Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

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1.1 GENERAL
Earthquake is defined as any kind of seismic event which may be either be caused by nature or
initiated by humans, which generates seismic waves. An earthquake can be defined as a wave-like
and irregular motion generated by forces in constant turmoil beneath the surface layer of the
earth (the lithosphere), which is travelling through the earth’s crust.
It may also be defined as the vibration, sometimes violent and dangerous, of the earth’s surface
as a result of a release and travelling of energy in the earth’s crust. This release of energy is be
caused by sudden dislocations of rock segments of the crust, volcanic eruptions, or even by mining
and explosions created by humans. Dislocations of crust segments, however, lead to the most
destructive earthquakes.

By the process of dislocation of crust, vibrations called seismic waves are generated. These waves
travel towards earth surface from the source of the earthquake at different speeds, causing the
motion in earth or causing the earth to quiver or ring like a bell or tuning fork. During an
earthquake, enormous amounts of energy are released. The size and severity of an earthquake is
estimated by two important parameters—intensity and magnitude. The magnitude is a measure
of the amount of energy released, while the intensity is the apparent effect experienced at a
specific location. Earthquakes are caused commonly by rupture or dislocation of geological faults
in earth crust; but they can also be triggered by other events like volcanic eruption, mine blasts,
landslides and nuclear tests.
A release of enormous amount of energy in the Earth's crust which creates seismic waves results
in what is called an earthquake, which is also known as a tremor, a quake or a temblor). The
frequency, type, intensity and magnitude of earthquakes experienced over a period of time
defines the seismicity (seismic activity) of that area. The observations from a seismometer are
used to measure earthquake. Earthquakes greater than approximately 5 are mostly reported on
the scale of moment magnitude. Those quakes which are smaller than magnitude 5, which are
more in number, as reported by the national seismological observatories are mostly measured on
the local magnitude scale the Richter scale. The effect of seismic waves on a building is presented
in figure 1.1

Fig. 1.1 effect of seismic wave

According to the Seismic Zoning Map of IS: 1893-2002, India is divided into four zones on the
basis of seismic activities. They are Zone II, Zone III, Zone IV and Zone V.
Fig. 1.2 seismic zone map of India
1.2 EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Our aim in this study is to compare the results of earthquake resistant designs based on grade of
concrete used in building. Earthquake-resistant structures are structures designed to protect
buildings from collapse and damage due to earthquakes.

While no structure can be entirely resistible to damage from earthquakes, the main goal of
earthquake-resistant design and construction is to erect structures that can perform better during
seismic activity than their conventional counterparts. According to building codes, earthquake-
resistant structures are intended to withstand the largest earthquake of a certain probability that
is likely to occur at their location. This means the loss of life should be minimized by preventing
collapse of the buildings for rare earthquakes while the loss of the functionality should be limited
for more frequent ones.
Currently, there are many design philosophies available in earthquake engineering, which make
use of experimental results, computer simulations and the observations from past earthquakes to
provide the required performance for the seismic threat at the site of interest. These range from
appropriately sizing the structure to be strong and ductile enough to survive the shaking with an
acceptable damage, to equipping it with base isolation or using structural vibration control
technologies to minimize any forces and deformations. While the former is the method typically
applied in most earthquake resistant structures, important facilities, landmarks and cultural
heritage buildings use the more advanced (and expensive) techniques of isolation or control to
survive strong shaking with minimal damage.
Here in our study the recommendations of IS 1893(part 1) :2006 have been used for designing the
earthquake resistant structure.