Analysis of Specific Elements in Earthquake Resistant Construction

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the optimization of specific elements within earthquake-resistant construction. It details the use of horizontal bands at various levels, including plinth, lintel, gable, and roof bands, emphasizing their role in reinforcing masonry buildings and enhancing structural integrity. The report delves into design details for horizontal bands, including the importance of roof diaphragms and the interaction between architectural and structural designs to avoid seismic resistance reduction. It explores the principles of Earthquake Resistance Architecture and Seismoresistant Architecture, covering topics such as vertical reinforcements, protection of wood and bamboo poles, and the application of coatings for steel bars. Furthermore, the report addresses the objectives of Seismoresistant Architecture, its study lines, and the compatibilization standards of architectural and structural designs. It also examines common issues in building design, such as flexible floors, pseudo-resonance, seismic torsion, building collisions, short columns, and concentrated weight, providing morphological solutions for each. The report references various sources to support its findings, offering valuable insights into the design and construction of earthquake-resistant buildings.

OPTIMIZATION OF SPECIFIC
ELEMENTS WITHIN EARTHQUAKE
RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION

HORIZONTAL BANDS
 Horizontal band refers to a technique of
reinforcing masonry buildings using bands of
higher tensile strength. This is done to form
an altogether connection thereby
establishing a single unit.
 Horizontal bands are located at various levels
including lintels, plinth levels of a building
and ceiling levels.
 Horizontal bands are classified as Plinth,
Lintel, Gable and Roof Bands

 The Plinth Band is mostly useful in regions
with weak soils especially in the hilly areas
where the soil is soft and has uneven
properties (Manohar, 2015, p.258).
 Lintel Bands are provided at the lintel level.
The band experiences bending during
earthquakes therefore call for special
supervision and care during construction

 Roof Bland is mainly used with buildings
whose roofs are made of flat timber. The
band is not usable for roofs made of bricks or
concrete slabs since reinforced concentrate
slabs are themselves horizontal bands
(Manohar, 2015, p.312).
 Gable Bands are used in sloping roofs i.e.
roofs with truss construction.
Design Details for Horizontal Bands

A roof diaphragm is a
component of the
structure of a braced
frame building that
assist in the
distribution of loads
across the load bearing
members thereby
leading to an
equalization of the
pressure and making
the frame rigid.

 The seismic resistance capacity of buildings is often
reduced when the architectural designs and structural
designs interact.
 Several studies have been done to ensure such situations
are avoided.
 Various theories have been developed to give architects
an opportunity to come up with a systematic study and a
methodology that is applicable to the architectural
designs of buildings that are located in seismic zones.
 One of such theories is called Earthquake Resistance
Architecture.
 Through this theory, situations that can affect the
earthquake resistance behavior negatively are avoided.
 In this theory, a building is perceived as a set of
components that that interact when an earthquake
occurs.

ARCHITECTURE IN SEISMIC ZONES
• Refers to the
responsibilities of an
architect aimed at
solving problems
related with seismic
waves in highly
hazardous seismic
zones.
• Among the study lines
covered in architecture
in seismic zones
include:
 Urban planning
 Emergency
 Seismoresistant
Building Architecture
 Preservation and
Restoration of Patrimony of
Historical Buildings
 Esthetical and
Morphological
Characteristics of Seismic
Resistant Architecture

Vertical Reinforcements
 Vertical reinforcements are
embedded in wall piers to force the
slender masonry piers to
experience bending as opposed to
rocking.
 In the case of wider piers, the
vertical members are used to
increase their capacity to resist
horizontal earthquakes as well as
delay in X-cracking (Altenbach,
2013, p.112).
 With adequate cross sectional area,
the vertical bars aids in preventing
the bars from experiencing tension.
 Vertical bars also protect walls from
sliding and collapsing in the
direction of the line of weakness.

Protection of wood and bamboo poles
 Wood and bamboo poles can be protected by:
 Avoiding direct contact with the soil so as to
prevent rotting. In case where they are to be
buried in the soil, painting with special
bitumen paint or tar is recommended
(Altenbach, 2013, p.169).
 Handling with care as bamboo may crack
when it hits the ground
 Avoid using nails to join the poles
Protection of steel bars
 Applications of coating: The various coatings
include stainless steel cladding, hot dip
galvanizing and epoxy coating that is fusion
bonded
 A plinth beam is cement beam laid
horizontally across the house periphery on
top of the foundation. It serves to provide
support to the walls, prevent leakage of water
into the foundation as well as hold the house
together.

SEISMORESISTANT ARCHITECTURE
• Seismoresistant
Architecture gives
focus to the
interaction of each of
the building’s
subsystems during
seismic shaking in
such a way that the
architectural project
does not in any way
come from structural
maladjustments that
would lower the
seismoresistant
capacity of the
building.

• The objectives of Seismoresistant Architecture include:
 Prevention of seismoresistant stepping
 Optimization of seismoresistance (Cruz, 2015,
p.123)
• Four study lines were followed during the development
of Seismoresistant Architecture. Among them include:
 Definition of the general principles of
Seismoresistant Building Architecture
 Development of a Seismoresistant Architecture
dependent on the congruent interrelations between
each of the interacting structural systems of a
subsystem
 Improvement of the Seismoresistant Structural
Design within the provisions of Architectural Design
(Steinbuch, 2015, p.177)
 Schematization of the compatibility and interactions
between Seismoresistant Architectural Design and
Structural Design

• The basic principle
operation of
Seismoresistant
Architecture is that
“The
seismoresistant
structural elements
should produce the
stiffness, strength,
ductility and
synchronization as
anticipated in the
structural design
and analysis when
subjected to
seismic action.”
Compatibilization standards of architectural
and structural designs
• Flexible floor: Arises when a floor
is reduced considerably in
relation to the contiguous floor.
• This is solved by avoiding flexible
floor in architectural design.
• In cases where a floor with large
separations is needed, the floor
should be located outside the
tower site or it should be the last