A report format presentation of earthquake-resistance construction techniques, stressing upon the relevance of such techniques in the architecture industry.

1. REPORT: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
Submitted by:
Pranay Bhavsar Rithika Ravishankar
Achal Kalaskar Rama Shirwalkar
Vishranti Madne Roshani Tamkhade
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2. 1. EARTHQUAKE AND EQ-RESISTANT BUILDINGS
2. CLASSIFICATION OF EARTHQUAKES
3. CONSIDERATIONS AND PLANNING
4. TECHNIQUES / METHODOLOGIES
5. SIESMIC ZONES
6. AN EXAMPLE OF HORRIFIC FAILURE:BHUJ, INDIA
7. AN EXAMPLE OF ASTOUNDING SUCCESS: TAIPEI 101, TAIWAN
8. AN ANCIENT EXAMPLE OF ASTOUNDING SUCCESS:HORYUJI
PAGODA, JAPAN
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3. What is an earthquake?
A sudden violent shaking of the ground, typically causing great
destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic
action.
What are earthquake resistant buildings?
Earthquake-resistant structures are structures designed to
withstand earthquakes. While no structure can be entirely immune to
damage from earthquakes, the goal of earthquake-resistant
construction is to erect structures that fare better during seismic activity
than their conventional counterparts.
According to building codes, earthquake-resistant structures are
to withstand the largest earthquake of a certain probability that is likely
occur at their location. This means the loss of life should be minimized
preventing collapse of the buildings for rare earthquakes while the loss
functionality should be limited for more frequent ones.
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4. 4
Serviceability level Earthquake
•Frequent and minor earthquakes
•Building should not be damaged and continue to remain in service
•Expected ten times during the life of building
Damageability level Earthquake
•Occasional moderate earthquakes
•No structural damage is expected
•Non structural damage should not lead to any loss of life
•Expected once or twice during the life of building
Safety level Earthquake
•Rare major earthquakes
•Building should not collapse
•Non structural & structural damage should not lead to any loss of life.
Earthquake types

5. 5
Considerations:
(i) Structures should not be brittle
or collapse suddenly. Rather, they
be tough, able to deflect or deform a
considerable amount.
(ii) Resisting elements, such as
bracing or shear walls, must be
evenly throughout the building, in both
directions side-to-side, as well as top to
bottom.
(iii) All elements, such as walls and
the roof, should be tied together so as
act as an integrated unit during
earthquake shaking, transferring forces
across connections and preventing
separation.
(iv) The building must be well
connected to a good foundation and
earth. Wet, soft soils should be avoided,
and the foundation must be well tied
together, as well as tied to the wall
Planning:
• Planning and layout of the building
involving consideration of the location
rooms and walls, openings such as
and windows, the number of storeys,
etc. At this stage, site and foundation
aspects should also be considered.
• Lay out and general design of the
structural framing system with special
attention to furnishing lateral resistance,
and
• Consideration of highly loaded and
critical sections with provision of
reinforcement as required Stress concentration zone
Gradual change in
lateral stiffness and
building floor mass in
vertical direction can
be provided

6. 6
GEOMETRICAL ASYMMETRY – BUILDING JOINT
Typical problem occurs in the junction areas as
two neighbourhood block strikes each other
and try to separate out in a periodic motion
During earthquake three
blocks undergo twist in three
different orientations
Solution
Building blocks can be separated by seismic Gaps. The individual building
blocks now vibrate in plan separately. The Stress concentration in block joints
can be avoided.
MASS ASYMMETRY
Difference in CoM & CoR will invite Torsion Couple, which produce instability
LIQUEFACTION
Three main prerequisites for
liquefaction :
1. A layer of relatively
loose sand or silt.
2. A water table high
enough to submerge a
layer of loose soil.
3. An intensity of ground
shaking sufficient to
increase the water
pressure between soil
particles to cause the
soil-water mixture to
liquefy.
SOLUTION FOR
Isolated Foundation
Individual footings should be interconnected with
tie-beams or a structural slab to prevent any
relative horizontal movement occurring during
earthquake shaking.
Raft Foundation
As the raft has a common base and it equally and
uniformly distribute the super
structure load to the sub soil. It spreads
concentrated loads onto a larger area and makes
the structure tolerant of minor ground subsidence.
It mobilizes the entire weight of the building to
resist inertia-induced overturning moments.

7. 7
BASE ISOLATION:
This concept relies on separating the
substructure of a building from its
superstructure. One such system involves
floating a building above its foundation on
lead-rubber bearings, which contain a solid
lead core wrapped in alternating layers of
rubber and steel. Steel plates attach the
bearings to the building and its foundation
and then, when an earthquake hits, allow the
foundation to move without moving the
structure above it.
Now some Japanese engineers have taken
base isolation to a new level. Their system
actually levitates a building on a cushion of air.
Here's how it works: Sensors on the building
detect the telltale seismic activity of an
earthquake. The network of sensors
communicates with an air compressor, which,
within a half second of being alerted, forces
air between the building and its foundation.
The cushion of air lifts the structure up to 1.18
inches (3 centimeters) off the ground, isolating
it from the forces that could tear it apart.
When the earthquake subsides, the
compressor turns off, and the building settles
back down to its foundation.
SHOCK ABSORBERS:
Shock absorbers slow down and reduce
the magnitude of vibratory motions by
turning the kinetic energy of your
bouncing suspension into heat energy
that can be dissipated through hydraulic
fluid. In physics, this is known as
damping, which is why some people
refer to shock absorbers as dampers.
Turns out dampers can be useful when
designing earthquake-resistant
buildings. Engineers generally place
dampers at each level of a building, with
one end attached to a column and the
other end attached to a beam. Each
damper consists of a piston head that
moves inside a cylinder filled with
silicone oil. When an earthquake strikes,
the horizontal motion of the building
causes the piston in each damper to
push against the oil, transforming the
quake's mechanical energy into heat.

8. 8
A fuse provides
protection by
failing if the
current in a circuit
exceeds a certain
level. This breaks
the flow of
electricity and
prevents
overheating and
fires.
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Illinois call their idea
a controlled rocking system because the steel frames that make up the
structure are elastic and allowed to rock on top of the foundation. In addition to
the steel frames, the researchers introduced vertical cables that anchor the top
of each frame to the foundation and limit the rocking motion. Not only that, the
cables have a self-centering ability, which means they can pull the entire
structure upright when the shaking stops. The final components are the
replaceable steel fuses placed between two frames or at the bases of columns.
The metal teeth of the fuses absorb seismic energy as the building rocks. If they
"blow" during an earthquake, they can be replaced relatively quickly and cost-
effectively to restore the building to its original, ribbon-cutting form.

9. It is essential that the foundation system move in unison during an earthquake.
When supports consist largely of isolated column footings, it is advisable to add
ties of the type illustrated in in order to achieve this and to enable the lateral
loads to be shared among all the independent footings.
When they consist of separate elements building frames of the traditional post
and beam system lack lateral force resistance. For a single bay of such a system,
stability may be achieved by:
 Strengthening the connections between the elements of the frame to make
them moment-resistant
 Providing bracing in the shape of the letter (X)
 Building rigid infill walls between the columns
Factors that influence the building’s response to lateral loading effects of
earthquakes are:
Building Sites
High-risk sites of the types illustrated and locations with low bearing capacity
soils such as expansive clay, loose sand, unstable hillsides etc. should be avoided.
Weight of the Construction
Heavy buildings are a seismic hazard. Buildings, particularly the roof and the
floors should be kept as light as structurally possible.
Building Form
Symmetrical buildings of relatively simple form usually perform better than
complex shapes where walls are asymmetrically distributed on the plan.
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10. 10
Confined Masonry
This is a construction system where
masonry structural walls are
surrounded on all four sides with
reinforced concrete. In order to ensure
structural integrity, vertical confining
elements should be located at all
corners and recesses of the building,
and at all joints and wall intersections.
In addition, they should be placed at
both sides of any wall opening whose
area exceeds 2.5 m2
Typical distribution of vertical confining
element in the plan of building
Stiffness of Non-structural Elements
It is recommended to reinforce
non-structural partition walls with
4-6 mm diameter bars placed in the
bed joints with a vertical spacing of
not more than 600 mm. Where
weather conditions necessitate the
use of reinforced concrete pitched
roofs the masonry gable end walls
should be anchored to the
uppermost tie beams. If the height
of the gable wall exceeds 4 m,
intermediate tie beams should be
added at intervals not exceeding 2
m

11. 11
Floors and Roofs
During earthquakes, floors and roofs should act as rigid horizontal
diaphragms, which distribute the seismic forces among structural walls in
proportion to their stiffness. One of the main reasons for the poor behaviour
of existing masonry buildings is a lack of proper horizontal diaphragm action
of floor and roof structures and or lack of proper connections between them
and the structural walls which carry them.
Use of timber floors and roofs in high-risk seismic zones is only
recommended where the requisite carpentry skills exist and if specially
designed details to ensure the integrity of these elements and their
anchorage to the supporting walls.
Jack arches in lime mortar spanning between steel joists are adequate,
provided the spans do not exceed 900 mm and steel cross bracing welded to
corners of the outer joists above on the upper surface of the floor or roof is
provided. Use of deformed bars for this is not allowed because they produce
brittle welded joints.
In the case of reinforced concrete floors and roofs, two-way slabs are to be
used in preference to one-way slabs. Connections to walls are to follow the
details illustrated.

12. 12
In many modern high-rise buildings,
engineers use core-wall construction to
increase seismic performance at lower
cost. In this design, a
reinforced concrete core runs through
the heart of the structure, surrounding
the elevator banks. For extremely tall
buildings, the core wall can be quite
substantial -- at least 30 feet in each
plan direction and 18 to 30 inches thick.
A better solution for structures in
earthquake zones calls for a rocking-
core wall combined with base isolation.
A rocking core-wall rocks at the ground
level to prevent the concrete in the wall
from being permanently deformed. To
accomplish this, engineers reinforce the
lower two levels of the building with
steel and incorporate post-tensioning
along the entire height. In post-
tensioning systems, steel tendons are
threaded through the core wall. The
tendons act like rubber bands, which
can be tightly stretched by hydraulic
jacks to increase the tensile strength of
the core-wall.
While core-wall construction helps
buildings stand up to earthquakes,
it's not a perfect technology.
Researchers have found that fixed-
base buildings with core-walls can
still experience significant inelastic
deformations, large shear forces
and damaging floor accelerations.
One solution, as we've already
discussed, involves base isolation --
floating the building on lead-
rubber bearings. This design
reduces floor accelerations and
shear forces but doesn't prevent
deformation at the base of the
core-wall.

13. 13
. Another promising solution, much easier
to implement, requires a technology
known as fiber-reinforced plastic wrap,
or FRP. Manufacturers produce these
wraps by mixing carbon fibers with binding
polymers, such as epoxy, polyester, vinyl
ester or nylon, to create a lightweight, but
incredibly strong, composite material.
In retrofitting applications, engineers
simply wrap the material around concrete
support columns of bridges or buildings
and then pump pressurized epoxy into the
gap between the column and the material.
Based on the design requirements,
engineers may repeat this process six or
eight times, creating a mummy-wrapped
beam with significantly higher strength
and ductility. Amazingly, even earthquake-
damaged columns can be repaired with
carbon-fiber wraps. In one study,
researchers found that weakened highway
bridge columns cocooned with the
composite material were 24 to 38 percent
stronger than unwrapped columns

14. 14
MAP INDICATING SEISMIC ZONES OF THE WORLD
MAP INDICATING SEISMIC ZONES OF INDIA

15. 15
Case Study 1: Gujarat Earthquake: 2001 Bhuj Earthquake
A Powerful Earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on Richter-Scale rocked the Western
Indian State of Gujarat on the 26 th of January, 2001. It caused extensive
damage to life & property. This earthquake was so devastating in its scale and
suffering that the likes of it had not been experienced in past 50 years.
thousands seriously injured, bruised and handicapped; both physically,
psychologically and economically.
The epicenter of the quake was located at 23.6 north Latitude and 69.8 east
Longitude, about 20 km Northeast of Bhuj Town of the Kutch district in
Gujarat. At a depth of only 23 kms below surface this quake generated intense
shaking which was felt in 70% region of India and far beyond in neighbouring
Pakistan and Nepal too. This was followed by intense aftershocks that became
continued source of anxiety for the populace. The Seismicity of the affected
Area of Kutch is a known fact with a high incidence of earthquakes in recent
times and in historical past. It falls in Seismic Zone V. The only such zone
the Himalayan Seismic Belt. In last 200 years important damaging earthquakes
occurred in 1819, 1844, 1845, 1856, 1869,1956 in the same vicinity as 2001
earthquake.

16. 16
Gujarat Earthquake is very significant from the point of view of earthquake
disaster mitigation in India. The problems observed in this disaster are no
different from other major recent earthquakes in the world. The issues in the
recovery and reconstruction phase are: the proper understanding risk among
different stakeholders, training and confidence building among the
professionals and masons with appropriate development planning strategies.
This quake has provided numerous examples of geo-technical and structural
failures. The traditional wisdom of design and construction practices of
engineered buildings prevalent in this country came under criticism for the
first time. It has triggered comprehensive understanding on what needs to be
done in this regard.

17. 17
. All these factors compounded the effects of the tremor and the material
used in masonry just could not resist any lateral pressures for which it had
no security. This amounted to large scale collapse of houses in the villages
and also to some extent in the towns in the Katchchh region.
2. structures built in villages and urban areas by masons and builders
with easily available materials and hybrid techniques
• Made by using contemporary materials.
• In the villages there was also an element of cheaper construction
using waste stones and materials which were not particularly good for
building purposes.
• sometimes use soil as a binding material and in many cases the soil
used was of a very inferior quality
1. heritage of building methods
• confined to the tribal cultures in the regions of Saurashtra and
Katchchh
• sustained themselves in the event of such earthquakes and are more
or less unaffected. . This was because of the form of the shelter and
also the materials and techniques with which these were put together

18. 18
Case Study 2: Chamoli (Himalaya, India) Earthquake of 29 March 1999
The Chamoli earthquake of 29 March 1999 in northern India is yet another
important event from the viewpoint of Himalayan seism tectonics and seismic
resistance of non-engineered constructions. The earthquake occurred in a part
of the Central Himalaya, which is highly prone to earthquakes and has been
placed in the highest seismic zone (zone V) of India. There has been a bitter
controversy during the recent years regarding the seismic safety of a 260-m-
rock-fill dam under construction at Tehri, about 80 km west of the epicenter.
Fortunately, there are no major cities in the meizoseismal region and the
population density is the second lowest in the state. The earthquake caused
death of about 100 persons and injured hundreds more. Maximum MSK
was up to VIII at a few locations.
The quake was felt at far-off places such as Kanpur (440 km south-east from
epicenter), Shimla (220 km north-west) and Delhi (280 km south-west).
Maximum death and damage occurred in the district of Chamoli where about
persons died and over 200 injured; about 2,595 houses collapsed and about
10,861 houses were partially damaged. In all, about 1,256 villages were affected.
A few buildings at the far away mega-city of Delhi sustained non-structural
damages. No instances of liquefaction were reported. Longitudinal cracks in
ground were seen in some locations in the affected area.

19. 19
Taipei 101
Taiwan is a horrible place to build a
skyscraper. Not only is it right on the
Ring of Fire, but its capital city lies right
on top of multiple fault ones, one of
which is just a few blocks away.

20. 20
Taipei 101
SOME BASIC INFORMATION
Architect – C.Y.Lee & Partners
Structural Engineer – Shaw Shieh
Structural Consult. – Thornton-Tomasetti
Engineers, New York City
Year Started – June 1998 (Mall already open)
Total Height – 508m
No. of Floors – 101
Plan Area – 50m X 50m
Cost – $ 700 million
Building Use – Office Complex + Mall
Parking - 83,000 m2, 1800 cars
Retail - Taipei 101 Mall (77,033 m2)
Offices - Taiwan Stock Exchange (198,347 m2)
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
Structure depicts a bamboo stalk
Youth and Longevity
o Everlasting Strength
 Pagoda Style
o Eight prominent sections
o Chinese lucky number “8”
o In China, 8 is a homonym
for prosperity
o Even number = “rhythm
and symmetry”
BUILDING FRAME
 Materials
o 60ksi Steel
o 10,000 psi Concrete
 Systems
o Outrigger Trusses
o Moment Frames
o Belt Trusses
 Lateral Load Resistance
o Braced Moment Frames in
the building’s core
o Outrigger from core to
perimeter
o Perimeter Moment Frames
o Shear walls

21. 21
CHALLENGES FACED
 Taipei being a coastal city the
problems present are:
o Weak soil conditions (The
structures tend to sink).
o Typhoon winds (High
lateral displacement
tends to topple
structures).
o Large potential
earthquakes (Generates
shear forces).
.
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
 380 piles with 3 inch concrete slab.
 Mega columns- 8 cm thick steel & 10,000 psi
concrete infill to provide for overturning.
 Walls - 5 & 7 degree slope.
 106,000 tons of steel, grade 60- 25%
stronger.
 6 cranes on site – steel placement.
 Electrical & Mechanical.
 Curtain wall placement.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
 Braced core with belt trusses

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TYPICAL PLAN UP TO 26TH STOREY
TYPICAL PLAN FROM 27TH TO 91ST STOREY
 Gravity loads are carried vertically by a
variety of columns.
 Within the core, sixteen columns are located
at the crossing points of four lines of bracing
in each direction.
 The columns are box sections constructed of
steel plates, filled with concrete for added
strength as well as stiffness till the 62nd
floor.
 On the perimeter, up to the 26th floor, each
of the four building faces has two ‘super
columns,’ two ‘sub-super-columns,’ and two
corner columns.
 Each face of the perimeter above the 26th
floor has the two ‘super-columns’ continue
upward.
 The ‘super-columns’ and ‘sub-super-columns’
are steel box sections, filled with 10,000 psi
(M70) high performance concrete on lower
floors for strength and stiffness up to the
62nd floor.
The building is a pile through clay rich soil
to bedrock 40 – 60 m below.
The plies are topped by a foundation slab
which is 3m thick at the edges and up to
5m thick under the largest of columns.
There are a total of 380 1.5m dia. Tower
piles.
COLUMN SYSTEM

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Tuned mass damper
One of Taipei 101’s most famous engineering features is its tuned mass damper, which is
the secret weapon behind its disaster survival techniques. It’s essentially a giant
pendulum, which swings in the opposite direction of the sway of the building,
preventing it from swaying too far.
As you might imagine, for a building this size, the counterweight has to be huge, too;
it’s the world’s largest, at 5.5 meters in diameter (18 ft), and the heaviest, at 660 metric
tons (730 short tons).
But it doesn’t just swing back and forth on its suspension cables; it’s hydraulically
controlled so its movements correspond precisely with the movement of the
building, rather than swinging freely.

24. 24
The trial quake
Many of Taipei 101’s disaster prevention techniques were put to the test,
when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the building, partway through
construction. Cranes collapsed, five construction workers died, and the city
suffered major damage; but Taipei 101 was just fine, and after a thorough
inspection, the crew got right back to work. Since then, Taipei 101 has faced
typhoons and earthquakes, and still stands.
Few other structures have to contend with the forces of nature endured by
most East Asian skyscrapers, and although other structures have
incorporated plenty of ingenious engineering techniques to combat these
obstacles, Taipei 101 in many ways led the way for later designs. From
concrete pouring techniques to the lifting of massive objects to disaster
reduction methods, many later skyscrapers have built on the innovations
that allowed Taipei 101 to reach its unprecedented heights.

25. 25
The Taipei 101 uses a 800 ton TMD which occupy 5 of its upper floors (87 –
91).
The ball is assembled on site in layers of 12.5-cm-thick steel plate. It is
welded to a steel cradle suspended from level 92 by 3” cables, in 4 sets of 2
each.
Eight primary hydraulic pistons, each about 2 m long, grip the cradle to
dissipate dynamic energy as heat.
A roughly 60-cm-dia pin projecting from the underside of the ball limits its
movement to about 1 m even during times of the strongest lateral forces.
The 60m high spire at the top has 2 smaller ‘flat’ dampers to support it.
STRUCTURAL INNOVATIONS IN OTHER TAIPEI BUIDINGS
The structural systems used in Taipei 101 draw a lot from other buildings in
the Taipei region.
They can generally be classified into 2 types
a) Hysteretic Dampers
- Triangular Added stiffness and damping damper (TADAS)
- Reinforced ADAS damper (RADAS)
- Buckling Restrained Braces (BRB)
- Low Yield Steel Shear Panel (LYSSP)
b) Velocity Dampers
- Visco - Elastic dampers (VE)
- Viscous Dampers (VD)
- Viscous Damping Walls (VDW)
Currently, there have been more applications using viscous dampers than
other velocity type dampers.
This may be due to the facts that the design procedure for implementing
the viscous damper is relatively simpler and the analytical model is available
in the popular computational tools such as SAP2000 and ETABS.

26. 26
Japan has been struck by magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes a
staggering 46 times since the pagoda at the Horyu-Ji Temple was
built in 607AD. So, how did the 122 foot tall structure stay upright
through all that shaking?
Multi-story pagoda technology arrived in Japan during the sixth
century alongside Buddhism from China. On the mainland, pagodas
were traditionally built of stone. However given Japan's seismic
instability and higher annual rainfall, that design was simply
untenable. But, after much experimentation, Japanese builders
figured out how to adapt them to the shaky conditions through
three design changes: the use of wide and heavy eaves,
disconnected floors, and a shock-absorbing shinbashira.
Japan is a wet country with roughly double China's annual
precipitation. So, to keep rainwater from running off building and
onto the soil surrounding the foundation, potentially causing the
pagoda to sink, builders extended the eaves far away from the walls
—constituting up to 50 percent or more of the building's total
width. Builders employed a series of cantilevered beams to prop up
the massive overhangs. Then, to combat the buildings' severe
flammability, the eaves were then laden with heavy earthenware to
prevent tinders from igniting the wooden structure underneath.

27. 27
The Horyu-ji pagoda doesn't have any central load-bearing beams
like you'd see in modern construction. Since the building tapers as
it rises, no single load-bearing vertical beam connects to the one
below it. The individual floors themselves aren't solidly connected
to their neighbors either, just piled atop one another with loosefitting
brackets. This is actually a big advantage in earthquake
country. During a shake, the floors will sway in a slithering fashion,
with each floor moving in the opposite direction of the ones
immediately above and below. This allows the building to more
fluidly ride the seismic wave than a more solid building would.
To keep the floors from flexing too far, builders came up with an
ingenious solution—the shinbashira. It looks like a large loadbearing
column, but it doesn't actually support any of the
building's weight (that weight is supported by a network of 12 outer
and four inner columns). Built from a large pine trunk, the
shinbashira is strung from the underside of the roof and hangs
down a shaft in the center of the structure. Sometimes it's buried
into the earth, sometimes it rests lightly atop the ground, and
occasionally it doesn't even touch the ground—it just freely hangs.
The shinbashira acts as a massive tuned mass damper, helping to
mitigate the earthquake's vibrations. It also prevents the floors
from swaying to the point of collapse and absorbs some of the
momentum of the floors as they strike against it. Basically, it's a
giant stationary pendulum with enough mass to prevent the lighter
floors from freely swinging around.