Professional Documents
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Nakashima,
Engineering
Chusilp:
and Engineering
A Partial View
Seismology
of Japanese Post-Kobe Seismic Design and Construction Practices 33
Volume 4, Number 1, September 2003, pp. 3–13
1) Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan.
ABSTRACT
Lessons learned from the 1995 Kobe earthquake have considerably accelerated
Japanese research and motivated substantial advances in Japanese seismic design and
construction practices. The severity of seismic hazards has been realized, leading to
a significant increase in the applications of new technologies to full-scale structures.
This paper presents a partial view of post-Kobe design and construction practices
adopted in Japan. Described issues include the revision of the Japanese seismic
design code, reinforced concrete structures, steel structures, steel-encased reinforced
concrete structures, wood structures, and innovative applications of seismic isolation
and passive control systems. Recent progress in the diagnosis of seismic resistance
and retrofitting of existing buildings is also reported.
1981 BSL is rather prescriptive and somewhat Infrastructure and Transport has the authority to
inconsistent in defining the representative ground revise and update the BSL and associated
motion with respect to different soil conditions. regulations, and a government-affiliated agency
Moreover, the application of this code encounters called the Building Research Institute (BRI) is in
some difficulties in the design of buildings with charge of providing the technical background of
seismic isolation or structural control systems. As the law and associated regulations. The outline
a response to these shortcomings, the building code of the 2000 BSL is reported by Midorikawa, et al.
was revised in 2000 to be more “performance- [13], who work for the BRI.
based.” Two limit states, life safety and damage
limitation, are specified in the 2000 BSL. The REINFORCED CONCRETE
former is aimed at protecting human lives by BUILDINGS
preventing partial or complete collapse of the
structure under expectedly large earthquakes During the Kobe earthquake, many RC
(return period of approximately 500 years). The buildings underwent weak-story failures at the
latter intends to limit structural damage under first story or higher [4]. Those that exhibited
moderate earthquakes (return period of mid-story failures were old RC or combined
approximately 50 years) so that the structural RC/SRC buildings designed and constructed by
system would not lose any of the performance obsolete seismic design codes. Inadequate
strength distribution along the height and poor
intended in the original design even after such
detailing of reinforcement, among other causes,
earthquakes.
were found to be responsible for such failures.
The two limit-states are commensurate with
In general, newer RC buildings designed in
the two levels stipulated in the 1981 BSL but are accordance with the latest seismic design code
distinguished because of two new features. First, (the 1981 BSL) showed satisfactory performance
the design acceleration response spectra are given for the levels of ground motions experienced in
at the engineering bedrock to allow an explicit the Kobe earthquake.
consideration of site-dependent soil conditions Exceptions were the RC buildings having
and soil-structure interaction effects. In the 1981 weak first stories. Because of the scarcity of
BSL, earthquake effects were stipulated as the land, many office and apartment buildings use
design base shear. Second, both strengths and the first story as parking space, which results in
deformations of the structure are explicitly the termination of lateral resisting walls in the
considered. In the 1981 BSL, a calculation was second floor level. Similar soft-story
made only for the strength required for an mechanisms and damage to RC buildings were
expected ductility, while the ductility capacity to also observed in the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake
be possessed by the structure was given [14]. The 1981 BSL explicitly considered the
distribution of lateral stiffness along the height
prescriptively as functions of various member
and required overstrength by up to 50% for
provisions. In the evaluation of strength and
stories having smaller stiffness. The damage to
deformation demands, the 2000 BSL recommends
newer RC buildings with weak first stories
the use of the capacity spectrum method in which
revealed the inadequacy of the code. In
seismic demands and structural capacities are response to this serious damage, associated code
compared through an equivalent single-degree-of- provisions were amended within one year after
freedom (SDOF) system and the representative the earthquake, and strength requirements for the
site-dependent response spectra. According to first story columns of such buildings were raised
these two features, the 2000 BSL advantageously by up to 100%. The new provisions, however,
facilitates flexible structural design and have been found so stringent as to nearly deny
encourages the development of new construction the design and construction of such buildings,
materials, structural elements, and construction and practical design alternatives are being sought.
technologies. The Ministry of Land, Details of the damage and post-earthquake
Nakashima, Chusilp: A Partial View of Japanese Post-Kobe Seismic Design and Construction Practices 7
considerations about the design of RC buildings Annual construction (floor area ×million m2)
120
having weak first stories are presented by Wood Steel
Yoshimura [15]. 100
80
STEEL BUILDINGS 60
RC
40
Steel is a very popular structural material in SRC
20
Japan. Figure 4 indicates the market shares of
building construction (in terms of the constructed 0
floor area) according to the structural material. 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94
Year
Wood is the most popular, being used primarily for
Fig. 4 Comparison of structural materials used
houses. Steel is ranked second and is significantly
in building construction
more popular than RC. Most old steel buildings
built after the early 1960s consist of hot-rolled Japan places more emphasis on material toughness
wide-flange steel beams and columns [16]. It was and connection details to mitigate stress
in the early 1980s that Japanese steel construction concentrations at welds such as the no-weld-access-
moved toward a newer building system consisting hole connection.
of cold-formed steel tube columns and wide-flange To gain insight into Japanese steel design
steel beams. Due to the difference in seismic practice, it is useful to examine the Japanese code
provisions and construction technologies adopted in in comparison to other base-line seismic codes.
old and new steel buildings, a clear contrast in the Comparison between the U.S. Load and
severity of damage became evident in the Kobe Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) recommended
earthquake. Many collapsed structures were old by the American Institute for Steel Construction
buildings having two to five stories, while no new (AISC) [18] and the Japanese Building Standard
buildings experienced such a collapse [4]. Law (BSL) and its associated provisions is
Inspections after the earthquake raised serious presented by Tada, et al. [6], wherein strength and
concerns regarding unexpected damage found in ductility requirements are the primary topics
some new steel buildings, including brittle discussed. Details on similarities and differences
fractures at welded beam-to-column moment in the post-earthquake designs as well as the
connections, severe buckling and connection damage sources are documented in Refs. [16] and
failures at diagonal braces, and damage to anchor
[19], and connection designs that reflect the post-
bolts. Among these, the damage to beam-to-
Kobe research efforts are found in Ref. [20].
column connections was very similar to that
extensively found in the 1994 U.S. Northridge
earthquake. This finding accelerated research STEEL REINFORCED CONCRETE
collaboration between Japan and the U.S. in the BUILDINGS
mid to late 1990s. Although the damage location
was the same, sources of damage were found to Since the mid 1950s, SRC has been used
differ significantly between Japan and the U.S. in extensively in Japan for the construction of
various aspects, including materials, design, relatively large buildings (Fig. 4). A popular
fabrication, and inspection. As a result of these construction type is structural steel encased in
differences, practical solutions adopted to reinforced concrete. The encased steel was made
overcome the problems are also different. The by built-up open sections in early constructions
U.S. strengthens the quality requirements for and was later changed to hot-rolled wide-flange
welding and adopts design details that can reduce steel in the early 1960s. Quite a few old SRC
stresses induced in the connection such as the buildings constructed in the 1960s and early
reduced beam section (RBS) [17]. 1970s suffered damage including mid-story
8 Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology, Vol. 4, No. 1
100%
collapses. On many occasions, the collapsed
Percentage of Buildings
Damage
80%
story was supported by columns in which a SRC Others
cross-section was converted into a RC cross- 60% Small
40% M oderate
section. An abrupt change in column strength
20% Collapse
was considered to be responsible for such mid-
story collapses. As with newer RC buildings, 0%
-1925 -1950 -1960 -1970 -1980 -1990 1991-
newer SRC buildings designed and constructed in Year of Construction
accordance with the present seismic code
exhibited satisfactory performance. It is notable (a) 1995 Kobe earthquake
100%
that the superposed strength method has been used
Percentage of Buildings
80% Damage
for design of SRC buildings for many decades.
60% Small
In this method, the SRC strength is given as the
40% M oderate
sum of the strengths of the RC and steel portions Collapse
calculated separately [21]. 20%
houses are adequate as long as the construction about ten buildings per year in the 1985 ~ 1994
quality is assured. It was also notable that the period to more than 150 buildings per year
so-called “industrialized houses” whose design and thereafter (based on the information provided in
construction methods were reviewed and Ref. [27]). The trend of applications of seismic
authorized by building authorities performed isolation is depicted in Fig. 6, wherein the
satisfactorily during the Kobe earthquake. cumulative number of seismically isolated
Because of the strong correlation between the buildings is plotted against the year of construction
damage level and year of construction in the Kobe approval.
earthquake, the distribution of houses with respect Seismic isolation has become common for
to the year of construction has frequently been used building structures. Commonly used isolators in
in the assessment of the earthquake vulnerability of Japan are natural rubber bearings, high-damping
towns, cities, and other local municipalities. The rubber bearings, lead rubber bearings, and sliding
two significant earthquakes that hit the western part bearings. A combination of different types of
of Japan after the Kobe earthquake, i.e., the 2000 isolators is often adopted to achieve satisfactory
Tottoriken-Seibu and 2001 Geiyo earthquakes, stiffness of the isolation system. Supplemental
however, provided different observations about the dampers (mostly viscous or metallic-yielding
correlation between the damage and year of dampers) are also added into the isolation system to
construction of wood houses. reduce the relative displacement demanded of the
As shown in Fig. 5(b) [25], the damage level is isolated superstructure. Design of seismically
nearly constant with respect to the age in the 2000 isolated buildings involves nonlinear time-history
Tottoriken-Seibu earthquake. This revealed that analyses with an explicit consideration of local site
construction of wood houses is affected by various conditions in the selection of input ground motions.
localities, particularly in country regions where As mentioned earlier, peer review is mandated for
traditional, elaborate wood construction prevails. the design of these buildings.
In the post-Kobe period, the development of
APPLICATION OF seismic isolation technologies has been quite
BASE-ISOLATION SYSTEMS extensive. Particularly notable are various efforts
toward the implementation of seismic base-
The technique of seismic isolation was adopted isolation to larger and taller buildings. As shown
in Japan in the early 1980s. The first base-isolated in Fig. 7, the floor area of base-isolated buildings
building was completed in 1983. In the pre-Kobe has increased significantly in recent years. The
period, seismic isolation technology was in the main vehicles of these efforts are the construction
experimental stage, and its application to and device supplying industries.
large-scale structures was still limited. Two
base-isolated buildings, the West Japan Postal
1000
Savings Computer Center, conceived as the world’s
Number of Buildings
This indicates that the design and construction of dampers. Research and development flourished
seismic base-isolated buildings have arrived at a from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, when
mature stage in Japan. A recent trend in the Japan’s economy was booming. Real implemen-
design of seismic base-isolation is the reduction of tation of design and construction using the dampers
lateral shear and acceleration exerted into the also started around that period, with most of the
superstructure, as evidenced in Fig. 8, in which the applications in high-rise buildings.
distribution of design base-shear coefficients is Since the 1995 Kobe seismic event, passive
plotted with respect to the year. This reduction control applications have been increasingly used.
can be achieved by increasing the natural period, Figure 9(a) shows the statistics of high-rise
and various developments have been made along steel/CFT buildings constructed with passive
this line. One such development is presented by control systems. Almost all post-Kobe high-rise
Higashino, et al. [28]. buildings were equipped with passive control
systems to reduce seismic demands on primary
100% structural members as well as overall structural
Percentage of Buildings
2
Floor Area (m )
80% 40000-60000 responses. The great majority of passively
60% 20000-40000 controlled steel buildings constructed have
40% 10000-20000
5000-10000
metallic-yielding dampers, followed by viscoelastic
20%
1000-5000 shear dampers, viscous dampers, and friction
0% -1000 dampers [27]. The market share of dampers
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 -2000
Year of Approval adopted in the late 1990s is presented in Fig. 9(b).
A combination of different types of damper is also
Fig. 7 Floor area of base-isolated buildings
frequently found. In recent years, the buckling-
approved until 2000
restrained brace and the shear panel damper have
100% been the most popular devices in practice. The
Percentage of Buildings
Base Shear
80% Coefficient major advantages of these devices are stable
60%
0.25 hysteresis behavior under large deformation,
0.2-0.25
40% 0.15-0.2
flexible adjustability of strength and stiffness,
20% 0.15 reasonable cost, less maintenance required, and
0%
0.1-0.15 temperature independency. Some applications of
0.1
-1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 the passive control system are presented by Tanaka,
Year
et al. [30]. The paper introduces outlines of
Fig. 8 Base shear coefficients used in design of individual applications and discusses design
base-isolated buildings adopted until thinking and a process by which to arrive at the
2000
adoption of a particular passive control system
among various alternatives.
There is no doubt that the 1995 Kobe event was
APPLICATION OF PASSIVE
a trigger for the significant increase in the
CONTROL SYSTEMS
application of seismic-base isolation and passive
The concept of passive structural control for structural control. It should be noted, however,
seismic-resistant structures was introduced in Japan that this event alone was not sufficient to promote
in 1968 when slitted RC walls were adopted as this trend. The prerequisite is the maturity of the
energy absorbers in the Kasumigaseki Building in associated design, construction, operation, and
Tokyo, the first high-rise building in Japan [29]. maintenance environment, including experienced
Structural control developed further with the use of designers who are comfortable with these new
more efficient types of dampers, such as technologies, solid manufacturing industry that can
metallic-yielding, friction, viscoelastic, and viscous provide the necessary devices in quantity and at
Nakashima, Chusilp: A Partial View of Japanese Post-Kobe Seismic Design and Construction Practices 11
80%
No Dampers considered here are those owned and managed by
60%
1 Type prefectures and local municipalities. If private
40% > 1 Type
buildings are taken into account, the percentage of
20%
retrofitted buildings would become considerably
0%
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 smaller.
Year of Construction In view of these statistics, many point out that
(a) Adoption of damper seismic retrofit is rather slow. Reasons for the
100% slow progress include lack of criteria to suggest the
Percentage of Buildings
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