Earthquakes and Their Effects On Buildings

Earthquakes
and their
effects on
buildings
Nicola Storgaard, Constructing Architect, 7th semster 2010
1
Preface
This dissertation is a part of the curriculum for my final semester of the B.sc of
architectural technology and construction management. It is written to understand the
dynamics of a building during ground movement. To complete this report I have enlisted
the help of my consultant Tommy Villadsen, and researched numerous amounts of
literature on the subject.
The idea of writing about the effects of an earthquake on a building comes from my
interest in the subject. I myself have lived in Japan, and have witnessed waking up to a
shaking building a numerous times.
The report itself is divided into parts, to help the reader better understand the following
chapters. The first part of the report focuses on the formation, and whereabouts of
earthquakes,
Abstract
As more and more people inhabit this planet, the inhabitants are forced to live in more
dense cities, in tall buildings that must be able to offer them safety from the dangers that
plague certain areas of the globe. Earthquakes are not only limited to the area around fault
lines, but unknown fault lines, sleeping for hundreds of years pose a real danger to
densely populated areas. Earthquakes can happen virtually anywhere on the globe,
though not in the same kind of degree that the areas near famous faults experience them.
Unfortunately some of these biggest cities in the world reside along some of the most
dangerous fault lines. But due to this, lots of research about the effects of earthquakes on
buildings has been done, which has made the modern high-rise buildings some of the
safest places to be during an earthquake. This report focuses on the effects that
earthquakes have on buildings, and what techniques can be used to limit the damage
once the earthquakes hit.
Nicola Storgaard Page 2

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the lecturers that have helped me through the past three years,
teaching and guiding me through all the material necessary for this education. I would
especially like to that the lecturers who taught statics and building construction during the
past semesters, as without that knowledge, I wouldn't be able to get as good a start in
writing a report about the effects of earthquakes on buildings. And of course, not to forget
Tommy Villadsen, who is my consultant for this dissertation.
Contents
Preface....................................................................................................................................................... 2
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 3
1. Problem formulation ............................................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Definition .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 6
2. Earthquakes .......................................................................................................................................... 8
2.1 What is an earthquake? ................................................................................................................. 8
2.1.1 Divergent boundaries .............................................................................................................. 8
2.1.2 Convergent boundaries ........................................................................................................... 8
2.1.3 Transform boundaries ............................................................................................................. 9
2.2 Seismic waves ................................................................................................................................ 9
2.2.1 Body waves .............................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.3 Surface waves.........................................................................................................................10
2.3 Predicting an earthquake ..............................................................................................................10
2.4 Earthquake early warning system (Japan) ..................................................................................11
2.5 Frequency and risks of earthquakes in Japan ............................................................................13
2.6 The threat to Tokyo........................................................................................................................13
2.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................14
3. Ground movement and structures......................................................................................................15
3.1 Encountering different types of ground ........................................................................................15
3.1.1 Different types of substructure ...............................................................................................15

3.1.2 Methods of limiting damage ...................................................................................................16
3.2 Earthquake simulation ...................................................................................................................16
3.3 Conclusion of the test ....................................................................................................................18
4. Earthquakes Design ............................................................................................................................19
4.2 A look into present day earthquake design .................................................................................19
4.2.1 Tuned liquid dampeners (TLD) ..............................................................................................19
4.2.2 Tuned mass dampeners (TMD).............................................................................................20
4.2.3 Taipei 101 ................................................................................................................................20
4.2.4 Reduced beam section (RBS) ...................................................................................................22
4.2.5 Self righting buildings .................................................................................................................23
4.3 Base isolation .................................................................................................................................24
4.4 Good and bad building design ......................................................................................................25
4.4.1 Simplicity..................................................................................................................................26
4.4.2 Soft storeys .............................................................................................................................26
4.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................27
5. Understanding the forces on a building .............................................................................................28
5.1 Inertia forces...................................................................................................................................28
5.1 The dangers of frequency .............................................................................................................29
5.2 Tacoma Narrows Bridge ...............................................................................................................30
5.3 Diverting the forces of an earthquake safely ...............................................................................31
5.4 How shear forces work ..................................................................................................................31
5.5 Steel structure of an earthquake resistant building.....................................................................32
5.5.1 Special moment frames (SMF) ..............................................................................................32
5.5.2 Braced frames.............................................................................................................................33
5.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................35
6. Building codes in Japan ......................................................................................................................36
6.1 John Milne (1850 - 1913) ..............................................................................................................36
6.2 The 1919 urban building law.........................................................................................................36
6.3 Building codes following the rebuilding of Japan after WW2 .....................................................38
6.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................39
7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................40

Figur 1: Seismograph during an earthquake ................................................................................................. 9
Figur 2: Diagram of the early warning system in Japan ................................................................................11
Figur 4: Japanese flyer of earthquake dos and donts .................................................................................12
Figur 3: Early warning logo ..........................................................................................................................12
Figur 5: Magnification of earthquake destruction in loose soil.....................................................................15
Figur 6: Water counter balancing the forces of an earthquake ....................................................................19
Figur 7: Tuned mass damper .......................................................................................................................20
Figur 8: Floor plan of floor of Taipei 101......................................................................................................21
Figur 9: Picture of reduced beam section in Taipei 101 ...............................................................................22
Figur 10: Illustration of self righting building ...............................................................................................23
Figur 11: Base isolator v. fixed-base building ...............................................................................................24
Figur 12: Drawing of L-shaped building during an earthquake .....................................................................25
Figur 13: L shaped building designed for earthquake forces ........................................................................25
Figur 14: Frequencies for different sizes of buildings ...................................................................................28
Figur 15: Functions of a shear wall ..............................................................................................................31
Figur 16: Braced frames (http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/ESDEP/master/wg17/l0500.htm) ...........................34
Figur 17: Seismic coefficient........................................................................................................................37

1. Problem formulation
How do you construct multistory buildings, so they are able to withstand the forces of an
earthquake and protect the people inside?
1. What happens to a building when it is hit by an earthquake?

2. How does Japan cope with earthquakes in their major city Tokyo?
3. What are some of the building techniques available to eliminate structural
damage?
4. Are there building codes specifically for earthquakes?
5. Are there any height restrictions on buildings in earthquake zones?
1.1 Definition
Construct - Use earthquake resistant technology
Multistory buildings - Commercial and residential, minimum 3 stories
Withstand - resist the movement of the ground, and prevent collapse
Forces - Movement of the ground
Protect - Prevent any serious injuries to people inside the building
Introduction
Taking on the subject Earthquakes and their effects on buildings, I wanted to investigate
how an earthquake affects the structural integrity of a building. Since the subject is so
large, and each earthquake affected area is different than the other, due to the different
types of fault lines, I would have to narrow it down to one region. I figured that Japan
would be an excellent country to find a case study, and examples on how to earthquake
proof a building. Japan is well known for its frequent earthquakes, due to the fault that is
part of the ring of fire. Because of the strength and frequency of earthquakes, they are also
leaders in earthquake proofing technology. Also, they have been recording devastating
earthquakes for the past four hundred years. This report focuses primarily on tectonic
earthquake damage. Also, the buildings, and the stresses on buildings investigated, are
the ones made from reinforced materials, like concrete and masonry. No wooden
structures will be used in this report.

In this first part of the report I will investigate what an earthquake is, how is occurs, and
what geological forces are at work to create them.

2. Earthquakes
2.1 What is an earthquake?
The earth's crust is composed of two layers; the lithosphere which is Latin for rocky
sphere, and is the solid part of the crust. And athenosphere which is molten rock.
Earthquakes happen when stresses on the lithosphere occur as it floats on the
athenosphere1. The earth's crust consists of fault lines throughout the globe, which
experience different types of stresses. There are mainly three different types of faults
found2.
1. Constructive plate margin/Divergent boundaries

2. Destructive plate margin/Convergent boundaries
3. Conservative plate margin/Transform boundaries
2.1.1 Divergent boundaries

Here new crust is formed. The lithosphere moves apart, and upward moving magma forms
new crust by as much as 2.5 cm a year. Earthquakes here occur at shallow depths of
between 2 - 8 kilometers, and are relatively small. Larger earthquakes are uncommon near
the divergent boundaries, as the plate here is thin, and stresses built up are not enough to
cause larger earthquakes.
2.1.2 Convergent boundaries

Convergent boundaries are the opposite of divergent boundaries. The general rule of
tectonics is, that the same amount of crust formed at the divergent boundaries, must also
be destroyed at the convergent boundaries. The earthquakes here are generally powerful,
as a lot of pent up energy is created when the plates meet. Depending on where these
convergent boundaries are found, the crust is destroyed differently.
Oceanic - Continental convergence - The density of the oceanic plate is larger

than that of the continental plate, which means that it gets pushed underneath the
continental plate. Here the earthquakes are strong, and mountain ranges are
formed where they meet.
Oceanic - Oceanic convergence - The older of the two plates gets pushed
underneath the other.
1
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-earthquakes.htm
2
Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, by Pankaj Agarwal, Manish Shrikhande, p. 7

Continental - Continental convergence - Here neither plate is sub ducted as both
the crusts are formed of light rocks. Huge mountain ranges are formed here, like the
Himalayas.
2.1.3 Transform boundaries

Transform boundaries are the zones between two plates that slide horizontally. The
majority of such faults are found on the ocean floor, but some can be found on land, like
the San Andreas fault in California. The friction created by this kind of fault can release
enormous amounts of energy, resulting in huge earthquakes.
2.2 Seismic waves

During an earthquake you can encounter many different types of waves, but in general
there are two categories to place these waves3:
Body waves - These waves travel through the earth's inner layers.
Surface waves - Can only travel on the surface of the crust. Same principal as
ripples on water.
2.2.1 Body waves

Body waves consist of P-waves (primary waves) and S-waves (secondary waves). The
first to arrive are P-waves, which move through the earth's inner layers faster than the S-
waves. It can move through liquid and
solid rock, and behaves similar to
sound waves, as it pushes and pulls
the rock that it travels through.
Particles subjected to a P-wave move
in the same direction that the energy
is moving in, also known as the
Figur 1: Seismograph during an earthquake
direction of wave propagation.
3
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/waves.html
Figure 1: http://wapi.isu.edu/envgeo/EG5_earthqks/eg_mod5.htm

S-waves are felt after the P-waves. They move much slower, and can only travel through
solid rock. The particles in their path are moved side to side, up and down, perpendicular
to the wave propagation.
2.2.3 Surface waves

Surface waves arrive after the occurrence of body waves, and have much lower
frequencies. They are easily distinguished in a seismograph, as they create huge
fluctuations. The damage caused to structures is mainly due to these kind of waves. The
first kind of surface wave is called the love wave, named after the mathematician who
worked out the model for this kind of wave. Love waves move in a horizontal motion, and
move the ground side to side.
The second type of surface wave is the Rayleigh wave, also named after the
mathematician who predicted it by mathematical model. These waves roll along the
ground, exactly like waves on the sea, and can be much larger than the other waves.
Rayleigh waves move the ground up and down, side to side in the direction that the wave
is moving.
2.3 Predicting an earthquake

Unlike other natural disasters that warn us beforehand of the impending dangers, like
hurricanes and volcanoes, earthquakes can be extremely hard to predict. Actually
earthquakes are a warning sign of a volcanic eruption.
In the hope of successfully predicting an earthquake, it is possible to look for patterns of

activity. The most widely used theory surrounding plate tectonics, is the theory of
dilatancy4. The theory is that when a rock is under pressure it expands, due to cracks
opening up and enlarging the rock. The tricky part of this theory is, that it is hard to
observe rocks when they are underground. To use this theory you have to employ other
measures to get data to understand if the area is under stress. Scientists know that when
a rock is under pressure, it transmits seismic waves in different frequencies, also the
ground could start to uplift, and ground water pressure can change. Also the magnetic
properties of a rock can change, and the electrical resistance can vary. Using these
techniques can help understand if an area near a city is starting to store pressure in the
ground. Another thing you can investigate is an area's history. It is possible to look at earth
4
http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/physical/earth/pred.html

samples, to see how often an area encounters an earthquake, and the frequency of them
occurring. This is a way to loosely predict when the next earthquake will occur, but it is still
very important to monitor the ground, for changes.
One farfetched theory in earthquake detection is the reaction of animals to the subtle
changes in an area, probably due to magnetic fluctuations caused by expanding rock. The
Chinese have observed that animals change their behavioural patterns just before an
earthquake. Snakes have been observed to have surfaced from the ground during their
hibernation period, to end up freezing to death. Domesticated animals like horses and
cattle are said to be restless, and refuse to enter buildings5. Also people with common
house pets have reported unusual behaviour from their animals.
2.4 Earthquake early warning system (Japan)

As mentioned in the above sub-chapter,
predicting an earthquake is almost
impossible as you have to look for a
series of anomalies regarding the
surrounding area. Also earthquakes can
have their epicentres far distances from a
city, in areas that are not being
monitored. An earthquake in the Japanese Figur 2: Diagram of the early warning system in Japan
city Kobe, came from nowhere and unleashed

destruction and devastation throughout the city. There were no warning signs to alert the
public what was to happen. The inhabitants in Tokyo understand that the only means of
protection are from properly built structures, and properly followed guidelines to follow
when you hear the earthquake warning6.
5
6
Earthquake early warning, Kinkyu Jishin Sokuhou, 1 April 2009
Figure 2 and 4: Earthquake early warning, Kinkyu Jishin Sokuhou, 1 April 2009,
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/EEWLeaflet.pdf.

From the moment an earthquake starts shaking the ground at the monitoring station
outside the city, till it reaches people in the city can take between 0 - 15 seconds. Some
people don't receive any warning at all. They are aware of an earthquake immediately
when it starts. Monitoring stations are placed all over Japan, and work by picking up the
faster moving P-waves. When a station picks up these faster waves, it immediately
transmits its warnings to the media and disaster prevention organisations, who broadcast
the warning to the public, hoping that people manage to brace
themselves7.
Figur 3: Early
warning logo
Figur 4: Japanese flyer of earthquake dos and donts
7
Earthquake early warning, Administration Division, Seismological and Volcanological Department
Japan Meteorological Agency, 10 August 2007
Figure 3: Japans Early warning earthquake logo.

A properly reinforced and shake-proof building can only protect you from being trapped
inside a collapsed building. During an earthquake there are other dangers, depending on
where you are during the quake. If you are at home, or in a public building, you risk
appliances and furniture topping over, falling on top of you, possibly crushing you. If you
are outside in an urban area, you could potentially be killed by falling signs, facades, and
other things falling off of buildings8.
2.5 Frequency and risks of earthquakes in Japan

When designing a building in Japan an engineer has to be well aware of the risks posed
by the sudden and unpredictable occurrence of earthquakes. Japan is a relatively small
country, but yet experiences about 18% of all earthquakes on the planet, that are
magnitude 7 or more9. The most dangerous fault lines are situated on the pacific coast of
Japan, but the smaller and shallower faults are located throughout the country. In 2004 -
2005, earthquakes occurred from previously unknown faults, due to long recurrence
periods10. This proves that you always have to assume that an earthquake could happen
wherever you build.
2.6 The threat to Tokyo

In 1923 a major 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Tokyo and killed 143.000 people. The
earthquake, also known as the Kanto earthquake, has hit the area approximately every 70
years, in the past 300 years. This means that Tokyo is soon due for another major
earthquake. To understand how important it is to prepare a major city for an earthquake,
you don't have to travel very far. In 1995 a major earthquake hit the city of Kobe in Japan.
It too is situated in the vicinity of an active fault, and though it did prepare for an impending
earthquake, it didn't prepare for one over a magnitude of 5. This resulted in major damage
to the city, and made people realize that it was only a matter of time before something
similar could happen to the capital11. In wake of the Kobe disaster an organization was
established, called the Earthquake Research Committee (ERC), who developed seismic
hazard maps over Japan from 1995 - 2005. Modelling has been used to understand the
8
Info from Japanese flyer of dos and donts (figure 4)
9
Japan: large-scale floods and earthquakes, By Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development p. 191
10
Japan: large-scale floods and earthquakes, By Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development p. 192
11
The Independent: Tokyo faces catastrophic earthquake risk, Richard Lloyd Parry, 1996

effects on buildings according to their height and material, and research about how
materials were effected in the Kobe earthquake have been implemented into the model.
The information has been very useful for improving on the countries building codes12.
2.7 Conclusion
In this chapter I am writing about the important information to know when you are
investigating the effects that earthquakes have on structures. The general information
about what an earthquake is, and how it is structured has been followed in this chapter,
which helps to understand both how to warn people about an impending danger, and
which vibrations are acting on buildings.
We know from understand the different types of waves present during a quake, that it is
the surface waves that are damaging to buildings. These waves move the earth both up
and down, and side to side, and especially the Rayleigh waves are damaging, as they are
stronger than the love waves.
This chapter also looks into whether or not it is possible to predict an earthquake in a
longer period before one happens. In Japan the population has just seconds to react to the
sirens, and after that all they can do is duck for cover and hang on. If it was possible to
predict a devastating earthquake before one struck, people living in vulnerable housing
could have enough time to seek shelter somewhere else. What was discovered about
predicting an earthquake longer back, is that it is possible to monitor the surrounding
ground, and look for any alterations in the properties of the bedrock, which could indicate
that the ground is experiencing an increase in stress. What I also understood from
researching Japans warning procedures, is that they have an idea that an earthquake will
hit, but it is impossible to predict it down to the day and hour.
12
Risk assessment models, RMS, 2005

3. Ground movement and structures
3.1 Encountering different types of ground
When designing any structure in an earthquake prone area, one thing that has been be
taken into account, is what type of ground the building will rest on. In earthquake prone
areas this is extremely important, because you need different types of support for
structures on different types of ground . It can be extremely hazardous to design a building
without knowing if it will be built on solid ground, or loose ground, as both will react
differently during ground movement.
3.1.1 Different types of substructure:13
Stable, solid ground - Thought has to go into building on solid ground as the
energy of even small earthquakes can be amplified by the structures built on it.
Fault line - The earth here can rip apart. Sometimes it is unavoidable due to
expanding a city, or building in an area where the fault lines are not known about.
Loose gravely, sandy soil - The most dangerous ground to build on. During a
quake, water is forced up through the loose soil, and liquefaction can happen,
making the soil like quicksand. If a building isn't properly designed, even a small
earthquake can cause it to collapse.
Coastal region - The biggest
threat here is Tsunamis, triggered
by an earthquake.
The picture on the right shows how the

magnitude of earthquakes can be
amplified, if you build on soft
sediments.
Figur 5: Magnification of earthquake destruction in loose soil
When you are aware of the type of ground the building will sit on, you have to start making
decisions based on what you know about which structure will best suit the type of ground,
and how powerful the earthquakes are in the region.
13
Discovery Channel: http://dsc.discovery.com/guides/planetearth/earthquake/interactive/interactive.html
Figure 5: http://www.tasaclips.com/animations/amplification_of_seismic_waves.html

3.1.2 Methods of limiting damage:
Reinforced building material - Reinforced with steel rods to increase the tensile
strength of the material. Allows the material to deform while swaying, without
crumbling apart.
Foundation anchoring - Prevents the building being shook off its foundation.
Makes the building respond to the quake force in unison, and prevents the building
from oscillating in different rates.
Base isolation - Absorbs the shock of earthquakes by allowing the building to slide
back and forth on the foundation. Some of these buildings use counter weights
placed in the top of the building.
Pile Foundation - Long pillars are constructed to bypass loose gravely soil, where
liquefaction could be an issue, to anchor the building on firmer bedrock located
under the dangerous soil.
3.2 Earthquake simulation

By using an earthquake simulation program from the discovery channel, I have been able
to construct a table showing the extent of the damage on buildings in different scenarios. I
have learned that each type of ground has a preferred prevention style of building on top
of it.
Solid ground
By choosing the desired magnitude of the
Types of prevention Magnitude Scope of damage
R 2 - 4.9 Minor quake, building style and type of soil, I was
FA 2 - 4.9 Minor able to see the result of each simulated
BI 2 - 4.9 Minor
earthquake, and place what I witnessed in
PF 2 - 4.9 Minor
R 5 - 6.9 Structural damage a table.
FA 5 - 6.9 Minor
BI 5 - 6.9 Minor R Reinforced
PF 5 - 6.9 Structural damage FA Foundation anchoring
R 7 - 9.5 Collapse BI Base Isolation
FA 7 - 9.5 Collapse PF Pile foundation
BI 7 - 9.5 Structural damage
PF 7 - 9.5 Collapse

Fault zone
R 2 - 4.9 Minor
FA 2 - 4.9 Minor
BI 2 - 4.9 Minor
PF 2 - 4.9 Minor
R 5 - 6.9 Structural damage
FA 5 - 6.9 Structural damage
PF 5 - 6.9 Structural damage
R 7 - 9.5 Collapse
FA 7 - 9.5 Collapse
PF 7 - 9.5 Collapse
Loose, sandy soil

R 2 - 4.9 Structural damage
BI 2 - 4.9 Minor
PF 2 - 4.9 Minor
R 5 - 6.9 Collapse
PF 5 - 6.9 Minor
R 7 - 9.5 Collapse/sink
FA 7 - 9.5 Collapse/sink
BI 7 - 9.5 Collapse/sink
PF 7 - 9.5 Collapse

3.3 Conclusion of the test
After completing all the tests, and filling out the excel tables, I am able to get a complete
overview of the test results, and can immediately tell that loose, sandy soil is extremely
dangerous to build on if you experience a massive earthquake. Though I must add that
with other building techniques it might be possible to save the building from collapse, as I
have only tested with the basic kinds of prevention. The technique that fares the best is
digging down to more solid ground, anchoring the building at a more solid layer of ground.
The main course of collapse in this type of soil, during these large earthquakes it the
liquefaction effect, which prevents the ground from being able to support the structure.
Base Isolation seems to be the ideal choice to pick for the other types of ground, due to
the way it counteracts the movement of the ground. The specifics surrounding this
technology will be explained in chapter 4 of this report.

4. Earthquakes Design
4.2 A look into present day earthquake design
In this chapter I will focus on earthquake preventative design for high-rise buildings. That
means buildings over three stories, and not
made of timber. As most tall buildings are
made from light, flexible building materials, like
steel and glass, it is down to clever
engineering to prevent them from oscillating
too violently. Figur 6: Water counter balancing the forces of an earthquake
4.2.1 Tuned liquid dampeners (TLD)

Japan was the first to start implementing Tuned liquid dampeners into buildings. This
design is both cheap and very efficient to reduce the vibrations of an earthquake. What it
is, is a tank of water in a specific size, according to the natural frequency of the building,
that can be tuned to have the same frequency as the building by filling it to a specific
depth. The baffles in the tank are there to prevent the tank itself from being resonant, as
the water is sloshing back and forth during an earthquake. This is just a crude method of
using water to act as an opposing force to the movements earthquakes. Another, more
technical method, is the Tuned liquid column damper, which uses a U-shaped tube, but
does the same as the tuned liquid dampener. A few of Tokyo's high-rise buildings use this
technology today14.
14
http://www.nd.edu/~tkijewsk/Instruction/solution.html
Figure 6: http://www.nd.edu/~tkijewsk/Instruction/solution.html

4.2.2 Tuned mass dampeners (TMD)
The basic principle of the tuned mass damper is a system comprising of a spring (k), mass
(m) and damper (c), attached to the structure. Like the liquid
mass damper, it is tuned to the frequency of the building, and
will resonate out of phase when the building sways. The
damper uses the theory of inertia, which says, an object has
a resistance to a change in its state of motion, which
dissipates the energy in the structure through the damper, Figur 7: Tuned mass damper
15
usually in the form of heat .
4.2.3 Taipei 101

To see tuned mass dampening technology at its greatest you will have to travel south of
Japan, to the island of Taiwan. There engineers have constructed one of the world's tallest
buildings, which is not just famous for its style, but also for its technology. Like Japan,
Taiwan is situated near the ring of fire, which is the most geologically active area on the
planet. The building, called Taipei 101, not only has to withstand typhoon strength winds,
but also has to survive major earthquakes. To explain this technology I will have to discuss
the other methods which the building uses to combat swaying and movement, as the
tuned mass damper is only one link in the chain.
The building itself is a wonder of technology, as it is 508 meters tall, with 101 floors. Hence
its name. The owners of the building, Taipei financial centre cooperation, originally wanted
multiple smaller multi story buildings constructed on the lot, but all of the investor-
occupants wanted to reside inside the tallest of the originally proposed buildings. This
prompted the design to be what we know of today. The building resulted in being the
tallest building of its time, by the shear amount of floor space needed to accommodate all
who were interested16.
The design of the building is based on local building culture, and that of bamboo, which is
a slender plant with incredible strength. If you place an image of bamboo side to side with
the building, you can see a striking likeliness between the two, as both are divided into
15
Tuned mass damper systems, 2002, chapter 4, p. 217
Figure 7: Tuned mass damper systems, 2002
16
Ingredients of high rise design Taipei 101, Leonard M. Joseph, Dennis Poon & Shaw-song Shieh, 2006, p. 1

modules. Taipei 101 is designed with eight modules, to be exact. This design created
some problems, as the building needed to be designed with lateral stiffness and strength
incorporated into the design. Most buildings rely on a central core, to add additional
stiffness to the building, but Taipei 101 is too tall to rely on just a central core alone. Other
tall buildings have combated this problem by placing the lateral load resisting system on
the buildings perimeter, but this would alter the bamboo like design of the buildings. The
problem is that the modules on the building are narrow at the bottom, and flare out at the
top, almost like a flower. If lateral support columns were installed, they would protrude
outside the building on the narrow part of the module, and enter the building at the top
where it is wider, and would take up valuable floor space. The designers and engineers
went back to the drawing board
and came back with an effective
solution, to incorporate the lateral
load resistant system into the
bamboo design. What they came
up with was sixteen core box
columns, linked by outrigger
trusses to the major outrigger
columns on the building face.
Under floor trusses are also
incorporated to transfer horizontal
perimeter moment frame shear.
The frame of the building is
constructed mainly of structural steel, as it Figur 8: Floor plan of floor of Taipei 101
would lower the cost of the building, and

importantly minimizes seismic forces, by keeping the building mass low. The main
outrigger columns running vertically up the building get smaller as they run up the building,
to make the building lighter for each module it goes up17. Now that the engineers have
created reliable load paths down the building, geologists would have to investigate the soil
which the building was to be constructed on. They found out that the soil underneath the
17
Figure 8: Ingredients of high rise design Taipei 101, Leonard M. Joseph, Dennis Poon & Shaw-song Shieh, 2006, p. 2

building was comprised mainly of clay. To insure that the building would rest firmly during
an earthquake, they calculated that they would have to drill holes, to make cast-in-place
piers approximately 130 to 200 ft deep. By doing this the building would be able to rest
firmly on soft rock18
Even though the building went through a total analysis of strength and stiffening, the steel
structure and its central core were not enough to limit the swaying to an acceptable limit.
What needed to be added to the structure was a tuned mass damper. The one installed in
Taipei 101 occupies floor 87 - 91, and is the centrepiece of a public lounge. It resembles a
giant sphere, and weighs in at 726 tons. That is approximately 0.26 percent of the
buildings total weight. The sphere is suspended by four steel cables to act like a
pendulum. By altering the length of the cables, you can alter the sway rate to match the
building. Connected to the gigantic sphere are large dampers, that react to the push and
pull of the pendulum. These dampers limit sway by converting the motions of the building
into heat.
4.2.4 Reduced beam section (RBS)

During previous earthquakes in other parts of the world, a weakness has been found
within the modern steel structure that most tall buildings use today. In the wake of the
Kobe earthquake, Steel to beam connections were found to have weakened, and yielding
occurred within the connection. To eliminate this, sections are cut away from the beam
near the connection, which causes yielding to occur within the beam, which increases
ductility in the structure. Most importantly it moves the effect of yielding away from the
connection itself. Taipei 101 is one of the
structures using this technology today19.
Figur 9: Picture of reduced beam section in Taipei 101
18
19
Figure 9: Ingredients of high rise design Taipei 101, Leonard M. Joseph, Dennis Poon & Shaw-song Shieh, 2006, p. 4

4.2.5 Self righting buildings20
A new system is currently under development in Japan, claiming to hold a multi story
building together during a magnitude 7 earthquake, and maybe even higher. This new
earthquake proofing is supposedly so efficient, that when the quake is over the building will
return to standing up straight on its foundation. The only damage occurring during the
shaking will be confined to replaceable parts in the mechanism. Shake table tests of this
new system have proven welcoming results, as it will enable inhabitants to return to their
homes a lot sooner than in other buildings after an earthquake, as the structure
incorporated into the building takes on the damage, instead of the building. This will lead to
lower the costs of repair on damaged buildings, and enable people to return to their
everyday lives faster. The way this system works is by installing steel braced frames
around the exterior of the building, or in its core. The energy from the swaying of the
building will be dissipated in the steel structure. To get the building to stand upright on its
foundation after the shaking stops, steel tendons which are located in the centre of the
braced frames, run from top to bottom, which become elastic during the movement of the
building, go back to their original size. Installed in the bottom of the frames, where the
bottom end of the cable meets the
foundation, are the fuses. The task of
these fuses are to prevent the rest of the
building from sustaining damage. Their
main design is to absorb the energy of the
swaying, sustain damage, then be
replaced. In Figure 7.1 you can see the
fuses coloured in yellow. The utilization of
this design is immense, as the steel frame
not only can be incorporated into the
design of a new building, but can be used Figur 10: Illustration of self righting building
to retrofit an existing building that needs
20
Self righting buildings, Louise Bergeron.
Figure 10: http://x-journals.com/2009/researchers-design-self-righting-buildings-that-survive-earthquake-test-in-
style/.

earthquake proofing. This is immensely cost efficient, as engineers don't have to worry
about installing stiffeners or dampeners into the actual structure of the building. It is
enough to install the steel frame on the exterior of the building21.
4.3 Base isolation

The concept of base isolation is that as the ground moves, the building does not. Of
course the base isolators under a building will
never be able to totally eliminate the total forces
of an earthquake on a building, but it will
diminish the vibrations enough to avoid the
worst kind of damage. Base isolated buildings
use rubber base isolators to absorb the majority
of the energy created by the tremors, and give
the building a much needed flexibility. An
otherwise shorter, stiff building is given the
much needed flexibility it doesn't naturally have,
whereas a taller building is naturally more
flexible. Base isolators resemble large rubber
pads and are suitable for hard, sturdy ground.
They are not to be used on buildings that rest
on softer soils22. This can be observed in the
earthquake test in chapter 3.2.
Figur 11: Base isolator v. fixed-base building

21
The X-journals, Louise Bergeron, (http://x-journals.com/2009/researchers-design-self-righting-buildings-that-
survive-earthquake-test-in-style/).
22
http://articles.architectjaved.com/earthquake_resistant_structures/seismic-base-isolation-technique-for-building-
earthquake-resistance/
Figure 11: http://articles.architectjaved.com/earthquake_resistant_structures/seismic-base-isolation-technique-for-
building-earthquake-resistance/

4.4 Good and bad building design
There are certain ground rules as to how to construct buildings to avoid stress areas. The
safest way to design a building is a single rectangular shape, as the vibrations of
earthquakes move in all directions, and this can be a problem in L, or U-shaped buildings.
Where the rectangles are connected, the forces of the earthquake moves them if different
directions, crushing and pulling them apart, depending on the movement of the ground23.
What figure 4 depicts, is that this certain shape of building is

a bad construction during an earthquake because it is
basically two rectangles jointed together at one spot. The
problem with this is that each rectangle has its own free
movement during an
earthquake, or its own
resonance period, and it
forces the structure to
Figur 12: Drawing of L-shaped move in such a way, that it
building during an earthquake
could potentially destroy
the entire section of the building that is joined together.
The advantage with rectangular buildings, is that the
forces of an earthquake get more or less evenly Figur 13: L shaped building designed for
earthquake forces
distributed throughout the building. It is of course not a
shape that cannot be used in earthquake prone countries, but if it is the wish of the
designer to use this kind of shape, or the other U and H shapes, you must make the areas
where two shapes connect independent from each other. That means that each section of
the building is able to respond to the earthquake, without effecting the other section. This
can be done by making the areas where they connect flexible, or by using dampeners. If
this absolutely cannot be done, and the buildings have to connect, it is possible to
reinforce them, or add additional stiffness to the gables with shear walls. This allows the
building to act as a single structure24.
23
http://www.samco.org/download/reports/rules.pdf
Figure 12: Own drawing
24
Figure 13: Own drawing

When you design the layout of a building you have to understand how forces will act on it.
You have to take into account that the vibrations of earthquakes move in all directions, and
therefore have to be prepared to brace the building from all angles. Designing buildings to
resist the lateral forces of an earthquake are similar to the forces you have to take into
account when you design a building to withstand wind forces. The only real difference is
the greater forces present during an earthquake, and the forces that move vertically. Now
that the general look of the building has been discussed, and how the design can create
some weak points where different shapes connect, we can look into how a building can be
built up to withstand the forces of the earthquake that run perpendicular to the ground.
This can be done by using shear walls, inner shear cores and cross-bracing25.
4.4.1 Simplicity
Simplicity is very important in an earthquake zone, as complicated structures can affect
the way that loads are dispersed equally, and it creates the need for a lot of unnecessary
and complicated calculations. It lowers the risk of forgetting important calculations, such as
the interactions of parts with different rigidity. It is important in a structure that will move
during ground movement, that the energy dissipation in the structure should be high26.
4.4.2 Soft storeys

Soft storeys are typically apartment buildings with parking garages or stores with large
windows, placed on the bottom floor. They are called soft storeys because they cannot
cope with lateral forces, and typically collapse due to weakness. They are categorized by
having a stiffness of 70% or less of what the story above has. Because a soft story is
usually a garage or retail space, it typically is located on the bottom floor of a building,
which means that if that area of the building fails, the entire building comes down. In many
earthquake zone areas, building codes are careful to classify soft storeys, and prohibit the
construction of such weak designs in a building. Older buildings built before the tightening
of the restrictions have the option to retrofit the building, to strengthen the weak story. This
can be done by adding shear walls, and other strengthening details. Soft storeys are such
a danger, that most insurance companies refuse to insure houses that have soft storeys27.
25
http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/earthquake_worldbook.html
26
http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/ESDEP/master/wg17/l0500.htm
27
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-soft-story-building.htm

4.5 Conclusion
I have investigated the most used safeguards for buildings in this chapter, and can
understand that to design buildings to be earthquake proof, you have to have a deep
understanding of how the building will react during shaking. During my investigation for this
chapter I noticed that a lot of the knowledge of how to limit dangerous movement in a
building comes from information gathered from structures that have already collapsed. By
learning from past mistakes engineers have been able to create models showing them
how a building had weakened. This is how engineers were able to understand that metal
structures had a dangerous flaw to them, that they were only aware of after the major
earthquake in Kobe, where they noticed that many of the steel connections had given way.
If a meticulous investigation into the collapsed structures had not been performed in the
affected area, then this flaw would still be applied to buildings now.
Also it is known that buildings must be as simple as possible, as you want to understand
how the forces of an earthquake get dissipated through the structure safely. You have to
have a clear understanding of the path that the stresses follow, so you can design a
building that can safely transfer them to the foundation and ground. By using a soft story
as an example, there is clearly no uniform design to the structure. The upper storeys are
able to disperse the loads safely downwards, but as the soft story doesn't have the same
stiffness as the rest of the building, it is unable to handle two forces acting upon it.
Because we know that stiffness if very important in an earthquake resistant design
(chapter 5), a change in the stiffness in a lower level of a building means that the
frequency of that part of the building is different. As explained in chapter 4.4, it can be
disastrous when one building is not built as a single unit with a unified resonance period.
You have to work by the same theory when adding stories to a building. They have to have
the same stiffness.

5. Understanding the forces on a building
In this chapter I discuss which forces are at work on a building during an earthquake, and
how the forces are brought safely down the building, limiting the damage as much as
possible. In the previous chapter I investigated the different methods of preventing too
much movement and sway by using various innovations and designs, and also how the
shape of a building can dramatically affect how the building responds during an
earthquake. Now I will go deeper into the structure, to try and make sense of how these
different movements present during an earthquake react in the structure of a typical high
rise building.
5.1 Inertia forces

Before investigating how a building handles the swaying movement of an earthquake, you
have to understand which force in acting on the structure. The force acting on a building
during ground movement is inertia. Inertia is not a real force, like when the wind pushes on
a building, but an effect caused by an objects own inertia when it is on something moving.
The best way to understand inertia is to picture a moving vehicle. When a car moves
forward, it is not some invisible force pushing you back, but the back seat pushing you
forward. You feel squeezed back in the seat because the car is accelerating, and your
inertia is trying to keep you at rest28.
What is acting on the building is called inertia (F) , or Newton's second law, as it is most
commonly called. The equation for the second law of dynamics is F = m*a. The equation
shows that the force acting on the building is equal to the mass times the acceleration.
When the acceleration of the building increases, so does the force. The figure for the mass
of the building will always be a constant, as the
buildings mass never changes. It is import
during the design stages of a building that the
mass of the building is kept low, as a lower
number (m) in the equation, will lower the value
Figur 14: Frequencies for different sizes of buildings of F. It is also possible to reduce the
acceleration (a), by implying some of the
28
http://www.suite101.com/content/understanding-physics-of-inertial-forces-a129313
Figure 14: http://faculty.washington.edu/tpratt/frequencies.htm

dampening techniques from the previous chapter. 29.
The vibrations of an earthquake move in all directions, but the most damaging movement
of the ground is when vibrations move parallel to the surface of the ground. This is
dangerous for buildings because they are mainly designed to handle vertical gravity loads.
How an earthquake effects a building is mainly down to its construction, like how well it
can resist shaking. Also its dead weight has a lot of influence on its behaviour during an
earthquake. One very important aspect to have in mind when you want to avoid damage to
a building during an earthquake is the building's vibration period. Many things can affect
this, such as its weight, height, stiffness, and its ability to absorb energy30. It is known fact
that taller buildings have a tendency to have longer resonance frequencies. The rule of
thumb is 0.1 x (the number of stories in a building)31. To define the frequency period, the
frequency is the number of movements back and forth per second, and the period is how
long one cycle (back and forth) takes. By counting the number of cycles, you can find the
frequency (Hz), as seen in fig. 5.1. As the table shows, a smaller building has a higher
frequency than a taller building. A taller building has more of a tendency to sway slowly
from side to side.
5.1 The dangers of frequency

The real danger to buildings, either short or tall, is the natural frequency of the building.
When the vibrations of the ground and the vibrations of the building move in the same
frequency, resonance occurs. This causes the building to move in its own natural
frequency. The amplitude of the back and forth motion will increase for each cycle, as the
vibrations exist. If the building gets to a point where the movement is too great for the
structure to cope, the building will collapse32.
The best way to illustrate this is to picture a child being pushed on a swing, as this acts like
a pendulum. If you push the child in the natural interval of the swing (resonant frequency),
the child will swing higher and higher. The swing absorbs a maximum amount of energy
when you push it in phase with the swings own oscillations. The amount of force needed to
push the child higher and higher is actually very small, and the same principle is for
29
http://mceer.buffalo.edu/infoservice/reference_services/buildingRespondEQ.asp
30
Simplified building design for wind and earthquakes, by James Ambrose, Dimitry Vergun, p. 21
31
http://eqseis.geosc.psu.edu/~cammon/HTML/Classes/IntroQuakes/Notes/earthquake_effects.html
32
http://www.intuitor.com/resonance/swings.html

buildings. An earthquake doesn't necessarily need to be devastatingly large to cause a
building to collapse. It only has to be large enough to make the building swing in its own
oscillations.
Taller buildings are prone to having smaller natural frequencies that shorter buildings. This
is because buildings tend to have lower natural frequencies when:
They are heavier

Are more flexible
The equation for natural frequency33:
F = Natural frequency (hertz)

K = The stiffness of the building
M = The mass of the building
5.2 Tacoma Narrows Bridge

The natural frequency of a building is the most dangerous movement a building can
undergo. One of the most famous cases of a structure falling apart due to vibrating in its
own natural frequency is the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Opened to traffic on the first of July
1940; it was the third largest suspended bridge in America. Its life came to an end on the
seventh of November 1940, after a 35 mile an hour wind (about 56 kilometres) pounded on
it for three hours. A wind blowing at 35 miles an hour should not be able to cause the
collapse of a bridge, but due to the lack of knowledge about forces, and the shape of the
suspended part of the bridge, the moderate winds made it collapse. The speed of the wind
unfortunately matched the natural oscillations of the bridge. Suspended bridges were
pretty new in those days, and built with rigid structures strengthen by trusses, which
allowed wind to pass through. The Tacoma Narrows bridge used plate girders instead,
33
http://www.ideers.bris.ac.uk/resistant/vibrating_build_natfreq.html

which made the whole suspended part act like a giant wing, allowing the wind to act more
easily on it34.
5.3 Diverting the forces of an earthquake safely

Well built reinforced structures that are built for earthquakes have reliable load paths, that
efficiently direct the loads posed on them safely to the foundation, where the loads can be
transferred into the ground. To get these forces into the ground, careful consideration of
the ground and floor plans must be made. There are two types of primary load paths. The
horizontal load paths, and the vertical. The vertical load paths include Shear walls, braced
frames and moment frames. The horizontal load paths include the roof, floors and
foundation.
5.4 How shear forces work

When loads run perpendicular to the main axis on a shear wall seismic forces cause an
overturning moment, which courses tension at one end, and compression at the other.
Shear walls must have a strong lateral strength to resist the horizontal forces that occur
during an earthquake. If the wall is built
strongly enough, the forces will continue
down the load path. This could be
another shear wall, column, slab,
foundation, and so forth. Shear walls
also have lateral stiffness, that prevents
roofs and upper floors from excessive
side swaying35.
Figur 15: Functions of a shear wall
Using shear walls is a very effective and highly used method of protecting a building from
damage during an earthquake. It is frequently used in poorer countries, as it is relatively
34
http://www.vibrationdata.com/Tacoma.htm
35
http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/fixit/manual/PT07-Ch-3A.PDF
Figure 15: Sheer walls, Timothy P. McCormick, P.E., p. 23

inexpensive to apply to the design of a building. Normally the gables of the building will be
one solid wall, with no openings.
5.5 Steel structure of an earthquake resistant building
5.5.1 Special moment frames (SMF)

Moment frames are box shaped frames, that have special moment joints or connections.
Its members and joints are able to withstand flexural and axial forces. The word moment,
in SMF refers to the moment of inertia. In the case of inertia caused by earthquakes and
not wind, the inertia that one should worry about is internal inertia coming from the ground.
A good way to illustrate internal inertia, is to imagine a man riding a train which takes off
fast. The sensation of being swiftly shaken from the ground up is internal inertia.
Moment frame buildings are supposed to be able to slightly warp and bend during small
earthquakes. It is important that they act almost like rubber bands. They are able to
deform, but return to their former state. They are commonly used for low-rise buildings, as
they are more expensive that the concentrically braced frames.
When a large earthquake occurs, a moment frame building must sustain permanent
damage. This might seem odd, as normally you would want to eliminate damage as much
as possible, but to save the rest of the building the frame must bend and absorb energy
without failing. A frame that is improperly built will be brittle and break, and not save the
building from the forces.
Special moment frames are one of two other types of moment frames (ordinary moment
frames and intermediate moment frames). The only thing separating these types of
moment frames, is their ability to handle different scales of earthquakes. OMF can only
handle small tremors, while IMF can handle moderate earthquakes. SMF are the heavy
duty moment frames, which must be used in high seismic areas. It has a high rigid
standard, which the other frames do not36.
In a steel special moment frame it is required that inelastic behavior occurs in beam to
column joints, and at column bases. The deformation on the structure results in buckling of
36
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-moment-frame.htm

these areas, and these areas only. Though, the beam to column connects must be able to
transfer moment and sheer forces safe safely down the column, as too severe buckling of
the steel in the beam/column connections can lead to a loss of strength in the steel37.
In these connection it could be wise to employ the reduced beam sections, to help
eliminate the yielding that occurs dangerously around the joint, and spread it out in the
beam.
5.5.2 Braced frames

Braced frames are one of the most efficient ways to protect against lateral loads. Braced
frames are shown to have much higher resistance to lateral loads than moment frames,
and have a superior quality of ductility. There are two types of bracing; internal and
external. The external bracing is typically used during retrofitting of an existing building, to
upgrade it to withstand the forces of an earthquake38. It is also commonly used as an
architectural feature in modern skyscrapers, because of its esthetical purposes, as a main
feature of the look of the exterior.
5.5.2 Special concentrically braced frames (SCBF)

Concentrically braced frames are vertical truss systems that resist lateral loads through the
axial forces in members. Concentrically braced frames belong to a group called dissipative
structures. The level of energy absorption in these frames are similar to the energy
absorption of moment frames. The SCBF is a good economical solution for medium to
high-rise buildings. The seismic forces in this type of bracing systems are resisted by
compression and tension. There are three main types of concentric truss bracings:
Diagonal type - The horizontal earthquake forces are resisted by tension braces
only. These bracings look like giant Xs.
Type V or L- Both tension and compression braces are used to resist the forces.
These braces have a V or L shape.
Type K - This type of bracing is not recommended as it does not offer any ductile
behavior.
37
Steel moment frames, Scott M. Adan, Ph.D., S.E., SECB and Ronald O. Hamburger, S.E., SECB.
38
Seismic performance of RC frames with concentric internal steel bracing, M.A Youssef, p. 1

5.5.3 Eccentrically braced frames (EBF)
The eccentrically braced frame system is a lateral load resisting system for steel
structures. It is basically a hybrid of a frame system and concentric truss bracing.
They are highly attractive as a method for strengthening a building as they are extremely
stiff, which excellent ductility and energy dissipation.
Figur 16: Braced frames (http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/ESDEP/master/wg17/l0500.htm)

5.6 Conclusion
In this chapter I attempted to investigate the forces acting upon the building during an
earthquake, and what the danger factors are, including the different methods for safely
dispersing the forces. I found out that inertia plays a vital role, and it is mainly this force
that engineers and architects must design the buildings around. In the previous chapters,
including this one, I have learnt that there are many structural design and implementations
one can do to protect the buildings from swaying out of control. One is the main structure
of the building; It must be rigid and have a low mass. Also the acceleration must be
controlled by using dampeners or some form of base isolation. The point is to limit the
strength of the inertia effecting the building. Also designers have to create load paths
which the energy can follow and be dispersed in the soil underneath the foundation.
Combining what you know about inertia and the different techniques available to counter
act the forces of an earthquake, it is pretty easy to construct a very strong and durable
building.

6. Building codes in Japan
To help prevent buildings from collapsing during a seismic event authorities recognized
that it is necessary to set rules and guidelines, to prevent unsafe buildings from being
constructed in their cities.
Building codes have mainly been possible due to vigilant observation on earthquake sites,
taking notes on the different reasons for some buildings collapsing while other have come
through unscathed. John Milne was one of the first to recognize the importance of
gathering information, for further study.
6.1 John Milne (1850 - 1913)

Born in Liverpool, England, and educated at kings college in London, he was appointed as
professor of geology and mining in the imperial college of engineering in Tokyo in 1875.
He became known as `Earthquake Milne` in Tokyo, after developing an interest in
seismology. He , and two other British geologist founded the Seismological society of
Japan in 1880. Milne found it very important to register and document every earthquake to
hit the country, and even asked the postal authorities in every town in Japan to register
and send weekly updates on the amount of earthquakes felt during the week. He also set
up 900 monitoring stations around the country, and invented a seismograph, to assist in
monitoring the sizes of the earthquakes39.
In 1894 Milne returned to England, where he set up his home in Shide, on the Isle of
Wight. This location became the center for the international system of gathering and
distributing seismological data.
6.2 The 1919 urban building law

The 1919 urban building law was Japans first attempt to create common laws for
constructing earthquake safe buildings. It was created to regulate building construction in
six of the major cities of Japan40.
Law enforcement order of 1920:
Height limit for buildings of 30.5 meters.

Structural design for masonry, timber, reinforced concrete, brick and steel
structures
39
http://www.answers.com/topic/milne-john
40
Historical development of building codes in Japan, Shunsuke Otani Chiba University.

Law enforcement regulations of 1920:
Specifications for structural design

Allowable stress design
Quality of the materials
Live and dead loads
No seismic requirements
1924 Revision of law enforcement regulations:
There came an introduction of seismic design forces in the revision.
Maximum ground acceleration at the University of Tokyo = 0.3G

Safety factor in allowable stress design = 3.0
Seismic coefficient = 0.3/3.0 = 0.1
41
Figur 17: Seismic coefficient
41
Figue 17: Historical development of building codes in Japan, Shunsuke Otani Chiba University

6.3 Building codes following the rebuilding of Japan after WW2
In the wake of the second world war there was a need for an orderly and efficient
rebuilding of the country. New laws were implied to build safer housing for the population
of Japan42.
1. Building standard law (1950) - This law was implemented to safeguard the life,
property and health of people by providing minimum standards for the site,
equipment, structure, and use of the buildings.
2. Architect law (1950) - This law was made to define the qualification of engineers
who design buildings and supervise construction work.
3. Construction trade law (1949) - This law was implemented to improve the quality
of those engaged in the construction trade, and to promote fair construction
contracts.
There are three types of qualified architects (Kenchiku -shi):
1. 1st class Kenchiku-shi - Can design and superintend work on all buildings.
2. 2nd class Kenchiku-shi - Can design and superintend work mainly only on small
buildings.
3. Mukuzo Kenchiku-shi - Can design and superintend work on only small wooden
buildings.
There was an emergency revision of the Building standard law in 1971, following concerns
with reinforced concrete columns. It asked for a narrower spacing of column ties, after
many concrete columns had completely fallen apart from within during an earthquake in
1968 .
This is one example of how important it is to continue to observe and report damage from
earthquakes, and to also continue to study the effects in laboratories to continually apply
findings to the building codes.
Japanese building codes are different than the ones that you might find in places like the
America and Canada, where earthquakes are also common. In the America building codes
are not enforced by law, unlike Japan where it is the central government that has put up
the building codes as an enforced administrative law, meaning that it is illegal not to
construct following them.
Japan today uses the Building Standard law (BSL) that was first put in effect in 1950, with
revisions and amendments that have been added following findings from major
earthquakes over the decades.
42

6.4 Conclusion
In this chapter I investigated the building codes used in Japan. What I found out was that it
was an English man who first created a seismological society in Japan, following his own
interest in the subject. I also found out that they already started creating laws on buildings
as early as 1919, and fully mastered it after the war in 1950.

7. Conclusion
In this dissertation about earthquakes and their effects on buildings, it is clear how
important it is to understand not only the causes and effects that earthquakes have on
buildings, but also how to avoid damage and loss of life. In the beginning of the report I
asked myself questions that I thought were fundamental in understanding the topic fully.
My main question was "how do you build a multistory building to avoid damage, and
prevent loss of life?". In this question I found a lot of theories and methods for such
problems. I focused my research on Japan, and found an abundance of techniques, such
as counter weights, dampeners and base isolators. The field of earthquake proofing
technologies is forever evolving and improving, and however tragic it sounds, future
devastating earthquakes help us make the future a little more safe, as scientists and
researchers pour through gathered information, which they then apply to new buildings.
Also I wanted to understand what happens to a building when it is shaken by the earth,
and I found out that it is basically down to physics. Inertia is what makes the building sway,
and the trick to keeping a building safe is to cancel out this back and forth movement as
much as possible. The most dangerous phenomenon to occur to a building while the
ground is moving is when the ground makes the building sway in its own natural
frequency. This is what brought down the bridge, that became infamous for this very thing.
Japan are really the front runners when it comes down to this field, and they seem to
understand the importance of mastering each step of construction, down to the design
itself. They have three classes of architects, each specializing in one specific field, which is
really a very intelligent method of design. As I stated in the report, the design of the
building is incredibly important, as it must be designed to handle violent movement without
collapsing. The other questions I asked myself in the beginning, were questions such as
"how does Japan cope with earthquakes in Tokyo?" and questions regarding building
codes and height limits. I found out that when an earthquake happens in the area of Tokyo
there is not much anyone can do but run for cover. I was surprised to find out that the
amount of time you have from the quake to the actual warning is just mere seconds. That
makes me understand how important it is that the population is not only fully briefed on
what actions to take, but also to have a secure home or building to shelter in. Japan have
a very excellent building code, which is mandatory by law for all to follow, that has been
improved since it was first published in the 1950s. The last question that I wanted to find

out was if there were any specific build heights you were not allowed to exceed, and
according to the building codes in Japan this is 30.5 meters. Honestly, looking at the
skyline of Tokyo, there must be some way to get around this limit, as there are many
buildings clearly exceeding the limit. I suspect that there are permits you can apply for, if
you can document that your building is safe from the maximum earthquakes.
Now that I have completed this dissertation I feel that all the question I previously had
before I started writing have been answered, and I know more about this subject than I
ever thought that I would.

8. Literature list
Books:
Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, by Pankaj Agarwal, Manish Shrikhande
Japan: large-scale floods and earthquakes, By Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development
The Independent: Tokyo faces catastrophic earthquake risk, Richard Lloyd Parry, 1996
Risk assessment models, RMS
Ingredients of high rise design Taipei 101, Leonard M. Joseph, Dennis Poon & Shaw-song
Shieh, 2006
Simplified building design for wind and earthquakes, by James Ambrose, Dimitry Vergun
Sheer walls, Timothy P. McCormick, P.E
Steel moment frames, Scott M. Adan, Ph.D., S.E., SECB and Ronald O. Hamburger, S.E
Seismic performance of RC frames with concentric internal steel bracing, M.A Youssef
Historical development of building codes in Japan, Shunsuke Otani Chiba University
Articles:
Earthquake early warning, Kinkyu Jishin Sokuhou, 1 April 2009
Earthquake early warning, Administration Division, Seismological and Volcanological

Department
Japan Meteorological Agency, 10 August 2007
Info from Japanese flyer of dos and donts
Self righting buildings, Louise Bergeron

Base Isolation
http://articles.architectjaved.com/earthquake_resistant_structures/seismic-base-isolation-
technique-for-building-earthquake-resistance/
Web pages:
Earthquakes
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-earthquakes.htm
Predicting earthquakes
Earthquake early warning

http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/EEWLeaflet.pdf
Discovery Channel
http://dsc.discovery.com/guides/planetearth/earthquake/interactive/interactive.html
Building structure
http://www.nd.edu/~tkijewsk/Instruction/solution.html
Fundamental rules for earthquake design

NASA homepage
http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/earthquake_worldbook.html
Requirements and Verification of Seismic Resistant Structures

http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/ESDEP/master/wg17/l0500.htm
Soft story
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-soft-story-building.htm

Understanding physics of inertia forces
http://www.suite101.com/content/understanding-physics-of-inertial-forces-a129313
How buildings respond to inertia forces

http://mceer.buffalo.edu/infoservice/reference_services/buildingRespondEQ.asp
Earthquake effects
http://eqseis.geosc.psu.edu/~cammon/HTML/Classes/IntroQuakes/Notes/earthquake_effe
cts.html
The physics of resonance

http://www.intuitor.com/resonance/swings.html
Natural frequency of a building

http://www.ideers.bris.ac.uk/resistant/vibrating_build_natfreq.html
Tacoma bridge
http://www.vibrationdata.com/Tacoma.htm
Government webpage
http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/fixit/manual/PT07-Ch-3A.PDF
What is a moment frame

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-moment-frame.htm
John Milne
http://www.answers.com/topic/milne-john

Earthquakes and Their Effects On Buildings

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Earthquakes and Their Effects On Buildings

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Earthquakes

Nicola Storgaard, Constructing Architect, 7th semster 2010

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1. What happens to a building when it is hit by an earthquake?

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1. Constructive plate margin/Divergent boundaries

2.1.1 Divergent boundaries

2.1.2 Convergent boundaries

Oceanic - Continental convergence - The density of the oceanic plate is larger

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2.1.3 Transform boundaries

2.2 Seismic waves

2.2.1 Body waves

direction of wave propagation.

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2.2.3 Surface waves

2.3 Predicting an earthquake

In the hope of successfully predicting an earthquake, it is possible to look for patterns of

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2.4 Earthquake early warning system (Japan)

city Kobe, came from nowhere and unleashed

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Figur 4: Japanese flyer of earthquake dos and donts

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2.5 Frequency and risks of earthquakes in Japan

2.6 The threat to Tokyo

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3.1.1 Different types of substructure:13

The picture on the right shows how the

Figur 5: Magnification of earthquake destruction in loose soil

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3.2 Earthquake simulation

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Loose, sandy soil

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too violently. Figur 6: Water counter balancing the forces of an earthquake

4.2.1 Tuned liquid dampeners (TLD)

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4.2.3 Taipei 101

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would lower the cost of the building, and

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4.2.4 Reduced beam section (RBS)

Figur 9: Picture of reduced beam section in Taipei 101

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to retrofit an existing building that needs

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4.3 Base isolation

Figur 11: Base isolator v. fixed-base building

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What figure 4 depicts, is that this certain shape of building is

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4.4.2 Soft storeys

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5.1 Inertia forces

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