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Plate Tectonics
Designed to meet South Carolina
Department of Education
2005 Science Academic Standards

Table of Contents
 Plate Tectonics: The Beginning (slides 3 and 4)
 Layers of the Earth (slides 5 and 6) Standard 8-3.1
 What are Tectonic Plates- movement? (slides 7 and 8) Standard 8-3.6
Tectonic Plate boundaries (slides 9-21)
1. Convergent boundary
Ocean-continent (slide 10)
Continent-continent (slide 11)
Oceanic-oceanic (slide 12)
Volcanism (slide 13)
2. Divergent boundary
Sea-floor spreading (slide 14)
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (slide 15)
Sea-floor Exploration and Age Dating (slides 16-19)
3. Transform Boundary (San Andreas Fault, J. Tuzo Wilson) (slide 21)
 Faults (slides 22-24) and Folds (slide 25)
 Plate movement over Geologic Time (slides 26-29)
 Creation and change of Landforms (slides 30-33) Standard 8-3.7
Volcanic eruptions (Mt. St. Helens) (slide 32)
Mountain building events (Appalachian vs. Himalayas) (slide 33)
 Tectonics and the Ocean Floor (slide 34) Standard 5-3.2
Continental margins (slide 35)
Passive (slide 36)
Active (slide 37)
 South Carolina Standards (slides 39-40)
2
Plate Tectonics: The Beginning

Background
 At the beginning of the 20th Century, scientists realized that that they could not explain many of
the Earth’s structures and processes with a single theory. Many scientific hypotheses were
developed to try and support the conflicting observations. One hypotheses was continental drift,
which was proposed by Alfred Wegener in a series of papers from 1910 to 1928.
 The principal thought of continental drift theory is that the continents are situated on slabs of
rock, or plates, and they have drifted across the surface of the Earth over time; however, originally,
they were all joined together as a huge super-continent at one time.
 In the 1960’s, the theory of

continental drift was combined with
the theory of sea-floor spreading to Alfred Lothar Wegener
create the theory of plate tectonics. (1880-1930)
(Photograph courtesy of the

Alfred Wegener Institute for
Polar and Marine Research,
Bremerhaven, Germany.) Table of Contents 3
Plate Tectonics: The

Beginning
 The idea for Wegener's theory was sparked by
his observation of the nearly perfect “fit” of the
South American and African continents.
The “fit” of two continents.

Additional evidence supporting the continental
drift theory:
1. Fossils of the same plant (Glossopteris) found in Australia, India, Antarctica and South
America.
2. Fossils of same reptile (Mesosaurus) found in Africa and South America. This animal could not
have swum across the existing Atlantic Ocean!
3. Glacial deposits found in current warm climates and warm climate plant fossils found in what
is now the Arctic.
4. Nearly identical rock formations found on the east coast of U.S. and the west coast of Europe
4
and eastern South America and western Africa. Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
Table of Contents
Standard 8-3.1 Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
What are Tectonic Plates?
The Earth is made up of three main layers:

1. The Core is at the center of the Earth. It is
divided into an inner and outer core.
2. The Mantle is the layer surrounding the core.
The upper mantle is partially molten and called
the asthenosphere.
3. The Crust, or lithosphere, is the rigid outer-most
layer. Thick continental crust underlies
continents, and thin, very dense oceanic crust
underlies oceans.
The layers of the earth.
Modified after Plummer/McGeary, 7th ed., pg. 14 Table of Contents 5
Inner Core Outer Core Mantle Crust
Thickness 1,216 km 2,270 km 2,900 km Continental 35-90 km

Oceanic 7-8 km
Physical Solid Iron; Molten Iron, Made mostly of silicates of Made of silicate rocks
Properties extremely very dense magnesium and iron; moderately and oxides; slightly
dense (17 (12 g/cm3) dense. Behaves like melted plastic dense; rigid. (2.67-3.3
g/cm3) in upper-most section (5.5 g/cm3) g/cm3)
Percentage of 30% 65% 5%
Earths’ Mass
Standard 8-3.1
What are Tectonic Plates? (continued)

Earth’s Sublayers
 Lithosphere: This layer combines the rigid crust plus the upper-most mantle. (Greek: Rock)
 Asthenosphere: Partially molten part of upper mantle (Greek: weak). Tectonic plates are able
to move about on top of the softer, partially molten asthenosphere.
The outer-
most layers
of the earth.
McGraw Hill/
Glencoe, 1st ed., pg.
142.
6
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 The Earth’s crust consists of about a dozen large slabs of rock, or PLATES, that the continents
and oceans rest on. These tectonic plates can move centimeters per year— about as fast as your
fingernails grow up to 15cm/yr in some places.
 Tectonic plates are also called lithospheric plates because the crust and the upper-most mantle
make up a sub-layer of the earth called the lithosphere. The plates can move about because the
uppermost mantle, or the asthenosphere, is partially molten and possesses a physical property
called plasticity, allowing the strong, rigid plates of the crust to move over the weaker, softer
asthenosphere.
Plates and relative

plate motion.
Modified after NOAA
South Carolina is
located on the North
American plate
 The word TECTONICS is of Greek origin and it means “to build.” The word “tectonism”
refers to the deformation of the lithosphere. This deformation most notably includes mountain
building. 7
Table of Contents

 Tectonic plates, or lithospheric plates, are constantly moving, being created, and consumed
simultaneously. The motion sometimes results in earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges at
the plate boundaries.
 Plate motion is driven by heat escaping from the mantle. The constant movement of heat in the
mantle leads to circular convection currents. These hot convective cells are similar to the rolling
boil that occurs when water is heated on a stovetop. The flowing mantle has also been compared to
a “conveyor belt,” moving the rigid plates in different directions.
 Fundamentally, convection occurs due to uneven heating and different densities within the
liquid.
Spreading ridge Subduction
zone
Upwelling
= Downwelling
Core
Convection currents within the mantle.

Modified after Plummer/McGeary, 7th ed., pg. 15
8
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Plate Boundaries
There are three basic ways that plates interact with one another. Each of these plate
boundaries has the potential to create different geological features.
1. When plates collide with each other = Convergent boundary
2. When plates separate from each other = Divergent boundary
3. When plates slide along side each other = Transform boundary
The tectonic plates and

plate boundaries.
McGraw Hill/Glencoe, 1st ed., pg 143
Table of Contents 9
1. Convergent Boundary:
Ocean-Continent Collision
 Because the oceanic crust is more dense than continental crust, when these two collide, the
continental crust rides up over the oceanic crust and the oceanic crust is bent down and subducted
beneath the continental crust. This is called a subduction zone, where the old oceanic crust is
dragged downward and “recycled.”
 Deep-sea trenches are created at subduction zones. Trenches are narrow, deep troughs parallel
to the edge of a continent or island arc. They typically have slopes of 4-5 degrees, and they are
often 8-10 km deep. The deepest spots on earth are found in oceanic trenches. The Mariana
Trench is the deepest ocean depth at 11 km (35,798 ft) below sea level.
Figure depicting oceanic crust

subducting beneath continental
crust, creating volcanoes on the
land surface above, and a deep-
sea trench off of the coast.
Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Department of the Interior/USGS
10
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Convergent Boundary:
Continent-Continent Collision
 If two continental plates collide, mountain building usually takes place because they
are both relatively low in density.
 Earthquake activity at these boundaries is common; however, because igneous
activity is different from ocean-continent collisions, volcanoes are rare.
 Examples: The Himalayan
and the Appalachian mountain
chains.
Constructive mountain building

during continent-continent
collision.
The Himalaya
McGraw Hill/Glencoe, 1st ed., pg 149
mountains are still
forming today as the
Ind-Australian Plate
collides with the
Eurasian Plate 11
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Convergent Boundary:
Ocean-Ocean Collision
 If 2 oceanic plates collide, the older, denser one is subducted downward into the mantle and
a chain of volcanic islands can form, called a volcanic arc.
 Example: Mariana Islands (Mariana Trench). It is deeper than the earth’s tallest mountain is
tall. Mariana Trench: 11,000 meters deep. Mt. Everest: 8850 meters high.
 The interaction of the descending oceanic plate causes incredible amounts of stress
between the plates. This usually causes frequent earthquakes along the top of the
descending plate known as the “Benioff Zone.” The focii of Benioff earthquakes can
be as deep as 700 km below sea level.
Oceanic/oceanic collision
resulting in a chain of island arcs.
Benioff Zone
12
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Convergent Boundary: Volcanism

 Most volcanoes form above subduction zones because as one slab is subducted
beneath the other, the interaction of fluids and geothermal heat form new magma.
The new magma then rises upward through the overlying plate to create volcanoes
at the surface.
 The Andes Mountains are home to many volcanoes that were formed at the
convergent boundary of the Nazca and South American Plates.
Left: Image of the
 Nazca Plate
subducting
beneath the South
American Plate.
Modified after McGraw
Hill/Glencoe, 1st ed., pg.
143
Right: Red dots
indicate general
locations of
volcanoes along
western coast of
South America.
13
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2. Divergent Boundary: Sea-floor Spreading

 At a divergent boundary, two oceanic plates pull apart from each other through a
process called sea-floor spreading.
 Sea-floor spreading was proposed by Harry Hess in the early 1960’s. Hess proposed
that hot magma rises from the asthenosphere and up into existing ocean crust through
fractures. The crust spreads apart making room for new magma to flow up through it.
The magma cools, forming new sea floor and resulting in a build-up of basaltic rock
around the crack, which is called a mid-ocean ridge.
Sea-floor spreading at an
oceanic divergent boundary.
Modified after McGraw Hill/ Glencoe, 1st ed., pg.
138 (with permission)
 New material is constantly being created. This is the opposite of a convergent

boundary, where material is constantly being destroyed.
Table of Contents 14
Divergent Boundary: Mid-Atlantic Ridge

 The world’s longest mountain chain is underwater. It is 56,000 km long and is
called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
 The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is considered a slow-spreading ridge, spreading at about 1-2
centimeters per year. An example of a fast-spreading ridge is the East Pacific Rise,
which spreads at about 6-8 centimeters per year.
Satellite bathymetry of the East Modified after http://www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/level-

2/geology/ridge.html
Pacific Rise spreading ridge. Credit:
U.S. Geological Survey 15
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Department of the Interior/USGS Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
Sea-floor Exploration
 The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) began in 1968 aboard the research vessel
Glomar Challenger. This ship was outfitted with a drill rig capable of drilling into the
ocean floor beneath many kilometers of water.
 Before this type of research was available, scientists had to rely on dredging or
grabbing single rock samples from line weights on boats.
 Scientists quickly determined that continental crust is thicker than oceanic crust,
that continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust, and that the youngest seafloor is
located at mid-ocean ridges and increases in age with distance from the ridge.
 Before technology like this, most

people thought the ocean floor was flat
and smooth. This is understandable as
2/3 of the Earth’s surface lies under
oceans.
The Glomar Challenger (1968)

16
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Sea-floor Exploration
 In the mid-1960’s, magnetometer surveys at sea indicated that alternating magnetic
anomalies existed within marine rock. These anomalies were aligned parallel to the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge forming stripe-like patterns on the sea floor, and they were
symmetrically distributed on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
 Geologists Fred Vine and Drummond Matthews first noticed these symmetric
patterns of magnetic “stripes” and concluded that this pattern of magnetic anomalies
at sea matched the pattern of magnetic reversals over time.
 The Earth’s magnetic field flows from a

southerly direction to northerly direction. This is
what makes the arrow on our compasses point
towards north.
 The Earth’s magnetic field has changed over the past 100 million years
approximately once every 250,000 years. When the magnetic field “reverses” from
today’s “normal” N-S direction it becomes a period of magnetic reversal. The normal
magnetic field is considered a positive anomaly, and, when the magnetic field is
reversed, it is considered a negative anomaly.
17
Table of Contents
Sea-floor Exploration: Age-dating
 The relative age of the sea floor T1

can be determined by changes in T2
magnetic polarities of the earth.
Oldest
T3
 These periods of normal and Youngest
reversed polarity are recorded in the
magnetic minerals within the newly
formed sea floor at mid-ocean
ridges. Scientists can see a clear
pattern of normal and reversed
magnetization in the rock record Above: Figure depicting magma flowing out
that shows up as “magnetic stripes” from a spreading ridge, cooling and spreading
on either side of mid-ocean ridges, out symmetrically about the ridge to produce
which gives them a relative time of successively older rock as you travel in either
direction from the ridge. The magnetized
how old the sea floor is and lets
minerals within the rock “tell” how old it is.
them compare ocean basins to each Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
other. Department of the Interior/USGS
Sea-floor Exploration: Age-dating

 The oldest oceanic crust found is ~ 180 million years old.
 Because the age of the earth is ~4,600 million years, we know that oceanic crust is
continually being formed at spreading ridges and being destroyed at subduction
zones. The ocean floor is constantly changing shape and size through the processes of
sea-floor spreading and subduction.
 Because no older
ocean crust has been
found, recycling of the
ocean crust takes place
about every 180 million
years.
The relative ages of

the ocean floor.
Credit: Nova.
3. Transform Boundary
 When two plates slide past each other moving in different directions or the same
direction, it is termed a transform boundary and is characterized by a transform fault
and earthquake activity.
 An example of a transform fault is the San Andreas Fault in California. Here the
North American Plate joins the Pacific Plate. The difference in plate motion along the
contact (fault) leads to a buildup of strain energy that sometimes slips releasing a huge
amount of energy and causing an earthquake.
An aerial photo of the San Andreas Movement between the 2 plates at the San Andreas
fault line. McGraw Hill/Glencoe, 1st ed., pg. 146 Transform Fault. McGraw Hill/Glencoe, 1st ed., pg. 146 (with
(with permission) permission).
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Transform Boundary (continued)

 J. Tuzo Wilson was a geophysicist who was fascinated by Wegener's theory of
continental drifting. He was also inspired by Harry Hess, whom he studied under at
Princeton University in the 1930’s.
 Wilson is recognized today for advancing plate-tectonic theory by introducing three
major concepts:
1. Wilson (1963) introduced the concept of a “stationary hotspot”, where the
heat from the mantle could affect the thin crust, forming volcanic islands such
as Hawaii.
2. Wilson (1965) proposed the “transform” boundary as the third type of plate
boundary. They commonly offset ocean ridges and trenches, and transform
the motion between the offset. Unlike ridges and trenches, transform faults
offset the crust horizontally, without creating or destroying crust.
3. Wilson proposed what is known today as the Wilson Cycle. This concept
explains the origin for the Appalachian Mountains. The “cycle” goes through
the sequence: 1. The splitting of a supercontinent,
2. the opening of an ocean basin,
3. the closing of the ocean basin,
4. the collision of continents and formation of mountains.
21
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Mountain building processes, faults and folds

 Plate tectonics cause many of the physical features that we see on earth today like volcanoes and
earthquakes, but also many other geological features like faults. Faults are planar rock fractures
along which movement has occurred.
 A transform fault occurs at a transform plate
boundary like the San Andreas Fault in California. It
connects two of the other plate boundaries.
 Similar in movement, a strike-slip fault occurs
through shearing when two blocks move in
horizontal but opposite directions of each other.
Depending on the direction of offset, it can be a Right-lateral offset
“right-lateral offset” or a “left-lateral offset.”
In the example above, it is obvious that the fence The photograph above displays a light-colored
has been offset to the right, therefore it is called a pegmatite vein offset to the right in a schistose
right lateral strike-slip fault (Credit: U.S. Geological matrix. Photo courtesy of K. McCarney-Castle. 22
Survey Department of the Interior/USGS) Table of Contents
Faults: Normal Faults
 Faults caused by blocks of crust pulling apart under the forces of tension are called normal
faults. Entire mountain ranges can form through these processes and are known as fault block
mountains (examples: Basin and Range Province, Tetons).
 In a normal fault, the hanging-wall block moves down relative to the foot-wall block.
 The footwall is the underlying surface of an inclined fault plane.
 The hanging wall is the overlying surface of an inclined fault plane.
Hanging
wall block
Footwall
block
Hanging
Wall
Foot Wall
Relative movement of two blocks Diagrammatic sketch of the two types of

blocks used in identifying normal faults.
indicating a normal fault. (Credit: Modified after 23
U.S. Geological Survey Department of the Interior/USGS) Table of Contents
Faults: Reverse Faults

 Faults caused by blocks of crust colliding under the forces of compression are called
reverse faults.
 Reverse faults form during continent-continent collision. Usually, there is also
accompanying folding of rocks.
 During reverse faulting, the hanging wall block moves upward (and over) relative to
the footwall block.
Hanging
wall block
Footwall
block
Hanging
Wall
Foot Wall
Diagrammatic sketch of the two

Relative movement of two blocks types of blocks used in identifying
indicating a reverse fault. (Credit: U.S. Geological reverse faults.
Survey Department of the Interior/USGS)
24
Table of Contents
Folding
 During mountain building processes, rocks can undergo folding as well as faulting.
 Sometimes rocks deform ductilely, particularly if they are subjected to heat and pressure. At
elevated temperature and pressure within the crust, folds can form from compressional forces.
 Entire mountain rages, like the Appalachians, have extensive fold systems.
Z-fold in schist with white felsic dike Large fold in outcrop (geologists for scale).
(hammer for scale). Near Lake Murray, Near Oakridge, Tennessee, Appalachian
South Carolina. Mtns. Photo courtesy of K. McCarney-Castle.
25
Photo courtesy of K. McCarney-Castle
Table of Contents
Plate Movement Over Geologic Time

 Alfred Wegener proposed that all of the continents once formed a “supercontinent”
called Pangaea.
 From the Greek language, ‘pan’ meaning ALL and ‘gaea’ meaning EARTH. It was
thought to have come together and formed approximately 200 million years ago.
 Evidence for a supercontinent included:
1. Fossils of the same plant (Glossopteris) found in Australia, India, Antarctica, and South
America.
2. Fossils of same reptile (Mesosaurus) found in Africa and South America. This animal could not
have swum across the existing Atlantic Ocean!
3. Glacial deposits found in current warm climates and warm-climate plant fossils found in what
is now the Arctic.
4. Nearly identical rock formations found on the east coast of U.S. and the west coast of Europe
and on eastern South America and western Africa.
26
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1. About 1,100 million years ago, a super-
continent called Rodinia existed (pre-

Cambrian).
2. Rodinia broke apart, and about 400

million years ago, the oceans began to close
up to form a pre-Pangea (early Devonian).
3. Pangea formed around 250 million years

ago and animals could migrate from the north
to the south pole (Early Triassic).
PaleoMaps used with permission from Christopher
Scotese and are under copyright of C.R. Scotese, 2002 Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
4. Pangaea began to break apart into 2
halves approximately 200 million years ago

(Early Jurassic). The northern half is called
Laurasia and the southern half is called
Gondwanaland. These two huge continents
were separated by a body of water called the
Tethys Sea.
5. Gondwananland split to form Africa,

South America, Antarctica, Australia and
India. Laurasia split to form North America,
Eurasia (minus India) and Greenland.
6. Around 15 million years ago, the continents

finally looked like they do today
PaleoMaps used with permission from Christopher Scotese and
are under copyright of C.R. Scotese, 2002
Table of Contents
28
Continents in the future?
In 50 million years, it is possible that

the Mediterranean could close due to
the collision of Africa with Europe.
Australia may eventually join Asia.
It is though that in another 250 million

years, another Pangea will form.
PaleoMaps used with permission from Christopher 29

Scotese and are under copyright of C.R. Scotese, 2002 Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
Creation and Change of Landforms

Volcanoes
 Most volcanoes form above subduction zones
because as one slab is subducted beneath the other, it
causes melting, forming new magma, which then rises
upward. This is why most volcanoes are found near
plate boundaries.
 Volcanoes are constructive because they add new
rock, form new islands, and create new land masses.
However, they are also destructive when they erupt and
change the landscape (possibly even the climate).
Above: Diagrammatic sketch
of a volcanic arc located above
a subduction zone
Left: Active volcanoes found

along plate boundaries
(Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Department of the Interior/USGS)
30
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Volcanic Eruptions:
 Most volcanoes form above subduction zones because as one slab is subducted beneath the
other, melting occurs, forming new magma, which then rises upward along the plate boundary.
 Being hot, magma is less dense than the solid rock surrounding it. This enables the liquid
magma to rise up through cracks in the solid rock and collect in pockets within the earth, called
magma chambers. Eventually some of the magma pushes through vents and fissures in Earth's
surface, causing an eruption that may be violent or quiet. Once the magma reaches the earth’s
surface, it is called lava.
 The explosiveness of an eruption depends on the viscosity of the magma. Viscosity is the
resistance of a liquid to flow. If the magma is very thick and viscous, gases can build up within the
magma. Finally, when threshold is reached, there is a violent eruption from the built up pressure
of the gases in the magma chamber.
 If magma is less viscous, or more fluid, gases Volcano
Vent
can escape easily from it. When this type of
magma erupts, it flows out of the volcano and Magma chamber
violent explosions are rare. Land
 Sometimes, huge clouds of ash race down surface
mountainsides destroying almost everything in
Crust
their path. These are pyroclastic clouds. They
Upper mantle
can travel faster than a high-speed train. The ash
produced from an eruption will fall back to the Lower mantle
ground and suffocate humans, animals, and
Core
plants.
Cross-sectional view looking through 31
the side ofFrom
Downloaded a volcano Table of Contents
: www.EasyEngineering.net
Volcanoes: Mount St. Helens
 A famous volcano that erupted in the U.S. nearly 30 years ago was Mt. St. Helens in
the Cascade Range of Washington.
 The volcanic activity of Mt. St. Helens is caused by the ongoing subduction of the
Juan de Fuca plate under the North American plate. It is part of the Cascade Volcanic
arc, which includes some 160 active volcanoes along the west coast.
 On May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens erupted in what was the most economically
destructive volcanic event in U.S. history. Nearly 60 people lost their lives and 250
homes were destroyed.
 Before the volcano exploded, it was 2,950 m tall. Afterwards, it was 2,550 m tall,
and instead of a sharp peak at the summit, a mile-wide horseshoe shaped crater was
left. The debris avalanche associated with the eruption was nearly 3 cubic kilometers
in volume.
 When Mount St. Helens

exploded, it had not
erupted for 123 years. Most
people thought Mount St.
Helens was a beautiful,
peaceful mountain and not
a dangerous volcano.
Before eruption… After eruption… 32
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Credit: Wikimedia Commons Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
Mountain-building forces
 When two continental plates collide at a convergent boundary, the process produces a
mountain range. Compressional forces drive the mountain building process.
 The Appalachians, the Alps, and the Himalayas were formed through compression.
 The Himalayan mountain chain was formed

Continent/ approximately 150 million years ago. When we
continent
convergence think of the Himalayas, we think of very high,
steep mountains, cliffs, and, of course, Mt.
Everest.
The
Matterhorn,
Alps
 In contrast, when we consider our own Appalachians,

which formed about 400 million years ago, we see more
subdued topography than in the Himalayas. This is
because the process of wind and water erosion have
eroded hundreds of vertical feet of land surface from the
area and reduced high jagged mountains into the rolling The Appalachian Mountains. Photo
courtesy of K. McCarney-Castle 33
hills present today.
Table of Contents
Continental margins and deep-sea landforms

 Even though approximately 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, it is the study of sea-
floor rocks, sediment, and topography that provide most of the information used to validate the
theory of plate tectonics. Ongoing research on the sea floor continues to provide clues to the
Earth’s dynamic structural processes.
 Research and technology have granted us access to study both the shallow continental shelves
as well as the deep abyssal plains of the ocean basins. These include rock dredging, coring,
drilling, geophysical studies (seismic and magnetic), and age dating.
 One advancement in technology is the use echo sounders, which are used to draw profiles of
submarine topography. Seismic profilers also use acoustic echoes but can penetrate the bottom of
the seafloor. These profilers allow us to see a “picture” of the layered structure under the sea floor.
USA, west Africa, west

USA, east coast
coast coast
Cross-sectional view of
continents grading into
Continent deep ocean basins. Note
change in topography.
Ocean Basin
34
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Continental Margins: Continental Shelves and Slopes
 All continents are surrounded by a shallow, relatively flat platform called a continental shelf
and a sloping surface called a continental slope that gently descends down to the deep ocean floor.
 Continental shelves vary in width depending on the type of continental margin. On the U.S.
Pacific coast, it is only a few km wide, but off of the Atlantic Coast it is up to 500 km wide.
 The continental shelf area has thick accumulations of young sediment and has water depths less
than 200 meters.
 The continental slope has a relatively steep slope (4-5 degrees) and it joins the edge of the shelf
to the deep ocean floor. Relatively little is known about the slopes, as it is difficult to drill on the
steep surfaces.
 Beyond the continental shelf is the continental break where flat shelf ends and the steep
continental slope begins. Although typical continental slopes have an incline of around 4
degrees, some active margins, like the Gulf of California, slope at about 20 degrees.
 The continental slope may be marked by channels called submarine canyons that transport
sediment from the shelf to the sea floor, sometimes in violent events called turbidity currents.
The continental rise has been built up by these thick deposits of sediment. California
Continental
Margin looking
east towards Los
Angeles.
Shelf
(Credit: U.S.
Geological Survey
Slope Department of the
Interior/USGS)
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1. Passive Continental Margins
 A passive continental margin includes a continental shelf, slope, and rise and these margins
gently grade into a deep abyssal plain.
 The ocean floor and continent usually belong to the same continental plate.
 Passive margins form on “geologically quiet” coasts, also called trailing margins, where there is
no tectonic or volcanic activity, such as the eastern seaboard of the U.S.
 The continental rise is a wedge of sediment that extends from the lower part of the slope to the
deep sea floor sloping at about 0.5 degrees. It grades into a flat abyssal plain at around 5km in
depth.
 Abyssal plains are found at the base of the continental rise and are the flattest features on earth.
Abyssal plains form where turbidity currents carry amounts of sediment large enough to bury and
obscure the rugged relief normal found on the sea floor.
Continental break
Sketch of an abyssal fan forming on the

sea floor. Sediment for the fan is
carried from the shelf through the
canyon in violent turbidity currents and
are deposited, forming a fan .
Continental
Slope
Modified after Plummer/McGeary, 7th ed., pg. 400.

Table of Contents
Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net 36
Active continental
Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net Passive continental
margin with trench margin
Cross-sectional sketch
showing the trench off
the active continental
margin and the rise off of
the passive continental
margin.
2. Active continental margin:

 An active continental margin includes a continental shelf, slope, and an ocean trench. It is the
result of an ocean plate colliding with a continental plate.
 Active margins are tectonically active, characterized by earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain
belts. Tectonically active margins may have a deep trench instead of a continental rise where the
oceanic plate is subducted beneath the continental plate.
 The west coast of the U.S. and South America are examples of active margins.
 Ocean trenches are elongate features parallel to the edge of the continent and are the deepest
regions on earth at over 11 km below sea level.
 Ocean trenches are associated with seismic Benioff Zones, which begin at the trench and dip
underneath the continent as part of the subduction zone. Earthquakes are prevalent along the
Benioff Zone, which is the site of one tectonic plate descending underneath another.
Satellite
bathymetry of the
East Pacific Rise
spreading ridge.
Credit: U.S. Geological
Survey
Sea floor spreading at the mid-ocean ridge Department of the
Interior/USGS
and rift valley. Modified after McGraw Hill/
Glencoe, 1st ed., pg. 138 (with permission)
 The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of a divergent boundary found extending

around the world dividing the world’s ocean basins. It spreads at about 1-2 centimeters
per year and is made of basalt. It is 56,000 km long and 2,500 km wide, and it rises 2 –3
km above the sea floor.
 The spreading of the ridge creates a rift valley running down the crest of the ridge.
The valley is about 1-2 km deep and several kilometers wide- similar to the dimensions
of the Grand Canyon!
 Shallow earthquakes are frequent along these ridges and long deep fractures run
perpendicular to the ridge.
 Seamounts, guyots, and black smokers are other geological features that can be
found on the deep sea floor.
South Carolina Science Academic

Standards: Grade 5
1) Landforms and Oceans
Standard 5-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of features, processes, and changes in
Earth’s land and oceans. (Earth Science)
Indicators:
5-3.2: Illustrate the geologic landforms of the ocean floor (including the continental shelf and slope, the
mid-ocean ridge, rift zone, trench, and the ocean basin).
South Carolina Science Academic

Standards: Grade 8
1) Earth’s Structure and Processes:
Standard 8-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of materials that determine the structure of
the Earth and the processes that have altered this structure.
Indicators:
8-3.1: Summarize the three layers of Earth—crust, mantle, and core—on the basis of relative position,
density, and composition.
8-3.6: Explain how the theory of plate tectonics accounts for the motion of the lithospheric plates, the
geologic activities at the plate boundaries, and the changes in landform areas over geologic time.
8-3.7: Illustrate the creation and changing of landforms that have occurred through geologic processes
(including volcanic eruptions and mountain-building forces).
Earthquake Terminology
Fault: A surface across which two

blocks can move relative to each other.
Focus: The location on a fault where

earthquake rupture initiates.
Hypocentre: The calculated position of

an earthquake focus.
Epicentre: That point on the Earth's surface directly

above the hypocentre.
Magnitude: A measure of the strength of an earthquake, as

determined by seismographic observations.

Surface-wave magnitude formula

(most common)
MS = log10(A) + 1.656log10(D) + 1.818
A = amplitude in microns (mm)
D = epicentral distance in degrees
(divide by 111 to go from km to degrees)
672 mm
A = 672 mm (measured)
D ~ 1000*6.6 - 1500 = 5100 km
... D ~ 5100/111 ~ 46 degrees
MS = log10(A) + 1.656log10(D) + 1.818
= 7.4

Intensity
• Intensity is a measure of the effects of an
earthquake on the natural and built environment.
• While the magnitude of an earthquake is constant, the
intensity changes with epicentral distance.
• In N.A., the Modified Mercalli intensity scale is used
(I-XII)

Earthquake Intensity Map
A map of
earthquake
intensity is also
called an isoseismal
map.
New Madrid Earthquake sequence of 1811-1812

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/doc/mmi.html





Elastic Rebound Theory
Fault
Fence
Original position Stress Accumulates
Earthquake: stress Rebound to original

released shape

Elastic Rebound Theory

1. Stress on a fault slowly
accumulates
2. During an earthquake, stress on
the fault is released
3. After an earthquake, stress
begins to re-accumulate

Elastic Rebound Theory:

The Earthquake Cycle
For an active fault,

earthquakes will
repeat periodically.
1460
1855
Turakirae Head, New Zealand

Earthquakes and Plate

Boundaries
More than 90% of
earthquakes occur
near plate
boundaries
… in fact the
earthquake
distribution can be
used to outline
tectonic plates ...

Normal fault
• Occurs where
plates are pulling
apart under
tension
• Divergent plate
boundary
• Example: Iceland

Strike-slip fault
• Occurs where
plates are sliding
past each other
• Transform plate
boundary
• Example: San
Andreas Fault,
California

Thrust (reverse)
faults
• Occurs where
plates are pushing
together under
compression
• Convergent plate
boundary
• Example: Japan

Benioff-Wadati Zone
• Dipping zone of
earthquakes
• Occurs at a
convergent plate
boundary

Sequence of elastic rebound: Stresses

Sequence of elastic rebound: Bending

Sequence of elastic rebound: Rupture

Sequence of elastic rebound: Rebound

Body Waves
• Travel through the interior of the Earth

• Follow ray paths refracted by the varying density and modulus (stiffness) of the
Earth's interior
(density and modulus, in turn, vary according to temperature, composition, and
phase similar to the refraction of light waves)
• two types are P-waves and S-waves

Primary-waves
Primary-waves
Primary (they arrive first), Pressure, or Push-Pull. Material
expands and contracts in volume and particles move back and forth
in the path of the wave.

Primary-waves
• P waves can travel through any medium.
• In solids, these waves generally travel almost twice as fast as S waves.
•In air, these pressure waves take the form of sound waves, hence they travel at
the speed of sound.

Primary-waves
Primary-waves
The P waves carry energy through the Earth as longitudinal waves,

moving particles in the same line as the direction of the wave.

Primary-waves
Primary-waves
P-waves are essentially sound waves and travel through solids,

liquids or gases.
 P waves are generally felt by humans as a bang or thump.

Secondary-waves
Secondary-waves
S waves, also called secondary or shear waves, are transverse in nature
Material does not change volume but shears out of shape and snaps
back. Particle motion is at right angles to the path of the wave.

S WAVES
Unlike P waves, S waves can only travel through solids.

These waves travel from ~3.4 km/s near the surface to ~7.2 km/s
near the boundary of the liquid core (Gutenberg discontinuity).
Also, these waves travel at a slower rate but with greater
amplitude.
S waves travel transversely to the direction of propagation and
involves the shearing of the transmitting rock causing the rock
particles to move back and forth perpendicular to the direction of
propagation.

Secondary-waves
Secondary-waves

Secondary-waves
Secondary-waves
These waves move more slowly than P wave, but in an earthquake
they are usually bigger.
Since the material has to be able to "remember" its shape, S-
waves travel only through solids

S-WAVES
S waves
As the waves pass, the rock is distorted first in one direction and
then in another.

Lecture:04

Secondary-waves
Secondary-waves
S-wave velocity drops to zero at the core-mantle boundary

or Gutenberg Discontinuity
Surface Waves
Surface Waves
Two main types. Love & Rayleigh.
 Slower than body waves; rolling and side-to-side movement.
Cause most of the damage during earthquakes
 Travel only in the shallow portions of the Earth

Surface Waves
Surface Waves
Ocean waves are a type of surface wave (known as a Rayleigh wave)
and the energy they transmit usually comes from winds blowing across
the surface of the water.

Surface Waves
The rolling waves we experience during earthquakes are Rayleigh waves,
exactly analogous to ocean waves.

Surface Waves

Rayleigh Waves Rayleigh Waves
Typical velocity: ~ 0.9 that of the S wave

 Behavior: Causes vertical together with back-and-forth horizontal
motion. The motion in this kind of wave is a combination of
longitudinal and vertical vibration that give elliptical motion to the
rock particles.
 Motion is similar to that of being in a boat in the ocean when a swell
moves past.
Arrival: They usually arrive last on a seismogram.

Love Waves
Love Waves
Typical velocity: Depends on earth structure, but less than velocity of S
waves.
Behavior: Causes shearing motion (horizontal) similar to S- waves.
Arrival: They usually arrive after the S wave and before the Rayleigh wave.

Love Waves
Wave type Common Velocities
Compressional 8-11 km/sec
Shear 5-7 km/sec
Love 3.5-4.5 km/sec
Rayleigh 3-4 km/sec

Love Waves
Locating an Earthquake’s Epicenter
Seismic wave behavior
 P waves arrive first, then S waves, then L and R
 After an earthquake, the difference in arrival times at a seismograph
station can be used to calculate the distance from the seismograph to
the epicenter (D).

The Richter Magnitude Scale

Richter
Description Magnitudes Earthquake Effects
Less than 2.0 Microearthquakes, not felt.
Micro
Very Minor 2.0-2.9 Usually not felt, but recorded.
Minor 3.0-3.9 Often felt, but rarely causes damage.
Light 4.0-4.9 Noticeable shaking of indoor items,

rattling noises. Significant damage
unlikely.
5.0-5.9 Can cause major damage to poorly

constructed buildings over small regions.
Moderate Slight damage to well-designed
buildings.
6.0-6.9 Can be destructive in areas up to about

Strong 100 miles across in populated areas.
7.0-7.9 Can cause serious damage over larger

Major areas.
Great 8.0-8.9 Can cause serious damage in areas

several hundred miles across.
Rare Great 9.0 or greater Devastating in areas several thousand

miles across.

What are Seismic Waves?
Presentation based upon information retrieved from: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/waves.html

Movie clips from United Streaming Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net
What do you know about Waves?
• Where are they?

• What do waves do?
• How many different wave types are there?
• Are waves important to all of us?
• Why or why not?
• Name different types of waves.

Wave Characteristics

Types of Waves
• Compression wave
• Transverse Wave
• Seismic Wave
– Body Waves
• Primary or p-wave
– Compression wave
• Secondary or s-wave
– Transverse wave
– Surface
• Love wave
• Rayleigh wave

Seismic Wave
• Seismic waves are the waves of energy
caused by the sudden breaking of rock within
the earth or an explosion. They are the energy
that travels through the earth and is recorded
on seismographs.
• There are several different kinds of seismic
waves, and they all move in different ways. The
two main types of waves are body waves and
surface waves.

Body Waves
• P Waves (compression wave)
• The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This
is the fastest kind of seismic wave. The P wave can move through
solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the earth. It
pushes and pulls the rock it moves through just like sound waves
push and pull the air.

Stop and Think

• Have you ever heard a big clap of thunder
and heard the windows rattle at the same
time?
• The windows rattle because the sound
waves were pushing and pulling on the
window glass much like P waves push and
pull on rock. Sometimes animals can hear
the P waves of an earthquake. Usually we
only feel the bump and rattle of these
waves.

Body Waves
• S wave (transverse wave)
• The second type of body wave is the S wave or
secondary wave, which is the second wave you feel in
an earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and
can only move through solid rock. This wave moves rock
up and down, or side-to-side.

Surface Waves
• Love Waves
• The first kind of surface wave is called a Love wave,
named after A.E.H. Love, a British mathematician who
worked out the mathematical model for this kind of
wave in 1911. It's the fastest surface wave and moves
the ground from side-to-side.

Surface Waves
• Rayleigh Waves
• The other kind of surface wave is the Rayleigh wave, named for John
William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, who mathematically predicted the existence
of this kind of wave in 1885. A Rayleigh wave rolls along the ground just
like a wave rolls across a lake or an ocean. Because it rolls, it moves the
ground up and down, and side-to-side in the same direction that the wave
is moving. Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake is due to the
Rayleigh wave, which can be much larger than the other waves.

Introduction to
Earthquake Engineering
Behaviour of structures
under earthquakes
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uwe E. Dorka
Stand: September 2013

Conventional rc-frame structure under Kobe earthquake
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dorka | Behaviour of structures under earthquakes 2

Non-linear cyclic behaviour of frames

Plastic hinge
From Petersen (9)
Failure in soft storey
From Müller, Keintzel (2)

Non-linear cyclic behaviour of walls
flexural failure shear failure sliding failure rotation of foundation

Behaviour of reinforced concrete structures
Flexural cyclic behaviour in plastic hinges
From Earthquake Spectra (10)

From Wakabayashi (1)

Concrete columns
Buckling of longitudinal reinforcement


Concrete columns
Behaviour under combined bending and axial load:
From Petersen (9)

Short columns

Short columns
Extreme pinching of hysteresis loop and failure in shear

Rc frame corners
pinching effect and deterioration due to large shear

Complicated details in rc-frames:

Shear walls
Brittle behaviour, but large capacity!

Coupled shear walls
Brittle failure in shear!


Coupled shear walls
Large shear in connecting

beam leads to “Impossible”
detailing requirements for
an rc-solution!
Better: steel beam, but
special attention must be
paid to the connection!

Pre-cast structures
“Domino effect” due to

sudden connection failure
often leads to total collapse!

Behaviour of steel structures

Conventional steel structure under Kobe earthquake: soft storey

Steel beams
Plastic hinges
From DGEB (8)
Local buckling under cyclic loading

Steel beams
Moment-rotation hysteresis loop of a steel beam

Steel columns
Hysteresis of column with P-D effect Instable load bearing due to negative
post-yield stiffness can lead to total
collapse of structure
Rapid deterioration due to local
buckling
Columns should not yield, only beams!
Strong column – weak beam concept!

From Petersen (9)

Steel struts
Cyclic buckling of struts


Braced steel frames

Braced full-scale portal frame under constant vertical
load and cyclic horizontal load.
Combined action of beam plastic hinges and cyclic
strut behaviour: stiff but ductile!
P= 0,5* Npl P= 0,5* Npl

H H

Steel connections
Brittle fracture in welds
Both Pictures from earthquake Spectra (10)

Steel connections
Brittle fracture in welds

and rupture of bolts
Both Pictures from earthquake Spectra (10)

Steel connections
Seismically sound connections in

frame corners

Behaviour of timber structures

Modern Japanese residential structure under Kobe earthquake:

Behaviour of timber structures

Insufficient connections can lead to brittle failure

Timber wall with cladding

Timber wall with cladding

Load-deflection relationship for a timber wall with cladding under cyclic shear

Behaviour of masonry structures

Typical crack pattern between openings and at corners


Typical crack pattern between openings and at corners

Collapse of chimneys and

out-of-plane failure of roof
gable walls due to insufficient
lateral support

Masonry walls
Horizontal load-deflection relationship for a wall subjected to cyclic shear and
constant vertical load showing rapid deterioration of hysteresis loop

Masonry in-filled rc-frames
Non-linear mechanism with compression strut developing in masonry wall

causing shear failure in rc-columns

Behaviour of historic structures

Many old historic structures
behave well having sustained
several earthquakes during their
history
“Intact” historical structural systems
are usually quite safe, sometimes
with surprising effects



“New” (18th – 20th century) historic
structures are often derived from
“non-seismic” countries like Britain
or Germany with modern structural
systems not capable of resisting
large earthquakes


Modern alterations often lead to a change in behaviour and collapse
 Car parking or shops

create soft storeys
 Rc- additions change
historic load paths
 etc.

Behaviour of bridges
Horizontal shear failure in deck due

to differences in deformations of
supporting frames (short frame vs.
long frame)
Both Pictures from Earthquake Spectra (10)
Relative motion of single-

span deck caused drop-off

Brittle shear failure in columns

(short column effect) and
frame corners

Toppling due to P-D effect
From Petersen (9)


Bearing failure due to large

mass effect

Insufficient retrofit due to neglect

of differential motion between
large masses:
“band-aid” solution!

References
(1) Wakabayashi –
Design of Earthquake-Resistant Buildings
McGraw-Hill Book Company
(2) Müller, Keintzel –
Erdbebensicherung von Hochbauten
Verlag Ernst & Sohn
(3) Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Erdbebeningenieurwesen - DGEB
Schriftenreihe der DGEB, Heft 2
Elsevier
(4) Petersen
Statik und Stabilität der Baukonstruktionen
Vieweg
(5) Jack P. Moehle
Earthquake Spectra – April 1995


Page 2

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LECTURE NOTES
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LECTURE NOTES

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Page 16

LECTURE NOTES

LECTURE NOTES

PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Behavior of Prestressed Concrete

Structures During the Alaskan Earthquake
by Walter E. Kunze, John A. Sbarounis and James E. Amrhein*
Large scale application of pre- chorage, Alaska during the March

stressing to structures is still rela- 27, 1964 earthquake are of great
tively new when considered in terms significance in contributing to further
of the total wealth of accumulated development of the art. For this
knowledge and experience in the reason it is important that appropri-
broad field of structural analysis and ate conclusions be drawn from the
design. In just a little over a decade, Alaskan experience.
the prestressing industry has evolved Of some 28 structures employing
not only reliable mass produced precast, prestressed elements, five
structural members, but also has suffered partial or total collapse. Of
developed adequate means of erect- these, two were still under con-
ing sound structures in which pre- struction and, as a consequence, had
stressed concrete is used. During not yet been tied together to resist
this same period engineers also have an earthquake force. A sixth struc-
developed connection details which ture involving post-tensioned lift-
are being used extensively in non- slab construction also collapsed.
earthquake areas and which, by These structures which collapsed
means of certain modifications, have reemphasize the direction that must
been made suitable for resisting be taken in detailing structures and
high lateral forces in earthquake their connections in earthquake
areas. Because this entire concept areas.
is relatively new, the experiences The March 27 Alaskan earth-
with prestressed structures in An- quake, with a Richter magnitude in
excess of 8.4, is one of the largest in
our experience. It lasted from 2lh to
4 minutes, and its epicenter is placed
"Director of Promotion Planning and En- about 75 miles east of Anchorage,
gineering Services; Supervising Engi- a city with a metropolitan area
neer, Structural Engineering, Structural population of about 85,000. The
Bureau; and Supervising Structural En-
gineer, Los Angeles District, respectively, shock occurred along the well-known
Portland Cement Association circum-Pacific earthquake belt,
80 PCI Journal

which has experienced almost all found elsewhere in the country.

earthquakes of magnitude greater However, because of a shortage of
than 8 in the past 60 years. Every personnel in the Anchorage building
community near the epicenter was department, inspection of construc-
affected by the quake, while the tion was admittedly insufficient, par-
tsunami, or tidal wave, caused dam- ticularly on private work. As a result,
age and casualties in coastal cities attention to structural details per-
in Oregon and California. haps was not as rigid in Anchorage
In Anchorage, where nine persons as might be encountered elsewhere.
were killed, the motion was re- This was borne out by the fact that
ported by eye-witnesses to have structures at nearby Elmendorf Air
been visible as ground waves which Force Base and Fort Richardson
progressed along streets and across performed markedly better than
parking lots. Standing and walking some of the privately built buildings
were difficult. Aftershocks continued in Anchorage.
for several weeks. Attention will be given here first
Destructive effects of the Alaskan to those prestressed structures that
earthquake were manifested in two suffered partial or total collapse
ways in Anchorage: ( 1) ground because they offer opportunities for
motion and shaking of the kind new knowledge in the areas of de-
customarily associated with earth- sign and construction. Subsequently,
quakes, and ( 2) land movements, mention will be made of a number
subsidence, sliding and gliding of of prestressed buildings that fared
large blocks of earth. well or suffered only minor distress.
There were three areas of major The Four Seasons apartment
land movement in the city. The most building (Figs. 1 and 2) collapsed
spectacular of these occurred in during the earthquake. The 6-story,
Turnagain where a section of bluff prestressed concrete lift-slab struc-
approximately two city blocks deep ture was under construction at the
by fifteen city blocks long broke up time of the quake but was struc-
into a jumble of small blocks of earth turally complete. It was due to be
and glided on a soft layer of clay occupied by tenants in about two
out into the bay. Residences in this months.
area were a total financial loss. Land The 3 x 6-bay structural system
movement in the 4th Avenue slide consisted of 8-in. concrete slabs sup-
and L Street slide had somewhat ported by steel columns spaced at
different characteristics. Here, large approximately 22-ft. centers in both
coherent masses of earth glided directions. It was braced laterally
horizontally. At the heads of these by the elevator and stair core shafts,
slides, strips of ground up to 150 which were assumed to carry the
feet wide subsided as much as 15 entire lateral load. Reinforcement in
feet into the voids created by the the slabs consisted primarily of un-
horizontal movement of the soil bonded, draped prestressing tendons
masses. with some supplementary mild steel
Anchorage contains examples of reinforcement at the top of the slabs
all types of construction encountered in the vicinity of columns. The slabs
in the rest of the nation. The quality presumably were designed to carry
of construction materials in the city vertical loads only. The slabs and
appeared to be comparable to that steel columns were connected by
April 1965 81

r-H
~----~1l:
..----U_N_D_E_R_GR_o_u_N_D_G_A_R_A_GE___,
:I :I :I
L~----~
J: H
_j
:z:
=0
_I
....
(0
ITlr-
w CONCRETE
WALLS-w
m
H
:I I
'--'-iHr----_:;1 :r H
l
L - - - 1- -
- 128'-6"
NORTH-<==-
.I
Fig. 1-Pian view of 6-story Four Seasons Apartment Building. Underground garage is
located on west side of building.
Fig. 2-Eievation of Four Seasons Apartment Building. Splice failure in walls occurred
immediately above first floor.
82 PCI Journal

collars made by combining %-in. in Fig. 4. Upon close examination at

plates with 5 x 5 x% and 5 x 3 x %-in. the site, it was observed that the
angles as shown in Fig. 3. steel collars had been stripped clean
from the concrete slabs, but were
still attached to the steel columns.
Examination also showed splice fail-
ures of the main vertical reinforce-
ment in the core walls ( # 8 and
# 11 bars) immediately above the
first floor slab. The distributed rein-
forcement ( # 4 bars ) in the core
walls at this same level had frac-
tured. In addition, it was observed
that horizontal reinforcement ex-
tending from the core walls into the
floor slabs either fractured at the
faces of the walls or pulled out of
the slabs as seen in Fig. 5. Note that
provisions for seating of the slabs
on the core walls were minimal.
An underground garage roofed
with a post-tensioned, cast-in-place
Fig. 3-four Seasons Apartment Building. Top joist system was located on the west
of column with collar.
side of the Four Seasons building.
Six of the seven exterior steel col-
The building survived through at umns on the west face of the apart-
least one-half of the earthquake ac- ment building apparently buckled
cording to reports from two different and were driven through this garage
eye-witnesses, but finally the two roof, as shown in Fig. 6. Some of
cores collapsed in the northward these columns fractured prior to be-
direction. The slabs fell into a stack, ing driven through the roof (Fig. 7).
also displaced northward as shown Of the interior columns, four were
Fig. 4-Four Seasons Apartment Building, Elevator and

stair shafts tilted northward after splice failure above
first story.
April 1965 83

Fig. 5-Four Seasons Apartment Building. Dowels be-

tween slabs and shafts either fractured or pulled out.
Fig. 6-Four Seasons Apartment Building. View

in underground garage. Buckled co I u m n
punched through garage roof. Two-story length
of column is visible.
Fig. 7-Four Seasons Apartment Building. Some

columns fractured at their base prior to being
driven through garage roof. Two-story length
of column is visible.
84 PCI Journal

Fig. 8-Aiaska Sales and Service Building. Schematic

diagram of lateral force resisting system. Post-tensioned
bond beams at the periphery of the building, which
would have connected the roof and tilt-up walls, had not
been cast when earthquake occurred.
seen to have been driven through

the first floor slab of the apartment
building in a similar manner.
The Four Seasons was located
near an area of earth movement.
Nearby houses were displaced verti-
cally 8 to 10 ft. and small ground
£issures intersected the foundations
of the Four Seasons. It was difficult
to ascertain whether or not this
ground movement affected the per-
formance of the structure. Although
nearby £issures were narrow, it was
reported in other parts of Anchorage
that £issures of this kind opened as
much as 9 in. or more during the
earthquake, and subsequently closed.
It is presumed that the two very
stiff cores carried the entire lateral
load prior to the splice failures that
occurred immediately above the £irst
floor slab. Subsequently, because of
rotation of the core walls about the
level of the £irst story, a large part
of the lateral load was transmitted
Fig. 9-Aiaska Sales and Service Building. Bond
to the slab-column frame which had beam was ready to be cast through openings
not been designed for this condition. in flanges of tees.
Repeated nwersal of moment at the
slab-column connections apparently
destroyed the load carrying capacity
April 1965 85

Fig. 1 0-Aiaska Sales and Service Building. Single tees

and hammerhead frames.
of the structure at these points, and shown in Fig. 8, the lateral forces
the slabs began to fall vertically as from the roof system were to be
the towers tilted in a northward transmitted to the ground by the
direction. It was at this same time tilt-up panels through a prestressed
that more than one-third of the steel bond beam at the periphery of the
columns either fractured or buckled building which connected the roof
and punched through either the ad- system to the tilt-up walls. The bond
jacent garage roof or the first floor beam connection between the roof
slab. system and the tilt-up walls had not
Prestressing end anchors were yet been completed (Fig. 9), nor
found lying some distance from the had all of the fill been placed above
structure but it was not possible to t~.e s'ngle tees. Because the structure
ascertain whether the release of was not yet tied together, approxi-
these anchors occurred before or mately 50 per cent of it collapsed
after impact of the slabs with the during the quake. The hammerhead
ground. frames shown in Fig. 10 resisted the
Another prominent prestressed lateral forces by cantilever action
concrete structure in the Anchorage until the anchor bolts at their bases
area that suffered collapse during (shown in Fig. 11) failed. Many of
the earthquake was the new home the tilt-up panels, which had been
of Alaska Sales and Service, which temporarily secured in an upright
was under construction when the position, also collapsed.
quake hit. The roof consisted of pre- Another building that suffered
stressed single tees spanning about distress during the earthquake was
60 ft., supported on precast, rein- the Carpenter building, a single-
forced concrete hammerhead frames story structure roofed with single
which also spanned about 60 ft. tees located outside the Anchorage
Tilt-up wall panels at the periphery City limits. Because this building
of the structure were intended to was under construction at the time
provide all lateral resistance. As of the quake, and located outside
86 PCI Journal

Fig. 11-Aiaska Sales and Service Building.

Bolts at column bases h,ad not been designed
to resist cantilever moment of hammerhead
frames because in the finished structure earth-
quake forces would have been transmitted to
ground through peripheral tilt-up walls.
Fig. 12-Chrysler Center. The display room roof which

rested on masonry piers collapsed.
jurisdiction of the Anchorage build- piers at two sides of the display area.
ing department, it was not included Lateral movement of the display
in this investigation. room roof apparently was intended
The Chrysler Center, an automo- to be resisted by reinforced masonry
bile agency in Anchorage, was a wing walls extending outward from
single-story structure utilizing pre- the building between the display
tensioned single tees supported by area and the shop portion of the
reinforced masonry walls. The auto- building. It appeared that during the
mobile display room at the front of earthquake the display room roof
the building contained large areas was not adequately restrained and
of glass walls at its three sides. The that excessive horizontal movement
single tees forming the roof were of the roof resulted in its collapse.
supported by reinforced masonry The relatively undamaged single tees
April 1965 87

Fig. 13-The Gay Airways Hangar collapsed.
Fig. 14-The Gay Airways Hangar collapsed.
are shown lying on the ground in The Gay Airways hangar and the
Fig. 12 with one partly damaged Western Radio and Telephone build-
wing wall visible in the background. ing are discussed together because
Had diaphragm action of the roof their behavior stems from similar
been achieved during the quake, circumstances. Both buildings col-
the lateral load could have been lapsed. Each of these structures had
transferred to the wing walls. The at least one completely open side
single tees over the shop portion of which seriously impaired its lateral
the building did not collapse, indi- stability. Both structures were con-
cating that some diaphragm action structed of prestressed single tees
was achieved between the rear wall supported on reinforced masonry
of the shop and the two wing walls. bearing walls. The collapsed condi-
88 PCI Journal

Fig. 15-J. H. Romig Junior High School. Dam·

age was confined to the masonry walls mainly
in the vicinity of the tees.
Fig. 16-Pepsi Cola Building suffered minor superficial damage.
tion of the Gay Airways hangar after (see Fig. 16) and the Anchorage
the earthquake is shown in Figs. 13 Water Treatment Plant.
and 14. Some of the outstanding undam-
The gymnasium of the newly con- aged structures are the two-story
structed J. H. Romig Junior High National Bank of Alaska building
School was roofed with pretensioned (Fig. 17) and the Alaska State
single tees approximately ,go ft. in Aviation building, also a two-story
length. At one side of the gymnasi- structure. The Mush Inn motel,
um these tees were supported on a Paul's Radiator Service, and the Ac-
reinforced masonry bearing wall that tion Tire Center, all utilizing pre-
evidenced spalling in the vicinity of tensioned single tee systems, came
the tee ends, as shown in Fig. 15. through the earthquake without
Similarly minor damage was ob- damage.
served in the Pepsi Cola building Several conclusions may be drawn
April 1965 89

Fig. 17~National Bank of Alaska, a two-story building

constructed with single tees, came through the earth·
quake with no damage.
from observations made of the per- ous quakes, including the recent one
formance of structures in Anchorage in Skopje, Yugoslavia.
during the March 27 earthquake. Where very strong seismic activity
First, lateral force requirements for can be expected, the structural engi-
Zone 3, applicable in Anchorage neer must examine frame design
since 1957, specify design forces of with a different eye. It is fairly cer-
O.lg for low structures and less for tain that when a strong shock occurs
tall buildings depending on their of the magnitude experienced in
period of vibration. In any strong Anchorage, parts of a structure will
earthquake the ground motion will be overstressed. All members must,
exhibit accelerations several times therefore, be able to undergo plastic
greater than those specified in the deformation while sustaining load
code. Unconfirmed estimates have without rupturing, buckling, or crip-
set the maximum acceleration of the pling. In concrete construction, the
ground motion in Anchorage at 0.4g. detailing of beams and columns must
Hence, the anticipation of damage produce members that will reach
in a strong infrequent earthquake their ultimate strength in flexure
such as the one experienced in before their ultimate strength in
Alaska is implicit in the specifica- shear or bond is exceeded. The im-
tion. The primary aim of the de- portance of proper splicing practice
signer is to avoid collapse under for reinforcement and of adequate
such an extreme shock and thus pro- anchorage or development length of
tect lives. reinforce\)1ent through members and
In areas not subject to strong joints is paramount.
earthquakes, sufficient lateral stabil- It is unwise to assign the re-
ity is supplied by continuous frames, sistance of all lateral forces to spe-
precast or cast in place, designed cific frame elements or shear walls
for the specified earthquake forces without forethought of effects on re-
or merely for wind forces. This has maining frame members or walls.
been amply demonstrated in previ- Forces will be resisted by all frame
:90 PCI Journal

elements in proportion to their stiff- or floor must be transferred by

ness until they are overstressed. If these diaphragms to the elements
properly detailed, even minimum intended for lateral force resistance.
flexural reinforcement, combined Connections between these dia-
with some web reinforcement, will phragms and the lateral force re-
serve to avoid rupture. For example, sisting elements, such as walls, must
reversal of moment at joints where be capable of resisting the inertial
computations show that only nega- forces from the diaphragms. Lateral
tive moments exist can perhaps be force resisting elements such as
accommodated simply by adequate walls, piers and columns, must be
development through the joint of the detailed so that they can safely
minimum bottom reinforcement re- transmit the inertial forces from the
quired by the code. For reasons roof or floor system to the founda-
stated previously, this is also advis- tions. These forces are normally
able in structures braced with shear resisted parallel to the plane of the
walls even when designed on the wall. In addition, the walls must be
assumption that all forces are re- detailed to resist inertial forces due
sisted by the walls. to their own weight in directions
Several additional observations parallel or perpendicular to their
may be made based on the per- planes.
formance of structures composed of Finally, the importance of good
precast elements. These observa- construction supervision was, per-
tions may appear elementary, but haps, most vividly demonstrated in
they are quite pertinent for areas of Alaska by the generally good per-
high seismicity. It is important that formance of structures built by vari-
precast units be connected to each ous federal agencies. This empha-
other in such a manner as to ensure sizes that responsibilities should not
diaphragm action of the roof or floor stop with design but should continue
system. Inertial loads from the roof during construction.
Presented at the Tenth Annual Convention of the Pre-

stressed Concrete Institute, Washington, D.C., September 1964.
April 1965 9L

Learning
5
Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
What are the Seismic Effects on Structures?
Inertia Forces in Structures would like to come back to the straight vertical
Earthquake causes shaking of the ground. So a position, i.e., columns resist deformations. In the
building resting on it will experience motion at its straight vertical position, the columns carry no
base. From Newton’s First Law of Motion, even though horizontal earthquake force through them. But, when
the base of the building moves with the ground, the forced to bend, they develop internal forces. The larger
roof has a tendency to stay in its original position. But is the relative horizontal displacement u between the
since the walls and columns are connected to it, they top and bottom of the column, the larger this internal
drag the roof along with them. This is much like the force in columns. Also, the stiffer the columns are (i.e.,
situation that you are faced with when the bus you are bigger is the column size), larger is this force. For this
standing in suddenly starts; your feet move with the bus, reason, these internal forces in the columns are called
but your upper body tends to stay back making you fall stiffness forces. In fact, the stiffness force in a column is
backwards!! This tendency to continue to remain in the the column stiffness times the relative displacement
previous position is known as inertia. In the building, between its ends.
since the walls or columns are flexible, the motion of
Inertia Force
the roof is different from that of the ground (Figure 1).
u
Roof
Column
Foundation
Figure 1: Effect of Inertia in a building when

shaken at its base Soil
Acceleration
Consider a building whose roof is supported on
columns (Figure 2). Coming back to the analogy of Figure 2: Inertia force and relative motion within
yourself on the bus: when the bus suddenly starts, you are a building
thrown backwards as if someone has applied a force on the
upper body. Similarly, when the ground moves, even
Horizontal and Vertical Shaking
the building is thrown backwards, and the roof
Earthquake causes shaking of the ground in all
experiences a force, called inertia force. If the roof has a
three directions – along the two horizontal directions
mass M and experiences an acceleration a, then from
(X and Y, say), and the vertical direction (Z, say) (Figure
Newton’s Second Law of Motion, the inertia force FI is
3). Also, during the earthquake, the ground shakes
mass M times acceleration a, and its direction is
randomly back and forth (- and +) along each of these X,
opposite to that of the acceleration. Clearly, more mass
Y and Z directions. All structures are primarily
means higher inertia force. Therefore, lighter buildings
designed to carry the gravity loads, i.e., they are
sustain the earthquake shaking better.
designed for a force equal to the mass M (this includes
Effect of Deformations in Structures mass due to own weight and imposed loads) times the
The inertia force experienced by the roof is acceleration due to gravity g acting in the vertical
transferred to the ground via the columns, causing downward direction (-Z). The downward force Mg is
forces in columns. These forces generated in the called the gravity load. The vertical acceleration during
columns can also be understood in another way. ground shaking either adds to or subtracts from the
During earthquake shaking, the columns undergo acceleration due to gravity. Since factors of safety are
relative movement between their ends. In Figure 2, used in the design of structures to resist the gravity
this movement is shown as quantity u between the loads, usually most structures tend to be adequate
roof and the ground. But, given a free option, columns against vertical shaking.
9
IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 5

What are the Seismic Effects on Structures? page 2
have been observed in many earthquakes in the past
Z
(e.g., Figure 5a). Similarly, poorly designed and
constructed reinforced concrete columns can be
Y disastrous. The failure of the ground storey columns
resulted in numerous building collapses during the
X 2001 Bhuj (India) earthquake (Figure 5b).
Figure 3: Principal directions of a building
However, horizontal shaking along X and Y

directions (both + and – directions of each) 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.
Flow of Inertia Forces to Foundations
Under horizontal shaking of the ground,
horizontal inertia forces are generated at level of the (a) Partial collapse of stone masonry walls
mass of the structure (usually situated at the floor during 1991 Uttarkashi (India) earthquake
levels). These lateral inertia forces are transferred by
the floor slab to the walls or columns, to the
foundations, and finally to the soil system underneath
(Figure 4). So, each of these structural elements (floor
slabs, walls, columns, and foundations) and the
connections between them must be designed to safely
transfer these inertia forces through them.
Inertia Forces
Floor Slab
(b) Collapse of reinforced concrete columns (and

Walls building) during 2001 Bhuj (India) earthquake
and/or Columns
Figure 5: Importance of designing walls/columns
for horizontal earthquake forces.
Foundations
Reading Material
Chopra,A.K., (1980), Dynamics of Structures - A Primer, EERI
Monograph, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, USA
Soil
Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Earthquake Shaking
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Figure 4: Flow of seismic inertia forces through Kanpur, India
all structural components. Sponsored by:
Building Materials and Technology Promotion
Council, New Delhi, India
Walls or columns are the most critical elements in
transferring the inertia forces. But, in traditional
construction, floor slabs and beams receive more care This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
Delhi. It may be reproduced without changing its contents
and attention during design and construction, than and with due acknowledgement. Suggestions/comments
walls and columns. Walls are relatively thin and often may be sent to: nicee@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
made of brittle material like masonry. They are poor in www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
carrying horizontal earthquake inertia forces along the
direction of their thickness. Failures of masonry walls
10
STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE DURING EARTHQUAKES
Chapter 2
STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE DURING

EARTHQUAKES
2.1 INTRODUCTION nity preparedness for the possibility of such

Earthquakes are natural hazards under an event.
which disasters are mainly caused by dam-
age to or collapse of buildings and other Up to now we can do little to diminish
man-made structures. Experience has direct earthquake effects. However we can
shown that for new constructions, estab- do much to reduce risks and thereby reduce
lishing earthquake resistant regulations disasters provided we design and build or
and their implementation is the critical strengthen the buildings so as to minimize
safeguard against earthquake-induced the losses based on the knowledge of the
damage. As regards existing structures, it earthquake performance of different build-
is necessary to evaluate and strengthen ing types during an earthquake.
them based on evaluation criteria before an
earthquake. Observation of structural performance
of buildings during an earthquake can
Earthquake damage depends on many clearly identify the strong and weak aspects
parameters, including intensity, duration of the design, as well as the desirable quali-
and frequency content of ground motion, ties of materials and techniques of construc-
geologic and soil condition, quality of con- tion, and site selection. The study of dam-
struction, etc. Building design must be such age therefore provides an important step in
as to ensure that the building has adequate the evolution of strengthening measures for
strength, high ductility, and will remain as different types of buildings.
one unit, even while subjected to very large
deformation. This Chapter discusses earthquake per-
formance of structures during earthquake
Sociologic factors are also important, intensity, ground shaking effects on struc-
such as density of population, time of day tures, site condition effects on building
of the earthquake occurrence and commu- damage, other factors affecting damage,

IAEE MANUAL
failure mechanisms of structures, earth- or both, and can be measured in centimeters

quake damage and damage categories. or even metres. Obviously, a building di-
rectly astride such a rupture will be severely
Typical patterns of damage for specific damaged or collapsed.
types of construction are discussed in the
respective chapters. While landslide can destroy a building,
the settlement may only damage the build-
2.2 EARTHQUAKE EFFECTS ing.
There are four basic causes of earthquake-
Soil liquefaction can occur in low den-
induced damage: ground shaking, ground
sity saturated sands of relatively uniform
failure, tsunamis and fire.
size. The phenomenon of liquefaction is
2.2.1 Ground shaking particularly important for dams, bridges,
underground pipelines, and buildings
The principal cause of earthquake-induced
standing on such ground.
damage is ground shaking. As the earth
vibrates, all buildings on the ground sur-
2.2.3 Tsunamis
face will respond to that vibration in vary-
Tsunamis or seismic sea waves are gener-
ing degrees. Earthquake induced
ally produced by a sudden movement of
accelerations, velocities and displacements
the ocean floor. As the water waves ap-
can damage or destroy a building unless it
proach land, their velocity decreases and
has been designed and constructed or
their height increases from 5 to 8 m, or even
strengthened to be earthquake resistant.
more. Obviously, tsunamis can be devas-
Therefore, the effect of ground shaking on
tating for buildings built in coastal areas.
buildings is a principal area of considera-
tion in the design of earthquake resistant
2.2.4 Fire
buildings. Seismic design loads are ex-
tremely difficult to determine due to the ran- When the fire following an earthquake
dom nature of earthquake motions. How- starts, it becomes difficult to extinguish it,
ever, experiences from past strong earth- since a strong earthquake is accompanied
quakes have shown that reasonable and by the loss of water supply and traffic jams.
prudent practices can keep a building safe Therefore, the earthquake damage increases
during an earthquake. with the earthquake-induced fire in addi-
tion to the damage to buildings directly due
2.2.2 Ground failure to earthquakes. In the case of the 1923 Kanto
earthquake 50% of Tokyo and 70% of the
Earthquake-induced ground failure has
total number of houses were burnt and more
been observed in the form of ground rup-
than 100,000 people were killed by the fire.
ture along the fault zone, landslides, settle-
ment and soil liquefaction.
2.3 GROUND SHAKING EFFECT
Ground rupture along a fault zone may ON STRUCTURES
be very limited or may extend over hun- 2.3.1 Inertia forces
dreds of kilometers. Ground displacement Buildings are fixed to the ground as shown
along the fault may be horizontal, vertical in Fig 2.1(a). As the base of a building moves

the superstructure including its contents Fig 2.1(e). The force F is distinctly different
tends to shake and vibrate from the posi- from the dead, live, snow, wind, and im-
tion of rest, in a very irregular manner due pact loads. The horizontal ground motion
to the inertia of the masses. action is similar to the effect of a horizontal
force acting on the building, hence the term
When the base of the building suddenly Seismic Load. As the base of the build-
moves to the right, the building moves to ing moves in an extremely complicated
the left relative the base, Fig 2.1(b), as if it manner, inertia forces are created through-
was being pushed to the left by an unseen out the mass of the building and its con-
force which we call Inertia Force. Actu- tents. It is these reversible forces that cause
ally, there is no push at all but, because of the building to move and sustain damage
its mass, the building resists any motion. or collapse.
The process is much more complex because
the ground moves simultaneously in three Additional vertical load effect is caused
mutually perpendicular directions during on beams and columns due to vertical vi-
an earthquake as shown in Fig 2.1 (b), (c), brations. Being reversible, at certain in-
and (d). stants of time the effective load is increased,
at others it is decreased.
2.3.2 Seismic load
The resultant lateral force or seismic load The earthquake loads are dynamic and
is represented by the force F as shown in impossible to predict precisely in advance,
Fig 2.1 Seismic vibrations of a building and resultant earthquake force

IAEE MANUAL
since every earthquake exhibits different The W is the total weight of the super-
characteristics. The following equivalent structure of a building including its con-
minimum total lateral force is, used for seis- tents. The inertia forces are proportional to
mic design: the mass of the building and only that part
of the loading action that possesses mass
F=S.Fs.I.C.W will give rise to seismic force on the build-
ing. Therefore, the lighter the material, the
Where S, Fs, I, C and W are the factors smaller will be the seismic force.
affecting seismic load, which will be ex-
plained in the following section. 2.3.4 Nature of seismic stresses
The horizontal seismic forces are reversible
2.3.3 Factors affecting seismic load in direction. The structural elements such
The earthquake zone factor S depends as walls, beams and columns that were
upon the ground intensity of the earth- bearing only vertical loads before the earth-
quake. The value of S usually is plotted on quake, have now to carry horizontal bend-
maps in terms of seismic intensity isolines ing and shearing effects as well. When the
or maximum acceleration isolines. Obvi- bending tension due to earthquake exceeds
ously, the higher the intensity or accelera- the vertical compression, net tensile stress
tion, the larger will be the seismic force. will occur. If the building material is weak
in tension such as brick or stone masonry,
The soil-foundation factor Fs depends cracking occurs which reduces the effec-
upon the ratio of fundamental elastic pe- tive area for resisting bending moment, as
riod of vibration of a building in the direc- shown in Fig 2.2. It follows that the strength
tion under consideration and the charac- in tension and shear is important for earth-
teristic site period. Therefore, Fs is a numeri- quake resistance.
cal coefficient for site-building resonance.
2.3.5 Important parameters in
The occupancy importance or hazard seismic design
factor I depends upon the usage of the It follows that the following properties and
building. The higher the importance or parameters are most important from the
larger the hazard caused by the failure of point of view of the seismic design.
the building, the greater the value of the
factor I. (i) Building material properties
Strength in compression, tension

The C is a factor depending on the stiff-
and shear, including dynamic ef-
ness and damping of the structure. Larger
fects
the stiffness for given mass, shorter the fun-
damental period of vibration of the struc- Unit weight
ture and larger the value of C. Damping is
Modulus of elasticity
the energy dissipation property of the build-
ing; larger the damping, smaller the value (ii) Dynamic characteristics of the build-
of C. ing system, including periods,
modes and dampings.

Fig 2.2 Stress condition in a wall element
(iii) Load-deflection characteristics of in the center of the city could be 5 to 50 times

building components. higher than on firmer soils in the surround-
ing area. Another example occurred in the
2.4 Effect of site conditions on
1976 Tangshan, China earthquake, in
building damage
which 50% of the buildings on thick soil
Past earthquakes show that site condition sites were razed to the ground, while only
significantly affects the building damage. 12% of the buildings on the rock subsoil
Earthquake studies have almost invariably near the mountain areas totally collapsed.
shown that the intensity of a shock is di- Rigid masonry buildings resting on rock
rectly related to the type of soil layers sup- may on the contrary show more severe dam-
porting the building. Structures built on age than when built on soil during a near
solid rock and firm soil frequently fares bet- earthquake as in Koyna (India) earthquake
ter than buildings on soft ground. This was of 1967 and North Yemen earthquake of
dramatically demonstrated in the 1985 1980.
Mexico City earthquake, where the damage
on soft soils in Mexico City, at an epicentral Lessons learned from recent earthquake
distance of 400 km, was substantially show that the topography of a building site
higher than at closer locations. can also have an effect on damage. Build-
ings built on sites with open and even to-
From studies of the July 28, 1957 earth- pography are usually less damaged in an
quake in Mexico City, it was already known earthquake than buildings on strip-shaped
for example that the damage on the soft soils hill ridges, separated high hills, and steep

IAEE MANUAL
slopes. Therefore, changes in the structural system

of a building from one floor to the next will
2.5 OTHER FACTORS increase the potential for damage, and
AFFECTING DAMAGE should be avoided. Columns or shear walls
The extent of damage to a building depends should run continuously from foundation
much on the strength, ductility, and integ- to the roof, without interruptions or changes
rity of a building and the stiffness of ground in material.
beneath it in a given intensity of the earth-
quake motions. 2.5.4 Ductility
By ductility is meant the ability of the build-
Almost any building can be designed to ing to bend, sway, and deform by large
be earthquake resistant provided its site is amounts without collapse. The opposite
suitable. Buildings suffer during an earth- condition in a building is called brittleness
quake primarily because horizontal forces arising both from the use of materials that
are exerted on a structure that often meant are inherently brittle and from the wrong
to contend only with vertical stresses. The design of structures using otherwise duc-
principal factors that influence damage to tile materials. Brittle materials crack under
buildings and other man-made structures load; some examples are adobe, brick and
are listed below: concrete blocks. It is not surprising that
most of the damage during the past earth-
2.5.1 Building configuration quakes was to unreinforced masonry struc-
An important feature is regularity and sym- tures constructed of brittle materials, poorly
metry in the overall shape of a building. A tied together. The addition of steel reinforce-
building shaped like a box, as rectangular ments can add ductility to brittle materials.
both in plan and elevation, is inherently Reinforced concrete, for example, can be
stronger than one that is L-shaped or U- made ductile by proper use of reinforcing
shaped, such as a building with wings. An steel and closely spaced steel ties.
irregularly shaped building will twist as it
shakes, increasing the damage. 2.5.5 Foundation
Buildings, which are structurally strong to
2.5.2 Opening size withstand earthquakes sometimes fail due
In general, openings in walls of a building to inadequate foundation design. Tilting,
tend to weaken the walls, and fewer the cracking and failure of superstructures
openings less the damage it will suffer dur- may result from soil liquefaction and dif-
ing an earthquake. If it is necessary to have ferential settlement of footing.
large openings through a building, or if an
open first floor is desired, then special pro- Certain types of foundations are more
visions should be made to ensure structural susceptible to damage than others. For ex-
integrity. ample, isolated footings of columns are
likely to be subjected to differential settle-
2.5.3 Rigidity distribution ment particularly where the supporting
The rigidity of a building along the vertical ground consists of different or soft types of
direction should be distributed uniformly. soil. Mixed types of foundations within the

same building may also lead to damage due

to differential settlement.
Very shallow foundations deteriorate

because of weathering, particularly when
exposed to freezing and thawing in the re-
gions of cold climate.
2.5.6 Construction quality

In many instances the failure of buildings
in an earthquake has been attributed to
poor quality of construction, substandard
materials, poor workmanship, e. g., inad-
equate skill in bonding, absence of
through stones or bonding units, and
improper and inadequate construction.
2.6 FAILURE MECHANISMS OF

Fig 2.3 Failure mechanism of free standing walls
EARTHQUAKES
2.6.1 Free standing masonry
wall
then slide due to shearing. A wall with
Consider the free standing masonry walls
moderate length-to-width ratio and bound-
shown in Fig 2.3. In Fig 2.3(a), the ground
ing frame diagonally cracks due to shear-
motion is acting transverse to a free stand-
ing as shown at Fig 2.3 (c).
ing wall A. The force acting on the mass of
the wall tends to overturn it. The seismic
A wall with large length-to-width ratio,
resistance of the wall is by virtue of its
on the other hand, may develop diagonal
weight and tensile strength of mortar and
tension cracks at both sides and horizontal
it is obviously very small. This wall will
cracks at the middle as shown at Fig 2.3 (d).
collapse by overturning under the ground
motion.
2.6.2 Wall enclosure without roof
Now consider the combination of walls A
The free standing wall B fixed on the
and B as an enclosure shown in Fig 2.4. For
ground in Fig 2.3(b) is subjected to ground
the X direction of force as shown, walls B
motion in its own plane. In this case, the
act as shear walls and, besides taking their
wall will offer much greater resistance be-
own inertia, they offer resistance against
cause of its large depth in the plane of bend-
the collapse of wall A as well. As a result
ing. Such a wall is termed a shear wall.
walls A now act as vertical slabs supported
The damage modes of an unreinforced
on two vertical sides and the bottom plinth.
shear wall depend on the length-to-width
The walls A are subjected to the inertia force
ratio of the wall. A wall with small length-
on their own mass. Near the vertical edges,
to-depth ratio will generally develop a hori-
the wall will carry reversible bending mo-
zontal crack due to bending tension and

IAEE MANUAL
tion as plates, the building will tend to act

as a box and its resistance to horizontal
loads will be much larger than that of walls
B acting separately. Most unreinforced ma-
sonry enclosures, however, have very weak
vertical joints between walls meeting at
right angles due to the construction proce-
dure involving toothed joint that is gener-
ally not properly filled with mortar. Conse-
quently the corners fail and lead to collapse
of the walls. It may also be easily imagined
that the longer the walls in plan, the smaller
will be the support to them from the cross
walls and the lesser will be the box effect.
Fig 2.4 Failure mechanism of wall enclosure without roof

2.6.3 Roof on two walls
In Fig 2.5 (a) roof slab is shown to be resting
ments in the horizontal plane for which the
on two parallel walls B and the earthquake
masonry has little strength. Consequently
force is acting in the plane of the walls.
cracking and separation of the walls may
Assuming that there is enough adhesion
occur along these edges shown in the fig-
between the slab and the walls, the slab
ure.
will transfer its inertia force at the top of
walls B, causing shearing and overturning
It can be seen that in the action of walls
action in them. To be able to transfer its in-
B as shear walls, the walls A will act as
ertia force to the two end walls, the slab
flanges connected to the walls B acting as
must have enough strength in bending in
web. Thus if the connection between walls
the horizontal plane. This action of slab is
A and B is not lost due to their bonding ac-
known as diaphragm action. Reinforced
concrete or reinforced brick slabs have such
strength inherently and act as rigid dia-
phragms. However, other types of roofs or
floors such as timber or reinforced concrete
joists with brick tile covering will be very
flexible. The joists will have to be connected
together and fixed to the walls suitably so
that they are able to transfer their inertia
force to the walls. At the same time, the walls
B must have enough strength as shear walls
to withstand the force from the roof and its
own inertia force. Obviously, the structure
shown in Fig 2.5, when subjected to ground
motion perpendicular to its plane, will col-
Fig 2.5 Roof on two walls

lapse very easily because walls B have lit-

tle bending resistance in the plane perpen-
dicular to it. In long barrack type buildings
without intermediate walls, the end walls
will be too far to offer much support to the
long walls and the situation will be simi-
lar to the one just mentioned above.
2.6.4 Roof on wall enclosure

Now consider a complete wall enclosure
with a roof on the top subjected to earth-
quake force acting along X-axis as shown
in Fig 2.6. If the roof is rigid and acts as a
horizontal diaphragm, its inertia will be Fig 2.6 Roof on wall enclosure
distributed to the four walls in proportion
to their stiffness. The inertia of roof will al- The roofs and floors, which are rigid
most entirely go to walls B since the stiff- and flat and are bonded or tied to the ma-
ness of the walls B is much greater than the sonry, have a positive effect on the wall,
walls A in X direction. In this case, the plate such as the slab or slab and beam construc-
action of walls A will be restrained by the tion be directly cast over the walls or jack
roof at the top and horizontal bending of arch floors or roofs provided with horizon-
wall A will be reduced. On the other hand, tal ties and laid over the masonry walls
if the roof is flexible the roof inertia will go through good quality mortar. Others that
to the wall on which it is supported and simply rest on the masonry walls will offer
the support provided to plate action of resistance to relative motion only through
walls A will also be little or zero. Again the friction, which may or may not be adequate
enclosure will act as a box for resisting the depending on the earthquake intensity. In
lateral loads, this action decreasing in value the case of a floor consisting of timber joists
as the plan dimensions of the enclosures placed at center to center spacing of 20 to
increase. 25 cm with brick tiles placed in directly over
the joists and covered with clayey earth, the
2.6.5 Roofs and floors brick tiles have no binding effect on the
The earthquake-induced inertia force can
be distributed to the vertical structural ele-
ments in proportion to their stiffness, pro-
vided the roofs and floors are rigid to act as
horizontal diaphragms. Otherwise, the roof
and floor inertia will only go to the vertical
elements on which they are supported.
Therefore, the stiffness and integrity of roofs
and floors are important for earthquake re-
sistance.
Fig 2.7 Long building with roof trusses

IAEE MANUAL
joists. Therefore, relative displacement of 2.6.6 Long building with roof

the joists is quite likely to occur during an trusses
earthquake, which could easily bring down Consider a long building with a single span
the tiles, damaging property and causing and roof trusses as shown in Fig 2.7. The
injury to people. Similar behaviour may be trusses rest on the walls A. The walls B are
visualized with the floor consisting of gabled to receive the purlins of the end
precast reinforced concrete elements not bays. Assuming that the ground motion is
adequately tied together. In this case, rela- along the X-axis, the inertia forces will be
tive displacement of the supporting walls transmitted from sheeting to purlins to
could bring down the slabs. trusses and from trusses to wall A.
Fig 2.8 Deformation of a shear wall with openings.
10

Table 2.1 Categories of damage

Damage category Extent of damage Suggested post- earthquake
in general actions
0 No damage No damage No action required
I Slighty non-structural Thin cracks in plaster, falling of Building need not be vacated.
damage plaster bits in limited parts. Only architectural repairs
needed.
II Slight Structural Small cracks in walls, failing of Building need not be vacated.
Damage plaster in large bits over large areas; Architectural repairs required
damage to non-structural parts like to achieve durability.
chimneys, projecting cornices, etc.
The load carrying capacity of the
structure is not reduced appreciably.
III Moderate structural Large and deep cracks in walls; Building needs to be vacated, to
damage widespread cracking of walls, be reoccupied after restoration
columns, piers and tilting or failing and strengthening.
of chimneys. The load carrying Structural restoration and
capacity of the structure is partially seismic strengthening are
reduced. necessary after which architec
tural treatment may be carried
out.
IV Severe structural Gaps occur in walls; inner and outer Building has to be vacated.
damage walls collapse; failure of ties to Either the building has to be
separate parts of buildings. Approx. demolished or extensive
50 % of the main structural restoration and strengthening
elements fail.The building takes work has to be carried out
dangerous state. before reoccupation.
V Collapse A large part or whole of the building Clearing the site and
collapses. reconstruction.
The end purlins will transmit some mitted to them. In this case, the purlins act
force directly to gable ends. Under the seis- as ties and struts and transfer the inertia
mic force the trusses may slide on the walls force of roof to the gable ends.
unless anchored into them by bolts. Also,
the wall A, which does, not get much sup- As a result the gable ends may fail. When
port from the walls B in this case, may over- the gable triangles are very weak in stabil-
turn unless made strong enough in the ver- ity, they may fail even in small earthquakes.
tical bending as a cantilever or other suit- Also, if there is insufficient bracing in the
able arrangement, such as adding horizon- roof trusses, they may overturn even when
tal bracings between the trusses, is made the walls are intact.
to transmit the force horizontally to end
walls B. 2.6.7 Shear wall with openings
Shear walls are the main lateral earthquake
When the ground motion is along Y di- resistant elements in many buildings. For
rection, walls A will be in a position to act understanding their action, let us consider
as shear walls and all forces may be trans- a shear wall with three openings shown in
11

IAEE MANUAL
Fig 2.8. Obviously, the piers between the are also reversed. Thus it is seen that ten-
openings are more flexible than the portion sion occurs in the jambs of openings and at
of wall below (sill masonry) or above the corners of the walls.
(spandrel masonry) the openings. The de-
flected form under horizontal seismic force 2.7 EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE
is also sketched in the figure. CATEGORIES
In this section, an outline of damage cat-
The sections at the level of the top and egories is simply described in Table 2.1 on
bottom of opening are found to be the worst the basis of past earthquake experience.
stressed in tension as well as in compres- Therein the appropriate post-earthquake
sion and those near the mid-height of piers action for each category of damage is also
carry the maximum shears. Under reversed suggested.
direction of horizontal loading the sections
carrying tensile and compressive stresses
12

GENERAL CONCEPTS OF EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT DESIGN
Chapter 3
GENERAL CONCEPTS OF EARTHQUAKE

RESISTANT DESIGN
3.1 INTRODUCTION reinforcement as required.

Experience in past earthquakes has dem-
Chapter 2 has provided a good overview
onstrated that many common buildings
of structural action, mechanism of damage
and typical methods of construction lack
and modes of failure of buildings. From
basic resistance to earthquake forces. In
these studies, certain general principles
most cases this resistance can be achieved
have emerged:
by following simple, inexpensive princi-
ples of good building construction prac-
(i) Structures should not be brittle or
tice. Adherence to these simple rules will
collapse suddenly. Rather, they
not prevent all damage in moderate or large
should be tough, able to deflect or
earthquakes, but life threatening collapses
deform a considerable amount.
should be prevented, and damage limited
to repairable proportions. These principles (ii) Resisting elements, such as bracing
fall into several broad categories: or shear walls, must be provided
evenly throughout the building, in
(i) Planning and layout of the building both directions side-to-side, as well
involving consideration of the loca- as top to bottom.
tion of rooms and walls, openings
(iii) All elements, such as walls and the
such as doors and windows, the
roof, should be tied together so as to
number of storeys, etc. At this stage,
act as an integrated unit during
site and foundation aspects should
earthquake shaking, transferring
also be considered.
forces across connections and pre-
(ii) Lay out and general design of the venting separation.
structural framing system with spe-
(iv) The building must be well connected
cial attention to furnishing lateral
to a good foundation and the earth.
resistance, and
Wet, soft soils should be avoided, and
(iii) Consideration of highly loaded and the foundation must be well tied to-
critical sections with provision of gether, as well as tied to the wall.

IAEE MANUAL
Where soft soils cannot be avoided, Zone A: Risk of Widespread Collapse

special strengthening must be pro- and Destruction (MSK IX or
vided. greater),
(v) Care must be taken that all materials Zone B: Risk of Collapse and Heavy
used are of good quality, and are pro- Damage (MSK VIII likely),
tected from rain, sun, insects and
Zone C: Risk of Damage (MSK VII likely),
other weakening actions, so that their
strength lasts. Zone D: Risk of Minor Damage
(MSK VI maximum).
(vi) Unreinforced earth and masonry
have no reliable strength in tension, The extent of special earthquake
and are brittle in compression. Gen- strengthening should be greatest in Zone
erally, they must be suitably rein- A and, for reasons of economy, can be de-
forced by steel or wood. creased in Zone C, with relatively little spe-
cial strengthening in Zone D. However,
These principles will be discussed and
since the principles stated in 3.1, are good
illustrated in this Chapter.
principles for building in general (not just
for earthquake), they should always be fol-
3.2 CATEGORIES OF
BUILDINGS lowed.
For categorising the buildings with the

3.2.2 Importance of building
purpose of achieving seismic resistance at
The importance of the building should be a
economical cost, three parameters turn out
factor in grading it for strengthening
to be significant:
purposes,and the following buildings are
suggested as specially important:
(i) Seismic intensity zone where the
building is located,
IMPORTANT Hospitals, clinics, com-
(ii) How important the building is, and munication buildings, fire and police sta-
tions, water supply facilities, cinemas, thea-
(iii) How stiff is the foundation soil.
tres and meeting halls, schools, dormito-
A combination of these parameters will ries, cultural treasures such as museums,
determine the extent of appropriate seismic monuments and temples, etc.
strengthening of the building.
ORDINARY Housings, hostels, of-
3.2.1 Seismic zones fices, warehouses, factories, etc.
In most countries, the macro level seismic
zones are defined on the basis of Seismic 3.2.3 Bearing capacity of
Intensity Scales. In this guide, we shall re-
foundation soil
fer to seismic zones as defined with refer- Three soil types are considered here:
ence to MSK Intensity Scale as described in
Appendix I for buildings. Firm: Those soils which have an allowable
bearing capacity of more
than 10 t/m2

Soft: Those soils, which have allowable many projections Fig 3.2 (b). Tor-
bearing capacity less than or equal sional effects of ground motion are
to 10 t/m2. pronounced in long narrow rectan-
gular blocks. Therefore, it is desirable
Weak: Those soils, which are liable to large
to restrict the length of a block to
differential settlement, or liquefac-
three times its width. If longer
tion during an earthquake.
lengths are required two separate
Buildings can be constructed on firm blocks with sufficient separation in
and soft soils but it will be dangerous to between should be provided,
build them on weak soils. Hence appropri- Fig 3.2 (c).
ate soil investigations should be carried out
(iii) Separation of Blocks: Separation of a
to establish the allowable bearing capacity
large building into several blocks
and nature of soil. Weak soils must be
may be required so as to obtain sym-
avoided or compacted to improve them so
metry and regularity of each block.
as to qualify as firm or soft.
3.2.4 Combination of
parameters
For defining the categories of buildings for
seismic strengthening purposes, four cat-
egories I to IV are defined in Table 3.1. in
which category I will require maximum
strengthening and category IV the least in-
puts. The general planning and designing
principles are, however, equally applica-
ble to them.
3.3. GENERAL PLANNING AND

DESIGN ASPECTS
3.3.1. 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,
Fig 3.1. Symmetry is also desirable
in the placing and sizing of door and
window openings, as far as possi-
ble.
(ii) Regularity: Simple rectangular

shapes, Fig 3.2 (a) behave better in Fig 3.1 Torsion of unsymmetrical plans
an earthquake than shapes with

IAEE MANUAL
For preventing hammering or in larger buildings since it may not

pounding damage between blocks a be convenient in small buildings.
physical separation of 3 to 4 cm
(iv) Simplicity: Ornamentation
throughout the height above the
invo1ving large cornices, vertical or
plinth level will be adequate as well
horizontal cantilever projections, fa-
as practical for upto 3 storeyed
cia stones and the like are danger-
buildings, Fig 3.2 (c).
ous and undesirable from a seismic
The separation section can be treated viewpoint. Simplicity is the best ap-
just like expansion joint or it may be proach.
filled or covered with a weak mate-
Where ornamentation is insisted
rial which would easily crush and
upon, it must be reinforced with
crumble during earthquake shaking.
steel, which should be properly em-
Such separation may be considered
Fig 3.2 Plan of building blocks.

bedded or tied into the main struc- (i) Stability of Slope: Hillside slopes li-
ture of the building. able to slide during an earthquake
should be avoided and only stable
Note: If designed, a seismic coeffi-
slopes should be chosen to locate the
cient about 5 times the coefficient
building. Also it will be preferable
used for designing the main struc-
ture should be used for cantilever
ornamentation.
(v) Enclosed Area: A small building en-

closure with properly intercon-
nected walls acts like a rigid box
since the earthquake strength which
long walls derive from transverse
walls increases as their length de-
creases.
Therefore structurally it will be ad-

visable to have separately enclosed
rooms rather than one long room,
Fig 3.3. For unframed walls of thick-
ness 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. For larger panels
or thinner walls, framing elements
should be introduced as shown at
Fig 3.3(c).
(vi) Separate Buildings for Different

Functions: In view of the difference
in importance of hospitals, schools,
assembly halls, residences, commu-
nication and security buildings, etc.,
it may be economical to plan sepa-
rate blocks for different functions so
as to affect economy in strengthen-
ing costs.
3.3.2 Choice of site

The choice of site for a building from the
seismic point of view is mainly concerned
with the stability of the ground. The fol-
lowing are important: Fig 3.3 Enclosed area forming box units

IAEE MANUAL
to have several blocks on terraces 3.3.4 Fire resistance

than have one large block with It is not unusual during earthquakes that
footings at very different elevations. due to snapping of electrical fittings short
A site subject to the danger of rock circuiting takes place, or gas pipes may
falls has to be avoided. develop leaks and catch fire. Fire could also
be started due to kerosene lamps and
(ii) Very Loose Sands or Sensitive Clays:
kitchen fires. The fire hazard sometimes
These two types of soils are liable to
could even be more serious than the earth-
be destroyed by the earthquake so
quake damage. The buildings should there-
much as to lose their original struc-
fore preferably be constructed of fire resist-
ture and thereby undergo
ant materials.
compaction. This would result in
large unequal settlements and dam-
3.4 STRUCTURAL FRAMING
age the building. If the loose
There are basically two types structural
cohesionless soils are saturated with
framing possible to withstand gravity and
water they are apt to lose their shear
seismic load, viz. bearing wall construction
resistance altogether during shaking
and framed construction. The framed con-
and become liquefied.
struction may again consist of:
Although such soils can be compacted,
for small buildings the operation may be (i) Light framing members which must
too costly and these soils are better avoided. have diagonal bracing such as wood
For large building complexes, such as hous- frames (see Chapter 6) or infill walls
ing developments, new towns, etc., this fac- for lateral load resistance, Fig 3.3 (c),
tor should be thoroughly investigated and or
appropriate action taken.
(ii) Substantial rigid jointed beams and
columns capable of resisting the lat-
Therefore a site with sufficient bearing
eral loads by themselves.
capacity and free from the above defects
should be chosen and its drainage condi- The latter will be required for large col-
tion improved so that no water accumu- umn free spaces such as assembly halls.
lates and saturates the ground close to the
footing level. The framed constructions can be used
for a greater number of storeys compared to
3.3.3. Structural design bearing wall construction. The strength and
Ductility (defined in Section 3.6) is the most ductility can be better controlled in framed
desirable quality for good earthquake per- construction through design. The strength
formance and can be incorporated to some of the framed construction is not affected
extent in otherwise brittle masonry con- by the size and number of openings. Such
structions by introduction of steel reinforc- frames fall in the category of engineered
ing bars at critical sections as indicated construction, hence outside the scope of the
later in Chapters 4 and 5. present book.

3.5 REQUIREMENTS OF The strengthening measures necessary

STRUCTURAL SAFETY to meet these safety requirements are pre-
As a result of the discussion of structural sented in the following Chapters for vari-
action and mechanism of failure of Chap- ous building types. In view of the low
ter 2, the following main requirements of seismicity of Zone D, no strengthening
structural safety of buildings can be arrived measures from seismic consideration are
at. considered necessary except an emphasis
on good quality of construction. The fol-
(i) A free standing wall must be de- lowing recommendations are therefore in-
signed to be safe as a vertical canti- tended for Zones A, B and C. For this pur-
lever. pose certain categories of construction in a
number of situations were defined in
This requirement will be difficult to
Table 3.1.
achieve in un-reinforced masonry in
Zone A. Therefore all partitions in- 3.6 CONCEPTS OF DUCTILITY,
side the buildings must be held on DEFORMABILITY AND
the sides as well as top. Parapets of DAMAGEABILITY
category I and II buildings must be
Desirable properties of earthquake-resist-
reinforced and held to the main
ant design include ductility, deformability
structural slabs or frames.
and damageability. Ductility and
(ii) Horizontal reinforcement in walls is deformability are interrelated concepts sig-
required for transferring their own nifying the ability of a structure to sustain
out-of-plane inertia load horizon- large deformations without collapse.
tally to the shear walls. Damageability refers to the ability of a struc-
(iii) The walls must be effectively tied

together to avoid separation at verti- Table 3.1 Categories of buildings for strengthening purposes
cal joints due to ground shaking. Category Combination of conditions for the Category
I Important building on soft soil in zone A
(iv) Shear walls must be present along
both axes of the building. II Important building on firm soil in zone A
Important building on soft soil in zone B
Ordinary building on soft soil in zone A
(v) A shear wall must be capable of re-
sisting all horizontal forces due to III Important building on firm soil in zone B
Important building on soft soil in zone C
its own mass and those transmitted Ordinary building on firm soil in zone A
to it. Ordinary building on soft soil in zone B
IV Important building on firm soil in zone C
(vi) Roof or floor elements must be tied Ordinary building on firm soil in zone B
together and be capable of exhibit- Ordinary building on firm soil in zone C
ing diaphragm action. Notes: (i) Seismic zones A, B and C and important buildings are defined
in Section 3.2.
(vii) Trusses must be anchored to the sup- (ii) Firm soil refers to those having safe bearing value more than
porting walls and have an arrange- 10 t/m2 and soft those less than 10 t/m2.
ment for transferring their inertia (iii) Weak soils liable to compaction and liquefaction under earth-
quake condition are not covered here.
force to the end walls.

IAEE MANUAL
ture to undergo substantial damage, with- together so that excessive stress concentra-
out partial or total collapse. This is desir- tions are avoided and forces are capable of
able because it means that structures can being transmitted from one component to
absorb more damage, and because it per- another even through large deformations.
mits the deformations to be observed and
repairs or evacuation to proceed, prior to Ductility is a term applied to material
collapse. In this sense, a warning is received and structures, while deformability is ap-
and lives are saved. plicable only to structures.
3.6.1 Ductility Even when ductile materials are present

Formally, ductility refers to the ratio of the in sufficient amounts in structural compo-
displacement just prior to ultimate dis- nents such as beams and walls, overall
placement or collapse to the displacement structural deformability requires that geo-
at first damage or yield. Some materials are metrical and material instability be
inherently ductile, such as steel, wrought avoided. That is, components must have
iron and wood. Other materials are not proper aspect ratios (that is not be too high),
ductile (this is termed brittle), such as cast must be adequately connected to resisting
iron, plain masonry, adobe or concrete, that elements (for example sufficient wall ties
is, they break suddenly, without warning. for a masonry wall, tying it to floors, roof
Brittle materials can be made ductile, usu- and shear walls), and must be well tied to-
ally by the addition of modest amounts of gether (for example positive connection at
ductile materials, Such as wood elements beam seats, so that deformations do not
in adobe construction, or steel reinforcing permit a beam to simply fall off a post) so
in masonry and concrete constructions. as to permit large deformations and dy-
namic motions to occur without sudden
For these ductile materials to achieve a collapse.
ductile effect in the overall behaviour of the
component, they must be proportioned and 3.6.3 Damageability
placed so that they come in tension and are Damageability is also a desirable quality
subjected to yielding. Thus, a necessary re- for construction, and refers to the ability of
quirement for good earthquake-resistant a structure to undergo substantial damages,
design is to have sufficient ductile materi- without partial or total collapse
als at points of tensile stresses.
A key to good damageability is redun-
3.6.2 Deformability dancy, or provision of several supports for
Deformability is a less formal term refer- key structural members, such as ridge
ring to the ability of a structure to displace beams, and avoidance of central columns
or deform substantial amounts without or walls supporting excessively large por-
collapsing. Besides inherently relying on tions of a building. A key to achieving good
ductility of materials and components, damageability is to always ask the ques-
deformability requires that structures be tion, if this beam or column, wall connec-
well-proportioned, regular and well tied tion, foundation, etc. fails, what is the con-
sequence?. If the consequence is total col-

lapse of the structure, additional supports high frequency motions. Unfortunately, tra-
or alternative structural layouts should be ditional applications of this technique usu-
examined, or an additional factor of safety ally do not account for occasional large
be furnished for such critical members or displacements of this pin-connected
connections. mechanism, due to rare very large earth-
quakes or unusually large low-frequency
3.7 CONCEPT OF ISOLATION content in the ground motion, so that when
The foregoing discussion of earthquake- lateral displacements reach a certain point,
resistant design has emphasized the tradi- collapse results. A solution to this problem
tional approach of resisting the forces an would be provision of a plinth slightly be-
earthquake imposes on a structure. An allow the level of the top of the posts, so that
ternative approach which is presently when the posts rock too far, the structure is
emerging is to avoid these forces, by isola- only dropped a centimeter or so.
tion of the structure from the ground mo-
tions which actually impose the forces on 3.8 FOUNDATIONS
the structure. For the purpose of making a building truly
earthquake resistant, it will be necessary to
This is termed base-isolation. For sim- choose an appropriate foundation type for
ple buildings, base- friction isolation may it. Since loads from typical low height
be achieved by reducing the coefficient of buildings will be light, providing the re-
friction between the structure and its foun- quired bearing area will not usually be a
dation, or by placing a flexible connection problem. The depth of footing in the soil
between the structure and its foundation. should go below the zone of deep freezing
in cold countries and below the level of
For reduction of the coefficient of fric- shrinkage cracks in clayey soils. For choos-
tion between the structure and its founda- ing the type of footing from the earthquake
tion, one suggested technique is to place angle, the soils may be grouped as Firm and
two layers of good quality plastic between Soft (see Section 3.2.3) avoiding the weak
the structure and its foundation, so that the soil unless compacted and brought to Soft
plastic layers may slide over each other. or Firm condition.
Flexible connections between the struc- 3.8.1 Firm soil

ture and its foundation are also difficult to In firm soil conditions, any type of footing
achieve on a permanent basis. One tech- (individual or strip type) can be used. It
nique that has been used for generations should of course have a firm base of lime or
has been to build a house on short posts cement concrete with requisite width over
resting on large stones, so that under earth- which the construction of the footing may
quake motions, the posts are effectively pin- start. It will be desirable to connect the in-
connected at the top and bottom and the dividual reinforced concrete column
structure can rock to and fro somewhat. footings in Zone A by means of RC beams
This has the advantage of substantially re- just below plinth level intersecting at right
ducing the lateral forces, effectively isolat- angles.
ing the structure from the high amplitude

IAEE MANUAL
3.8.2 Soft soil footings are presented in Chapters 4 and 9

In soft soil, it will be desirable to use a plinth respectively.
band in all walls and where necessary to
connect the individual column footings by These should ordinarily be provided
means of plinth beams as suggested above. continuously under all the walls. Continu-
It may be mentioned that continuous rein- ous footing should be reinforced both in
forced concrete footings are considered to the top and bottom faces, width of the foot-
be most effective from earthquake consid- ing should be wide enough to make the
erations as well as to avoid differential set- contact pressures uniform, and the depth
tlements under normal vertical loads. De- of footing should be below the lowest level
tails of plinth band and continuous RC of weathering.

10

EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT DESIGN OF MASONRY BUILDINGS

Introduction
Masonry construction is the oldest and most common building technique, together with timber
construction. The word “masonry” actually encompasses techniques which may differ
substantially depending on type and shape of materials and construction methods. In general,
masonry may be defined as a structural assemblage of masonry units (such as stones, bricks and
blocks) with a binding material known as mortar. A vertical two-dimensional structure of such
an assemblage is known as masonry wall. The walls of a masonry building and the building itself
are designed to be stable, strong and durable to withstand a combination of design loads.
The basic advantage of masonry construction is that it is possible to use the same element to
perform a variety of functions, which in a framed building, for example, have to be provided for
separately, with consequent complication in detailed construction. Thus masonry may,
simultaneously, provide structure, subdivision of space, thermal and acoustic insulation as well
as fire and weather protection. As a material, it is relatively economical, durable and produces
external wall finishes of acceptable appearance. Masonry construction is flexible in terms of
building layout and can be constructed without very large capital expenditure on the part of the
builder.
In India, at present, IS-1905 (1987, reaffirmed 1998) is the code of practice for “Structural Use
of Un-reinforced Masonry”. A detailed hand book on Masonry Design and Construction is
published by Bureau of Indian Standards in the form of SP-20 (S&T, 1991). An IS code for
Structural Use of Reinforced Masonry is under preparation.
There are some guidelines for construction of reinforced masonry in IS-4326 (1993, reaffirmed
1998), mainly for earthquake resistant design and construction of masonry buildings. Guidelines
for improving earthquake resistance of low-strength masonry buildings are covered separately in
IS-13828 (1993, reaffirmed 1998).
This chapter contains the following;
1. Terminologies in structural masonry

2. Basics of design of load bearing masonry
3. Concepts for reinforced masonry and earthquake resistant masonry

Terminologies in Structural Masonry
Table 1: Terminologies and abbreviations commonly referred in Structural Masonry
Sl. Terminology Definition and remarks

No.
Bed Block A block bedded on a wall, column or pier to disperse a concentrated
load on a masonry element.
Cross-Sectional Net cross-sectional area of a masonry unit shall be taken as the gross
Area of cross-sectional area minus the area of cellular space. Gross cross-
Masonry Unit sectional area of cored units shall be determined to the outside of the
coring but cross-sectional area of grooves shall not be deducted from
the gross cross-sectional area to obtain the net cross sectional area
Remark: Net section area is difficult to ascertain especially in hollow
masonry units. In case of full mortar bedding as shown in Fig 10.1 it
is the gross sectional area based on the out-to-out dimension minus
hollow spaces. Often alignment of cross webs is not possible while
laying hollow units and the load transfer takes place through mortars
on the face shells only. In such cases, it is conservative to base net
cross-sectional area on the minimum face shell thickness.
Net cross sectional area = shaded area or gross area if the block is
more than 75% solid
Net area = shaded area = full-mortar bedding area

Net area = shaded area if face-shell bedding is adopted (provided

alignment of cross webs is ensured)
Grout A mixture of cement (or any binding material), sand and water of
pourable consistency for filling small voids.
Remark: used extensively for filling the surrounding the
reinforcement in masonry
URM Un-reinforced masonry
RM Reinforced masonry
MI Masonry In-fill, the masonry wall between the columns and beams of
a frame structure
EMU Engineered Masonry Unit – engineered for architectural (colour,
shape, texture etc), physical (density) and structural requirement
(strength, elasticity and durability)
HCB Hollow concrete block (A masonry unit of which net cross-sectional
area in any plane parallel to the bearing surface is less than 75 percent
of its gross cross-sectional area measured in the same plane)
ECB Engineered Concrete Block
SMB Stabilized Mud block
SCB Solid Concrete Block
TMB Table Moulded Brick
WCB Wire-cut Brick
Grouted Hollow That form of grouted masonry construction in which certain
Masonry Unit designated cells of hollow units are continuously filled with grout.
Grouted Multi- That form of grouted masonry construction in which the space
Wythe Masonry between the wythes is solidly or periodically filled with grout.
Wythe A continuous vertical tie of masonry one unit in thickness.
Grouted Multi- That form of grouted masonry construction in which the space
Wythe Masonry between the wythes is solidly or periodically filled with grout.
Joint A prefabricated reinforcement in the form of lattice truss which has
Reinforcement been hot dip galvanized after fabrication and is to be laid in the mortar
bed joint.
Ladder type reinforcement Truss type reinforcment

Prism An assemblage of masonry units bonded by mortar with or without
grout used as a test specimen for determining properties of masonry.
(preferably with a height/thickness ratio between 2 to 5)
Grouted Cavity Two parallel single leaf walls spaced at least 50 mm apart, effectively

Reinforced tied together with wall ties. The intervening cavity contains steel
Masonry reinforcement and is filled with infill concrete so as to result in
common action with masonry under load.
Pocket type Masonry reinforced primarily to resist lateral loading where the main
Reinforced reinforcement is concentrated in vertical pockets formed in the tension
Masonry face of the masonry and is surrounded by in situ concrete.
Quetta Bond Masonry at least one and half units thick in which vertical pockets
Reinforced containing reinforcement and mortar or concrete infill occur at
Masonry intervals along its length.
Quetta bond
Specified Minimum Compressive strength, expressed as force per unit of net
Compressive cross- section area, required of the masonry used in construction by
Strength of the contract document, and upon the project design is based.
Masonry Remark: Whenever the quantity fm is under the radical sign, the
square root of numerical value only is intended and the result has
units of MPa.
Wall Tie A metal fastener which connects wythes of masonry to each other or
to other materials.
Bond Arrangement of masonry units in successive courses to tie the
masonry together both longitudinally and transversely; the
arrangement is usually worked out to ensure that no vertical joint of
one course is exactly over the one in the next course above or below
it, and there is maximum possible amount of lap.
Column An isolated vertical load bearing member, width of which does not
exceed four times the thickness.
Pier It is an isolated vertical member whose horizontal dimension
measured at right angles to its thickness is not less than 4 times its
thickness and whose height is less than 5 times its length.

Column and pier

Buttress A pilaster of masonry built as an integral part of wall and projecting
from either or both surfaces, decreasing in cross-sectional area from
base to top.
Buttress
Curtain Wall A non-load bearing wall subject to lateral loads. It may be laterally
supported by vertical or horizontal structural members, where
necessary
Curtain wall
Effective The height of a wall or column to be considered for calculating
Height slenderness ratio.

Effective The length of a wall to be considered for calculating slenderness ratio.

Length
Effective The thickness of a wall or column to be considered for calculating
Thickness slenderness ratio.
Joint A junction of masonry units
Remark:
 Horizontal joints are known as bed joints
 Vertical joints are known as perpends, and if they are
perpendicular to the plane of the wall they are known as cross
joint
 Vertical joints are known as collar joints if they are parallel to
the plane of the wall
 Wall joints are the junctions of walls
Joints
Leaf Inner or outer section of a cavity wall.
Lateral Support A support which enables a masonry element to resist lateral load
and/or restrains lateral deflection of a masonry element at the point of
support.
Remark: Lateral support is a primary requirement in structural design
of masonry. A lateral support may be provided along either a
horizontal or a vertical line, depending on whether the slenderness
ratio is based on a vertical or horizontal dimension. Horizontal or
vertical lateral supports should be capable of transmitting design
lateral forces to the elements of construction that provide lateral
stability to the structure as a whole.

RC slab as a lateral support at the top of wall in the horizontal

plane
Cross walls as lateral support in the vertical plane
Pilasters as lateral supports in the vertical plane

Load Bearing A wall designed to carry an imposed vertical load in addition to its
Wall own weight, together with any lateral load.
Masonry Unit Individual units which are bonded together with the help of mortar to
form a masonry element, such as wall, column, pier and buttress.
Partition Wall An interior non-load bearing wall, one storey or part storey in height.
Panel Wall An exterior non-load bearing wall in framed construction, wholly
supported at each storey but subjected to lateral loads in out-plane
direction such as wind loads, earthquake loads etc.
Shear Wall and A wall designed to carry horizontal forces acting in its plane with or
Cross wall without vertical imposed loads. The walls normal to shear walls are
known as cross walls.

Cross Wall
Earthquake Motion
Shear Wall
Shear Wall
Cross Wall
Shear walls and cross walls

Slenderness Ratio of effective height or effective length to effective thickness of a
Ratio (SR) masonry element.
Cavity Wall A wall comprising two leaves, each leaf being built of masonry units
and separated by a cavity and tied together with metal ties or bonding
units to ensure that the two leaves act as one structural unit, the space
between the leaves being either left as continuous cavity or filled with
a non-load bearing insulating and waterproofing material.
Faced Wall A wall in which facing and backing of two different materials are
bonded together to ensure common action under load backing shall be
provided by toothing, bonding or other means.
Veneered Wall A wall in which the facing is attached to the backing but not so
bonded as to result in a common action under load.
Ks Stress reduction factor
Ka Area reduction factor
Kp Shape modification factor
Pilaster A thickened section forming integral part of a wall placed at intervals
along the wall, to increase the stiffness of the wall or to carry a
vertical concentrated load. Thickness of a pilaster is the overall
thickness including the thickness of the wall or when bonded into a
leaf of a cavity wall, the thickness obtained by treating that leaf as an
independent wall

Pilasters
Jamb Side of an opening in wall.
Jamb (example: door jamb)

Non-Load A wall that is not resisting or supporting any loads such that it can be
Bearing Wall removed with the approval of a structural engineer without
jeopardizing integrity of the remaining structure
Partition Wall An interior non-load bearing wall, one storey or part storey in height.
Veneered Wall A wall in which the facing is attached to the backing but not so
bonded as to result in a common action under load.
Wall Tie A metal fastener which connects wythes of masonry to each other or
to other materials.
Masonry reinforcement
For the purpose of general load bearing construction, Fe 415 grade steel is acceptable, with the
generic requirements as given in Table 2. However, for the purpose of earthquake resistant
masonry, a variety of reinforcement can be used, typically the ones which impart to the system
ductility.
Table 2: Specification for reinforcement in load bearing masonry
Tensile strength
MS Bars confirming to IS 432 (Part I) 140 MPa for diameter ≤20 mm
130 MPa for diameter >20 mm
HYSD Bars (IS 1786) 230 MPa
Compressive strength
MS Bars confirming to IS 432 (Part I) 130 MPa
Size and spacing of reinforcement
The maximum size of reinforcement used in masonry shall be 25 mm diameter bars and
minimum size shall not be less than 5 mm.

The diameter of reinforcement shall not exceed one-half the least clear dimension of the cell,
bond beam, or collar joint in which it is placed.
Clear distance between parallel bars shall not be less than the diameter of the bars, or less than
25 mm. In columns and pilasters, clear distance between vertical bars shall not be less than 1.5
times the bar diameter, nor less than 35 mm.
Basics of Load Bearing Masonry
It is very important to note that the first step in masonry building design is to ensure a stable
configuration. Masonry structures gain stability from the support offered by cross walls, floors,
roof and other elements such as piers and buttresses Load bearing walls are structurally more
efficient when the load is uniformly distributed and the structure is so planned that eccentricity
of loading on the members is as small as possible. Avoidance of eccentric loading by providing
adequate bearing of floor/roof on the walls providing adequate stiffness in slabs and avoiding
fixity at the supports etc., is especially important in load bearing walls in multistory structures.
These matters should receive careful consideration during the planning stage of masonry
structures.
In order to ensure uniformity of loading, openings in walls should not be too large. and these
should be of 'hole in wall' type as far as possible; Bearings for lintels and bed blocks under
beams should be liberal in sizes; heavy concentration of loads should be avoided by judicious
planning and sections of load bearing members should be varied where feasible with the loadings
so as to obtain more or less uniform stress in adjoining parts of members. One of the commonly
occurring causes of cracks in masonry is wide variation in stress in masonry in adjoining parts.
Achieving lateral stability through lateral supports
Lateral support may be in the vertical or horizontal direction, the former consisting of floor/roof
bearing on the wall ‘or properly anchored to the same and latter consisting of cross walls, piers
or buttresses. These can be achieved by;
a) In case of a wall, where slenderness ratio is based on effective height, any of the following
constructions are provided:
(i) RCC floor/roof slab (or beams and slab), irrespective of the direction of span, bears on the
supported wall as well as cross walls to the extent of at least 9 cm;
(ii) RCC floor/roof slab not bearing on the supported wall or cross wall is anchored to it with
non-corrodible metal ties of 60 cm length and of section not less than 6 x 30 mm, and at intervals
not exceeding 2 m as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig 1: Anchoring a slab when it is not bearing on the wall
(iii) Timber floor/roof and pre-cast floor/roof require special connection details (not covered in
this part)
In case of a wall, when slenderness ratio is based on its effective length; a cross
wall/pier/buttress of thickness equal to or more than half the thickness of the supported wall or
90 mm, whichever is more, and length equal to or more than one-fifth of the height of wall is
built at right angle to the wall (Fig 2) and bonded to it according to provision of 4.2.2.2 (d) of IS
1905 (1987)
Fig 2: Minimum dimensions for masonry wall/buttress providing effective lateral support
b) In case of a column, an RCC or timber beam/R S joist/roof truss is supported on the column.
In this case, the column will not be deemed to be laterally supported in the direction right angle
to it; and

c) In case of a column, an RCC beam forming a part of beam and slab construction is supported
on the column, and slab adequately bears on stiffening walls. This construction will provide
lateral support to the column in the direction of both horizontal axes.
Achieving stability – general
A wall or column subjected to vertical and lateral loads may be considered to be provided with
adequate lateral support from consideration of stability, if the construction providing the support
is capable of resisting the following forces:
a) Simple static reactions at the point of lateral support to all the lateral loads; plus
b) 2.5 percent of the total vertical load that the wall or column is designed to carry at the point of
lateral support.
In case of load bearing un-reinforced buildings up to four storeys, stability requirements of

may be deemed to have been met with if:
a) Height to width ratio of building does not exceed 2;
b) Cross walls acting as stiffening walls continuous from outer wall to outer wall or outer wall to
a load bearing inner wall, and of thickness and spacing as given in Table 10.7 are provided. If
stiffening wall or walls that are in a line, are interrupted by openings, length of solid wall or
walls in the zone of the wall that is to be stiffened shall be at least one-fifth of height of the
opening as shown in Fig 10.8;
c) Floors and roof either bear on cross walls or are anchored to those walls as stated earlier, such
that all lateral loads are safely transmitted to those walls and through them to the foundation;
d) And cross walls are built jointly with the bearing walls and are jointly mortared, or the two
interconnected by toothing. Alternatively, cross walls may be anchored to walls to be supported
by ties of non-corrodible metal of minimum section 6 x 35 mm and length 60 cm with ends bent
up at least 5 cm; maximum vertical spacing of ties being 1.2 m).
Table 3: General guidelines for geometry of stiffeners
Thickness (m) Height (m) of Stiffening wall

of load storey not to Thickness (m) not less than Maximum
bearing wall exceed 1 to 3 storey 4 storey spacing (m)
to be stiffened
0.1 3.2 0.1 - 4.5
0.2 3.2 0.1 0.2 6.0
0.3 3.4 0.1 0.2 6.0
Above 0.3 5.0 0.1 0.2 8.0

Remark
In case of halls exceeding 8.0 m in length, safety and adequacy of lateral supports shall
always be checked by structural analysis.
Trussed roofing may not provide lateral support, unless special measures are adopted to brace
and anchor the roofing. However, in case of residential and similar buildings of conventional
design with trussed roofing having cross walls, it may be assumed that stability requirements are
met with by the cross walls and structural analysis for stability may be dispensed with.
Capacity of a cross wall and shear wall to take horizontal loads and consequent bending
moments, increases when parts of bearing walls act as flanges to the cross wall. Maximum
overhanging length of bearing wall which could effectively function as a flange should be taken
as 12 t or H/6, whichever is less, in case of T or I shaped walls and 6 t or H/6, whichever is less,
in case of L or U shaped walls, where t is the thickness of bearing wall and H is the total height
of wall above the level being considered.
The connection of intersecting walls shall conform to one of the following requirements:
c) Providing proper masonry bonds such that 50% of masonry units at the interface shall
interlock.
b) Connector or reinforcement extending in each of the intersecting wall shall have strength
equal to that of the bonded wall
c) Requirements of section 8.2.4 of IS: 4326.
Effective overhanging width of flange = 12 t or H/6 whichever is less, H being the total height of
wall above the level being considered. Effective overhanging width of flange = 6 t or H/6
whichever is less, H being the total height of wall above the level being considered In case of
external walls of basement and plinth stability requirements may be deemed to have been met
with if:
a) bricks used in basement and plinth have a minimum crushing strength of 5 MPa and
mortar used in masonry is of Grade Ml or better;
b) clear height of ceiling in basement does not exceed 2.6 m;
c) walls are stiffened according to provisions of 4.2.2.1;
d) in the zone of action of soil pressure on basement walls, traffic load excluding any
surcharge due to adjoining buildings does not exceed 5 kN/m2 and terrain does not rise;
and
e) Minimum thickness of basement walls is in accordance with Table 4. In case there is
surcharge on basement walls from adjoining buildings, thickness of basement walls shall
be based on structural analysis.
Table 4: Minimum thickness of basement walls

Height of the ground above Minimum

basement floor level with thickness (m) of
wall loading (permanent basement walls
load)
More than Less than
50 kN/m 50 kN/m
2.75 2.0 0.4
1.75 1.4 0.3
Structural design
The building as a whole shall be analyzed by accepted principles of mechanics to ensure safe and
proper functioning in service of its component parts in relation to the whole building. All
component parts of the structure shall be capable of sustaining the most adverse combinations of
loads, which the building may be reasonably expected to be subjected to during and after
construction.
Some general guidance on the design concept of load bearing masonry structures is given in the
following paragraphs.
A building is basically subjected to two types of loads, namely:

1. vertical loads on account of dead loads of materials used in construction, plus live loads
due to occupancy; and
2. lateral loads due to wind and seismic forces.
While all walls in general can take vertical loads, ability of a wall to take lateral loads depends
on its disposition in relation to the direction of lateral load. The lateral loads acting on the face of
a building are transmitted through floors (which act as horizontal beams) to cross walls which act
as shear walls. From cross walls, loads are transmitted to the foundation. This action is illustrated
in Fig. 3. Wind load on the facade wall is transferred via floor slabs to the cross walls and thence
to the ground. The strength and stiffness of floors as horizontal girders is vital; hence floors/roofs
of lightweight construction should be used with care.

Fig 3: Lateral force (eg. wind force) is resisted by the facade panel owing to bending, and
transferred via floor slabs to the cross or shear wall and finally to the ground.
As a result of lateral load, in the cross walls there will be an increase of compressive stress on the
leeward side, and decrease of compressive stress on the wind-ward side. These walls should be
designed for 'no tension' and permissible compressive stress. It will be of interest to note that a

wall which is carrying greater vertical loads will be in a better position to resist lateral loads than
the one which is lightly loaded in the vertical direction. This point should be kept in view while
planning the structure so as to achieve economy in structural design.
A structure should have adequate stability in the direction of both the principal axes. The so-
called 'cross wall' construction may not have much lateral resistance in the longitudinal direction.
In multi-storeyed buildings, it is desirable to adopt 'cellular' or 'box type' construction from
consideration of stability and economy.
Size, shape and location of openings in the external walls have considerable influence on
stability and magnitude of stresses due to lateral loads.
If openings in longitudinal walls are so located that portions of these walls act as flanges to cross
walls, the strength of the cross walls get considerably increased and structure becomes much
more stable.
Ordinarily a load-bearing masonry structure is designed for permissible compressive and shear
stresses (with no tension) as a vertical cantilever by accepted principles of engineering
mechanics. No moment transfer is allowed for, at floor to wall connections and lateral forces are
assumed to be resisted by diaphragm action of floor/roof slabs, which acting as horizontal beams,
transmit lateral forces to cross walls in proportion to their relative (moment of inertia).
Design Loads
Loads to be taken into consideration for designing masonry components of a structure are:
a. dead loads of walls, columns, floors and roofs;
b. live loads of floors and roof;
c. wind loads on walls and sloping roofs and
d. seismic forces.
Note - When a building is subjected to other loads, such as vibration from railways and
machinery, these should be taken into consideration according to the best engineering judgment
of the designer.
Dead loads
Dead loads shall be calculated on the basis of unit weights taken in accordance with IS:875 –
part I (1987).
Live Loads and Wind Loads

Design loads shall be in accordance with the recommendations of IS: 875- (1987) or such other
loads and forces as may reasonably be expected to be imposed on the structure either during or
after construction.
Note - During construction, suitable measures shall be taken to ensure that masonry is not liable
to damage or failure due to action of wind forces, back filling behind walls or temporary
construction loads.
Seismic loads
Seismic loads shall be determined in accordance with the IS 1893- Part 1:2002.
Load combinations
In the allowable stress design method followed for the structural design of masonry structures as
outlined in this code, adequacy of the structure and member shall be investigated for the
following load combinations:
a) DL + IL
b) DL + IL + (WL or EL)
c) DL + WL
d) 0.9 DL +EL
Note: The four load combinations given are consistent with those in other BIS codes. In case of
wind and earthquake loads, the reversal of forces needs to be considered. The structure is to be
designed for the critical stresses resulting from these load combinations.
Permissible stresses and loads
Permissible stresses and loads may be increased by one-third for load case b, c, & d when wind
or earthquake loads are considered along with normal loads.
As an alternative of using an increased permissible stress value when checking safety of

structural components, one can use a 25% reduced load for load combinations involving wind or
earthquake forces and compare with full permissible stress values. Thus, the modified load
combinations b, c and d will be:
a) 0.75 [DL + IL + (WL or EL)]

b) 0.75 [DL + WL]
c) 0.75 [0.9DL +EL]

Vertical load dispersion
Generally, it is accepted, based on experiments, that dispersion of axial loads does not take place
at an angle 45° to vertical as assumed in previous codes. An angle of distribution for axial loads
not exceeding 30° is more realistic and is recommended by various other masonry codes.
In case of buildings of conventional design with openings of moderate size which are reasonably
concentric, some authorities on masonry recommend a simplified approach for design. In
simplified approach, stress in masonry at plinth level is assumed to be uniformly distributed in
different stretches of masonry, taking loadings in each stretch of masonry walls without making
any deduction in weight of masonry for the openings. It is assumed that the extra stresses
obtained in masonry by making no deduction for openings, compensates more or less for
concentrations of stresses due to openings. This approach is of special significance in the
design of multi-storeyed load-bearing structure where intervening floor slabs tend to disperse the
upper storey loads more or less uniformly on the inter-opening spaces below the slabs and thus at
plinth level stress in masonry, as worked out by the above approach is expected to be reasonably
accurate.
Lintels
Lintels, that support masonry construction, shall be designed to carry loads for masonry
(allowing for arching and dispersion, where applicable) and loads received from any other part of
the structure. Length of bearing of lintel at each end shall not be less than 9 cm or one-tenth of
the span, whichever is more, and area of the bearing shall be sufficient to ensure that stresses in
the masonry (combination of wall stresses, stresses due to arching action and bearing stresses
from the lintel) do not exceed the stresses permitted.
When location and size of opening is such that arching action can take place, lintel is designed
for the load of masonry included in the equilateral triangle over the lintel. In case floor or roof
slab falls within a part of the triangle in question or the triangle is within the influence of a
concentrated load or some other opening occurs within a part of the triangle, loading on the lintel
will get modified as discussed earlier.
Lateral load distribution
Lateral loads from the wind or earthquakes are generally considered to act in the direction of the
principal axes of the building structure. The distribution of lateral loads to various masonry wall
elements depends on the rigidities of the horizontal floor or roof diaphragm and of the wall
elements. If a diaphragm does not undergo significant in-plane deformation with respect to the
supporting walls, it can be considered rigid and lateral loads are distributed in various lateral load

resisting wall elements in proportion to their relative stiffness. Horizontal torsion developed due
to eccentricity of the applied lateral load with the plan centre of the rigidity can cause forces in
the wall parallel and perpendicular to load direction. In-plane rigidities are considered in the
analysis, which includes both shearing and flexural deformations. Generally rigidities of
transverse walls in direction perpendicular to the direction of lateral force, is usually disregarded.
However, stiffening effect of certain portion of such walls as permitted by the code, when the
stiffening action is significant, i.e. when the method of connection between the intersecting walls
and between walls and diaphragms is adequate for the expected load transfer. On the other hand,
flexible diaphragms change shape when subjected to lateral loads and are incapable of
transmitting torsional forces. The distribution of lateral loads to vertical wall elements takes
place in proportion to the tributary area associated with each wall element for vertical loads
distribution.
Basic Compressive Strength of Masonry
The basic compressive strength of masonry fm shall be determined by the (a) unit strength
method or by the (b) prism test method. The unit strength method eliminates the expense of
prism tests but is more conservative than the prism test method.
(a) Unit strength method

The basic compressive strength of masonry shall be four times of the basic compressive stress
which based on the strength of the units and the type of mortar. Unit strength method is based on
the compressive strength of masonry units and mortar type, and is developed by using prism test
data.
(b) Prism strength method

Basic compressive strength of masonry shall be determined by prism test on masonry made from
masonry units and mortar to be actually used in a particular job. This is a uniform method of
testing masonry to determine its compressive strength and is used as an alternative to the unit
strength method.
Permissible stresses
Permissible compressive stress in masonry shall be based on the value of basic compressive
stress (fb) which is based on two approaches, (i) when prism is not tested and (ii) when prism is
tested.
Prism not tested/Unit Strength Method:

Values of basic compressive stress given in Table 5 which are based on the crushing strength of
masonry unit and grades of mortar, and hold good for values of SR not exceeding 6, zero
eccentricity and masonry unit having height to width ratio (as laid) equal to 0.75 or less.
Prisms tested:
The basic compressive stress can be obtained by multiplying the specified compressive strength
obtained from prism test with a factor of 0.25.
Permissible Compressive Stress
Permissible compressive stress in masonry shall be based on the value of basic compressive
stress (fb) as given in Table 4 and multiplying this value by factor known as stress reduction
factor (ks), Area reduction factor (ka) and shape modification factor (kp). Amongst these, the
stress reduction factor plays a very important role. It can be explained with the help of fig. 4 and
to fig. 5. When the prism (or a short wall) is axially loaded, it can withstand maximum load. As
the wall becomes slender, the load carrying capacity reduces and when the loads are eccentric,
the load carrying capacity becomes even lesser. Thus the slenderness ratio (SR) and the
eccentricity of load (or e/t ratio) plays an important role is the estimation of load capacity of
walls. This is presented in Table 6. In the present Indian code, the stress reduction factors are
unity for SR=6 and all values of e/t, this is not the case in the other masonry codes. Also the
stress reduction factors are to be taken for any type of masonry, but current literature indicates
clearly that both, the strength and elasticity of masonry play a role in the reduction factors.
Area reduction factor due to 'small area' of a member is based on the concept that there is
statistically greater probability of failure of a small section due to sub-standard units as compared
to a large element. However some codes do not include any provision for smallness of area. In
view of the fact that strength of masonry units being manufactured at present in our country can
appreciably vary, the necessity for this provision is justified in our code. This factor is applicable
when sectional area of the element is less than 0.2 m2. The factor ka=0.7 + 1.5 A, A being the
area of section in m2.
Shape modification factor is based on the general principle that lesser the number of horizontal
joints in masonry, greater its strength or load carrying capacity. This is presented in table 5. Here
also there is a need for further studies.

Fig. 4: (a) Short and axially loaded wall (capacity 100%) (b) Slender and axially loaded
wall (capacity < 100%)

Fig. 5: (a) Short and eccentrically loaded wall (capacity < 100%) (b) Slender and
eccentrically loaded wall (capacity << 100%)
Table 5: Basic Compressive strength (in MPa)

Table 6: Stress reduction factors (ks)

Table. 7: Shape modification factor
Combined Permissible Axial and Flexural Compressive Stress
Members subjected to combined axial compression and flexure shall be designed to satisfy the
following:
Where,
fa= Calculated compressive stresses due to axial load only
fb= Calculated Compressive stresses due to flexure only
Fa = Allowable axial compressive stress
Fb = Allowable flexural compressive stress = 1.25 Fa
The unity equation assumes a straight line interaction between axial and flexural compressive
stresses for unreinforced masonry sections. This is simple portioning of the available allowable
stresses between axial and flexure loads, which can be extended for the biaxial bending, by using
the bending stress quotients for both axes. In this interaction formula, the secondary effect of
moment magnification for flexure term due to axial loads is not included, which is an error on
the unsafe side. However, this error for practical size of walls will be relatively small and large
overall safety factor of about 4 is adequate to account for this amplification of flexure term. The
code allows 25% increase in allowable axial compressive stress, if it is due to flexure. The
permissible flexural compressive stress can be expressed as a function of masonry prism strength
as follows:

Fb = 1.25 Fa = 1.25 x 0.25 fm = 0.31 fm
Permissible Tensile Stress
As a general rule, design of masonry shall be based on the assumption that masonry is not
capable of taking any tension. However, in case of lateral loads normal to the plane of the wall,
which causes flexural tensile stress, as for example, panel, .curtain partition and freestanding
walls, flexural tensile stresses as follows may be permitted in the design for masonry:
Grade M1 or Better mortar
 0.07 MPa for bending in the vertical direction where tension developed is normal to bed
joints.
 0.14 MPa for bending in the longitudinal direction where tension developed is parallel to
bed joints provided crushing strength of masonry units is not less than 10 MPa.
Grade M2 mortar
 0.05 MPa for bending in the vertical direction where tension developed is normal to bed
joints.
 0.10 MPa for bending in the longitudinal direction where tension developed is parallel to
bed joints provided crushing strength of masonry units is not less than 7.5 MPa.
Important note:
No tensile stress is permitted in masonry in case of water-retaining structures in view of

water in contact with masonry. Also no tensile stress is permitted in earth-retaining
structures in view of the possibility of presence of water at the back of such walls.
Permissible shear stress
In-plane permissible shear stress (Fv )shall not exceed any of :
(a) 0.5 MPa
(b) 0.1+ 0.2fd
(c) 0.125 (fm)1/2
Where,
fd = compressive stress due to dead loads in MPa.
Unreinforced masonry in shear fails in one of the following mode (a) Diagonal tension cracking
of masonry generally observed when masonry is weak and mortar is strong, (b) Sliding of
masonry units along horizontal bed joint, especially when masonry is lightly loaded in vertical

direction and (c) Stepped cracks running through alternate head and bed joints, usually observed
in case of strong units and weak mortars. Permissible shear stress for unreinforced masonry is
based on experimental research for various failure modes. At low pre-compression (<2 MPa), for
sliding type of failure mode, a Mohr-Coulomb type failure theory is more appropriate and shear
capacity is increased due to increase in the vertical load. The coefficient of friction of 0.2 has
been long used in the masonry codes, however, the recent research indicate that a higher value
(about 0.45) is more appropriate. At large pre-compression (> 2 MPa), tensile cracking of
masonry is more likely which are expressed in terms of square root of compressive strength of
masonry.
Wall Thickness (Cross-Section and Dimensions)
Walls and Columns Subjected to Vertical Loads: Walls and columns bearing vertical loads shall
be designed on the basis of permissible compressive stress. Design involves in determining
thickness in case of walls and the section in case of columns in relation to strength of masonry
units and grade of mortar to be used, taking into consideration various factors such as
slenderness ratio, eccentricity, area of section, workmanship, quality of supervision, etc.
Solid Walls
Thickness used for design calculation shall be the actual thickness of masonry computed as the
sum of the average dimensions of the masonry units specified in the relevant standard, together
with the specified joint thickness. In masonry with raked joints, thickness shall be reduced by
the, depth of raking of joints for plastering/pointing. Brick work is generally finished by either
pointing or plastering and with that in view, it is necessary to rake the joints while the mortar is
green, in case of plaster work raking is intended to provide key for bonding the plaster with the
background. Strictly speaking, thickness of masonry for purposes of design in these cases is the
actual thickness less depth of raking. However in case of design of masonry based on permissible
tensile stress (as for example, design of a free standing wall), if walls are plastered over (plaster
of normal thickness i.e. 12 to 15 mm) with mortar of same grade as used in the masonry or M2
grade whichever is stronger or if walls are flush pointed with mortar of M1 grade or stronger,
raking thickness can be ignored.
Concepts for earthquake resistant masonry
The basic principles of design and detailing, as outlined in the codes of practice, of earthquakes
resistant structures are intentionally simple and generally easy to adopt. Essentially the principles
are focused on,
(i) Achieving strength and ductile behaviour

(ii) Maintaining structural integrity

This means that the primary requirement is ‘prevention of catastrophic collapse of buildings or
their components’. It is also the intention of the codes of practice to achieve this in relatively
simple and cost effective manner.
The level of resistance aimed for in earthquake resistant design is based on the concept of
‘acceptable risk’, with the following objectives;
 To resist minor earthquakes without damage

 To resist moderate earthquakes without significant structural damage, but with some non-
structural damage
 To resist major (or severe) earthquake without major failure of the structural framework
of the building or its components, to prevent loss of life and to allow safe escape passage
for the inmates of the building.
However, certain important critical structures hospitals, power generating units, communication
set-ups etc., shall be designed to remain operational during and after an earthquake event.
Un-reinforced masonry buildings are very common in rural and semi-urban area of India. A
variety of load bearing masonry units such as adobe, stone, burnt brick, concrete blocks and
stabilized mud blocks are commonly used along with a variety of mortars such as mud mortar,
cement mortar, lime mortar and composite mortar. Normally these buildings are designed for
vertical loads and since masonry has adequate compressive strength, the structure behaves well
as long as the loads are vertical.
The behaviour of a masonry building during ground motion can be understood by analysing the
nature of stress distribution in the walls of the masonry building. When dominant ground motion
is along one axis of the building, the walls parallel to the direction of ground motion are known
as ‘shear walls’ and those orthogonal to it are known as ‘cross walls’.
Shear walls are predominantly subjected to in-plane shear stresses and in-plane bending stresses.
The in-plane bending stresses in shear walls are normal-to-bed joints. The in-plane shear stresses
are responsible for the typical X-type of cracking in the shear walls, while the in-plane bending
stresses in the shear walls tend to cause separation of cross walls and shear walls at the junction.
Although severe cracking could be caused, the walls may not readily collapse unless a
component of ground motion is normal to it. The stress concentration near the openings in shear
walls adds to the vulnerability.
The failure pattern of such masonry structures during earthquake can be classified as under
(shown in plates 1 to 7);
a) Out-of-plane flexural and/or out-of-plane shear failure
b) In-plane shear and/or in-plane flexure failure

c) Separation of walls at junction
d) Failure of masonry piers between openings
e) Local failures
f) Buckling of wythes
g) Separation of roof from walls
Plate 1: Out-of-plane flexure failure

Plate 10.6: In-plane shear failure
Plate 2: Separation of wall at junctions

Plate 3: Failure of masonry piers between openings
Plate 4: Local failures
Plate 5: Buckling of wythes

Plate 6: Separation of roof from walls
Concept of ‘Containment Reinforcement’
The pattern of failure of masonry buildings during an earthquake makes it clear that the
prevention of sudden flexural failure of masonry wall is critical to ensure an earthquake resistant
masonry structure. Since flexural tension can occur on both the faces of the wall due to reversal
of stresses during an earthquake, there is a need to provide ductile reinforcement on both the
faces. This can be accomplished by placing vertical reinforcement either on the surface or close
to the surface and surrounding the wall, which is termed as “containment reinforcement”. For the
containment reinforcement to be effective, it is essential for it to remain hugged to the wall all
times during an earthquake. In order to meet this objective and to prevent buckling of the
reinforcement on the compression side of the wall, the vertical reinforcement on either face of
the wall to be connected to each other, through horizontal ties/links passing through the bed joint
of masonry. Containment reinforcement is intended to permit large ductile deformation and
avoid total collapse. In other words, containment reinforcement will act as main energy
absorbing element of the wall which otherwise is poor energy absorbing capacity. Fig 6 shows a
schematic diagram of containment reinforcement for a typical masonry wall with ties at bed
joints. The complete scheme of vertical and horizontal reinforcement is shown in Fig 7.

Fig 6: Containment reinforcement scheme integrated with horizontal bed reinforcement
Fig 7: Schematic diagram of vertical and horizontal reinforcement in a masonry building
Specification for vertical ‘containment reinforcement’

(i) It is recommended that containment reinforcement may be provided for low-rise (up
to 3 storey load bearing) masonry buildings in earthquake zones III, IV, and V. This
is in addition to horizontal bands.
(ii) In case of buildings with heavy roofs/floors (mass of the floor more than 200kg/m 2),
if height of the wall is 3.0m or less and the length of the wall is less than or equal to
3.0m containment reinforcement need not be provided if there are no openings in the
wall.
(iii) Masonry buildings with light roofs (tiled roof, asbestos or zinc sheet roofs) must have
containment reinforcement on all walls irrespective of the aspect ratio of the wall.
(iv) Walls with height greater than 3.0m must invariably have containment reinforcement.
(v) All door and window jambs must have containment reinforcement on either sides of
the opening at a distance of 150.0mm to 200.0mm from the jamb. Masonry piers
between door and window openings or between two window openings should not be
less than 0.75m in width. This is a modification of clause 8.3.1 in IS: 4326 (1993).
Other provision in this clause may not be changed.
(vi) The wires/rods of containment reinforcement must be tied to the steel in the
horizontal band to form a coarse two-dimensional cage holding the masonry in place.
(vii) Normally, the horizontal spacing between two sets of containment reinforcement
should be between 0.75m to 1.25m.
(viii) A variety of reinforcing materials can be used as containment reinforcement. The
details are presented in Table 8.
Table – 8: Different materials for ‘containment reinforcement’
Reinforcing material Remarks

6mm rods available, very ductile, liable to corrosion if exposed and
hence has to be either coated with non-corrosive paints or covered with
plaster.
Mild steel rods/flats
20-25mm wide, 3mm thick MS flats could also be used, holes could be
made at regular intervals to insert links/bolts to tie the flats provided on
both faces of the wall.
Any diameter wire available, easy for handling, good ductility, liable to
Galvanized Iron (GI)
corrosion and hence has to be protected.
wires/flats
20-25mm wide, 3mm thick GI flats could be used as mentioned above.
Ideal material for containment reinforcement, 3mm to 4mm wires at
Stainless steel
1.0m spacing, no need of coating, plastering etc.
Good quality battens (teak wood, sal wood etc.) of size 50mm x 25mm
at 1.0m spacing, the pair of batten on either face of the wall to be tied
Timber battens together at two points at the base and two points at the top by boring a
hole and inserting a bolt; needs regular maintenance to prevent rotting;
care to be taken to prevent it from catching fire.
Pairs of bamboo or split (half) bamboos at about 1.0m to 1.5m interval;
Bamboo/split bamboo the poles to be tied at two points at the base and two points at top by
using GI wires; less life; can catch fire, hence has to be protected
Ferro-cement strips Thin ferro-cement strips (about 150.0mm wide) with sufficient amount

of reinforcing material such as chicken mesh, expanded metal, weld

mesh etc. at 1.2m spacing; the strips have to be bonded to the masonry
wall by using grouted hooks.
Wires, rods and flats readily available, durable and have good resistance
Aluminum to corrosion, strength and modulus is less and hence large quantity is
needed.
List of References
1. IS: 1905- 1987, “Indian Standard Code of Practice for Structural Use of Unreinforced
Masonry”, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India, 3rd Edition, 1987.
2. SP 20 (S & T), 1991 “Hand book on Masonry Design and Construction” (First revision),
, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi 110002
3. IS-4326-1993 “Indian Standard Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction of
Buildings – Code of Practice”, Bureau of Indian Standards, (Reaffirmed 1998), Edition
3.2 (2002-2004), New Delhi 110002
4. Dayaratnam P, “Brick and Reinforced Brick Structures”, Oxford IBH Publishing Co. Pvt.
Ltd., New Delhi, India, 1987.
5. Venkataramareddy B V, Jagadish K S and Yogananda M R, “Specification for the use of
Stabilized Mud Blocks for building construction (draft code of practice)”, Proceedings of
National Seminar on Application of SMB in Housing and Building, Bangalore,
Nov.1988, Vol.2, pp 19-22
6. Venkataramareddy B V and Jagadish K S, “Properties of soil-cement block masonry”,
Masonry International, Vol.3, No.2, 1989, pp 80-84.
7. Durgesh C Rai, “Proposed Draft Provisions and Commentary on Structural Use of
Masonry”, Indian Institute of Kanpur, Document No. IITK-GSDMA-EQ12-V-3.0, IITK-
GSDMA-EQ19-V1.0, Kanpur.
8. Jagadish K S, Venkataramareddy B V and Nanjunda Rao K S, “Alternative Building
Materials and Technologies”, New Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers, Bangalore,
2007.
9. Hendry A W, “Structural Masonry”, Macmillan Press, Second Edition, London, 1998.
10. ENV: 1996-1-1-1995, “Eurocode 6: Design of masonry structures, Part1-1: General
rules and rules for buildings – Rules for reinforced and unreinforced masonry”,
Published by European Committee for Standardization, BSI 1996.
11. Hendry A W, Sinha B P and Davies S R, (2004), Design of Masonry Structures, Third
Edition of Load Bearing Brick Work Design, E and FN Spon publishers (an imprint of
Chapman & Hall), London

UNIT V DESIGN METHODOLOGY
Causes of damage – Planning considerations / Architectural concepts as per
IS:4326 – 1993 – Guidelines for Earthquake resistant design – Earthquake resistant
design for masonry and Reinforced Cement Concrete buildings – Later load analysis –
Design and detailing as per IS:13920 – 1993.
TYPES OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY EARTHQUAKES

...
A perfect description of the events that take place during an earthquake, and
the types of damage that may result. However, earthquakes can also have effects that are
much more profound..
Essentially, the damage caused by earthquakes depends on the characteristics of the
ground in that area. For example, earthquake vibrations last longer and are of greater
wave amplitudes in unconsolidated surface material, whereas bedrock areas receive fewer
effects. The worst damage from an earthquake occurs in densely populated, urban areas,
where structures are not built to withstand intense shaking. (Goldstein, "Earthquakes
Museum")
In fact, two of the most popular places for intense earthquake activity
are California and Japan. California is the most populous state in the union, and it has the
most earthquakes. In this area, as the tectonic plates move in relation to each other along
the faults, they slip, or move laterally past one another. On the other hand, Japan, also
known as "The World's Earthquake Factory," is one of the most earthquake-
prone countries in the world. Japan has 30 times the population density as the United
States; therefore, the seismic activity in this location proves much more disastrous. In this
area of the world, as the tectonic plates move in relation to each other along the faults,
they converge, or bump into one another, with one plate usually sliding beneath the other in
the subduction zone
Ultimately, however, both California and Japan are areas of the world that have
experienced tremendous amounts of damage due to extensive and frequent seismic activity,
or earthquakes. This is true because both locations are located on the "Ring of Fire,"
which loops around the Pacific Basin. This "Ring of Fire" is related to the movement of
huge tectonic plates, or blocks of the earth's crust, that bump and slide past each other like
gigantic ice flows. The graphic below highlights the different areas that are located in this
dangerous zone.

As a result of their dangerous and active locations on the Pacific Basin, both California and
Japan share parallel physical, structural, and emotional damage patterns. A brief synopsis
includes..sections of elevated freeways buckle and collapse, inadequately reinforced
structures topple, liquefaction occurs in the epicental area, major dislocation of utilities
causes fires and hampers rescue efforts, and combined vertical and horizontal stresses
placed on older structures create large-scale disaster. (Iacopi)
TABLEOFCONTENTS:
Physical Damage
**Landslides
**Tsunamis
**Fires
**Mudslides
**Liquefaction
Structural Damage
**Buildings Collapse
**Roadways Collapse
Emotional Damage
**Deaths
PHYSICALDAMAGE:
***LANDSLIDES: Rocks and earth from mountains and hills begin rolling downhill.
The greatest landslide concentration occurs in weak, poorly cemented, geologically young
rock and soil. As a result of their weakness, the vibrations of earthquakes rapidly erode
these materials. Landslides include shallow rock falls and rockslides, as well as disrupted,
chaotic jumbles of soil, rock, and vegetal debris that topple downhill. The greatest danger
emanating from landslides includes their ability to damage and destroy homes, block roads
and streams, disrupt pipes, water mains, sewers and power lines, damage oil and gas

production facilities, and generate massive dust clouds. ("Earthquake Induced Mass
Movement,)
This picture illustrates a landslide in California. Landslides are a universal feature of

California earthquake scenarios, where very little can be done to prevent this type of
damage because of the fractured nature of rocks and slopes within the fault zones.
(Iacopi)
Some examples of sites that contained earthquake-induced landslide activity include the
San Gabriel Mountains, Kobe, Japan, and Northridge, CA.
For example, this map shows the epicenter of the Northridge, CA earthquake (star), the
limit of the landslides triggered by the earthquake (heavy, solid line), and the area of
greatest landslide concentration (shaded). Overall, the earthquake that occurred in
Northridge triggered 11,000 landslides. ("Earthquake Induced Mass Movement")
For more information and pictures depicting earthquake-induced landslides, see
link: Earthquake Induced Mass Movement
***TSUNAMIS: Japanese name for "Harbor wave," or seismic sea wave.

Alone with his destiny, a man stands transfixed before a world of water (55 foot killer
wave) about to engulf him.(Walker)
Tsunamis are the result of a sudden vertical offset in the ocean floor, which can indeed be
triggered by intense earthquakes. Essentially, tsunamis are creatures of the open ocean, or
trains of great waves that can travel long distances across the sea. As a tsunami
approaches the shore, the water depth decreases, the front of the wave slows down, and the
wave grows dramatically in height and surges unexpectedly onto the land. Truthfully,
tsunamis can carry a considerable amount of energy because they possess strong currents
that cause massive erosion of the coastline, as well as bulldoze towns and drown
unsuspecting, curious people. When earthquakes occur, these dark "walls" of water
suddenly flood coastal areas like California and Japan without warning. For example, in
1896, an earthquake off of the coast of Japan generated an enormous tsunami with waves
up to 100 feet high. This "wall of water" killed 22,000 people and destroyed entire villages.
***FIRES:
result from broken or severed electrical and gas lines.
Fires that begin as a result of earthquake activity are often uncontrollable and can cause
the most damage. Flammable materials or debris released from the earthquake feed the
flames of the fire, thus causing it to spread out of control. Water mains are broken as a
result of the powerful earthquake vibrations, therefore, no water is available for
firefighters to put out the flames and rescue the people. For example, in the 1906
earthquake in San Francisco, California, fire caused the most damage because the broken
water mains and blocked roads allowed the flames to swell out of control.

This photo depicts the horrific scene in Fukui, Japan after a severe earthquake hit. As the
picture illustrates, an uncontrollable fire unleashed lethal flames that consumed the
helpless town. (Walker)
***MUDSLIDES: slip down mountain slopes, sweep main valley floors, and bury habitations
below.
Mudslides often occur a few hours after the extraordinarily widespread slope mass
movements (landslides) take place. Moreover, they are induced by the collapse of several
temporary natural dams built by the large and high-density landslides. Several people lose
their lives during these catastrophic events. For example, in the 1994, Northridge
California earthquake, there were a significant amount of landslides that induced mudslide
activity, and many people died as a result.
***LIQUEFACTION: soils and unconsolidated materials containing abundant water are

turned into fluid-like masses that are not capable of supporting buildings.
During an earthquake with intense seismic activity, loose, moist soil is shaken, and the
individual grains separate, turning the earth into a soft, fluid slurry that is capable of
swallowing entire buildings. As a result of the seismic vibrations, the soil loses strength and
behaves as a viscous or thick fluid, rather than as a solid mass. Essentially, in the case of
liquefaction, the ground behaves much like quick sand, and can prove to be very dangerous
and sometimes deadly. For example, liquefaction occurred in the 1906 earthquake in San
Francisco, California, and also in the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan.

The graphic shown above illustrates how the clay-free soil deposits, consisting mostly of
sands and silts, can flow much like quick sand in the event of a strong earthquake. (Iacopi)
For more information (and pictures) about how soil can act like a fluid during strong
earthquakes, see link: Liquefaction
STRUCTURALDAMAGE:
***BUILDINGS COLLAPSE: seismic vibrations that occur during earthquakes cause

buildings to sway, which may knock them off of their foundations and cause severe damage or
destruction. People can be trapped in collapsed buildings or under rubble that collapses into
the street.
Kobe, Japan (January 17th, 1995): The number of buildings destroyed by the earthquake
exceeded 100,000, or approximately one in five buildings in the strongly shaken area. An
additional 80,000 buildings were badly damaged. The large numbers of damaged
traditional-style Japanese residences and small, traditional commercial buildings of three
stories or less account for a great deal of the damage. In sections where these buildings
were concentrated in the outlying areas of Kobe, entire blocks of collapsed buildings were
common. The fires following the earthquake also destroyed several thousands of buildings.

The picture shown above provides a dismal image of the amount of structural damage and
destruction that was caused by an earthquake in Fukui, Japan. (Walker)
Ultimately, in the event of an earthquake, structural damage depends on FIVE very

important components.
**The strength of the earthquake waves that reach the surface
**The duration of the motion
**Proximity
**Geologic foundation
**Structural design and construction quality
***ROADWAYS COLLAPSE: when an earthquake strikes, freeways, bridges, and roads

buckle under the pressure of the intense seimic activity.
A SHATTERED overpass in San Fernando Valley, California...(Walker)
Extensive property/roadway DAMAGE in Kobe, Japan..(Iacopi)
EMOTIONAL DAMAGE:

***DEATHS.people become trapped under the rubble and debris that is generated from the
earthquake. Falling structures and flying glass and other objects strike unsuspecting people.
This is the type of damage that leads to the worst casualties. In fact, the worst thing to do
during an earthquake is to rush out into the street. The danger from being hit by falling
glass and debris is many times greater in front of the building than inside
Major Earthquakes
On average about 1,000 earthquakes with intensities of 5.0 or greater are recorded each
year. Great earthquakes (magnitude 8.0 or higher) occur once a year, major earthquakes
(magnitude 7.0–7.9) occur 18 times a year, strong earthquakes (magnitude 6.0–6.9) 10
times a month, and moderate earthquakes (magnitude 5.0–5.9) more than twice a day.
Because most of these occur under the ocean or in underpopulated areas, they pass
unnoticed by all but seismologists. Moderate to strong earthquakes can cause more
significant destruction if they occur closer to the earth's surface. Notable earthquakes have
occurred at Lisbon, Portugal (1755); New Madrid, Mo. (1811 and 1812); Charleston, S.C.
(1886); Assam, India (1897 and 1950); San Francisco (1906); Messina, Italy (1908); Gansu,
China (1920); Tokyo, Japan (1923); Chile (1960); Iran (1962); S Alaska (1964); Managua,
Nicaragua (1972); Guatemala (1976); Hebei, China (1976); Mexico (1985); Armenia (1988);
Luzon, Philippines (1990); N Japan (1993); Kobe, Japan (1995); Izmit, Turkey (1999);
central Taiwan (1999); Oaxaca state, Mexico (1999); Bam, Iran (2003); NW Sumatra,
Indonesia (2004); Sichuan, China (2008); S Haiti (2010); Chile (2010); South Island, New
Zealand (2010, 2011); and NE Japan (2011). The Lisbon, Chilean, Alaskan, Sumatran, and
NE Japan earthquakes were accompanied by significant tsunamis.

What Are Earthquake Hazards?
Earthquakes really pose little direct danger to a person. People can't be shaken to
death by an earthquake. Some movies show scenes with the ground suddenly opening
up and people falling into fiery pits, but this just doesn't happen in real life.
The Effect of Ground Shaking
The first main earthquake hazard (danger) is the effect of ground shaking.
Buildings can be damaged by the shaking itself or by the ground beneath them
settling to a different level than it was before the earthquake (subsidence).
FIGURE 2 - ONE SIDE OF THIS ANCHORAGE STREET

The second main earthquake hazard is ground displacement(ground movement) along
a fault. If a structure (a building, road, etc.) is built across a fault, the ground
displacement during an earthquake could seriously damage or rip apart that structure.
From Figure 4 you can tell that the San Andreas Fault is aright-lateral transverse
(strike-slip) fault because the other side of the road (on the opposite side of the fault)
has moved to the right, relative to the photographer's position.
FIGURE 1 - THESE MENDRASTICALLY

BARELY ESCAPED WHEN THEDURING THE 1964 GOOD FRIDAY EARTHQUAKE.
FRONT OF THE ANCHORAGE
J.C. PENNY'S COLLAPSED
DURING THE 1964 GOOD
FRIDAY EARTHQUAKE.
Buildings can even sink into the

ground if soil liquefaction
occurs. Liquefaction is the mixing
of sand or soil
andgroundwater (water
underground) during the shaking
of a moderate or strong
earthquake. When the water and
soil are mixed, the ground
becomes very soft and acts similar
to quicksand. If liquefaction
occurs under a building, it may
start to lean, tip over, or sink
several feet. The ground firms up
FIGURE 3 - THESE BUILDINGS IN JAPAN
again after the earthquake has
TOPPLED WHEN THE SOIL UNDERWENT past and the water has settled back
LIQUEFACTION. down to its usual place deeper in
the ground. Liquefaction is a
hazard in areas that have
groundwater near the surface and
sandy soil.
Buildings can also be damaged by strong surface waves making the ground
heave and lurch. Any buildings in the path of these surface waves can lean or tip
over from all the movement. The ground shaking may also cause landslides,
mudslides, and avalanches on steeper hills or mountains, all of which can
damage buildings and hurt people.
Ground Displacement
Flooding

The third main hazard is flooding. An earthquake can rupture (break) dams or levees
along a river. The water from the river or the reservoir would then flood the area,
damaging buildings and maybe sweeping away or drowning people.
Tsunamis and seiches can also cause a great dea

damage. Atsunami is what most people call a
wave, but it has nothing to do with the tides on
ocean. It is a huge wave caused by an earthqu
under the ocean. Tsunamis can be tens of feet
when they hit the shore and can do enormous dam
to the coastline. Seiches are like small tsunamis. T
occur on lakes that are shaken by the earthquake
are usually only a few feet high, but they can
flood or knock down houses, and tip over trees.
FIGURE 5 - THE SEWARD, ALASKA,

RAILROAD YARD WAS A TWISTED MESS
AFTER BEING HIT BY A TSUNAMI IN 1964.
THE TSUNAMI WAS TRIGGERED BY THE
GOOD FRIDAY EARTHQUAKE.

The fourth main earthquake
Downloaded hazard is fire.
From : www.EasyEngineering.net
These fires can be started by broken gas lines
and power lines, or tipped over wood or coal
stoves. They can be a serious problem, especially
if the water lines that feed the fire hydrants are
broken, too. For example, after the Great San
Francisco Earthquake in 1906, the city burned
for three days. Most of the city was destroyed
and 250,000 people were left homeless.
FIGURE 6 - SAN FRANCISCO BURNING

AFTER THE 1906 EARTHQUAKE.
Fire
Most of the hazards to people come from man-made structures themselves

and the shaking they receive from the earthquake. The real dangers to people
are being crushed in a collapsing building, drowning in a flood caused by a
broken dam or levee, getting buried under a landslide, or being burned in a
fire.
Earthquakes: collateral effects
The energy released from an earthquake can be up to 10,000 times more powerful than the
first atomic bomb. Its side-effects can be:
Ground shaking
Shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves, especially surface waves
near the epicentreof the earthquake are responsible for the most damage during an
earthquake. The intensity of ground shaking depends on:
 conditions of the local geology influence evenuts: solid bedrock is far less subject to
intense shaking than loose sediment;
 duration and intensity of the earthquake are subject generally to the size of the
earthquake;
 distance: ss the distance from the epicentre drops off so the intensity of the shaking
decreases. This depends on the type of material underlying the area. There are however
some exceptions. The 1985 Earthquake in Mexico city (magnitude 8.1) had its epicentre 350
Kms away to the south on the coast. Damage to city was extensive as Mexico city is built on
a former lake made up of soft unconsolidated sediment (see: Liquefaction further down).
Faulting and Ground Rupture
When an earthquake event occurs, ground rupture is only where the fault zone moves.
Those constructions built adjacent to the fault will survive while structures built across
these zones will collapse.
Landslides and ground subsidence
Avalanches, landslides, slumps and rock slides are triggered by ground shaking. These
landslides are often more destructive than the earthquakes. A residential area in Alaska

(Turnagain Heights) was destroyed by a shock induced landslide as well as are in

downtown Anchorage.
Damage to man-made structures
Damage to man-made structures, such as roads, bridges, dams and buildings from ground
motion depends on the type of construction:
 concrete and masonry structures are brittle and thus more susceptible to damage
and collapse;
 damage to wood and steel structures is far less because of its flexibility.
Image: San Fernando earthquake
This aerial photograph of the San Fernando earthquake in Feb 1971 shows the extensive
damage to the freeway bridge as the Earth's crust shook.
"Earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do". This quote is from Seismologists who believe
that human construction and buildings crashing down during earthquakes are the cause of
most deaths.

Image: Seismic shaking and related dangers
This photo shows the extreme danger presented by seismic shaking to people in the open
around buildings and on the street. Complete facades of buildings, electric signage and
windows crash and collapse onto the street below. It is known to be far safer to shelter
under robust furniture than to run out onto the street.
Fires
Fires, often associated with broken electrical and gas lines, is one of the common side
effects of earthquakes. Gas is set free as gas lines are broken and a spark will start bringing
"inferno". To complicate things water lines are broken and so there is no water to
extinguish the fire. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 caused 90% of damage by fire.

Image: Fires started by broken gas lines
Spill of hazardous chemicals

Christchurch Earthquake (New Zealand, 2010): related article.
Kocaeli chemicals spill (Turkey, 1999): Case study report.
Video: Tsunami waste and chemicals devastate Japan farmland (Al Jazeera, Japan, 2011)
Radioactivity from damaged nuclear power plants

Image: Radioactive water leaks from Fukushima nuclear power plant (Japan, 2011)
Video: Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Problem Explained (CNN, Japan, 2011)
Liquefaction of water-laden sediments

Groundwater, sand and soil combine during seismic shaking to form liquefaction during a
moderate to powerful earthquake. A quicksand like soil is the result of this process. When
liquefaction takes place under buildings the foundations sink and the building collapse.
After the earthquake has passed, the soil firms again and the water settles deeper in the
ground. Areas with sandy soil and groundwater close to the surface are far more at risk of
liquefaction.
Image: Liquefaction in action

In the image above, some buildings toppled when the soil underwent liquefaction. Buildings
can even sink into the ground if soil liquefaction occurs.
Flooding
Flooding can come from many sources such as broken water main pipes, dams that fail due
to the earthquake and earthquake-generated tsunamis. When an earthquake breaks a dam
or levee along a river, the water from the river or the reservoir floods the area, damaging
buildings and maybe sweeping away or drowning people. Small tsunamis, called seiches
occur on lakes shaken by earthquakes and are usually just a few feet high. These small
tsunamis are capable of destroying houses and uprooting trees. Also, earthquakes can alter
the course of a river and can even cause it to flow in the opposite direction for a short time
(this happened to the Mississippi River in the late 1800's).
Image: Seiche
A seiche is the effect of the sloshing of water back and forth. A seiche can be caused by an
earthquake and/or a tsunami. The earthquake from Alaska on March 28th, 1964 caused
seismic waves that were so powerful that bodies of water oscillated in many places across
North America. Hundreds of surface water gauging stations recorded seiches although
rarely recorded before this earthquake.
Injuries and Death
WARNING: these footages are very sad and disturbing.
Video: 2010 - Haiti Earthquake
Video: 2010 - Haiti Earthquake
Tsunamis
For sure, one of the most dangerous effects of an earthquake is a Tsunami. Tsunamis are
giant waves that can cause floods and in some cases may reach up to 100 feet in height.
These deadly waves strike a great distance from the epicentre. Tsunamis often result from

sub-sea faulting of ocean floor sending seismic shocks through the water and creating large
waves of low amplitude but of long period, moving at 500-700 mph.
Image: Tsunami risk by country assessed on historical data

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar
3.4 Analysis for lateral loads

3.4.1 Braced frames
In this section, simple hand methods for the analysis of statically
determinate or certain low-redundant braced structures is reviewed.
Member Force Analysis

Analysis of the forces in a statically determinate triangulated braced frame
can be made by the method of sections. For instance, consider a typical diagonal
braced pin-jointed bay as shown in Fig. 3.10. When this bay is subjected to an
external shear Qi in i-th storey and external moments Mi and Mi-1 at floors i and i-
1, respectively, the force in the brace can be found by considering the horizontal
equilibrium of the free body above section XX, thus,
FBC Cosθ = Qi
Hence,
FBC = Qi / Cosθ
The axial force FBD in the column BD is found by considering moment
equilibrium of the upper free body about C, thus
FBD*A = Mi-1
Hence,
FBD = Mi-1 / A
Similarly the force FAC in column AC is obtained from the moment
equilibrium of the upper free body about B. It is given by
FAC = Mi / A
Indian Institute of Technology Madras Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net

This procedure can be repeated for the members in each storey of the
frame. The member forces in more complex braced frames such as knee-braced,
X-braced and K-braced frames can also be obtained by taking horizontal
sections.
Fig. 3.10 Single diagonal braced panel
Drift Analysis
Drift in building frames is a result of flexural and shear mode
contributions, due to the column axial deformations and to the diagonal and
girder deformations, respectively. In low rise braced structures, the shear mode
displacements are the most significant and, will largely determine the lateral
stiffness of the structure. In medium to high rise structures, the higher axial
forces and deformations in the columns, and the accumulation of their effects
over a greater height, cause the flexural component of displacement to become
dominant.
The storey drift in a braced frame reaches a maximum value at or close to
the top of the structure and is strongly influenced by the flexural component of
deflection. This is because the inclination of the structure caused by the flexural

component accumulates up the structure, while the storey shear component
diminishes toward the top.
Hand analysis for drift allows the drift contributions of the individual frame
members to be seen, thereby providing guidance as to which members should
be increased in size to effectively reduce an excessive total drift or storey drift.
The following section explains a method for hand evaluation of drift.
3.4.2 Moment-resisting frames

Multi-storey building frames subjected to lateral loads are statically
indeterminate and exact analysis by hand calculation takes much time and effort.
Using simplifying assumptions, approximate analyses of these frames yield good
estimate of member forces in the frame, which can be used for checking the
member sizes. The following methods can be employed for lateral load analysis
of rigidly jointed frames.
• The Portal method.
• The Cantilever method
• The Factor method
The portal method and the cantilever method yield good results only when
the height of a building is approximately more than five times its least lateral
dimension. Either classical techniques such as slope deflection or moment
distribution methods or computer methods using stiffness or flexibility matrices
can be used if a more exact result is desired.

The portal method

This method is satisfactory for buildings up to 25 stories, hence is the
most commonly used approximate method for analysing tall buildings. The
following are the simplifying assumptions made in the portal method:
1. A point of contraflexure occurs at the centre of each beam.
2. A point of contraflexure occurs at the centre of each column.
3. The total horizontal shear at each storey is distributed between the columns
of that storey in such a way that each interior column carries twice the shear
carried by each exterior column.
Fig.3.11 Portal method of analysis
The above assumptions convert the indeterminate multi-storey frame to a
determinate structure. The steps involved in the analysis of the frame are
detailed below:
1. The horizontal shears on each level are distributed between the columns of
that floor according to assumption (3).

2. The moment in each column is equal to the column shear multiplied by half
the column height according to assumption (2).
3. The girder moments are determined by applying moment equilibrium
equation to the joints: by noting that the sum of the girder moments at any joint
equals the sum of the column moments at that joint. These calculations are
easily made by starting at the upper left joint and working joint by joint across to
the right end.
4. The shear in each girder is equal to its moment divided by half the girder
length. This is according to assumption (1).
5. Finally, the column axial forces are determined by summing up the beam
shears and other axial forces at each joint. These calculations again are easily
made by working from left to right and from the top floor down.
Assumptions of the Portal method of analysis are diagrammatically shown in
Fig.3.11.
The cantilever method

This method gives good results for high-narrow buildings compared to
those from the Portal method and it may be used satisfactorily for buildings of 25
to 35 storeys tall. It is not as popular as the portal method.
The simplifying assumptions made in the cantilever method are:
1. A point of contraflexure occurs at the centre of each beam
2. A point of contraflexure occurs at the centre of each column.
3. The axial force in each column of a storey is proportional to the horizontal
distance of the column from the centre of gravity of all the columns of the storey
under consideration.

Fig. 3.12(a) Typical frame
The steps involved in the application of this method are:
1. The centre of gravity of columns is located by taking moment of
areas of all the columns and dividing by sum of the areas of columns.
2. A lateral force P acting at the top storey of building frame is shown in
Fig. 3.12(a). The axial forces in the columns are represented by F1, F2, F3 and F4
and the columns are at a distance of x1, x2 , x3 and x4 from the centroidal axis
respectively as shown in Fig. 3.12(b).
Fig. 3.12(b) Top storey of the frame above plane of contraflexure

By taking the moments about the centre of gravity of columns of the storey,
P h - F1x1 - F2x2 - F3x3 - F4x4 = 0
The axial force in one column may be assumed as F and the axial forces of
remaining columns can be expressed in terms of F using assumption (3).
3. The beam shears are determined joint by joint from the column axial forces.
4. The beam moments are determined by multiplying the shear in the beam by
half the span of beam according to assumption (1).
5. The column moments are found joint by joint from the beam moments.
The column shears are obtained by dividing the column moments by the half-
column heights using assumption (2)
The factor method

The factor method is more accurate than either the portal method or the
cantilever method. The portal method and cantilever method depend on
assumed location of hinges and column shears whereas the factor method is
based on assumptions regarding the elastic action of the structure. For the
application of Factor method, the relative stiffness (k = I/l), for each beam and
column should be known or assumed, where, I is the moment of inertia of cross
section and l is the length of the member.

The application of the factor method involves the following steps:
1. The girder factor g, is determined for each joint from the following
expression.
g=
∑ kc
∑k
Where, Σ kc - Sum of relative stiffnesses of the column members meeting at
that joint.
Σ k - Sum of relative stiffnesses of all the members meeting at that joint.
Each value of girder factor is written at the near end of the girder meeting at
the joint.
2. The column factor c, is found for each joint from the following expression
c = 1-g
Each value of column factor c is written at the near end of each column
meeting at the joint. The column factor for the column fixed at the base is one.
At each end of every member, there will be factors from step 1 or step 2. To
these factors, half the values of those at the other end of the same member are
added.
3. The sum obtained as per step 2 is multiplied by the relative stiffness of the
respective members. This product is termed as column moment factor C, for
the columns and the girder moment factor G, for girders.
4. Calculation of column end moments for a typical member ij - The column
moment factors [C values] give approximate relative values of column end
moments. The sum of column end moments is equal to horizontal shear of the

storey multiplied by storey height. Column end moments are evaluated by using
the following equation,
Mij = Cij A
where, Mij - moment at end i of the ij column
Cij - column moment factor at end i of column ij
A - storey constant given by
⎛ Total horizantalShear of Storey x Height of theSotey ⎞

A=⎜ ⎟
⎝ Sum of the column end memory factors of the storey ⎠
5. Calculation of beam end moments - The girder moment factors [G values]
give the approximate relative beam end moments. The sum of beam end
moments at a joint is equal to the sum of column end moments at that joint.
Beam end moments can be worked out by using following equation,
Mij = Gij B
Where, Mij - moment at end i of the ij beam
Gij - girder moment factor at end i of beam ij
⎛ Sum of column moments at the jo int ⎞

B=⎜ ⎟
⎝ Sum of the girder end memory factors of that joi nt ⎠
B - joint constant given by

Illustration of calculation of G values:
Consider the joints B and C in the frame shown in Fig. 3.13.
Joint B: gB = k1 /( k1 + k2 + k3)
cB = 1 - gB
Joint C: gC = k4 /( k2 + k4 + k5)
cC = 1 - gC
As shown in Fig. 3.13, we should obtain values like x and y at each end of
the beam and column. Thereafter we multiply them with respective k values to
get the column or girder moment factors. Here, GBC = x k2 and GCB = y k2.
Similarly we calculate all other moment factors.

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Plate Tectonics: The Beginning

 In the 1960’s, the theory of

(Photograph courtesy of the

Plate Tectonics: The

The “fit” of two continents.

The Earth is made up of three main layers:

Inner Core Outer Core Mantle Crust

Thickness 1,216 km 2,270 km 2,900 km Continental 35-90 km

What are Tectonic Plates? (continued)

What are Tectonic Plates? (continued)

Plates and relative

What are Tectonic Plates? (continued)

Convection currents within the mantle.

1. When plates collide with each other = Convergent boundary

2. When plates separate from each other = Divergent boundary

3. When plates slide along side each other = Transform boundary

The tectonic plates and

Figure depicting oceanic crust

Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Constructive mountain building

Convergent Boundary: Volcanism

2. Divergent Boundary: Sea-floor Spreading

 New material is constantly being created. This is the opposite of a convergent

Divergent Boundary: Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Satellite bathymetry of the East Modified after http://www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/level-

 Before technology like this, most

The Glomar Challenger (1968)

 The Earth’s magnetic field flows from a

Sea-floor Exploration: Age-dating

 The relative age of the sea floor T1

Sea-floor Exploration: Age-dating

The relative ages of

Transform Boundary (continued)

Mountain building processes, faults and folds

Relative movement of two blocks Diagrammatic sketch of the two types of

Faults: Reverse Faults

Diagrammatic sketch of the two

Plate Movement Over Geologic Time

continent called Rodinia existed (pre-

2. Rodinia broke apart, and about 400

3. Pangea formed around 250 million years

halves approximately 200 million years ago

5. Gondwananland split to form Africa,

6. Around 15 million years ago, the continents

Continents in the future?

In 50 million years, it is possible that

It is though that in another 250 million

PaleoMaps used with permission from Christopher 29

Creation and Change of Landforms

Left: Active volcanoes found

(Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

 When Mount St. Helens

 The Himalayan mountain chain was formed

 In contrast, when we consider our own Appalachians,

Continental margins and deep-sea landforms

USA, west Africa, west

Sketch of an abyssal fan forming on the

Modified after Plummer/McGeary, 7th ed., pg. 400.

2. Active continental margin:

 The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of a divergent boundary found extending