduces flexibility in the

structure.
As a result, a robust medium-rise masonry or
reinforced concrete building becomes extremely
flexible. The isolators are often designed, to
absorb energy and thus add damping to the
system. This helps in further reducing the
seismic response of the building. Many of the
base isolators look like large rubber pads,
although there are other types that are based on
sliding of one part of the building relative to
other. Also, base isolation is not suitable for all
buildings. Mostly low to medium rise buildings
rested on hard soil underneath; high-rise
buildings or buildings rested on soft soil are not
suitable for base isolation.

Concept of Base Isolation

Lead-rubber bearings are the frequently-used
types of base isolation bearings. A lead rubber
bearing is made from layers of rubber

sandwiched together with layers of steel. In the

middle of the solid lead plug. On top and
bottom, the bearing is fitted with steel plates
which are used to attach the bearing to the
building and foundation. The bearing is very stiff
and strong in the vertical direction, but flexible
in the horizontal direction.

How it Works
To get a basic idea of how base isolation works,
first examine the above diagram. This shows an
earthquake acting on base isolated building and
a conventional, fixed-base, building. As a result
of an earthquake, the ground beneath each
building begins to move. . Each building
responds with movement which tends towards
the right. The buildings displacement in the
direction opposite the ground motion is actually
due to inertia. The inertia forces acting on a
building are the most important of all those
generated during an earthquake.
In addition to displacing towards right, the unisolated building is also shown to be changing its
shape from a rectangle to a parallelogram. We
say that the building is deforming. The primary
cause of earthquake damage to buildings is the
deformation which the building undergoes as a
result of the inertial forces upon it.

Response of Base Isolated Buildings

The base-isolated building retains its original,
rectangular shape. The base isolated building

itself escapes the deformation and damagewhich implies that the inertial forces acting on
the base isolated building have been reduced.
Experiments and observations of base-isolated
buildings in earthquakes to as little as of the
acceleration of comparable fixed-base buildings.
Acceleration is decreased because the base
isolation system lengthens a buildings period of
vibration, the time it takes for a building to rock
back and forth and then back again. And in
general, structures with longer periods of
vibration tend to reduce acceleration, while
those with shorter periods tend to increase or
amplify acceleration.

mN

xN

m2

x2

m1

x1

kN

k2
k1
Base isolator

mb
x
&
&g

Spherical Sliding Base Isolation

Spherical Sliding Base Isolation

Spherical sliding isolation systems are another
type of base isolation. The building is supported
by bearing pads that have a curved surface and
low friction. During an earthquake the building is
free to slide on the bearings. Since the bearings
have a curved surface, the building slides both
horizontally and vertically. The forces needed to
move the building upwards limits the horizontal
or lateral forces which would otherwise cause
building deformations. Also by adjusting the
radius of the bearings curved surface, this
property can be used to design bearings that
also lengthen the buildings period of vibration

Energy Dissipation Devices for Earthquake

Resistant Building Design
Another approach for controlling seismic damage
in buildings and improving their seismic
performance is by installing Seismic Dampers in
place of structural elements, such as diagonal
braces. These dampers act like the hydraulic
shock absorbers in cars much of the sudden
jerks are absorbed in the hydraulic fluids and
only little is transmitted above to the chassis of
the car. When seismic energy is transmitted
through them, dampers absorb part of it, and
thus damp the motion of the building.

Commonly used Seismic Dampers

1.Viscous Dampers (energy is absorbed by
silicone-based fluid passing between piston
cylinder arrangement),
2.Friction Dampers (energy is absorbed by
surfaces with friction between them rubbing
against each other),
3.

Yielding Dampers (energy is absorbed by

metallic components that yield).

4.Viscoelastic Dampers (energy is absorbed

by utilizing the controlled shearing of solids).
Thus by equipping a building with additional
devices which have high damping capacity, we
can greatly decrease the seismic energy entering
the building

How Dampers Work

The construction of a fluid damper is shown in

(fig). It consists of a stainless steel piston with
bronze orifice head. It is filled with silicone oil.
The piston head utilizes specially shaped
passages which alter the flow of the damper fluid
and thus alter the resistance characteristics of
the damper. Fluid dampers may be designed to
behave as a pure energy dissipater or a spring or
as a combination of the two.
A fluid viscous damper resembles the common
shock absorber such as those found in
automobiles. The piston transmits energy
entering the system to the fluid in the damper,
causing it to move within the damper. The
movement of the fluid within the damper fluid
absorbs this kinetic energy by converting it into
heat. In automobiles, this means that a shock
received at the wheel is damped before it
reaches the passengers compartment. In
buildings this can mean that the building
columns protected by dampers will undergo
considerably less horizontal movement and
damage during an earthquake

New Breed of Energy Dissipation Devices

The innovative methods for control of seismic
vibrations such as frictional and other types of
damping devices are important integral part of
seismic isolation systems as they severe as a
barrier against the penetration of seismic energy
into the structure. In this concept, the dampers
suppress the response of the isolated building
relative to its base.
The novel friction damper device consists of
three steel plates rotating against each other in
opposite directions. The steel plates are
separated by two shims of friction pad material
producing friction with steel plates.
When an external force excites a frame structure
the girder starts to displace horizontally due to
this force. The damper will follow the motion and
the central plate because of the tensile forces in
the bracing elements. When the applied forces
are reversed, the plates will rotate in opposite
way. The damper dissipates energy by means of
friction between the sliding surfaces.

The latest Friction-ViscoElastic Damper Device (FVEDD) combines the advantages of pure
frictional and viscoelastic mechanisms of energy
dissipation. This new product consists of friction
pads and viscoelastic polymer pads separated by
steel plates. A prestressed bolt in combination
with disk springs and hardened washers is used
for maintaining the required clamping force on
the interfaces as in original FDD concept.
After development of passive devices such as
base isolation and TMD. The next logical steps is
to control the action of these devices in an
optimal manner by an external energy source the
resulting system is known as active control
device system. Active control has been very
widely used in aerospace structures. In recent
years significant progress has been made on the
analytical side of active control for civil
engineering structures. Also a few models
explains as shown that there is great promise in
the technology and that one may expect to see in
the foreseeable future several dynamic Dynamic
Intelligent Buildings the term itself seems to
have been joined by the Kajima Corporation in
Japan. In one of their pamphlet the concept of
Active control had been explained in every
simple manner and it is worth quoting here.
People standing in swaying train or bus try to
maintain balance by unintentionally bracing their
legs or by relaying on the mussels of their spine
and stomach. By providing a similar function to a
building it can dampen immensely the vibrations

when confronted with an earthquake. This is the

concept of Dynamic Intelligent Building (DIB
The philosophy of the past conventional a
seismic structure is to respond passively to an
earthquake. In contrast in the DIB which we
propose the building itself functions actively
against earthquakes and attempts to control the
vibrations. The sensor distributed inside and
outside of the building transmits information to
the computer installed in the building which can
make analyses and judgment, and as if the
buildings possess intelligence pertaining to the
earthquake amends its own structural
characteristics minutes by minute.

Active Control System

The basic configuration of an active control
system is schematically shown in figure. The
system consists of three basic elements:
1.Sensors to measure external excitation
and/or structural response.
2.Computer hardware and software to compute
control forces on the basis of observed
excitation and/or structural response.
3.Actuators to provide the necessary control
forces.
Thus in active system has to necessarily have an
external energy input to drive the actuators. On
the other hand passive systems do not required
external energy and their efficiency depends on

tunings of system to expected excitation and

structural behavior. As a result, the passive
systems are effective only for the modes of the
vibrations for which these are tuned. Thus the
advantage of an active system lies in its much
wider range of applicability since the control
forces are worked out on the basis of actual
excitation and structural behavior. In the active
system when only external excitation is
measured system is said to be in open-looped.
However when the structural response is used as
input, the system is in closed loop control. In
certain instances the excitation and response
both are used and it is termed as open-closed
loop control.

Control Force Devices

Many ways have been proposed to apply control
forces to a structure. Some of these have been
tested in laboratory on scaled down models.
Some of the ideas have been put forward for
applications of active forces are briefly described
in the following:

Active-tuned Mass Dampers (TMD)

these are in passive mode have been used in a
number of structures as mentioned earlier. Hence
active TMD is a natural extension. In this system
1% of the total building mass is directly excited
by an actuator with no spring and dash pot. The
system has been termed as Active Mass Driver
(AMD). The experiments indicated that the
building vibrations are reduced about 25% by the
use of AMD.

Tendon Control
Various analytical studies have been done using
tendons for active control. At low excitations,
even with the active control system off, the
tendon will act in passive modes by resisting
deformations in the structures though resulting
tension in the tendon. At higher excitations one
may switch over to Active mode where an
actuator applies the required tension in tendons.