DISASTER

RESISTANT
ASSIGNMENT ON
ARCHITECTURE
BY-

SURBAHON RAJKUMAR
(090145)

Q.1.Give historical experience of any city you know that has suffered
earthquake damage in India in the recent times. What
kind of damage is caused to life and property due to improper design of
buildings?

The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on

January 26, 2001, India's 51st Republic Day, at
08:46 AM local time and lasted for over two
minutes.

The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest

of the village
of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch
District of Gujarat, India. The
earthquake reached a magnitude of between 7.6
and 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale

The final death toll in Kutch was 12,290. Bhuj, situated only 20
kilometres from the epicenter, was devastated

The quake destroyed around 40% of homes, eight schools, two

hospitals and 4 km of road in Bhuj and partly destroyed the city's
historic Swaminarayan temple and historic fort as well Prag
Mahal and Aina Mahal.

Partial collapse of gable wall for a

single storey random masonry wall
in Kerela.

Walls survived
due to diaphragm
action from roof.
Cantilever beams
embedded in walls
also helped this.
Note window
openings are also
not
close to corners.

Most people were killed or badly injured because of :

a)poorly constructed buildings either totally or partially
collapsing
b)walls collapsing within narrow streets, burying people
escaping into them
c)untied roofs and cantilevers falling onto people
d)free standing high boundary walls, parapets and balconies
falling due to the severe shaking
e)gable walls falling over
f)the failure of modern reinforced structures with large open
spaces at ground to first floor level, for example garage or
shop spaces, collapsing and burying occupants (soft storey
collapses)
g)inhabitants not knowing how to respond to the shaking and
collapse of walls around them.

The masonry buildings which performed the best, have the following
features in common:

Cut-stones were bedded in cement mortar

Roofs were properly fixed to the top of the walls.

Window openings were sensibly sized in relation to the total wall length;

Buildings were symmetrical with no concentrated masses;

Many had cross walls at sensible spacing, although it was unclear whether
they were adequately tied at T and L junctions;

Foundations were typically founded at 0.5 to 1.0m depth, probably on firm

to medium dense soils or rock.
An old government building (predating 1900s)
made with solid cut stone masonry walls received
slight to moderate damage although it is in the
centre of Bhuj
and all around, rubble buildings have totally
collapsed.

Typical soft storey and torsion collapse

The inset shows large

deformations were concentrated
at
column heads, which caused
many
soft storey failures, as per
picture.
Buildings if designed with
uniform deflections as per left
diagram
of insert would have survived
without
collapse.

2.How would you make the following parts of buildings resistant to

earthquake proof

foundation and soil stabilization

walls and openings

water tanks
Foundations
a) Hard soils such as rock or gravel are the best foundation soils.
b) If building is on unstable soil, increase pile depth into the ground.
c) Construct stepped footings when terrain is sloped.
d) Foundations must have a strong grip with the ground which is usually
achieved by
building knee-high walls along the edge of the building.
e) The foundation must be securely attached to the floor and walls of the
building it is
supporting. This is done by tying rebar from the foundation into the floor and
walls.
f) Increase the depth of foundations into the ground if soil is loose beneath the
surface.

The subgrade below the entire area of the building shall preferably
be of the same type of the soil. Wherever this is not possible, a
suitably located separation or crumple section shall be provided.

Loose fine sand, soft silt and expansive clays should be avoided. If
unavoidable, the building shall rest either on a rigid raft foundation
or on piles taken to a firm stratum.

However, for light constructions the following measures may be

taken to improve the soil on which the foundation of the building
may rest:

a) Sand piling, and

b) Soil stabilization

Walls
Generally,

cut-stone and concrete blockwork buildings are built with more care
and attention than
rubble

masonry structures but again were not seismically designed.

The

masonry buildings which performed the best, have the following features in
common:
Cut-stones were bedded in cement mortar
Roofs were properly fixed to the top of the walls.
Window openings were sensibly sized in relation to the total wall length;
Buildings were symmetrical with no concentrated masses;
Many had cross walls at sensible spacing, although it was unclear whether they
were
Foundations were typically founded at 0.5 to 1.0m depth, probably on firm to
medium dense

One of the most seismically hazardous class of buildings common

throughout the world are structures constructed with load bearing
walls of unreinforced masonry.

Incomplete Lateral Force Resisting System:

One of the most common causes of earth quake induced collapse is

the lack of a complete lateral force resisting system.

In order to successfully resist collapse, each element of a structure

must be positively connected to the whole in such a manner that
inertial loads generated by the element from motion in any direction
can be transmitted back to the ground in a stable manner

Unreinforced masonry walls can be composed of

common clay brick, stone, hollow clay tile,
adobe, or concrete masonry materials. Walls of
these materials have limited strength, and very
little ductility for in-plane demands.

Shear failure of reinforced

concrete columns and
beams is a brittle failure
mode and can result in
sudden loss of load
carrying capacity and
collapse

3.Write short notes on any three of the following :

Richter scale level and damage

Soil liquefaction

Built form and massing in developing strength

Seismic waves

Building design in tsunami effected areas

RICHTER SCALE LEVEL AND DAMAGE

The severity of an earthquake can be expressed in terms of
both intensity and magnitude
Intensity is based on the observed effects of ground shaking on people,
buildings, and natural features. It varies from place to place within the
disturbed region
Magnitude is related to the amount of seismic energy released at the
hypocenter of the earthquake. It is based on the amplitude of the
earthquake waves recorded on instruments which have a common
calibration.

Seismic waves are the vibrations from earthquakes that travel

through the Earth; they are recorded on instruments called
seismographs

The Richter magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F.

Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical
device to compare the size of earthquakes

The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of

the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs.

Earthquakes with magnitude of about 2.0 or less are usually called

micro earthquakes; they are not commonly felt by people and are
generally recorded only on local seismographs

Events with magnitudes of about 4.5 or greater--there are several

thousand such shocks annually--are strong enough to be recorded
by sensitive seismographs all over the world

Earthquake Magnitude Scale

Magnitude

Earthquake Effects

2.5 or less

Usually not felt, but can

be recorded by
seismograph.

900,000

2.5 to 5.4

Often felt, but only

causes minor damage.

30,000

5.5 to 6.0

6.1 to 6.9

Estimated Number
Each Year

Slight damage to
buildings and other
500
structures.
May cause a lot of
damage in very populated 100
areas.

7.0 to 7.9

Major earthquake.
Serious damage.

8.0 or greater

Great earthquake. Can

totally destroy
communities near the
epicenter.

20

Earthquake Magnitude Classes

Earthquakes are also classified in categories ranging from minor to

great, depending on their magnitude
Class

Magnitude

Great

8 or more

Major

7 - 7.9

Strong

6 - 6.9

Moderate

5 - 5.9

Light

4 - 4.9

Minor

3 -3.9

Soil Liquefaction

Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of

a soil is reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid loading.
Liquefaction and related phenomena have been responsible for
tremendous amounts of damage in historical earthquakes around
the world.

Liquefaction occurs in saturated soils, that is, soils in which the

space between individual particles is completely filled with water.

This water exerts a pressure on the soil particles that influences

how tightly the particles themselves are pressed together. Prior to
an earthquake, the water pressure is relatively low

However, earthquake shaking can cause the water pressure to

increase to the point where the soil particles can readily move with
respect to each other.

Earthquake shaking often triggers this increase in water pressure,

but construction related activities such as blasting can also cause
an increase in water pressure

When liquefaction occurs, the strength of the soil decreases and,

the ability of a soil deposit to support foundations for buildings and
bridges is reduced
The pressures generated during
large earthquakes with many
cycles of shaking can cause the
liquefied sand and excess water
to force its way to the ground
surface from several metres
below the ground

Some effects of liquefaction during

the1964 Niigata earthquake

This is often observed as "sand

boils" also called "sand blows" or
"sand volcanoes" (as they
appear to form small volcanic
craters) at the ground surface

Methods to mitigate the effects of soil liquefaction have been

devised by earthquake engineers and include various soil
compaction techniques such as vibro compaction (compaction of
the soil by depth vibrators), dynamic compaction, and vibro stone
columns

These methods result in the densification of soil and enable

buildings to withstand soil liquefaction

Existing buildings can be mitigated by injecting grout into the soil to

stabilize the layer of soil that is subject to liquefaction.

Damage inBrooklandsfrom the2010

Canterbury earthquake,
wherebuoyancy caused by soil
liquefaction pushed up an underground
service including this manhole

Seismic waves are the waves of energy caused by the sudden

breaking of rock within the earth or an explosion. They are the
energy that travels through the earth and is recorded on
seismographs.

There are several different kinds of seismic waves, and they all
move in different ways. The two main types of waves are body
waves and surface waves.

Body waves can travel through the earth's inner layers, but surface
waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on
water

BODY WAVES

Traveling through the interior of the earth, body waves arrive before
the surface waves emitted by an earthquake. These waves are of a
higher frequency than surface waves.

P WAVES
The

first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This is the
fastest kind of seismic wave, and, consequently, the first to 'arrive' at a
seismic station. The P wave can move through solid rock and fluids, like
water or the liquid layers of the earth.
P

waves are also known as compressional waves, because of the

pushing and pulling they do. Subjected to a P wave, particles move in the
same direction that the wave is moving in, which is the direction that the
energy is traveling in, and is sometimes called the 'direction of wave
propagation'.
S WAVES
An

S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid rock,
not through any liquid medium
S waves move rock particles up and down, or side-to-side--perpendicular
to the direction that the wave is traveling in (the direction of wave
propagation).

Travelling only through the crust, surface waves are of a lower

frequency than body waves

Though they arrive after body waves, it is surface waves that are
almost enitrely responsible for the damage and destruction associated
with earthquakes.

Q 4. What are natural hazards that affect buildings in different

geographical situation?How do you reduce the vulnerabilities of
buildings which are susceptible to the following
Fire safety in high rise buildings
Flood prone coastal areas
Fire safety
Means of access
Type of Exits
Number of Size of Exits
Arrangements of Exits
Occupant Load
Capacity of Exit
Staircase Requirements
Minimum Width Provision for Stairways
Minimum Width Provision for Passageway/Corridors
Doorways & Stairways

Fire Escapes or External Stairs:

a) Fire escape shall not be taken into account while calculating the number of
staircases for a building.
b) All fire escapes shall be directly connected to the ground.
c)Entrance to the fire escape shall be separate and remote from internal staircase.
d)The route to fire escape shall be free of obstructions at all times except the doorway
leading to the fire escape which shall have the required fire resistance.
e)Fire escape shall be constructed of non-combustible materials.

Fire Escapes or External Stairs:

f)Fire escape stairs shall have straight flight not less than 125 cm wide with
25 cm treads and risers not more than 19 cm.
g)Handrails shall be at a height not less than 100 cm.
h)Fire escape staircase in the mercantile, business, assembly, hotel
buildings above 24 mt. height shall be a fire tower and in such a case
width of the same shall not be less than the width of the main staircase.
No combustible material shall be allowed in the fire tower.

Spiral Stairs

a)The use of spiral staircase shall be limited to low occupant load and
to a building height 9 mt.
b)A spiral stair shall not be less than 150 cm in diameter and shall be
designed to give the adequate headroom.

Staircase Enclosures

The external enclosing walls of the staircase shall be of the brick or the
R.C.C. construction having the fire resistance of not less than two
hours.

All enclosed staircases shall have access through self-closing door of

one-hour fire resistance.

These shall be single swing doors opening in the direction of the

escape.

The door shall be fitted with the check action door closers.

The staircase enclosures on the external wall of the building shall be

ventilated to the atmosphere at each landing.

Permanent vent at the top equal to the 5% of the cross sectional area of the
enclosure and openable sashes at each floor level with area equal to 1 to
15% of the cross sectional area of the enclosure on external shall be
provided.

The roof of the shaft shall be at least 1 mt. above the surrounding roof.

There shall be no glazing or the glass bricks in any internal closing wall of
staircase.

If the staircase is in the core of the building and cannot be ventilated at

each landing, a positive of 5-mm. w.g. by an electrically operated
blower/blowers shall be maintained.

The mechanism for pressurizing the staircase shaft shall be so installed

that the same shall operate automatically on fire alarm system/sprinkler
system and be provided with manual operation facilities.

Fire Lift

The lift shall have a floor area of not less than 1.4 sq.mt, It shall have a
loading capacity of not less than 545 kg. (8 persons lift) with automatic
closing doors.

The electric supply shall be on a separate service from electric supply

mains in a building and the cables run in a route safe from fire, that is
within a lift shaft.

Lights and fans in the elevator having wooden paneling or sheet steel
construction shall be operated on 24-volt supply.

Fire lift

In case of failure of normal electric supply, it shall automatically

switchover to the alternate supply.

The words 'F1RE LIFT' shall be conspicuously displayed in

fluorescent paint on the lift landing doors at each floor level.

The speed of the fire lift shall be such that it can reach to the top
floor from ground level within one minute

STATIC WATER STORAGE TANK

A satisfactory supply of water exclusively for the purpose of fire fighting shall
always be available in the form of underground static storage tank with
capacity specified in Annexure-A with arrangements of replenishment by
town's main or alternative source of supply @ 1000 liters per minute.

The static storage water supply required for the above mentioned purpose
should entirely be accessible to the fire engines of the local fire service.

a) The covering slab shall be able to withstand the vehicular load of 45

tones in case of high rise and 22 tone in case of low rise.
A draw off connection shall be provided.
The slab need not been strengthened if the static tank is not located in
mandatory set- back area.
b) To prevent stagnation of water in the static water tank the suction tank
of the domestic water supply shall be fed only through an over flow
arrangement to maintain the level therein at the minimum specified
capacity.

MATERIAL USED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING

a) The combustible/flammable material shall not be used for partitioning, wall
paneling, false ceiling etc.
Any material giving out toxic gases/smoke if involved in the fire shall not be used
for partitioning of a floor or wall paneling or a false ceiling etc.
The surface frames spread of the lining material shall conform to class-I of the
standard specification.
b) Construction features/elements of structures shall conform to National Building
Code and BIS code .

Building
1. RCC or brick masonry two storied building with or without stilt
depending on the
storm tide levels is considered suitable. Height depends on the storm tide
levels. In
view of general soft top soil in coastal areas, pile foundations may be
preferable.
However, suitable type of foundations should be considered based on
local
conditions and soil strata.
2. Shape: Any shape (circular, hexagonal, octagonal) is suitable. However,
square or
rectangular may be used provided the peripheral corners are rounded for
improving the aerodynamics of the structure.
3. Doors: Should be opened outwards into a box having four heavy duty
stainless
steel hinges fixed firmly to the holding medium.

4. Windows: Louver type of window is suggested with non-breakable and

non-brittle

items made of Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP).

5. Parapet:

6. For RCC buildings: The height of the RCC parapet over the first floor
roof will

depend upon design storm surge height and may be taken from 0.8m to
1.35 m

having holding-pipes on top or inside of the parapet (Table 3; Fig 4)

depending on

the design surge levels.

7. For masonry buildings: The parapet may be made of brick masonry up

to a height

of 0.8 m with pipe railing at top.

5.How is the indian land map divided into different earthquake zones
based on vulnerability and hazards ?what are the structural details
suggested as per IS code to improve the performance of buildings
in the event of an earthquake

Geographical statistics of India show that almost 54% of the land is

vulnerable to earthquakes

The latest version of seismic zoning map of India given in the earthquake
resistant design code of India [IS 1893 (Part 1) 2002] assigns four levels
of seismicity for India in terms of zone factors

Zone 5

Zone 5 covers the areas with the highest risks zone that suffers
earthquakes of intensity MSK IX or greater

The IS code assigns zone factor of 0.36 for Zone 5

It is referred to as the Very High Damage Risk Zone. The state
of Kashmir,the western and central Himalayas, the North-East Indian
region and the Rann of Kutch fall in this zone.

MAP SHOWING
SEISMIC ZONES

Zone 4

This zone is called the High Damage Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII.

The IS code assigns zone factor of 0.24 for Zone 4

The Indo-Gangetic basin and the capital of the country (Delhi), Jammu and Kashmir fall
in Zone 4. In Maharashtra Patan area (Koyananager) also in zone 4

Zone 3

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of Kashmir, Western Himalayas fall under this
zone

This zone is classified as Moderate Damage Risk Zone which is liable to MSK VII. and
also 7.8

The IS code assigns zone factor of 0.16 for Zone 3

Zone 2

This region is liable to MSK VI or less and is classified as the Low Damage Risk Zone

The IS code assigns zone factor of 0.10 (maximum horizontal acceleration that can be
experienced by a structure in this zone is 10% of gravitational acceleration) for Zone 2

6.Write short notes on any of the three:

Storm

surge

Strong

earthquakes and rupture of soils

Earthquake
Selection
Concept

damping techniques in tall buildings

of appropriate materials for quake proofing buildings

of seismic retrofitting of existing buildings

STORM SURGE
A

storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low

pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical
cyclones.
Storm

surface

surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's

The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea
level

In areas where there is a significant difference between low tide

and high tide, storm surges are particularly damaging when they
occur at the time of a high tide

In these cases, this increases the difficulty of predicting the

magnitude of a storm surge since it requires weather forecasts to be
accurate to within a few hours
At least five processes
can be involved in
alteringtidelevels
duringstorms: the
pressure effect, the
direct wind effect, the
effect of the Earth's
rotation, the effect of
waves, and the rainfall
effect

Surge can be measured directly at coastal tidal stations as the

difference between the forecast tide and the observed rise of water

Another method of measuring surge is by the deployment of

pressure transducers along the coastline just ahead of an
approaching tropical cyclone

The highest storm tide noted in historical accounts was produced by

the 1899 Cyclone Mahina, estimated at 43 ft (13 meters) at Bathurst
Bay, Australia.

Although meteorological surveys alert about hurricanes or severe

storms, in the areas where the risk of coastal flooding is particularly
high, there are specific storm surge warnings

A prophylactic method introduced after the North Sea Flood of

1953 is the construction of dams and floodgates (storm surge
barriers). They are open and allow free passage but close when the
land is under threat of a storm surge

Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make

them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due
to earthquakes

Retrofitting objectives:

Increasing the global capacity (strengthening). This is typically done by

the addition of cross braces or new structural walls.

Reduction of the seismic demand by means of supplementary damping

and/or use of base isolation systems.

Increasing the local capacity of structural elements. This strategy

recognises the inherent capacity within the existing structures, and
therefore adopt a more cost-effective approach to selectively upgrade
local capacity (deformation/ductility, strength or stiffness) of individual
structural components.

Selective weakening retrofit. This is a counter intuitive strategy to change

the inelastic mechanism of the structure, whilst recognising the inherent
capacity of the structure.

Allowing sliding connections such as passageway bridges to

accommodate additional movement between seismically independent
structures

Failure of beam-column joint connections can typically lead to catastrophic

collapse of a frame-building, as often observed in recent earthquakes

Concrete or steel jacketing have been a popular retrofit technique until the
advent of composite materials such as Carbon fiber-reinforced
polymer (FRP)

One novel technique includes the use of selective weakening of the beam
and added external post-tensioning to the joint in order to achieve flexural
hinging in the beam, which is more desirable in terms of seismic design

Corner joint steel reinforcement and

high tensile strength rods with grouted
anti-burst jacket below

Column failure forming hinge

Reinforced concrete columns typically contain large diameter

vertical rebar (reinforcing bars) arranged in a ring, surrounded by
lighter-gauge hoops of rebar. Upon analysis of failures due to
earthquakes, it has been realized that the weakness was not in the
vertical bars, but rather in inadequate strength and quantity of hoops

Once the integrity of the hoops is breached, the vertical rebar can
flex outward, stressing the central column of concrete. The concrete
then simply crumbles into small pieces, now unconstrained by the
surrounding rebar. In new construction a greater amount of hooplike structures are used.
One simple retrofit is to surround the column
with a jacket of steel plates formed and welded
into a single cylinder. The space between the
jacket and the column is then filled with
concrete, a process called grouting
J acketed and grouted column on left, unmodified on
right

Earthquake damping techniques in tall buildings

The two damping techniques studied in this experiment were crossbracing and tuned mass dampers. In this experiment, two large "popsicle
skyscrapers" were built to see the effects of dampers on skyscrapers
when there is an earthquake.

Cross-bracing is not only a technique found in skyscrapers in earthquakeprone areas. This technique is found in many high-rise buildings all over
the world, as it adds structural support to the building.

The other method of damping earthquakes is called "tuned mass

damping"

This is an example of a
"cross-braced" building.

Taipei 101 has a tuned mass

damper in it, shown in the picture

Among the most important advanced techniques of earthquake

resistant design and construction are base isolation and energy
dissipation devices.

Base Isolation

A base isolated structure is supported by a series of bearing pads

which are placed between the building and the building's foundation

Energy Dissipation Devices

The second of the major new
techniques for improving the
earthquake resistance of buildings
also relies upon damping and energy
dissipation, but it greatly extends the
damping and energy dissipation
provided by leadrubber bearings.

Q6.a- Suggest some safety measures to be adopted in building design against

fire threats
b-suggest construction details to be adopted while following building components
to make the building resistant to earthquakes.
ANS A)
FIRE SAFETY PLAN

A fire safety plan is required by all national, state and provincial fire codes based on building use or
occupancy types.
Generally, the owner of the building is responsible for the preparation of a fire safety plan.
Buildings with elaborate emergency systems may require the assistance of a fire protection consultant

Fire safety plan structure

Key contact information

Utility services (Including shut-off valves for water, gas and electric)

Access issues

Dangerous stored materials

Location of people with special needs

Connections to sprinkler system

Layout, drawing, and site plan of building

Maintenance schedules for life safety systems

Personnel training and fire drill procedures

Building design aspects include:

Means

of escape doors

Signage
Fire

alarm systems

Secondary

lighting

Means

of escape facilities for disabled persons

Access

for fire fighting purposes

Provision

of building emergency folders

Provision

of fire hydrants, fixed fire fighting installations, and portable fire fighting equipment

Fire

safety implications for ducting and ventilation systems

Provision

of lifts, refuges, and associated communication systems

Means of escape doors

To

allow flexibility in future usage all room door sets, corridor fire door sets and partitions

giving

access to circulation corridors and passageway subdivisions.

Means of escape stairs

all

internal means of escape stairs that are used as

accommodation
Guarding
An
A

stairs in academic buildings must have:

appropriate for young children

effective slip-resistant surface

continuous handrail on each side of the stair.

Risers

that are safe for use by young children and visually

Signs
Signage

is very important in all building to direct the crowd towards nearest exit or help them find their way out
of the building .
Signage

must be provided at all exits and fire equipments

Refuge areas
multi-storey

buildings must be provided with fire enclosures to enable refuge areas to be provided in approved
staircase enclosures
Refuge

areas must be provided with proper communication networks and necessary supplies for fire fighting

Fixed fire fighting installations

Extinguishing

agents -There are various systems of fire suppression available - the following types of
extinguishing agents
are

the most common:

Water

sprinkler system;

Foam

of various types including light water;

Carbon
Dry

dioxide;

powder;

Halogenated

hydro-carbons

Fire safety implications for ducting and ventilation systems

The

installation of ventilation ducting within fire compartments requires careful

consideration at the design stage.
To

achieve a means of escape standard in accordance with fire safety guidance, the
sealing of any opening will need to be operated by some form of smoke detection.
ANS B)
DESIGN OF FOUNDATION:
# GENERAL PLANNING AND DESIGN ASPECTS
1.Symmetry: The building as a whole
or its various blocks should be kept
symmetrical about both the axes.
Asymmetry leads to torsion during
earthquakes and is dangerous,
Symmetry is also desirable
in the placing and sizing of door and
window openings, as far as possible

(ii) Regularity: Simple rectangular shapes, behave better in an earthquake

than shapes with many projections
(b) Torsional effects of ground motion are pronounced in long narrow
rectangular blocks

Therefore, it is desirable to restrict the length of a block to three times its

width.

If longer lengths are required two separate blocks with sufficient

separation in between should be provided,

(iii) Separation of Blocks: Separation of a large building into several blocks

may be required so as to obtain symmetry and regularity of each block.

For preventing hammering or pounding damage between blocks a

physical separation of 3 to 4 cm throughout the height above the plinth
level will be adequate as well as practical for upto 3 storeyed buildings.

Foundations should be concrete traditional rock foundations may be

used for single storey

buildings but they must be constructed to a high standard by experienced

tradesmen.

For all foundations

Foundations should be designed to be stronger than the building elements

above we must
avoid foundation failures
If possible use one type of foundation throughout: e.g. piles or shallow
footings
Individual foundations must be tied together in both directions
Ground beams should be at least as deep as columns
Consider settlement, especially differential settlement
Ensure all bearing pressures etc are similar
Consider consolidation and liquefaction of the underlying soils.

8.3 Openings in Bearing Walls

8.3.1 Door and window openings in walls reduce their lateral load resistance and hence, should
preferably be small and more centrally located. The guidelines on the size and position of
opening are given in Table 4 and Fig. 7.

Openings in any storey shall preferably have their top at the same level so that a continuous
band could be provided over them, including the lintels throughout the building.

Where openings do not comply with the guidelines of Table 4, they should be strengthened by
providing reinforced concrete or reinforcing the brickwork, as shown in Fig. 8 with high strength
deformed (H.S.D.) bars of 8 mm dia but the quantity of steel shall be increased at the jambs to
comply with 8.4.9, if so required.

If a window or ventilator is to be projected out, the projection shall be in reinforced masonry or

concrete and well anchored.

If an opening is tall from bottom to almost top of a storey, thus dividing the wall into two
portions, these portions shall be reinforced with horizontal reinforcement of 6 mm diameter bars
at not more than 450 mm intervals, one on inner and one on outer face, properly tied to vertical
steel at jambs, corners or junction of walls, where used.

The use of arches to span over the opening is a source of weakness and shall be avoided.
Otherwise, steel ties should be provided.

Q3. ELOBERATE THE FOLLOWING CONCEPTS THAT ARE THE BASIS OF

SEISMOLOGY
A) EPICENTRE OF EARTHQUAKE
B)SOIL CHARACTERISTICS AND ITS EFFECTS

ANS:
Epicentre of an earthquake

Earthquakes can be recorded by seismometers up to great distances,

because seismic waves travel through the whole Earth's interior.

The absolute magnitude of a quake is conventionally reported by

numbers on the Moment magnitude scale (formerly Richter scale,
magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas), whereas the
felt magnitude is reported using the modified Mercalli intensity scale

EPICENTRE : A point on the Earth's surface located vertically above

the place deep within the Earth where the earthquake originates.

Seismic waves emanate from this point of rupture, or focus, and are
propagated up to the Earth's surface.

At the surface, the epicentre, located vertically above the focus, is the
point where the earthquake's effects are first felt.
An earthquake can cause damage at considerable distances from its point
of origin, but it is at the epicentre that it is at its most violent.
Scales related to magnitude such as the Richter scale are based on the
characteristics of an earthquake near its epicentre.

In the past, the location of the epicentre was determined afterwards, on the
basis of the amount of damage observed.

Today, several thousand seismic stations scattered across the planet, equipped
with seismometers, record passing seismic waves.

By analysing all this data, it is possible to infer the location of the epicentre and
focus of any earthquake with a magnitude in excess of 4, or even 2.

B) SOIL AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

Bearing capacity of foundation soil

Three soil types are considered here:

Firm: Those soils which have an allowable bearing capacity of more than 10 t/m2

Soft: Those soils, which have allowable bearing capacity less than or equal to 10
t/m2.

Weak: Those soils, which are liable to large differential settlement, or

liquefaction during an earthquake.

Buildings can be constructed on firm and soft soils but it will be dangerous to
build them on weak soils. Hence appropriate soil investigations should be carried
out to establish the allowable bearing capacity and nature of soil.

Weak soils must be avoided or compacted to improve them so as to qualify as

firm or soft.

(i) Firm soil

In

firm soil conditions, any type of footing (individual or strip type) can be used. It should of course have a
firm base of lime or cement concrete with requisite width over which the construction of the footing may start.
It

will be desirable to connect the individual reinforced concrete column footings in Zone A by means of RC
beams just below plinth level intersecting at right angles.
(ii) Soft soil
In

soft soil, it will be desirable to use a plinth band in all walls and where necessary to connect the individual
column footings by means of plinth beams as suggested above. It may be mentioned that continuous
reinforced concrete footings are considered to be most effective from earthquake considerations as well as
to avoid differential settlements under normal vertical loads.
(iii) Very Loose Sands or Sensitive Clays:
These

two types of soils are liable to be destroyed by the earthquake so much as to lose their original
structure and thereby undergo compaction.
This

would result in large unequal settlements and damage the building. If the loose cohesion less soils are
saturated with water they are apt to lose their shear resistance altogether during shaking and become
liquefied.
Although

such soils can be compacted, for small buildings the operation may be too costly and these soils
are better avoided.
For

large building complexes, such as housing developments, new towns, etc., this factor should be
thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken.
Therefore

a site with sufficient bearing capacity and free from the above defects should be chosen and its
drainage condition improved so that no water accumulates and saturates the ground close to the footing
level.

Q4)HOW IS THE INDIAN LAND MAP DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT EARTHQUAKE

ZONES BASED ON VULNERABILTY AND HAZARDS?WHAT ARE THE STRUCTURAL
DETAILS SUGGESTED AS PER IS CODE TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF
BUILDINGS IN THE EVENT OF AN EARTHQUAKE?

The Indian subcontinent has a history of devastating earthquakes.

The major reason for the high frequency and intensity of the earthquakes is
that the Indian plate is driving into Asia at a rate of approximately
47 mm/year.

Geographical statistics of India show that almost 54% of the land is

vulnerable to earthquakes

Each zone indicates the effects of an earthquake at a particular place based

on the observations of the affected areas and can also be described using a
descriptive scale like Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Q2. what are the social and economic consequences of an

earthquake? Discuss with suitable examples in India, regarding
relief and rehabilitation efforts. - june2012
ANS)
The major consequences of such natural disasters are the loss of
human life. The location and magnitude of the earthquake is a
major factor which determines the number of lives that will be lost
and the number of structures that will be damaged. A huge
number of deaths can be caused by collapse of structures which
were constructed from heavy and weak materials. Other
economic and social consequences include trauma, cost of
damage, loss of jobs, loss of housing, business interruption,
waste of energy and material.

The earthquake of 26 January 2001 in Gujarat was unprecedented not

only for the state of

Gujarat but for the entire country in terms of the damages and the
casualties. As the state

came out of the shock, literally and otherwise, the public learnt for the
first time that the

scale of disaster could have been far lower had the constructions in the
region complied

with the codes of practice for earthquake prone regions. Naturally, as

Gujarat began to

rebuild the houses, infrastructure and the lives of the affected people, it
gave due priority

to the issues of code compliance for new constructions.

Zone 5
Zone

5 covers the areas with the highest risks zone that suffers earthquakes of intensity or
greater.
The

IS code assigns zone factor of 0.36 for Zone 5. Structural designers use this factor for
earthquake resistant design of structures in Zone
It

is referred to as the Very High Damage Risk Zone. The state of Kashmir,the western and
central Himalayas, the North-East Indian region and the Rann of Kutch fall in this zone.
Zone 4
This

zone is called the High Damage Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII. The IS
code assigns zone factor of 0.24 for Zone 4.
The

Indo-Gangetic basin and the capital of the country (Delhi), Jammu and Kashmir fall in
Zone 4. In Maharashtra Patan area(Koyananager) also in zone 4.
Zone 3
The

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of Kashmir, Western Himalayas fall under this
zone.
This

zone is classified as Moderate Damage Risk Zone which is liable to MSK VII. and also
7.8 The IS code assigns zone factor of 0.16 for Zone 3.
Zone 2
This
The

region is liable to MSK VI or less and is classified as the Low Damage Risk Zone.

IS code assigns zone factor of 0.10 (maximum horizontal acceleration that can be
experienced by a structure in this zone is 10% of gravitational acceleration) for Zone 2.

B) AS PER THE IS CODE

Projecting and Suspended Parts
4.3.1

Projecting parts shall be avoided as far as possible. If the projecting parts cannot
be avoided, they shall be properly reinforced and firmly tied to the main structure, and their
design shall be in accordance with
4.3.2

Ceiling plaster shall preferably be avoided. When it is unavoidable, the plaster

shall be as thin as possible.
4.3.3

Suspended ceiling shall be avoided as faras possible. Where provided they shall
be light, adequately framed and secured.
4.4

Building Configuration

4.4.0

In order to minimize torsion and stress concentration, provisions given in 4.4.1 to

4.4.3should be complied with as relevant.
4.4.1

The building should have a simple rectangular plan and be symmetrical both with
respect to mass and rigidity so that the centre of mass and rigidity of the building coincide
with each other in which case no separation sections other than expansion joints are
necessary. For provision of expansion joints reference may be made to IS 3414 : 1968.

If symmetry of the structure is not possible in plan, elevation or mass,

provision shall be made for tensional and other effects due to earthquake forces
in the structural design or the parts of different rigidities may be separated
through crumple sections.
The length of such building between separation sections shall not preferably
exceed three times the width.
Ductility
The main structural elements and their connection shall be designed to have a
ductile failure. This will enable the structure to absorb energy during
earthquakes to avoid sudden collapse of the structure. Providing reinforcing
steel in masonry at critical sections, as provided in this standard will not only
increase strength and stability but also ductility. The details for achieving
ductility in reinforced concrete structures is given in IS 13920 : 1993.
Damage to Non-structural Parts
Suitable details shall be worked out to connect the non-structural parts with the
structural framing so that the deformation of the structural frame leads to
minimum damage of the non-structural elements.
Fire Safety Fire frequently follows an earthquake and therefore, buildings shall
be constructed to make them fire resistant in accordance with the provisions of
following Indian Standards for fire safety, as relevant:

Q5) WHAT ARE THE EARTHQUAKES RESISTANCE CONSTRUCTION

MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN THE CASES OF THE FOLLOWING:
A) CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF ELEVATED WATER TANKS
B) STAIRCASES IN APARTMENTS

ANS)
A) CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF ELEVATED WATER TANKS

B) design of staircase

THANK YOU.

SUBMITTED BY-

SURBAHON RAJKUMAR
(090145)