EARTH QUAKE RESISTANT STRUCTURES

SUBMITTED BY
G.NANDHINI
A.SHEERIN FARZANA
SECOND YEAR CIVIL
GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
TIRUNELVELI-07.

PREFACE
Earthquake engineering is the ultimate challenge for structural engineers. Even if natural
phenomena involve great uncertainties, structural engineers need to design buildings,
bridges, and dams capable of resisting the destructive forces produced by them. These
disasters have created a new awareness about the disaster preparedness and mitigation.
Before a building, utility system, or transportation structure is built, engineers spend a
great deal of time analyzing those structures to make sure they will perform reliably
under seismic and other loads.An understanding of the behavior of structural systems
must be acquired before engineers can effectively design a complex building system.
Wind and Earthquake Resistant Buildings describes the typical process of designing a
building, from the determination of design loads to the evaluation of its behavior for
unusual effects
 INTRODUCTI
ON

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.

Building Planning | Earthquake Resistant Buildings

The behavior 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 unfavorable features are avoided and a good building
configuration is chosen. If both shape and structural system work together to make the
structure a marvel.

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 mid- height of the column of the taller one; this can be very dangerous.

Building Construction Materials for Earthquake Resistance

In India, most non-urban buildings are made in masonry. In the plains, masonry is
generally made of burnt clay bricks and cement mortar. However in hilly areas, stone
masonry with mud mortar is more prevalent. But now a day we are very familiar with
R.C.C. buildings, and a variety of new composite constructions materials.
Construction Materials

I. Masonry

Masonry is made up of burnt clay bricks and cement or mud mortar. Masonry can carry
loads that cause compression (i.e. pressing together) but can hardly take load that causes
tension (i.e. pulling apart). Masonry is a brittle material, these walls develop cracks once
their ability to carry horizontal load is exceeded. Thus infill walls act like sacrificial fuses
in buildings: they develop cracks under severe ground shaking but they share the load of
the beams and columns until cracking.

II. Concrete

Concrete is another material that has been popularly used in building construction
particularly over the last four decades. Cement concrete is made of crushed stone pieces
(called aggregate), sand, cement and water mixed in appropriate proportions. Concrete is
much stronger than masonry under compressive loads, but again its behavior in tension is
poor. The properties of concrete critically depend on the amount of water used in making
concrete, too much and too little water both can cause havoc.

III. Steel

Steel is used in masonry and concrete buildings as reinforcement bars of diameter

ranging from 6mm to 40mm. reinforcing steel can carry both tensile and compressive
loads. Moreover steel is a ductile material. This important property of ductility enables
steel bars to undergo large elongation before breaking. Concrete is used with steel
reinforcement bars. This composite material is called as reinforced cement concrete. The
amount and location of steel in a member should be such that the failure of the member is
by steel reaching its strength in tension before concrete reaches its strength in
compression. This type of failure is ductile failure, and is preferred over a failure where
concrete fails first in compression. Therefore, providing more steel in R.C. buildings can
be harmful even!!
Concept of Earthquake Resistant Engineering

SHARE

If two bars of same length and same cross-sectional area – one made of ductile material
and another of a brittle material. And a pull is applied on both bars until they break, then
we notice that the ductile bar elongates by a large amount before it breaks, while the
brittle bar breaks suddenly on reaching its maximum strength at a relative small
elongation. Amongst the materials used in building construction, steel is ductile, while
masonry and concrete are brittle.

Comparison of Brittle and Ductile Building materials

The correct building components need to be made ductile. The failure of columns can
affect the stability of building, but failure of a beam causes localized effect. Therefore, it
is better to make beams to be ductile weak links then columns. This method of designing
RC buildings is called the strong-column weak-beam design method. Special design
provisions from IS: 13920-1993 for RC structures ensures that adequate ductility is
provided in the members where damage is expected.

Quality Control in Construction

The capacity design concept in earthquake resistant design of buildings will fail if the
strengths of the brittle links fall below their minimum assured values. The strength of
brittle construction materials, like masonry and concrete is highly sensitive to the quality
of construction materials. Workmanship, supervision, and construction methods.
Similarly, special care is needed in construction to ensure that the elements meant to be
ductile are indeed provided with features that give adequate ductility. Thus, strict
adherence to prescribed standards, of construction materials and processes is essential in
assuring an earthquake resistant building. Regular testing of materials to laboratories,
periodic training of workmen at professional training houses, and on-site evaluation of
the technical work are elements of good quality control.

Popular 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 (like glass
facades) and to some structural members in the building. This may render the building
non-functional after the earthquake, which may be problematic in some structures, like
hospitals, which need to remain functional in the 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 technologies are used to protect buildings from damaging earthquake effects.
These are Base Isolation Devices and Seismic Dampers. The idea behind base isolation is
to detach (isolate) the building from the ground in such a way that earthquake motions
are not transmitted up through the building or at least greatly reduced. Seismic dampers
are special devices introduced in the buildings to absorb the energy provided by the
ground motion to the building (much like the way shock absorbers in motor vehicles
absorb due to undulations of the road)

Seismic Base Isolation Technique for Building Earthquake Resistance

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.

Base Isolation Technique

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 base-isolators, 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 un-isolated 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 damage-which 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 ¼ 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.

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
Seismic resistant steel framed structures offer the best solution to Earthquake problems.
Single storey steel buildings if well designed are often strong enough at no extra cost,
other than the checking of connections. Steel is light, resilient and ductile without loss of
strength. The lightness reduces the earthquake's loads in the frames and the foundations.
The resilience means they can bounce back from deformations. The ductility means they
can deform and yield, absorbing energy, damping vibration, while still retaining good
strength.

There are several 'killers' in earthquakes to which non earthquake resistant buildings are
more susceptible. The first is horizontal or vertical acceleration of the ground, which
moves suddenly sideways or up. If the frame has insufficient sway strength, it falls down
there and then at the first big jerk. It's easy to design sway resistance in steel. The second
is vibration from shock waves; like a tuning fork, a building will oscillate at its own
frequency if relatively small shock waves come at the resonant frequency (often leaving
taller or shorter structures nearby much less affected). Oscillation can build up and
produce greater and greater sway loads until the building fails in sway or total
overturning. This is where the ductility of the steel frame is so perfect; it deforms,
absorbing energy and simultaneously changing the resonant frequency of the structure;
both effects reduce oscillation. Thus steel framed earthquake resistant buildings with their
better structural behaviour help to solve these problems

The third killer is after-shock. Where buildings rely on internal walls or shear bracing for
their sway resistance and such walls are damaged or displaced, the building can easily
fail in a relatively small after-shock. A steel frame earthquake resistant building,
however, would still be there. The best steel framed seismic resistant buildings are
designed with composite decking intimately connected to steel joists with full strength
connections to steel main beams. The main beams are fully fixed by portalised
connections to the columns to resist loads in reversal as well as the normal direction. The
beams and connections are designed to yield plastically, protecting the columns, which
are designed oversize to resist the haunched beam end moments elastically. There are no
slabs to fall down. The joists tie the beams together. The beams can bend in plastic
deformation and the columns remain elastic. These are the principles of REID earthquake
resistant structure and they are surprisingly cost effective. (They resist hurricanes and
blast too). They are in use in many seismic areas around the world.

BASIC THINGS TO ADAPT FOR QUAKE RESISTANT STRUCTURES

o Quake resistant houses should have tie-bands just above the level of the
floor, the level of the doors and windows, and another at the roof level.
Corners are the most vulnerable and ought to be strengthened. Elasticity of
the structure can be enhanced with flexible steel rods or wood batons at
corners. Doors and windows should be few, small and symmetrically
placed away from the corners. The house should be as light as possible.
o Building should be of regular shapes. Cylindrical structures perform better
in high-wind areas.
o Architect should try to design the building as aerodynamic as possible.
This reduces the effect of Wind load on tall structures.
o There should no odd shapes in elevation and the whole building should be
in balance. The center of gravity of building should not move.
o Cantilever projections should be minimum and their length should not be
more than 3 to 4 feet.
o The span between the columns should be as small as possible.
o Point loads on load-carrying beams should be avoided.
o The dead loads on the cottage-building should not be increased
unnecessarily. For Example, Terrace garden or terrace swimming pools
should be avoided, if possible.
o The sunk portions of WC and bath should be minimum.
o Building should be a Reinforced Concrete framed structure. It provides
better stability and reliability in Earthquake-prone areas.
o Cottage-building's foundation should be placed on hard and level ground.
o There should not be very large overhead water tanks than are required. If it
has to have larger capacity, then it should be divided into two three
smaller tanks and should be kept at different locations to maintain balance
of cottage-building.
o If the column length is more than 12 feet, then bracing beams should be
provided in between the column at regular intervals. Bracing beams
strengthen a column, and allow construction of multistoried buildings.
o The columns should be connected at each level.
o For strengthening the brickwork, a sill or a lintel should be provided at
every 3 feet level, and R.C.C. wall should be taken where it is possible.
o Cottage- building should not contain very large and heavy windows. They
are bound to weaken the structure.
o The cottage- building's electrification should contain a main switch and
circuit breakers so as to avoid fire hazards because of short circuit in the
earthquake.
o The glass used any structure should be fiber-reinforced glass or wire glass.
o Use of new and better materials like Fiber-reinforced Concrete and fiber-
glass should be recommended. These new materials decrease dead load
and increase the structure's strength.
o If we manage to construct our buildings this way, we will be capable to
fight the Earthquake and preventing the trail of loss of life and property
that an Earthquake leaves behind.
CONCLUSION
.

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. No building can remain entirely free of damage during a quake;
still, all houses, big or small, can be made safer. Structures can be made to withstand
earthquakes of a particular magnitude by taking certain precautions. Buildings collapse as
a result of inertial forces. Traditionally built timber houses proved to be the most
effective at keeping damage at bay. It would, however, be incorrect to say that the old-
fashioned houses survived just because of materials used. 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 earthquake-proof. All other buildings
should be earthquake resistant to avoid deaths. It is possible to make modifications to a
building to make it earthquake resistant.