Earthquake Tips: Learning Earthquake Design and Construction

Earthquake Tips
Learning Earthquake Design and Construction
C. V. R. Murty
Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur
Building Material and Technology Promotion Council

Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation, Government of India
New Delhi March 2005
Earthquake Tips
Learning Earthquake Design and Construction
Near
Far
Authored by
C. V. R. Murty
Department of Civil Engineering

Kanpur
Building Material and Technology Promotion Council

Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation, Government of India
New Delhi
Published by:
National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering

Kanpur 208016
Phone: (0512) 259 7866; Fax: (0512) 259 7794
Email: nicee@iitk.ac.in; Web: www.nicee.org
March 2005
PREFACE
The Republic Day earthquake of 26 January 2001 in Gujarat clearly demonstrated the earthquake
vulnerability profile of our country. It created a considerable interest amongst the professionals
associated with construction activities in any form, as well as the non-pr ofessi onals regarding the
earthquake safety issues. While the subject of earthquake engineering has its own sophisticati on and a lot
of new research is being conducted in this very important subje ct, it i s also impor tant to widely
disseminate the basic con cepts of earthquake resistant constructions through simple language. With this
objective, the Indian Institute of Technol ogy Kanpur (IITK) and the Building Materials and Techn ology
Promotion Council (BMTPC), a constituent of the Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation,
Government of India, launched the IITK-BMTPC Series on Earthquake Tips in early 2002. Professor C. V. R.
Murty was requested to take up the daunting task of expressing difficult con cepts in very simple
language, which he has very ably done.
This publication, containing all the 24 Tips, is targeted at persons interested in building
construction. The Tips cover topics such as basic introduction to earthquakes and terminology such as
magnitude and intensity, concepts of earthquake resistant design, and aspects of a seismic design and
construction of buildings. Utmost care is taken to ensure that despite complexity of the concepts, the Tips
are simple and unambiguous. To ensure the highest quality of technical contents, every Tip is carefully
reviewed by two or more experts, both within and outside India and their feedback is used before
finalizing the Tips.
The Tips are released for publicati on to all interested journals, magazines, and newspapers. The
Tips are also placed at the web site of the National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering (NICEE)
(www.nicee.org) and Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) (www.bmtpc.org). The
project has succeeded way beyond our own expectations: a large number of journals of architecture,
construction and structural engineering, and many prestigious newspapers have published some or all
the Tips.
Seeing the interest of the readers in the Tips, we are happy to place all the twenty four Tips in this
single cover for facilitating their usage. We are grateful to Professor C. V. R. Murty for the dedication
with which he worked on this project. We also take this opportunity to thank the numerous reviewers
who have willingly spent time in reviewing the Tips. But, a special mention may be made here for Ms.
Alpa R. Sheth of Mumbai and Professor Svetlana N. Brzev of Vancouver (Canada), wh o have reviewed
very substantial number of these Tips. Finally, we must thank numerous newspapers, journals and
magazines who came forward to publish these Tips, at times making an exception to their editorial policy
on exclusivity.
Development of the Tips was financially supported by the BMTPC New Delhi. Financial support
for this reprint and dissemination was provided by the National Programme on Earthquake Engineering
Education (www.nicee.org/npeee) and the Joan and Haresh Shah family funds, respectively, which is
gratefully acknowledged.
We hope that the readers will find the Tips useful when constructing buildings in earthquake
prone areas and will consult the expert for finalising their design and construction details. We welcome
comments and suggestions; please email to nicee@iitk.ac.in.
Sudhir K. Jain
Coordinator, National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering &
Professor of Civil Engineering
Kanpur 208016
March 2005
List of Reviewers
We are grateful to the following experts who reviewed one or more Earthquake
Tip and made valuable feedback.
Ms. Alpa R. Sheth, Vakil Mehta Sheth Consulting Engineers, Mumbai

Professor Andrew Charleson, Victoria University of Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Dr. C. P. Rajendran, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Trivandrum
Professor Christopher Arnold, Building Systems Development, USA
Professor Durgesh C. Rai, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur
Professor K. N. Khattri, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun
Dr. Leonardo Seeber, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, USA
Dr. Praveen K. Malhotra, Factory Mutual Research Corporation, USA
Professor Robert D. Hanson, The University of Michigan, USA
Professor Sri Krishna Singh, Instituto De Geofisica, MEXICO
Professor Sudhir K. Jain, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur
Professor Svetlana N. Brzev, British Columbia Institute of Technology, CANADA
Mr. T. N. Gupta, BMTPC, New Delhi
CONTENTS
Preface
List of Reviewers
Tip 01: What Causes Earthquake? 1

Tip 02: How the Ground Shakes? 3
Tip 03: What are Magnitude and Intensity? 5
Tip 04: Where are Seismic Zones in India? 7
Tip 05: What are the Seismic Effects on Structures? 9
Tip 06: How Architectural Features Affects Buildings During Earthquakes? 11
Tip 07: How Buildings Twist During Earthquakes? 13
Tip 08: What is the Seismic Design Philosophy for Buildings? 15
Tip 09: How to Make Buildings Ductile for Good Seismic Performance? 17
Tip 10: How Flexibility of Buildings affects their Earthquake Response? 19
Tip 11: What are the Indian Seismic Codes? 21
Tip 12: How do Brick Masonry Houses behave during Earthquake? 23
Tip 13: Why should Masonry Buildings have simple Structural Configuration? 25
Tip 14: Why are horizontal bands necessary in masonry buildings? 27
Tip 15: Why is vertical reinforcement required in masonry buildings? 29
Tip 16: How to make Stone Masonry Buildings Earthquake Resistant? 31
Tip 17: How do Earthquake affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings? 33
Tip 18: How do Beams in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes? 35
Tip 19: How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes? 37
Tip 20: How do Beam-Column Joints in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes? 39
Tip 21: Why are Open-Ground Storey Buildings Vulnerable in Earthquakes? 41
Tip 22: Why are Short Columns more Damaged During Earthquakes? 43
Tip 23: Why are Buildings with Shear Walls Preferred in Seismic Regions? 45
Tip 24: How to Reduce Earthquake Effects on Buildings? 47
Learning
1 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
What Causes Earthquakes?
The Earth and its Interio r
Long time ago, a large collection of material
masses coalesced to form the Earth. Large amount of
heat was generated by this fusion, and slowly as the
Earth cooled down, the heavier and denser materials
sank to the center and the lighter ones rose to the top.
The differentiated Earth consists of the Inner Core
(radius ~1290km), the Outer Core (thickness ~2200km),
the Mantle (thickness ~2900km) and the Crust
(thickness ~5 to 40km). Figure 1 shows these layers.
The Inner Core is solid and consists of heavy metals
(e.g., nickel and iron), while the Crust consists of light
materials (e.g., basalts and granites). The Outer Core is Figure 2:
liquid in form and the Mantle has the ability to flow. Local Convective Currents in the Mantle
At the Core, the temperature is estimated to be
~2500°C, the pressure ~4 million atmospheres and
density ~13.5 gm/cc; this is in contrast to ~25°C, 1 Plate Tectonics
atmosphere and 1.5 gm/cc on the surface of the Earth. The convective flows of Mantle material cause the
Crust and some portion of the Mantle, to slide on the
hot molten outer core. This sliding of Earth’s mass
Crust takes place in pieces called Tectonic Plates. The surface
Mantle of the Earth consists of seven major tectonic plates and
many smaller ones (Figure 3). These plates move in
Outer Core different directions and at di fferent speeds from th ose
Inner Core of the neighbouring ones. Sometimes, the plate in the
front is slower; then, the plate behind it comes and
collides (and m ountains are formed). On the other
hand, sometimes two plates move away from one
Figure 1: another (and rifts are created). In another case, two
Inside the Earth plates move side-by-side, along the same direction or
in opposite directions. These three types of inter-plate
interactions are the convergent, divergent and transform
boundaries (Figure 4), respectively. The convergent
The Circulations
Convection currents develop in the viscous boundary has a peculiarity (like at the Himalayas) that
Mantle, because of prevailing high temperature and sometimes neither of the colliding plates wants to sink.
pressure gradients between the Crust and the Core, The relative movement of these plate boundaries
like the convective flow of water when heated in a varies across the Earth; on an average, it is of the order
beaker (Figure 2). The energy for the above of a couple to tens of centimeters per year.
circulations is derived from the heat produced from
the incessant decay of radioactive elements in the
Eurasian North American
rocks throughout the Earth’s interior. These convection Plate
Plate
currents result in a circulation of the earth’s mass; hot
molten lava comes out and the cold rock mass goes Pacific
into the Earth. The mass absorbed eventually melts Plate
South
under high temperature and pressure and becomes a Indo- African
Amer ican
part of the Mantle, only to come out again from Austr alian
Plate
Plate
Plate
another location, someday. Many such local
circulations are taking place at different regions Antarctic Plate
underneath the Earth’s surface, leading to different Figure 3:
portions of the Earth undergoing different directi ons Maj or Tectonic Plates on the Earth’s surface
of movements along the surface.
1
IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 1
What Causes Earthquakes? page 2
The sudden slip at the fault causes the earthquake….
a violent shaking of the Earth when large elastic strain
energy released spreads out through seismic waves
that travel through the body and along the surface of
the Earth. And, after the earthquake is over, the
process of strain build-up at this modi fied interface
between the rocks starts all over again (Figure 6). Earth
Convergent Boundary scientists know this as the Elastic Rebound Theory. The
material points at the fault over which slip occurs
usually constitute an oblong three-dimensional
Transfor m Boundary
volume, with its long dimension often running into
tens of kilometers.
Figure 4: Types of Types of Earthquakes and Faults
Divergent Boundary Inter-Plate Boundaries Most earthquakes in the world occur along the
boundaries of the tectonic plates and are called Inter-
The Earthquake plate Earthquakes (e.g., 1897 Assam (India) earthquake).
Rocks are made of elastic material, and so elastic A number of earthquakes also occur within the plate
strain energy is stored in them during the itself away fr om the plate boundaries (e.g., 1993 Latur
deformations that occur due to the gigantic tectonic (India) earthquake); these are called Intra-plate
plate acti ons that occur in the Ear th. But, the material Earthquakes. In both types of earthquakes, the slip
contained in r ocks is also very brittle. Thus, when the generated at the fault during earthquakes is along both
rocks along a weak region in the Earth’s Crust reach vertical and horizontal directions (called Dip Slip) and
their strength, a sudden movement takes place there lateral directions (called Strike Slip) (Figure 7), with
(Figure 5); opposite sides of the fault (a crack in the one of them dominating sometimes.
rocks where movement has taken place) suddenly slip
and release the large elastic strain energy stored in the
interface rocks. For example, the energy released
during the 2001 Bhuj (India) earthquake is about 400
times (or more) that released by the 1945 Atom Bomb
dropped on Hiroshima!!
Dip Slip
Faults
Strike Slip
Faults
Stage A
Stage B
Slip
Figure 5:
Figure 7: Type of Faults
Elastic Strain Build-Up
Stage C and Brittle Rupture
Reading Material
Bolt,B.A., (1999), Earthquakes, Fourth Edition, W. H. Freeman and
Company, New York, USA
EQ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/
EQ
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/general/handouts/
Elastic Stress Cumulative Slip
EQ C general_seism icity.html
Slip
http://www.fema.gov/kids/quake.htm
B
A
Authored by:
A
C.V.R.Murty
C
Time Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
(years) Kanpur, India
Energ y
Strength Build-Up Sponsored by:
B Energ y
Release Building Materials and Technology Promotion
Council, New Delhi, India
A C Time This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
(years) and with du e ackno wled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
Figure 6: Elastic Rebound Theory may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac .in. Vis it www.nicee.org or
www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
April 2002
2
Learning
2 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How the ground shakes?
Seismic Waves
Large strain energy released during an earthquake P-Waves
Push and pull
travels as seismic waves in all directions through the
Earth’s layers, reflecting and refracting at each
interface. These waves are of two types - body waves
and surface waves; the latter are restricted to near the
Earth’s surface (Figure 1). Body waves consist of Extensi on Compressi on
Primary Waves (P-waves) and Secondary Waves (S-
S-Waves
waves), and surface waves consist of Love waves and Up and down
Rayleigh waves. Under P-waves, material particles
undergo extensional and compressi onal strains along
direction of energy transmission, but under S-waves,
oscillate at right angles to it (Figure 2). Love waves
cause surface moti ons similar to that by S-waves, but
Side to side
with no vertical component. Rayleigh wave makes a Direction of
material particle oscillate in an elliptic path in the Energy Trans mission
vertical plane (with horizontal moti on along direction
of energy transmission). Love Waves
Sideways in horizontal p lane
Structure
Surface W aves
Rayleigh Waves
Elliptic in vertical plane
Soil
Body
W aves
Fault EQ
Rupture Figure 2:
Geologic Strata
Motions caused by Body and Surface Waves
(Adapted from FEMA 99, Non-Technical
Figure 1: Arrival of Seismic Waves at a Site Explanation of the NEHRP Recommended
Provisions)
P-waves are fastest, followed in sequence by S-,
Love and Rayleigh waves. For example, in granites, P- M easuring Instruments
and S-waves have speeds ~4.8 km/sec and The instrument that measures earthquake shaking,
~3.0km/sec, respectively. S-waves do not travel a seismograph, has three components – the sensor, the
through liquids. S-waves in associati on with e ffects of recorder and the timer. The principle on which it works
Love waves cause maximum damage to structures by is simple and is expli citly reflected in the early
their racking motion on the surface in both vertical seismograph (Figure 3) – a pen attached at the tip of an
and horizontal direction s. When P- and S-waves reach oscillating simple pendulum (a mass hung by a string
the Earth's surface, most of their energy is reflected from a support) marks on a chart paper that is held on
back. Some of this energy is returned back to the a drum rotating at a constant speed. A magnet around
surface by reflections at di fferent layers of soil and the string provides required damping to control the
rock. Shaking is more severe (about twice as much) at amplitude of oscillations. The pendulum mass, string,
the Earth's surface than at substantial depths. This is magnet and support together constitute the sensor; the
often the basis for designing structures buried drum, pen and chart paper constitute the recorder; and
underground for smaller levels of acceleration than the motor that rotates the drum at constant speed
those above the ground. forms the timer.
3
How the ground shakes? page 2
local soil (Figure 1). They carry distinct information
regarding ground shaking; peak amplitude, duration of
strong shaking, frequency content (e.g., amplitude of
String shaking associated with each frequency) and energy
Magnet
content (i.e., energy carried by ground shaking at each
frequency) are often used to distinguish them.
Pendulum Bob
Peak amplitude (peak ground accelerati on, PGA) i s
Pen physically intuitive. For instance, a horizontal PGA
Rotating value of 0.6g (= 0.6 times the acceleration due to
Support
Drum gravity) suggests that the movement of the ground can
cause a maximum horizontal for ce on a rigid structure
equal to 60% of its weight. In a rigid structure, all
Chart Paper Direction of points in it move with the ground by the same
Ground Shaking Rec orded amount, and hence experience the same maximum
acceleration of PGA. Horizontal PGA values greater
than 1.0g were recorded during the 1994 Nor thridge
Figure 3: Schematic of Early Seismograph Earthquake in USA. Usually, strong ground moti ons
One such instrument is required in each of the two carry significant energy associated with shaking of
orthogonal horizontal directions. Of course, for frequencies in the range 0.03-30Hz (i.e., cycles per sec).
measuring vertical oscillations, the s tring pendulum 1985 Mex ico Earthq uake (SCT 1A; N90E)
(Figure 3) is replaced with a spring pendulum
oscillating about a fulcrum. Some instruments do not 1940 Imper ial Va lley Earth quak e (El Centro; S00E)
have a timer device (i.e., the drum holding the chart

paper does not r otate). Such instruments provide only
1971 Sa n Fernan do Earthq uake (Pac oima D am; N76W)
the maximum extent (or scope) of moti on during the
earthquake; for this reason they are called seismoscopes. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
The analog instruments have evolved over time, Time (sec)
but today, digital instruments using modern computer 0.5g 1991 Uttarkas hi Earthq uake (Uttarkas hi, N75E)
technology are more commonly used. The digital
instrument records the ground motion on the memory
Figure 4::
of the microprocessor that is in-built in the instrument. Some typical recorded accelerograms
Strong Ground M otions
Shaking of ground on the Earth’s surface is a net Generally, the maximum amplitudes of horizontal
consequence of motion s caused by seismic waves motions in the two or thogonal directions are about the
generated by energy release at each material point same. However, the maximum amplitude in the
within the three-dimensional volume that ruptures at vertical direction is usually less than that in the
the fault. These waves arrive at various instants of horizontal directi on. In design codes, the vertical
time, have different amplitudes and carry different
design acceleration is taken as 1 2 to 2 3 of the
levels of energy. Thus, the motion at any site on
ground is random in nature with its amplitude and horizontal design acceleration. In contrast, the
direction varying randomly with time. maximum horizontal and vertical ground accelerations
Large earthquakes at great distances can produce in the vicinity of the fault rupture do not seem to have
weak motions that may not damage structures or even such a correlation.
be felt by humans. But, sensitive instruments can Resource Material
record these. This makes it possible to locate distant Bolt,B.A., (1999), Earthquakes, Fourth Edition, W. H. Freeman and
earthquakes. However, from engineering viewpoint, Company, New York, USA
strong motions that can possibly damage structures
Authored by:
are of interest. This can happen with earthquakes in
C.V.R.Murty
the vicinity or even with large earthquakes at
reasonable medium to large distances.
Kanpur, India
Characteristics of Strong Ground M otions Sponsored by:
The motion of the ground can be described in Building Materials and Technology Promotion
terms of displacement, velocity or acceleration. The Council, New Delhi, India
variation of ground acceleration with time recor ded at
a point on ground during an earthquake is called an This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
accelerogram. The nature of accelerograms may vary and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
(Figure 4) depending on energy released at source, may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
type of slip at fault rupture, geology along the travel www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
path from fault rupture to the Earth’s sur face, and May 2002
4
Learning
3 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
What are Magnitude and Intensity?
Terminology released goes into heat and fracturing the rocks, and
The point on the fault where slip starts is the Focus only a small fracti on of it (fortunately) goes into the
or Hypocenter, and the point vertically above this on seismic waves that travel to large distances causing
the surface of the Earth i s the Epicenter (Figure 1). The shaking of the ground en-route and hence damage to
depth of focus fr om the epicenter, called as Focal Depth, structures. (Did you know? The energy released by a
is an important parameter in determining the M6.3 earthquake is equivalent to that released by the
damaging potential of an earthquake. Most of the 1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima!!)
damaging earthquakes have shallow focus with focal Earthquakes are often classified into di fferent
depths less than about 70km. Distance from epicenter groups based on their size (Table 1). Annual average
to any point of interest is called epicentral distance. number of earthquakes across the Earth in each of
these groups is also shown in the table; it indicates that
Epicentral Distance on an average one Great Earthquake occurs each year.
Epicenter Place of Table 1: Global occurrence of earthquakes
Interest Group Magnitude Annual Average Number
Great 8 and higher 1
Fault Focal Major 7 – 7.9 18
Depth Strong 6 – 6.9 120
Rupture
Moderate 5 – 5.9 800
Light 4 – 4.9 6,200 (estimated)
Focus Minor 3 – 3.9 49,000 (estimated)
Very Minor < 3.0 M2-3: ~1,000/day; M1-2: ~8,000/day
Source: http::/neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/e qstats.html
Figure 1: Basic terminology
Intensity
A number of smaller size earthquakes take place Intensity is a qualitative measure of the actual
before and after a big earthquake (i.e., the Main Shock). shaking at a locati on during an earthquake, and is
Those occurring before the big one are called assigned as Roman Capital Numerals. There are many
Foreshocks, and the ones after are called Aftershocks. intensity scales. Two commonly used ones are the
Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale and the MSK
M agnitude Scale. Both scales are quite similar and range from I
Magnitude is a quantitative measure of the actual
(least perceptive) to XII (most severe). The intensity
size of the earthquake. Professor Charles Richter
scales are based on three features of shaking –
noticed that (a) at the same distance, seismograms perception by people and animals, performance of
(records of earthquake ground vibration) of larger
buildings, and changes to natural surroundings. Table
earthquakes have bigger wave amplitude than those of 2 gives the description of Intensity VIII on MSK Scale.
smaller earthquakes; and (b) for a given earthquake,
The distribution of intensity at different places
seismograms at farther distances have smaller wave
during an earthquake is shown graphically using
amplitude than those at close distances. These
isoseismals, lines joining places with equal seismic
prompted him to propose the now commonly used
intensity (Figure 2).
magnitude scale, the Richter Scale. It is obtained from
the seismograms and accounts for the dependence of
waveform amplitude on epicentral distance. This scale
is also called Local Magnitude scale. There are other
magnitude scales, like the Body Wave Magnitude,
Surface Wave Magnitude and Wave Energy Magnitude. X
These numerical magnitude scales have no upper and IX
lower limits; the magnitude of a very small earthquake
can be zero or even negative. VIII
An increase in magnitude (M) by 1.0 implies 10
times higher waveform amplitude and about 31 times VII
higher energy released. For instance, energy released Figure 2: Isoseismal Map of the 2001 Bhuj (India)
in a M7.7 earthquake is about 31 times that released in Earthquake (MSK Intensity)
a M6.7 earthquake, and is about 1000 (≈31×31) times Source:
that released in a M5.7 earthquake. Most of the energy http::/www.nicee.org/nicee/EQReports/Bhuj/isoseisma l.html
5
What are Magnitude and Intensity? page 2
Table 2: Description of shaking intensity VIII as per enclosed by the isoseismal VIII (Figure 2) may have
MSK scale experienced a PGA of about 0.25-0.30g. However, now
Intensity VIII - Destruction of Buildings strong ground motion records fr om seismic
(a) Fright and panic. Also, persons driving motorcars are instruments are relied upon to quantify destructive
disturbed. Here and there branches of trees break off. Even ground shaking. These are critical for cost-e ffective
heavy furniture moves and partly overturns. Hanging
lamps are damaged in part. earthquake-resistant design.
(b) Most buildings of Type C suffer damage of Grade 2, and Table 3: PGAs during shaking of different intensities
few of Grade 3. Most buildin gs of Type B suffer damage of
MMI V VI VII VIII IX X
Grade 3, and most bu ildings of T ype A suffer damage of
Grade 4. Occasional brea king of pipe seams occurs. PGA 0.03-0.04 0.06-0.07 0.10-0.15 0.25-0.30 0.50-0.55 >0.60
Memorials and monuments move and twist. Tombstones (g)
Source: B.A.Bolt, Earthquakes, W.H.Freeman and Co., New York, 1993
overturn. Stonewalls collapse.
(c) Small landslips occur in hollows and on banked roads on Based on data fr om past earthquakes, scientists
steep slopes; cracks develop in ground up to widths of
several centimeters. Water in lakes becomes turbid. New Gutenberg and Richter in 1956 provided an
reservoirs come into ex istence. Dry wells refill and existing approximate correlati on between the Local Magnitude
wells become dr y. In many cases, changes in flow and level ML of an earthquake with the intensity I0 sustained in
of water are observed.
Note: the epicentral area as: ML ≈ 2 3 I0 + 1. (For using this
• Type A structures - rural constructions; Type B - ordinary equation, the Roman numbers of intensity are replaced
masonry constructions; Type C - Well-built structures with the corresponding Arabic numerals, e.g., intensity
• Single, Few – about 5%; Many – about 50%; Most – about 75% IX with 9.0). There are several different relations
• Grade 1 Damage – Slight damage; Grade 2 – Moderate
damage; Grade 3 – Heavy damage; Grade 4 – Destruction; proposed by other scientists.
Grade 5 – Total damage
Basic Difference: M agnitude versus Intensity 100 Watt Bulb

Magnitude of an earthquake is a measure of its size.
For instance, one can measure the size of an
earthquake by the amount of strain energy released by
the fault rupture. This means that the magnitude of the
earthquake is a single value for a given earthquake. On Near
the other hand, intensity is an indicator of the severity
of shaking generated at a given location. Clearly, the Bright
severity of shaking is much higher near the epicenter (100 lumens)
than farther away. Thus, during the same earthquake
of a certain magnitude, different locations experience
different levels of intensity. Normal
To elaborate this distinction, consider the analogy (50 lumens)
of an electric bulb (Figure 3). The illumination at a
location near a 100-Watt bulb is higher than that Far
farther away from it. While the bulb releases 100 Watts Dull
of energy, the intensity of light (or illumination, (20 lumens)
measured in lumens) at a location depends on the Figure 3: Reducing illumination w ith distance
wattage of the bulb and its distance from the bulb. from an electric bulb
Here, the size of the bulb (100-Watt) i s like the
magnitude of an earthquake, and the illumination at a Resource Material
location like the intensity of shaking at that location. Richter,C.F., (1958), Elementary Seismology, W. H. Freeman and
M agnitude and Intensity in Seismic Design Company Inc, San Francisco, USA. (Indian Reprint in 1969 by
Eurasia Publishing House Private Limited, New Delhi)
One often asks: Can my building withstand a http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/general/handouts/magnitude_intensity.
magnitude 7.0 earthquake? But, the M7.0 earthquake html
causes different shaking intensities at different
locations, and the damage induced in buildings at Authored by:
these locations is different. Thus, indeed it is particular C.V.R.Murty
levels of intensity of shaking that buildings and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
structures are designed to resist, and n ot so much the Kanpur, India
magnitude. The peak ground acceleration (PGA), i.e., Sponsored by:
maximum acceleration experienced by the ground Building Materials and Technology Promotion
during shaking, is one way of quantifying the severity Council, New Delhi, India
of the ground shaking. Approximate empirical This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
correlations are available between the MM intensities Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
and the PGA that may be experienced (e.g., Table 3).
may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
For instance, during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, the area www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
June 2002
6
Learning
4 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Where are the Seismic Zones in India?
Basic Geography and Tectonic Features across the central part of peninsular India leaving
India lies at the northwestern end of the Indo- layers of basalt rock. Coastal areas like Kachchh show
Australian Plate, which encompasses India, Australia, a marine deposits testi fying to submergence under the
major porti on of the Indian Ocean and other smaller sea millions of years ago.
countries. This plate is colliding against the huge Prominent Past Earthquakes in India
Eurasian Plate (Figure 1) and going under the Eurasian A number of significant earthquakes occurred in
Plate; this process of one tectonic plate getting under and around India over the past century (Figure 2).
another is called subduction. A sea, Tethys, separated Some of these occurred in populated and urbanized
these plates before they collided. Part of the areas and hence caused great damage. Many went
lithosphere, the Earth’s Crust, is covered by oceans unnoticed, as they occurred deep under the Earth’s
and the rest by the continents. The former can undergo surface or in relatively un-inhabited places. Some of
subduction at great depths when it converges against the damaging and recent earthquakes are listed in
another plate, but the latter is buoyant and so tends to Table 1. Most earthquakes occur along the Himalayan
remain close to the surface. When continents converge, plate boundary (these are inter-plate earthquakes), but
large amounts of shortening and thickening takes a number of earthquakes have also occurred in the
place, like at the Himalayas and the Tibet. peninsular region (these are intra-plate earthquakes).
Eurasian Plate
Himalayas
Indo-
Gangetic
Plains
Nar mada
Plains
Mahanadi
Plains
Deccan
Godavari
Shield
Plains <5
Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal 5<6
Peninsular
India 6<7
7<8
Indo-Australian
Plate >8
Figure 1: Geographical Layout and
Tectonic Plate Boundaries at India Figure 2: Some Past Earthquakes
Three chief tectonic sub-regions of India are the Four Great earthquakes (M>8) occurred in a span
mighty Himalayas along the north, the plains of the of 53 years from 1897 to 1950; the January 2001 Bhuj
Ganges and other rivers, and the peninsula. The earthquake (M7.7) is almost as large. Each of these
Himalayas consist primarily of sediments accumulated caused disasters, but also allowed us to learn about
over long geological time in the Tethys. The Indo- earthquakes and to advance earthquake engineering.
Gangetic basin with deep alluvium is a great For instance, 1819 Cutch Earthquake produced an
depression caused by the load of the Himalayas on the unprecedented ~3m high uplift of the ground over
continent. The peninsular part of the country consists 100km (called Allah Bund). The 1897 Assam Earthquake
of ancient rocks deformed in the past Himalayan-like caused severe damage up to 500km radial distances;
collisions. Erosion has exposed the roots of the old the type of damage sustained led to improvements in
mountains and removed most of the topography. The the intensity scale from I-X to I-XII. Extensive
rocks are very hard, but are softened by weathering liquefaction of the ground took place over a length of
near the surface. Before the Himalayan collision, 300km (called the Slump Belt) during 1934 Bihar-Nepal
several tens of millions of years ago, lava flowed earthquake in which many structures went afloat.
7
Where are the Seismic Zones in India? page 2
Table 1: Some Past Earthquakes in India 1967 and again in 1970. The map has been revised
Max. again in 2002 (Figure 4), and it now has only four
Date Event Time Magnitude Deaths
Intensity seismic zones – II, III, IV and V. The areas falling in
16 June 1819 Cutch 11:00 8.3 VIII 1,500
12 June 1897 Assam 17:11 8.7 XII 1,500 seismic zone I in the 1970 version of the map are
8 Feb. 1900 Coimbatore 03:11 6.0 X Nil merged with those of seismic zone II. Also, the seismic
4 Apr. 1905 Kangra 06:20 8.6 X 19,000 zone map in the peninsular region has been modified.
15 Jan. 1934 Bihar-Nepal 14:13 8.4 X 11,000 Madras now comes in seismic zone III as against in
31 May 1935 Quetta 03:03 7.6 X 30,000 zone II in the 1970 version of the map. This 2002
15 Aug. 1950 Assam 19:31 8.5 X 1,530 seismic zone map is not the final word on the seismic
21 Jul. 1956 Anjar 21:02 7.0 IX 115
hazard of the country, and hence there can be no sense
10 Dec. 1967 Koyna 04:30 6.5 VIII 200
23 Mar. 1970 Bharuch 20:56 5.4 VII 30 of complacency in this regard.
21 Aug. 1988 Bihar-Nepal 04:39 6.6 IX 1,004
20 Oct. 1991 Uttarkashi 02:53 6.6 IX 768
30 Sep. 1993 Killari (Latur) 03:53 6.4 IX 7,928
22 May 1997 Jabalpur 04:22 6.0 VIII 38
29 Mar. 1999 Chamoli 12:35 6.6 VIII 63
26 Jan. 2001 Bhuj 08:46 7.7 X 13,805
The timing of the earthquake during the day and
during the year critically determines the number of
casualties. Casualties are expected to be high for
earthquakes that strike during cold winter nights,
when most of the population is indoors.
Seismic Zones of India
The varying geology at different locations in the
country implies that the likelihood of damaging
earthquakes taking place at different locations is
different. Thus, a seismic zone map is required to
identify these regions. Based on the levels of intensities
sustained during damaging past earthquakes, the 1970 Figure 4: Indian Seismic Zone Map as per
version of the zone map subdivided India into five IS:1893 (Part 1)-2002
zones – I, II, III, IV and V (Figure 3). The maximum
Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity of seismic shaking The national Seismic Zone Map presents a large-
expected in these zones were V or less, VI, VII, VIII, scale view of the seismic zones in the country. Local
and IX and higher, respectively. Parts of Himalayan variations in soil type and geology cannot be
boundary in the north and northeast, and the Kachchh represented at that scale. Therefore, for impor tant
area in the west were classified as zone V. projects, such as a major dam or a nuclear power plant,
the seismic hazard is evaluated specifi cally for that
site. Also, for the purposes of urban planning,
metropolitan areas are microzoned. Seismic
microzonation accoun ts for local variations in geology,
local soil profile, etc,.
Resource Material
BMTPC, (1997), Vulnerability Atlas of India, Building Materials and
Technology Prom otion Council, Ministry of Ur ban Development,
Government of India, New Delhi.
Dasgupta,S., et al, (2000), Seismotectonic Atlas of Indian and its
Environs, Geological Survey of India.
IS:1893, (1984), Indian Standard Criteria for Earthquake Resistant
Design of Structures, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
Figure 3: Indian Seismic Zone Map of 1970 Building Materials and Technology Promotion
The seismic zone maps are revised from time to
time as more understanding is gained on the geology, This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
the seismotectonics and the seismic activity in the and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
country. The Indian Standards provided the first may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
seismic zone map in 1962, which was later revised in www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
July 2002; Revised Aug ust 2004
8
Learning
5 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
What are the Seismic Effects on Structures?
Inertia Forces in Structures would like to come back to the straight vertical
Earthquake causes shaking of the ground. So a position, i.e., columns resist deformations. In the
building resting on it will experience motion at its straight vertical position, the columns carry no
base. From Newton’s First Law of Motion, even though horizontal earthquake force through them. But, when
the base of the building moves with the ground, the forced to bend, they develop internal forces. The larger
roof has a tendency to stay in its original position. But is the relative horizontal displacement u between the
since the walls and columns are connected to it, they top and bottom of the column, the larger this internal
drag the roof along with them. This is much like the force in columns. Also, the stiffer the columns are (i.e.,
situation that you are faced with when the bus you are bigger is the column size), larger is this for ce. For this
standing in suddenly starts; your feet move with the bus, reason, these internal forces in the columns are called
but your upper body tends to stay back making you fall stiffness forces. In fact, the stiffness force in a column is
backwards!! This tendency to continue to remain in the the column stiffness times the relative displacement
previous position is known as inertia. In the building, between its ends.
since the walls or columns are flexible, the motion of
Inertia Force
the roof is different from that of the ground (Figure 1).
u
Roof
Column
Foundation
Figure 1: Effect of Inertia in a building w hen

shaken at its base Soil
Acceleration
Consider a building whose roof is supported on
columns (Figure 2). Coming back to the analogy of Figure 2: Inertia force and relativ e motion w ithin
yourself on the bus: when the bus suddenly starts, you are a building
thrown backwards as if someone has applied a force on the
upper body. Similarly, when the ground moves, even
Horizontal and Vertical Shaking
the building is thrown backwards, and the roof Earthquake causes shaking of the ground in all
experiences a force, called inertia force. If the roof has a
three directions – along the two horizontal directi ons
mass M and experiences an acceleration a, then from (X and Y, say), and the vertical direction (Z, say) (Figure
Newton’s Second Law of Motion, the inertia force F I is
3). Also, during the earthquake, the ground shakes
mass M times acceleration a, and its direction is randomly back and forth (- and +) along each of these X,
opposite to that of the acceleration. Clearly, more mass
Y and Z directions. All structures are primarily
means higher inertia force. Therefore, lighter buildings
designed to carry the gravity loads, i.e., they are
sustain the earthquake shaking better. designed for a force equal to the mass M (this includes
Effect of Deformations in Structures mass due to own weight and imposed loads) times the
The inertia force experienced by the roof is acceleration due to gravity g acting in the vertical
transferred to the ground via the columns, causing downward directi on (-Z). The downward for ce Mg is
forces in columns. These for ces generated in the called the gravity load. The vertical acceleration during
columns can also be understood in another way. ground shaking either adds to or subtracts fr om the
During earthquake shaking, the columns undergo acceleration due to gravity. Since factors of safety are
relative movement between their ends. In Figure 2, used in the design of structures to resist the gravity
this movement is shown as quantity u between the loads, usually most structures tend to be adequate
roof and the ground. But, given a free option, columns against vertical shaking.
9
What are the Seismic Effects on Structures? page 2
have been observed in many earthquakes in the past
Z (e.g., Figure 5a). Similarly, poorly designed and
constructed reinforced con crete columns can be
Y disastrous. The failure of the ground storey columns
resulted in numerous building collapses during the
X 2001 Bhuj (India) earthquake (Figure 5b).
Figure 3: Principal directions of a building

However, horizontal shaking along X and Y
directions (both + and – directions of each) remains a
concern. Structures designed for gravity loads, in
general, may not be able to safely sustain the effects of
horizontal earthquake shaking. Hence, it is necessary
to ensure adequacy of the structures against horizontal
earthquake effects.
Flow of Inertia Forces to Foundations
Under horizontal shaking of the ground,
horizontal inertia for ces are generated at level of the (a) Partial collapse of stone masonry walls
mass of the structure (usually situated at the floor during 1991 Uttarkashi (India) earthquake
levels). These lateral inertia forces are transferred by
the floor slab to the walls or columns, to the
foundations, and finally to the soil system underneath
(Figure 4). So, each of these structural elements (floor
slabs, walls, columns, and foundations) and the
connections between them must be designed to safely
transfer these inertia forces through them.
Inertia F orces
Floor Slab
(b) Collapse of reinforced concrete columns (and

W alls building) during 2001 Bhuj (India) earthquake
and/or Columns d i 1991 Utt k hi (I di ) E th k
Figure 5: Importance of designing walls/columns
for horizontal earthquake forces.
Resource Material
Foundations
Chopra,A.K., (1980), Dynamics of Str uctures - A Primer, EERI
Monograph, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, USA.
Next Upcoming Tip

Soil What is the Influence of Architectural Features on Earthquake
Behaviour of Buildings?
Earthquak e Shaki ng
Authored by:
Figure 4: Flow of seismic inertia forces through C.V.R.Murty
all structural components. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur, India
Walls or columns are the most cri tical elements in Sponsored by:
transferring the inertia forces. But, in traditional Building Materials and Technology Promotion
construction, floor slabs and beams receive more care Council, New Delhi, India
and attention during design and construction, than This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
walls and columns. Walls are relatively thin and often Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
made of brittle material like masonry. They are poor in and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
carrying horizontal earthquake inertia forces along the
direction of their thickness. Failures of masonry walls August 2002
10
Learning
6 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How Architectural Features Affect Buildings During Earthquakes?
Importance of Architectural Features Horizontal Layout of Buildings: In general,
The behaviour of a building during earthquakes buildings with simple geometry in plan (Figure 2a)
depends critically on its overall shape, size and have performed well during strong earthquakes.
geometry, in addition to how the earthquake forces are Buildings with re-entrant corners, like those U, V, H
carried to the ground. Hence, at the planning stage and + shaped in plan (Figure 2b), have sustained
itself, architects and structural engineers must work significant damage. Many times, the bad effects of
together to ensure that the unfavourable features are these interior corners in the plan of buildings are
avoided and a good building configuration is chosen. avoided by making the buildings in two parts. For
The importance of the configuration of a building example, an L-shaped plan can be broken up into two
was aptly summarised by Late Henry Degenkolb, a rectangular plan shapes using a separation joint at the
noted Earthquake Engineer of USA, as: junction (Figure 2c). Often, the plan is simple, but the
“If we have a poor configuration to start with, all the columns/walls are not equally distributed in plan.
engineer can do is to provide a band-aid - improve a Buildings with such features tend to twist during
basically poor solution as best as he can. Conversely, if earthquake shaking. A discussion in this aspect will be
we start-off with a good configuration and reasonable presented in the upcoming IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip
framing system, even a poor engineer cannot harm its 7 on How Buildings Twist During Earthquakes?
ultimate performance too much.”
Architectural Features
A desire to create an aesthetic and fun ctionally
efficient structure drives archite cts to con ceive
wonderful and imaginative structures. Sometimes the
shape of the building catches the eye of the visitor,
sometimes the structural system appeals, and in other
occasions both shape and structural system work together (a) Simple Plan
to make the structure a marvel. However, each of these ::good
choices of shapes and structure has significant bearing
on the performance of the building during strong
earthquakes. The wide range of structural damages
observed during past earthquakes across the world is
very educative in identifying structural con figurations
that are desirable versus those which must be avoided.
Size of Buildings: In tall buildings with large (b) Corners
height-to-base size ratio (Figure 1a), the horizontal and Curves
movement of the floors during ground shaking is :: poor
large. In short but very long buildings (Figure 1b), the
(c) Separation jo ints make complex plans
damaging effects during earthquake shaking are
many. And, in buildings with large plan area like into simple plans
warehouses (Figure 1c), the horizontal seismic for ces Figure 2: Simple plan shape buildings do well
can be excessive to be carried by columns and walls. during earthquakes.
Vertical Layout of Buildings: The earthquake

forces developed at different floor levels in a building
(b) too long need to be brought down along the height to the
ground by the shortest path; any deviation or
discontinuity in this load transfer path results in poor
performance of the building. Buildings with vertical
setbacks (like the hotel buildings with a few storeys
wider than the rest) cause a sudden jump in
(a) too tall (c) too large in plan
earthquake forces at the level of discontinuity (Figure
Figure 1: Buildings w ith one of their ov erall sizes 3a). Buildings that have fewer columns or walls in a
much larger or much smaller than the other
particular storey or with unusually tall storey (Figure
tw o, do not perform well during earthquakes.
3b), tend to damage or collapse which i s initiated in
11
How Architectural Features Affect Buildings Dur ing Earthquakes? page 2
that storey. Many buildings with an open ground Adjacency of Buildings: When two buildings are
storey intended for parking collapsed or were severely too close to each other, they may pound on each other
damaged in Gujarat during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake. during strong shaking. With increase in building
Buildings on slopy ground have unequal height height, this collision can be a greater problem. When
columns along the slope, which cause s ill effects like building heights do not match (Figure 4), the roof of
twisting and damage in shorter columns (Figure 3c). the shorter building may pound at the mid-height of
Buildings with columns that hang or float on beams at the column of the taller one; this can be very
an intermediate storey and do not go all the way to the dangerous.
foundation, have discontinuities in the load transfer
path (Figure 3d). Some buildings have reinforced
concrete walls to carry the earthquake loads to the
foundation. Buildings, in which these walls do not go
all the way to the ground but stop at an upper level,
are liable to get severely damaged during earthquakes.
Figure 4: Pounding can occur between adj oining

buildings due to horizontal v ibrations of the
tw o buildings.
(a) Setbacks
Building Design and Codes…
Looking ahead, of course, one will continue to
make buildings interesting rather than monotonous.
However, this need not be done at the cost of poor
Unusually behaviour and earthquake safety of buildings.
Tall Architectural features that are detrimental to
Storey
earthquake response of buildings should be avoided. If
not, they must be minimised. When irregular features
are included in buildings, a considerably higher level
(b) Weak or Flexible Storey of engineering effort is required in the structural
design and yet the building may not be as good as one
with simple architectural features.
Decisions made at the planning stage on building
configuration are m ore important, or are known to
have made greater difference, than accurate
determination of code specified design forces.
Resource Material
Arnold,C., and Reitherman,R., (1982), Building Config uration and
Seismic Desig n, John Wiley, US A.
(c) Slopy Ground (d) Hanging or Floating Columns Lagorio,H,J, (1990), EARTHQUAKES An Architect’s Guide to Non-
Structural Se ismic Hazard, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA.
Next Upcoming Tip

How Buildings Twist During Earthquake s?
Reinforced Authored by:

Concrete Wall C.V.R.Murty
Discontinued i n Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Ground Storey Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
Building Materials and Technology Promotion
(e) Discontinuing Structural Members
This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
Figure 3: Sudden deviations in load transfer path
along the height lead to poor performance of may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
buildings. www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
September 2002
12
Learning
7 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How Buildings Twist During Earthquakes?
Why a Building Twists Uniform Movement
In your childhood, you must have sat on a r ope of Floor
swing - a wooden cradle tied with coir ropes to the
sturdy branch of an old tree. The more modern
versions of these swings can be seen today in the
children’s parks in urban areas; they have a plastic
cradle tied with steel chains to a steel framework.
Consider a rope swing that is tied identically with two
equal ropes. It swings equally, when you sit in the
middle of the cradle. Buildings too are like these rope Earthquake
swings; just that they are inverted swings (Figure 1). Identical Vertical Ground
The vertical walls and columns are like the ropes, and Members Movement
the floor is like the cradle. Buildings vibrate back and
forth during earthquakes. Buildings with more than Figure 2: Identical vertical members placed
one storey are like rope swings wi th more than one uniformly in plan of building cause all points
cradle. on the floor to move by same amount.
Again, let us go back to the rope swings on the

tree: if you sit at one end of the cradle, it twists (i.e.,
moves more on the side you are sitting). This also
happens sometimes when more of your friends bunch
together and sit on one side of the swing. Likewise, if
the mass on the floor of a building is more on one side
(for instance, one side of a building may have a storage
or a library), then that side of the building moves more
under ground movement (Figure 3). This building
moves such that its floors displace horizon tally as well
as rotate.
Twist
(a) Single-storey building (b) Three-storey building

Figure 1: Rope sw ings and buildings, both sw ing
Light Side
back-and-forth w hen shaken horizontally. The
of Building
former are hung from the top, w hile the latter
are raised from the ground.
Thus, if you see from sky, a building with identical Heav y Sid e
Earthquak e
vertical members and that are uniformly placed in the Ground Shaking of Building
two horizontal directions, when shaken at its base in a
Figure 3: Even if v ertical members are placed
certain direction, swings back and forth such that all
uniformly in plan of building, more mass on
points on the fl oor move horizontally by the same one side causes the floors to twist.
amount in the direction in which it is shaken (Figure 2).
13
How Buildings Twist During Earthquakes? page 2
Once more, let us consider the rope swing on the
tree. This time let the two ropes with which the cradle
is tied to the branch of the tree be different in length.
Such a swing also twists even if you sit in the middle
(Figure 4a). Similarly, in buildings with unequal
vertical members (i.e., columns and/or walls) also the
Earthquake
floors twist about a vertical axis (Figure 4b) and Ground
displace horizontally. Likewise, buildings, which have Shaking
walls only on two sides (or one side) and thin columns Figure 5: One-side open ground storey building
along the other, twist when shaken at the ground level tw ists during earthquake shaking.
(Figure 4c).
What Twist does to Building M embers
Twist in buildings, called torsion by engineers,
makes different portions at the same floor level to
move horizontally by different amoun ts. This induces
more damage in the columns and walls on the side
that moves more (Figure 6). Many buildings have been
severely affected by this excessive torsi onal behaviour
during past earthquakes. It is best to minimize (if not
completely avoid) this twist by ensuring that buildings
have symmetry in plan (i.e., uniformly distributed
mass and uniformly placed vertical members). If this
twist cannot be avoided, special calculati ons need to
(a) Swing with unequal ropes be done to account for this additi onal shear forces in
the design of buildings; the Indian seismic code (IS
1893, 2002) has provisions for such calculations. But,
Vertical Axis about for sure, buildings with twist will perform poorly
which building twists during strong earthquake shaking.
Earthquake
Earthquake
Ground
Ground
Movement
Movement
(b) Building on slopy ground These columns are more vulnerable
Figure 6: Vertical members of buildings that move
W all more horizontally sustain more damage.
Resource Material
Arnold,C., and Reitherman,R., (1982), Building Config uration and
W all Seismic Desig n, John Wiley, US A.
Lagorio,H,J, (1990), EARTHQUAKES An Architect’s Guide to Non-
Structural Se ismic Hazard, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA.
W all Next Upcoming Tip

What is the Seismic Design Philosophy for Build ings?
Columns
Columns
Authored by:
(c) Buildings with walls on two/one sides (in plan) C.V.R.Murty
Figure 4: Buildings have unequal vertical Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
members; they cause the building to tw ist Kanpur, India
about a vertical axis. Sponsored by:
Buildings that are irregular shapes in plan tend to Council, New Delhi, India
twist under earthquake shaking. For example, in a This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
propped overhanging building (Figure 5), the Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
overhanging portion swings on the relatively slender and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
columns under it. The floors twist and displace may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
horizontally. October 2002
14
Learning
8 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
What is the Seismic Design Philosophy for Buildings?
The Earthquake Problem may sustain severe (even irreparable) damage, but
Severity of ground shaking at a given location the building should not collapse.
during an earthquake can be minor, moderate and
strong. Relatively speaking, minor shaking occurs
frequently, moderate shaking occasionally and strong
shaking rarely. For instance, on average annually
about 800 earthquakes of magnitude 5.0-5.9 occur in
the world while the number is only about 18 for
magnitude range 7.0-7.9 (see Table 1 of IITK-BMTPC
Minor Shaking
Earthquake Tip 03 at www.nicee.org). So, should we
design and construct a building to resist that rare
earthquake shaking that may come only once in 500
years or even once in 2000 years at the chosen pr oject Moderate Shaking
site, even though the life of the building itself may be
only 50 or 100 years? Since it costs money to provide
additional earthquake safety in buildings, a conflict
arises: Should we do away wi th the design of buildings for Strong Shaking
earthquake effects? Or should we design the buildings to be
“earthquake proof” wherein there is no damage during the Figure 1: Performance objectives under different
strong but rare earthquake shaking? Clearly, the former intensities of earthquake shaking – seeking
approach can lead to a major disaster, and the second low repairable damage under minor shaking and
approach is too expensive. Hence, the design collapse-prevention under strong shaking.
philosophy should lie somewhere in between these
two extremes. Thus, after minor shaking, the building will be
fully operational within a short time and the repair
Earthquake-Resistant Buildings
costs will be small. And, after moderate shaking, the
The engineers do not attempt to make earthquake-
building will be operational once the repair and
proof buildings that will not get damaged even during
strengthening of the damaged main members is
the rare but strong earthquake; such buildings will be
completed. But, after a strong earthquake, the building
too r obust and also too expensive. Instead, the
may become dysfunctional for further use, but will
engineering intention is to make buildings earthquake-
stand so that people can be evacuated and property
resistant; such buildings resist the effects of ground
recovered.
shaking, although they may get damaged severely but
The consequences of damage have to be kept in
would not collapse during the strong earthquake.
view in the design philosophy. For example, important
Thus, safety of pe ople and contents is assured in
buildings, like hospitals and fire stations, play a critical
earthquake-resistant buildings, and thereby a disaster
role in post-earthquake activities and must remain
is avoided. This is a major objective of seismic design
functional immediately after the earthquake. These
codes throughout the world.
structures must sustain very little damage and should
Earthquake Design Philosophy be designed for a higher level of earthquake
The earthquake design philosophy may be protecti on. Collapse of dams during earthquakes can
summarized as follows (Figure 1): cause flooding in the downstream reaches, which itself
(a) Under minor but frequent shaking, the main can be a secondary disaster. Therefore, dams (and
members of the building that carry vertical and similarly, nuclear power plants) should be designed
horizontal forces should n ot be damaged; however for still higher level of earthquake motion.
building parts that do not carry load may sustain
repairable damage. Damage in Buildings: Unavoidable
Design of buildings to resist earthquakes involves
(b) Under moderate but occasi onal shaking, the main
controlling the damage to acceptable levels at a reasonable
members may sustain repairable damage, while the
cost. Contrary to the common thinking that any crack
other parts of the building may be damaged such
in the building after an earthquake means the building
that they may even have to be replaced after the
is unsafe for habitation, engineers designing
earthquake; and
earthquake-resistant buildings recognize that some
(c) Under strong but rare shaking, the main members
15
What is the Seismic Design Philosophy for Buildings? page 2
damage is unavoidable. Different types of damage factor s affe cting the building performance. Thus,
(mainly visualized though cracks; especially so in earthquake-resistant design strives to predetermine
concrete and masonry buildings) occur in buildings the locations where damage takes place and then to
during earthquakes. Some of these cracks are provide good detailing at these location s to ensure
acceptable (in terms of both their size and location), ductile behaviour of the building.
while others are not. For instance, in a reinfor ced
Total Horizontal Earthquake For ce

concrete frame building with masonry filler walls Ductile
between columns, the cracks between vertical columns Performance
and masonry filler walls are acceptable, but diagonal
cracks running through the columns are not (Figure 2).
on Building
In general, qualified technical professionals are
knowledgeable of the causes and severity of damage Brittle
in earthquake-resistant buildings. Collapse
Horizontal Movement of Roof of Building

relative to its base
(a) Building performances during earthquakes:
tw o extremes – the ductile and the brittle.
Earthquake Design Criteria, EERI, USA

Figure 2: Diagonal cracks in columns jeopardize
Photo from: Housner & Jennings,

vertical load carrying capacity of buildings -
unacceptable damage.
Earthquake-resistant design is therefore concerned

about ensuring that the damages in buildings during
earthquakes are of the acceptable variety, and also that
they occur at the right places and in right amounts.
This approach of earthquake-resistant design is much
like the use of electrical fuses in houses: to protect the (b) Brittle failure of a reinforced concrete
entire electrical wiring and appliances in the house, you column
Figure 3: Ductile and brittle structures – seismic
sacrifice some small parts of the electrical circuit, called
design attempts to avoid structures of the latter
fuses; these fuses are easily replaced after the electrical over-
current. Likewise, to save the building from collapsing, kind.
you need to allow some pre-determined parts to Resource Material
undergo the acceptable type and level of damage. Naeim,F., Ed., (2001), The Seismic Desig n Handbook, Kluwer Academic
Acceptable Damage: Ductility Publishers, Boston, USA.
Ambrose,J., and Vergun,D., (1999), Design for Earthquakes, John Wiley
So, the task now is to identify acceptable forms of & Sons, Inc., New York.
damage and desirable building behaviour during Next Upcoming Tip
earthquakes. To do this, let us first understand how How to make buildings ductile for good seism ic performance?
different materials behave. Consider white chalk used
to write on blackboards and steel pins with solid heads Authored by:
used to h old sheets of paper together. Yes… a chalk C.V.R.Murty
breaks easily!! On the contrary, a steel pin allows it to be Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
bent back-and-forth. Engineers define the property that Kanpur, India
allows steel pins to bend back-and-forth by large Sponsored by:
amounts, as ductility; chalk is a brittle material. Building Materials and Technology Promotion
Earthquake-resistant buildings, particularly their Council, New Delhi, India
main elements, need to be built with ductility in them. This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
Such buildings have the ability to sway back-and-forth Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
during an earthquake, and to withstand earthquake and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
effects with some damage, but without collapse
(Figure 3). Ductility is one of the most important November 2002
16
Learning
9 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How to Make Buildings Ductile for Good Seismic Performance?
Construction M aterials Concrete is used in buildings along with steel
In India, most non-urban buildings are made in reinforcement bars. This composite material is called
masonry. In the plains, masonry is generally made of reinforced cement concrete or simply reinforced concrete
burnt clay bricks and cement mortar. However, in hilly (RC). The amount and location of steel in a member
areas, stone masonry with mud mortar is more should be such that the failure of the member is by
prevalent; but, in recent times, it is being replaced with steel reaching its strength in tension before concrete
cement mortar. Masonry can carry loads that cause reaches its strength in compression. This type of
compression (i.e., pressing together), but can hardly take failure is ductile failure, and hence is preferred over a
load that causes tension (i.e., pulling apart) (Figure 1). failure where concrete fails first in compression.
Therefore, contrary to common thinking, providing
too much steel in RC buildings can be harmful even!!
Compression Tension Capacity Design Concept
Let us take two bars of same length and cross-
sectional area - one made of a ductile material and
another of a brittle material. Now, pull these two bars
Crack until they break!! You will notice that the ductile bar
elongates by a large amount before it breaks, while the
brittle bar breaks suddenly on reaching its maximum
strength at a relatively small elongation (Figure 2).
Amongst the materials used in building construction,
steel is ductile, while masonry and concrete are brittle.
Maxi mum
Force
F
Strong Weak Brittle Material
Bar Force F
Final Elongation is
small
Figure 1: Masonry is strong in compression but
weak in tension.
0
Elongation of Bar
Concrete is another material that has been
popularly used in building construction particularly F
over the last four decades. Cement concrete is made of
crushed stone pieces (called aggregate), sand, cement Maxi mum Force
and water mixed in appropriate proporti ons. Concrete
is much stronger than masonry under compressive
Bar Force F
loads, but again its behaviour in tension is poor. The Ductile

properties of concrete critically depend on the amount Material
Final
Elongation
of water used in making concrete; too much and too is large
little water, both can cause havoc. In general, both
masonry and concrete are brittle, and fail suddenly.
Steel is used in masonry and concrete buildings as 0
reinforcement bars of diameter ranging from 6mm to Elongation of Bar
40mm. Reinforcing steel can carry both tensile and
compressive loads. More over, steel is a ductile material. Figure 2: Tension Test on Materials – ductile
This important pr operty of ductility enables steel bars versus brittle materials.
to undergo large elongation before breaking.
17
How to Make Buildings Ductile for Good Seismic Performance? page 2
Now, let us make a chain with links made of brittle Weak Beam
and ductile materials (Figure 3). Each of these links will Weak Column
fail just like the bars shown in Figure 2. Now, hold the
last link at either end of the chain and apply a force F.
Since the same for ce F is being transferred through all
the links, the force in each link is the same, i.e., F. As Strong
more and more force is applied, eventually the chain Beam
Strong
will break when the weakest link in it breaks. If the Column
ductile link is the weak one (i.e., its capacity to take load
is less), then the chain will show large final elongation.
Instead, if the brittle link is the weak one, then the
chain will fail suddenly and show small final
Strong-Column Weak-Column
elongation. Therefore, if we want to have such a ductile Weak-Beam Strong-Beam
chain, we have to make the ductile link to be the Design Design
weakest link.
Figure 4: Reinforced Concrete Building Design:
Original Chain the beams must be the weakest links and not
the columns – this can be achieved by
appropriately sizing the members and providing
correct amount of steel reinforcement in them.
Ductile Link Brittle Links
Quality Control in Construction
The capacity design concept in earthquake-
Loaded Chain resistant design of buildings will fail if the strengths of
the brittle links fall below their minimum assured
values. The strength of brittle construction materials,
like masonry and concrete, is highly sensitive to the
F F quality of constructi on materials, workmanship,
Brittle Links supervision, and construction methods. Similarly,
Ductile Link
do not yield
stretches by special care is needed in constructi on to ensure that
yielding before the elements meant to be ductile are indeed provided
breaking
with features that give adequate ductility. Thus, strict
Figure 3: Ductile chain design. adherence to prescribed standards of construction
materials and constructi on processes is essential in
assuring an earthquake-resistant building. Regular
Earthquake-Resistant Design of Buildings testing of construction materials at qualified
Buildings should be designed like the ductile laboratories (at site or away), periodic training of
chain. For example, consider the common urban workmen at professional training houses, and on-site
residential apartment constructi on - the multi-storey evaluation of the technical work are elements of good
building made of reinforced concrete. It consists of quality control.
horizontal and vertical members, namely beams and
columns. The seismic inertia forces generated at its Resource Material
Paulay,T., and Priestley,M.J.N., (1992), Seismic Desig n of Reinforce d
floor levels are transferred through the various beams Concrete Build ings and Masonry, John Wiley, USA.
and columns to the ground. The correct building Mazzolani,F.M., and Piluso,V., (1996), Theory and Des ign of Seismic-
components need to be made ductile. The failure of a Resistant Steel Frames, E&FN Spon, UK.
column can affect the stability of the whole building, Next Upcoming Tip
but the failure of a beam causes localized effect. How flexibility of build ings affects their earthquake response?
Therefore, it is better to make beams to be the ductile
weak links than columns. This method of designing RC Authored by:
buildings is called the strong-column weak-beam design C.V.R.Murty
method (Figure 4). Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
By using the routine design codes (meant for Kanpur, India
design against non-earthquake effects), designers may Sponsored by:
not be able to achieve a ductile structure. Special Building Materials and Technology Promotion
design provisions are required to help designers Council, New Delhi, India
improve the ductility of the structure. Such provisi ons This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
are usually put together in the form of a special seismic Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
design code, e.g., IS:13920-1993 for RC structures. and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
These codes also ensure that adequate ductility is may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
provided in the members where damage is expected. December 2002
18
Learning
10 Earthquake Design
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How Flexibility of Buildings Affects their Earthquake Response?
Oscillations of Flexible Buildings Fundamental natural period T is an inherent
When the ground shakes, the base of a building property of a building. Any alterations made to the
moves with the ground, and the building swings back- building will change its T. Fundamental natural
and-forth. If the building were rigid, then every point periods T of n ormal single storey to 20 storey
in it would move by the same am ount as the ground. buildings are usually in the range 0.05-2.00 sec. Some
But, most buildings are flexible, and different parts examples of natural periods of different structures are
move back-and-forth by different amounts. shown in Figure 2.
Take a fat coir rope and tie one end of it to the roof
Single Storey
of a building and its other end to a m otorized vehicle
Building:
(say a tractor). Next, start the tractor and pull the 0.05 sec
building; it will move in the direction of pull (Figure
1a). For the same amount of pull for ce, the movement
is larger for a more flexible building. Now, cut the
Low-rise
rope! The building will oscillate back-and-forth Building:
horizontally and after some time come back to the 0.4 s ec
original position (Figure 1b); these oscillation s are
15 Stor ey Building:
periodic. The time taken (in seconds) for each complete 1 sec
cycle of oscillation (i.e., one complete back-and-forth Reinforced
motion) is the same and is called Fundamental Natural Concrete
Period T of the building. Value of T depends on the Chimney:
2 sec
building flexibility and mass; more the flexibility, the
longer is the T, and more the mass, the longer is the T.
In general, taller buildings are more flexible and have
larger mass, and therefore have a longer T. On the
contrary, low- to medium-rise buildings generally
have shorter T (less than 0.4 sec). Elevated Water Tank: 4 sec
Large
Concrete Gr avity Dam:
0.8 s ec
(a) Building pulled with a rope tied at its roof
Roof T
T
Displacement T
T
Time
0
Suspension Bridge: 6 s ec
Adapted from: Newm ark, (19 70), Curre nt trends in the Seism ic
Analysis a nd Des ign of Hi gh Ris e Structures, Chapter 16, in
Wiegel, (1970), Earthquake Eng ine erin g, Prentice Hall, USA.
Inverted Pendulum Model Figure 2: Fundamental natural periods of

structures differ ov er a large range. The
(b) Oscillation of building on cutting the rope natural period values are only indicative;
Figure 1: Free vibration response of a building: depending on actual properties of the structure,
the back-and-forth motion is periodic. natural period may vary considerably.
19
How Flexibility of Buildings Affects their Earthquake Response? page 2
Importance of Flexibility
The ground shaking during an earthquake
contains a mixture of many sinusoidal waves of
different frequencies, ranging from short to long
periods (Figure 3). The time taken by the wave to
complete one cycle of m otion is called period of the
earthquake wave. In general, earthquake shaking of the
ground has waves whose periods vary in the range Earthquake Shaking
Motion an d Soil L iqu efaction D urin g Earthqu akes,

0.03-33sec. Even within this range, some earthquake
(a) Buildings in a city lie on different soils
Adapted from: Seed and Idriss, (1982), Ground

waves are stronger than the others. Intensity of
earthquake waves at a particular building location
Structural Dam age Intensity (%)

50
depends on a number of factors, including the
magnitude of the earthquake, the epicentral distance, and 40 10-14 Storey
the type of ground that the earthquake waves travelled Buildings
through before reaching the location of interest. 30 3-5 Storey
Buildings
EERI, USA.
Short 20
Period 0 Time
Wave
Tshort 10
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time Depth of Soil (m)
0
(b) Intensity of damage depends on thickness of
underlying soil layer: 1967 Caracas Earthquake
Amplitude Figure 4: Different Buildings Respond Differently
Long to Same Ground Vibration.
Period 0 Time
Wave
Tlong Flexible buildings undergo larger relative
horizontal displacements, which may result in damage
Figure 3: Strong Earthquake Ground Motion is to various n onstructural building components and the
transmitted by w aves of different periods. contents. For example, some items in buildings, like
glass windows, cannot take large lateral movements,
In a typical city, there are buildings of many and are therefore damaged severely or crushed.
different sizes and shapes. One way of categorizing Unsecured shelves might topple, especially at upper
them is by their fundamental natural period T. The stories of multi-storey buildings. These damages may
ground motion under these buildings varies across the not affe ct safety of buildings, but may cause economic
city (Figure 4a). If the ground is shaken back-and-forth losses, injuries and panic among its residents.
by earthquake waves that have short periods, then Related Tip
short period buildings will have large response. IITK-BMTPC Eart hquake Tip 2: How t he Ground Shakes?
Similarly, if the earthquake ground motion has long IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 5: What are the Seismic Effects on
period waves, then long period buildings will have Structures?
larger response. Thus, depending on the value of T of Resource Material
the buildings and on the characteristics of earthquake Wiegel,R., (1970), Earthquake Engineering, Prentice Hall Inc., USA.
Chopra,A.K., (1980), Dynamics of Structures – A Primer, Earthquake
ground motion (i.e., the periods and amplitude of the
Engineering Research Institute, USA.
earthquake waves), some buildings will be shaken
more than the others. Next Upcoming Tip
What are the Indian Seismic Codes?
During the 1967 Caracas earthquake in South
America, the response of buildings was found to
depend on the thickness of soil under the buildings. Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Figure 4b shows that for buildings 3-5 storeys tall, the
damage intensity was higher in areas with underlying Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur, India
soil cover of around 40-60m thick, but was minimal in
areas with larger thickness of soil cover. On the other Sponsored by:
hand, the damage intensity was just the reverse in the
case of 10-14 storey buildings; the damage intensity Council, New Delhi, India
was more when the soil cover was in the range 150- This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
300m, and small for lower thickness of soil cover. Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
Here, the soil layer under the building plays the role of may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
a filter, allowing some ground waves to pass through www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
and filtering the rest. January 2003
20
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
What are the Indian Seismic Codes?
Importance of Seismic Design Codes IS 13935, 1993, Indian Standard Guidelines for Repair and
Ground vibrations during earthquakes cause Seismic Strengthening of Buildings
forces and deformati ons in structures. Structures need The regulations in these standards do not ensure
to be designed to withstand such forces and that structures suffer no damage during earthquake of
deformations. Seismic codes help to improve the all magnitudes. But, to the extent possible, they ensure
behaviour of structures so that they may withstand the that structures are able to respond to earthquake
earthquake effects without significant l oss of life and shakings of moderate intensities without structural
property. Countries around the world have damage and of heavy intensities without total collapse.
procedures outlined in seismic codes to help design IS 1893
engineers in the planning, designing, detailing and IS 1893 is the main code that provides the seismi c
constructing of structures. An earthquake-resistant
zone map (Figure 1) and specifies seismic design force.
building has four virtues in it, namely: This force depends on the mass and seismic coefficient
(a) Good Structural Configuration: Its size, shape and
of the structure; the latter in turn depends on
structural system carrying loads are such that they
properties like seismic zone in which structure lies,
ensure a direct and smooth flow of inertia forces to
importance of the structure, its stiffness, the soil on
the ground.
which it rests, and its ductility. For example, a
(b) Lateral Strength: The maximum lateral (horizontal) building in Bhuj will have 2.25 times the seismic
force that it can resist is such that the damage
design force of an identical building in Bombay.
induced in it does not result in collapse. Similarly, the seismic coefficient for a single-storey
(c) Adequate Stiffness: Its lateral load resisting system is
building may have 2.5 times that of a 15-storey
such that the earthquake-induced deformati ons in
building.
it do not damage its contents under low-to-
moderate shaking.
(d) Good Ductility: Its capacity to undergo large
deformations under severe earthquake shaking
even after yielding, is improved by favourable
design and detailing strategies.
Seismic codes cover all these aspects.
Indian Seismic Codes

Seismic codes are unique to a par ticular region or
country. They take into account the local seismology,
accepted level of seismic risk, building typologies, and
materials and methods used in constructi on. Further,
they are indicative of the level of progress a country
has made in the field of earthquake engineering.
The first formal seismic code in India, namely IS
1893, was published in 1962. Today, the Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS) has the following seismic codes:
IS 1893 (Part I), 2002, Indian Standard Criteria for
Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures (5th Revision)
IS 4326, 1993, Indian Standard Code of Practice for
Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction of
Buildings (2nd Revision)
IS 13827, 1993, Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving
Earthquake Resistance of Earthen Buildings Seismic
IS 13828, 1993, Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving Zone
Earthquake Resistance of Low Strength Masonry V
Buildings Figure 1: Seismic Zone Map of India show ing
IS 13920, 1993, Indian Standard Code of Practice for four seismic zones - over 60% of India’s land
Ductile Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Structures under seismic zones III, IV and V.
Subjected to Seismic Forces
21
What are the Indian Seismic Codes? page 2
The revised 2002 edition, Part 1 of IS1893, contains IS 13935, 1993
provisions that are general in nature and those These guidelines cover general principles of
applicable for buildings. The other four parts of IS seismic strengthening, selection of materials, and
1893 will cover: Liquid-Retaining Tanks, both elevated techniques for repair/seismic strengthening of
and ground supported (Par t 2); Bridges and Retaining masonry and wooden buildings. The code provides a
Walls (Part 3); Industrial Structures including Stack- brief coverage for individual reinforced concrete members
Like Structures (Part 4); and Dams and Embankments in such buildings, but does not cover reinforced concrete
(Part 5). These four documents are under preparation. frame or shear wall buildings as a whole. Some
In contrast, the 1984 edition of IS1893 had provisions guidelines are also laid down for non-structural and
for all the above structures in a single document. architectural components of buildings.
Provisions for Bridges
Seismic design of bridges in India is covered in In Closure…
three codes, namely IS 1893 (1984) from the BIS, IRC 6 Countries with a history of earthquakes have well
(2000) fr om the Indian Roads Congress, and Bridge developed earthquake codes. Thus, countries like
Rules (1964) from the Ministry of Railways. All Japan, New Zealand and the United States of America,
highway bridges are required to comply with IRC 6, have detailed seismic code provisions. Development of
and all railway bridges with Bridge Rules. These three building codes in India started rather early. Today,
codes are conceptually the same, even though there India has a fairly good range of seismic codes covering
are some differences in their implementation. After the a variety of structures, ranging from mud or low-
2001 Bhuj earthquake, in 2002, the IRC released strength masonry houses to modern buildings.
interim provisions that make significant However, the key to ensuring earthquake safety lies in
improvements to the IRC6 (2000) seismic provisions. having a robust mechanism that enforces and
implements these design code provisions in actual
IS 4326, 1993 constructions.
This code covers general principles for earthquake
resistant buildings. Selection of materials and special Related Tip
features of design and constructi on are dealt with for Tip 4: Where are the seismic zones in India?
Tip 8: What is the seismic design philosophy of buildings?
the following types of buildings: timber constructions, Tip 9: How to make buildings ductile for good seismic performance?
masonry constructions using rectangular masonry Tip 10: How flexibility of buildings affects their earthquake
units, and buildings with prefabricated reinforced response?
concrete roofing/flooring elements.
Resource Material
IS 13827, 1993 and IS 13828, 1993 BMTPC, (2000), Guidelines: Improving Earthquake Resistance of Housing ,
Building Materials and Technology Pr omotion Council, New
Guidelines in IS 13827 deal with empirical design Delhi.
and constructi on aspects for improving earthquake- Bridge Rule s, (1964), Rules Sp ecifying the Loads for the Desig n of Super-
resistance of earthen houses, and those in IS 13828 with Structure and Sub-Struct ure of Bridges and for Asse ssment of the
Strength of Existing Bridges, Government of India, Ministry of
general principles of design and special construction Railways (Railway B oard).
features for improving earthquake resistance of IRC 6, (2000), Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road
buildings of low-strength masonry. This masonry Bridges - Section II: Loads and Stresses, Indian Roads Con gress, New
includes burnt clay brick or stone masonry in weak Delhi.
IS 456, (2000), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Plain and Reinforced
mortars, like clay-mud. These standards are applicable Concrete, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
in seismic zones III, IV and V. Constructions based on SP 22 (S&T), (1982), Explanatory Handbook on Codes for Earthquakes
them are termed non-engineered, and are not totally Engineer ing - IS 1893:1975 and IS 4326:1976, Bureau of Indian
free from collapse under seismic shaking intensities Standards, New Delhi.
VIII (MMI) and higher. Inclusion of features
Next Upcoming Tip
mentioned in these guidelines may only enhance the How do masonry bu ildings behave during earthquakes?
seismic resistance and reduce chances of collapse.
IS 13920, 1993 Authored by:

In India, reinforced con crete structures are C.V.R.Murty
designed and detailed as per the Indian Code IS 456 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
(2002). However, structures located in high seismic Kanpur, India
regions require ductile design and detailing. Provisions Sponsored by:
for the ductile detailing of monolithic reinfor ced Building Materials and Technology Promotion
concrete frame and shear wall structures are spe cified Council, New Delhi, India
in IS 13920 (1993). After the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, this This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
code has been made mandatory for all structures in Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
zones III, IV and V. Similar provisions for seismic
design and ductile detailing of steel structures are not www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
yet available in the Indian codes. February 2003
22
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How do brick masonry houses behave during earthquakes?
Behaviour of Brick M asonry Walls by horizontal forces due to earthquake. A wall topples
Masonry buildings are brittle structures and one of down easily if pushed horizontally at the top in a
the most vulnerable of the entire building stock under direction perpendicular to i ts plane (termed weak
strong earthquake shaking. The large number of direction), but offers much greater resistance if pushed
human fatalities in such constructions during the past along its length (termed strong direction) (Figure 1b).
earthquakes in India corroborates this. Thus, it i s very The ground shakes simultaneously in the vertical
important to improve the seismic behaviour of and two h orizontal directions during earthquakes
masonry buildings. A number of earthquake-resistant (IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 5). However, the
features can be introduced to achieve this objective. horizontal vibrations are the most damaging to normal
Ground vibrations during earthquakes cause masonry buildings. Horizontal inertia force developed
inertia forces at locations of mass in the building. at the roof transfers to the walls acting either in the
These forces travel through the roof and walls to the weak or in the strong direction. If all the walls are not
foundation. The main emphasis is on ensuring that tied together like a box, the walls loaded in their weak
these forces reach the ground with out causing major direction tend to topple (Figure 2a).
damage or collapse. Of the three components of a To ensure good seismic performance, all walls
masonry building (roof, wall and foundation) (Figure must be joined properly to the adjacent walls. In this
1a), the walls are most vulnerable to damage caused way, walls loaded in their weak direction can take
advantage of the good lateral resistan ce offered by
walls loaded in their strong directi on (Figure 2b).
Further, walls also need to be tied to the roof and
Walls foundation to preserve their overall integrity.
Roof
Toppling
A
Foundation
B
(a) Basic components of a masonry building
Pushed i n the plane of the wall
A Direction of
earthquake
shaking
A Weak
(a) For the direction of earthquake shaking shown,
Direction
wall B tends to fail Toothed joints
in masonry
A courses
Direction of B B or L-shaped
dowel bars
earthquake s haking
Strong Toppling B
Direction
A
Pushed perpendicular
to the plane of the w all Direction of
earthquake Direction of
shaking earthquake
shaking
(b) Direction of force on a wall critically determines (b) Wall B properly connected to Wall A (Note: roof
its earthquake performance is not shown): Walls A (loaded in strong direction)
Figure 1: Basic components of a masonry support Walls B (loaded in weak direction)
building – walls are sensitive to direction of Figure 2: Advantage sharing between walls –
earthquake forces. only possible if walls are well connected.
23
How do brick masonry houses behave during earthquakes? page 2
How to Improve Behaviour of M asonry Walls Choice and Quality of Building M aterials
Masonry walls are slender because of their small Earthquake performance of a masonry wall is very
thickness compared to their height and length. A sensitive to the properties of its constituents, namely
simple way of making these walls behave well during masonry units and mortar. The properties of these
earthquake shaking is by making them act together as materials vary across India due to variation in raw
a box along with the r oof at the top and with the materials and construction methods. A variety of
foundation at the bottom. A number of construction masonry units are used in the country, e.g., clay bricks
aspects are required to ensure this box action. Firstly, (burnt and unburnt), concrete blocks (solid and
connections between the walls should be good. This hollow), stone blocks. Burnt clay bricks are most
can be achieved by (a) ensuring good interlocking of commonly used. These bricks are inherently porous,
the masonry courses at the juncti ons, and (b) and so they absorb water. Excessive porosity is
employing horizontal bands at various levels, detrimental to good masonry behaviour because the
particularly at the lintel level. Secondly, the sizes of bricks suck away water from the adjoining mortar,
door and window openings need to be kept small. The which results in poor bond between brick and mortar,
smaller the openings, the larger is the resistance and in difficulty in positioning masonry units. For this
offered by the wall. Thirdly, the tendency of a wall to reason, bricks with low porosi ty are to be used, and
topple when pushed in the weak direction can be they must be soaked in water before use to minimise
reduced by limiting its length-to-thickness and height- the amount of water drawn away from the mortar.
to-thickness rati os (Figure 3). Design codes specify Various mor tars are used, e.g., mud, cement-sand,
limits for these ratios. A wall that is too tall or too long or cement-sand-lime. Of these, mud mortar is the
in comparison to its thickness, is particularly weakest; it crushes easily when dry, flows outward
vulnerable to shaking in its weak direction (Figure 3). and has very low earthquake resistance. Cement-sand
mortar with lime is the most suitable. This mortar mix
provides excellent workability for laying bricks,
stretches without crumbling at low earthquake
shaking, and bonds well with bricks. The earthquake
response of masonry walls depends on the relative
Overturning strengths of brick and mortar. Bricks must be str onger
than mortar. Excessive thickness of mortar is not
Overturning desirable. A 10mm thick mortar layer is generally
satisfactory from practical and aesthetic
considerations. Indian Standards prescribe the
preferred types and grades of bricks and mortars to be
used in buildings in each seismic zone.
Soil Soil
Related Earthquake Tip
Thick Wall ( 1½ brick) Short Wall ( 1 brick) Tip 5: What are the seismic effects on structures?
versus versus Resource Material
Thin Wall ( 1 brick) Tall Wall ( 1 brick) IS 1905, (1987), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Structural Use of
Unreinforced Masonry, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
IS 4326, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Earthquake Resistant
Design and Construction of Build ings, Bureau of Indian Standards,
Inertia force New Delhi.
Large portion of wall from roof IS 13828, (1993), Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving Earthquake
not supported by
cross walls Resistance of Low-strength Masonry Buildings, Bureau of Indian
Standards, New Delhi.
Paulay,T., and Priestley,M.J.N., (1992), Seism ic Design of Re inforced
Cross W all Concrete and Masonry Buildings, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Cross W all Long Wall Next Upcoming Tip

Why should masonr y houses have simple structural configuration?
Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
Short Wall Building Materials and Technology Promotion
Good support offered
by cross walls Council, New Delhi, India
Figure 3: Slender w alls are v ulnerable – height Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
and length to be kept within limits. Note: In this
figure, the effect of roof on walls is not shown. www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
March 2003
24
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Why should masonry buildings have simple structural configuration?
Box Action in M asonry Buildings consider a four-wall system of a single storey masonry
Brick masonry buildings have large mass and building (Figure 2). During earthquake shaking, inertia
hence attract large horizontal forces during earthquake forces act in the str ong direction of some walls and in
shaking. They develop numerous cracks under both the weak direction of others (See IITK-BMTPC
compressive and tensile for ces caused by earthquake Earthquake Tip 12). Walls shaken in the weak direction
shaking. The focus of ear thquake resistant masonry seek support from the other walls, i.e., walls B1 and B2
building construction is to ensure that these effe cts are seek support from walls A1 and A2 for shaking in the
sustained without major damage or collapse. direction shown in Figure 2. To be more specifi c, wall
Appropriate choice of structural configuration can B1 pulls walls A1 and A2, while wall B2 pushes
help achieve this. against them. At the next instance, the direction of
The structural configuration of masonry buildings shaking could change to the horizontal direction
includes aspects like (a) overall shape and size of the perpendicular to that shown in Figure 2. Then, walls A
building, and (b) distribution of mass and (horizontal ) and B change their roles; Walls B1 and B2 become the
lateral load resisting elements across the building. strong ones and A1 and A2 weak.
Large, tall, long and unsymmetric buildings perform Thus, walls transfer loads to each other at their
poorly during earthquakes (IITK-BMTPC Earthquake junctions (and through the lintel bands and roof).
Tip 6). A strategy used in making them earthquake- Hence, the masonry courses from the walls meeting at
resistant is developing good box action between all the corners must have good interlocking. For this reason,
elements of the building, i.e., between roof, walls and openings near the wall corners are detrimental to good
foundation (Figure 1). Loosely connected roof or seismic performance. Openings too close to wall
unduly slender walls are threats to good seismic corners hamper the flow of forces fr om one wall to
behaviour. For example, a horizontal band introduced another (Figure 3). Further, large openings weaken
at the lintel level ties the walls together and helps to walls fr om carrying the inertia forces in their own
make them behave as a single unit. plane. Thus, it is best to keep all openings as small as
possible and as far away from the corners as possible.
Roof that stays together as a single
Good integral unit during earthquakes Inertia force
connection from roof
between roof
and walls Inertia force
Walls with
small from roof
openings A1
Lintel B2
Band B1
A2
Good
Stiff Foundation connection
between
walls and
Good connection foundation Regions
at wall corners where load
Direction of transfer
Figure 1: Essential requirements to ensure box earthquake takes place
action in a masonry building. shaking from one
wall to
Influence of Openings
another
Openings are functional necessities in buildings. Figure 2: Regions of force transfer from weak
walls to strong w alls in a masonry building –
However, location and size of openings in walls
wall B1 pulls walls A1 and A2, while wall B2
assume significance in deciding the performance of
pushes walls A1 and A2.
masonry buildings in earthquakes. To understand this,
25
Why should masonry buildings have simple structural configuration? page 2
Large window
opening Tall
reduces the slender
wall strength wall
in its strong
direction
Inertia force of
roof mass
Damage
Damage
Diagonal
bracing
Door opening close to wall cor ner effec t
weakens the c onnection between walls Damage
Figure 3: Openings weaken walls in a masonry
building –a single closed horizontal band must
(a) Damage in building with rigidly built-in staircase
be provided above all of them.
Reinforced Concrete
Earthquake-Resistant Features Stair Case Tower
Indian Standards suggest a number of earthquake- (or Mumty)
resistant measures to develop good box-type action in
masonry buildings and improve their seismic
performance. For instance, it is suggested that a
Gap
building having horizontal projecti ons when seen
from the top, e.g., like a building with plan shapes L, T,
E and Y, be separated into (almost) simple rectangular
blocks in plan, each of which has simple and good
earthquake behaviour (IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 6).
During earthquakes, separated blocks can oscillate
independently and even hammer each other if they are
too close. Thus, adequate gap is necessary between
these different blocks of the building. The Indian
Standards suggest minimum seismic separations
between blocks of buildings. However, it may not be (b) Building with separated staircase
necessary to provide such separati ons between blocks,
if horizontal pr ojecti ons in buildings are small, say up Figure 4: Earthquake-resistant detailing of
to ~15-20% of the length of building in that direction. staircase in masonry building
Inclined staircase slabs in masonry buildings offer – must be carefully designed and constructed.
another concern. An integrally connected staircase slab
acts like a cross-brace between fl oors and transfers
Related Earthquake Tip
large horizontal forces at the r oof and lower levels Tip 5: What are the seismic effe cts on structures?
(Figure 4a). These are areas of potential damage in Tip 6: How architectural features affect building s during earthquakes?
masonry buildings, if not accoun ted for in stair case Tip12: How brick masonry houses behave during earthquakes?
design and construction. To overcome this, sometimes, Next Upcoming Tip
staircases are completely separated (Figure 4b) and Why are horizontal bands necessary in masonry buildings?
built on a separate reinforced concrete structure.
Adequate gap is provided between the staircase tower Authored by:
and the masonry building to ensure that they do not C.V.R.Murty
pound each other during strong earthquake shaking. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Resource Material Kanpur, India
IS 1905, (1987), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Structural Use of
Sponsored by:
Unreinforced Masonry, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
IS 42326, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Earthquake Building Materials and Technology Promotion
Resistant Design and Construction of Build ings, Bureau of Indian Council, New Delhi, India
IS 13828, (1993), Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving Earthquake This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
Resistance of Low-strength Masonry Buildings, Bureau of Indian
Standards, New Delhi. and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
Tomazevic,M., (1999), Earthquake Resistant Design of Masonr y
Buildings, Imperial College Press, London, UK. www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
April 2003
26
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Why are horizontal bands necessary in masonry buildings?
Role of Horizontal Bands flat timber or CGI sheet roof, roof band needs to be
Horizontal bands are the most importan t provided. In buildings with pitched or sloped roof, the
earthquake-resistant feature in masonry buildings. The roof band is very important. Plinth bands are
bands are provided to hold a masonry building as a primarily used when there is concern about uneven
single unit by tying all the walls together, and are settlement of foundation soil.
similar to a cl osed belt provided around cardboard The lintel band ties the walls together and create s
boxes. There are four types of bands in a typical a support for walls loaded along weak directi on fr om
masonry building, namely gable band, roof band, lintel walls loaded in str ong direction. This band also
band and plinth band (Figure 1), named after their reduces the unsupported height of the walls and
location in the building. The lintel band is the most thereby improves their stability in the weak direction.
important of all, and needs to be provided in almost all During the 1993 Latur earthquake (Central India), the
buildings. The gable band is employed only in intensity of shaking in Killari village was IX on MSK
buildings with pitched or sloped roofs. In buildings scale. Most masonry houses sustained partial or
with flat reinforced concrete or reinforced brick roofs, the complete collapse (Figure 2a). On the other hand, there
roof band is not required, because the roof slab also was one masonry building in the village, which had a
plays the role of a band. However, in buildings with lintel band and it sustained the shaking very well with
hardly any damage (Figure 2b).
Roof
Masonry
abov e lintel
Lintel Band
Masonry
below lintel
Wall
Plinth Band
Foundation
Soil
(a) Building with Flat Roof
(a) Building with no horizontal lintel band:

Gable-roof collapse of roof and walls
connection
Gable
Roof Band Truss-wall
Band
connection
Floor-walls Lintel
connection
Band
Lintel
Band
Cross wall (b) A building with horizontal lintel band in Killari
Plinth
connection
Band village: no damage
Peripheral wall
connection
Figure 2: The 1993 Latur Earthquake (Central
(b) Two-storey Building with Pitched Roof India) - one masonry house in Killari village had
Figure 1: Horizontal Bands in masonry building – horizontal lintel band and sustained the shaking
Improve earthquake-resistance. without damage.
27
Why are horizontal bands necessary in masonry buildings? page 2
Design of Lintel Bands
Wood Spac ers
During earthquake shaking, the lintel band
undergoes bending and pulling actions (Figure 3). To
resist these actions, the construction of lintel band Wood
requires special attention. Bands can be made of wood Runners
(including bamboo splits) or of reinforced concrete A
(RC) (Figure 4); the RC bands are the best. The straight B
lengths of the band must be properly connected at the
wall corners. This will allow the band to support walls
loaded in their weak direction by walls loaded in their (a) Wooden Band
strong direction. Small lengths of wood spacers (in
wooden bands) or steel links (in RC bands) are used to
make the straight lengths of wood runners or steel
Steel
bars act together. In wooden bands, proper nailing of
Links
straight lengths with spacers is important. Likewise, in
A
RC bands, adequate anchoring of steel links with steel
Steel Bars
bars is necessary. B
Correct
Bending of Pulling of Practices
Lintel Band Lintel Band
Lintel
Band
Direction of
Inertia Force
Incorrect
Practice
(b) RC Band
Figure 4: Horizontal Bands in masonry buildings
– RC bands are the best.
Direction of Related Earthquake Tip

earthquake Tip 5: What are the seismic effects on structures?
shaking Tip12: How brick masonr y houses behave during earthquakes?
Tip13: Why masonry buildings should have simple structural
configuration?
Resource Material
150
IAEE, (1986), Guidelines for Earthquake Resistant Non-Engineered
75 mm mm
Construction, International Association for Earthquake
Engineering, Tokyo, available on www.nicee.org.
IS 4326, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Earthquake Resistant
New Delhi.
Small Large IS 13828, (1993), Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving Earthquake
Resistance of Low-strength Masonry Buildings, Bureau of Indian
Cross-section of Standards, New Delhi.
Lintel Bands
Next Upcoming Tip
Why is vertical reinforcement required in masonry build ings?
Figure 3: Bending and pulling in lintel bands –
Bands must be capable of resisting these. Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Indian Standards Kanpur, India
The Indian Standards IS:4326-1993 and IS:13828 Sponsored by:
(1993) provide sizes and details of the bands. When Building Materials and Technology Promotion
wooden bands are used, the cross-se ction of runners is
to be at least 75mm×38mm and of spacers at least
50mm×30mm. When RC bands are used, the minimum
thickness is 75mm, and at least two bars of 8mm and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
diameter are required, tied across with steel links of at may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
least 6mm diameter at a spacing of 150 mm centers. www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
May 2003
28
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Why is vertical reinforcement required in masonry buildings?
Response of M asonry Walls
Horizontal bands are provided in masonry Roof
buildings to improve their earthquake performance.

These bands include plinth band, lintel band and roof Roof
Band
band. Even if horizontal bands are provided, masonry
Lintel
buildings are weakened by the openings in their walls Band Door Window
(Figure 1). During earthquake shaking, the masonry Opening Opening
walls get grouped into three sub-units, namely
spandrel masonry, wall pier masonry and sill masonry.
Foundation
Plinth
Roof SoilMasonry
Band (a) Building Components Pier
Spandrel
Masonry
Lintel
Level
Wall Pier Rocking
Masonry of Pier
Sill
Level
Sill Crushing
Masonry
Plinth
Level
Foundation
Soil Uplifting of
masonry (b) Rocking of Masonry Piers
Figure 1: Sub-units in masonry building – walls

behave as discrete units during earthquakes.
X-Cracking
Consider a hipped roof building with two window of Masonry
openings and one door opening in a wall (Figure 2a). It Piers
has lintel and plinth bands. Since the roof is a hipped
one, a roof band is also provided. When the ground
shakes, the inertia force causes the small-sized Foundation
masonry wall piers to disconnect from the masonry Soil
above and below. These masonry sub-units rock back
(c) X-Cracking of Masonry Piers
and forth, developing contact only at the opposite
diagonals (Figure 2b). The rocking of a masonry pier Figure 2: Earthquake response of a hipped roof
masonry building – no vertical reinforcement
can crush the masonry at the corners. Rocking is
possible when masonry piers are slender, and when is provided in walls.
weight of the structure above is small. Otherwise, the
piers are more likely to develop diagonal (X-type) Earthquak e-
Roof
shear cracking (Figure 2c); this is the most common induc ed inertia
failure type in masonry buildings. force
Sliding
In un-reinforced masonry buildings (Figure 3), the
cross-secti on area of the masonry wall reduces at the
opening. During strong earthquake shaking, the
building may slide just under the roof, below the lintel
band or at the sill level. Sometimes, the building may
also slide at the plinth level. The exact l ocati on of Foundation
sliding depends on numerous factors including
building weight, the earthquake-induced inertia force, Figure 3: Horizontal sliding at sill level in a
the area of openings, and type of doorframes used. masonry building – no vertical reinforcement.
29
Why is vertical reinforcement required in masonry buildings? page 2
How Vertical Reinforcement Helps Earthquak e-induced inertia force
Embedding vertical reinforcement bars in the
edges of the wall piers and anchoring them in the
foundation at the bottom and in the roof band at the Cracking
top (Figure 4), forces the slender masonry piers to
undergo bending instead of rocking. In wider wall piers,
the vertical bars enhance their capability to resist
horizontal earthquake forces and delay the X-cracking.
Adequate cross-secti onal area of these vertical bars
prevents the bar from yielding in tension. Further, the
vertical bars also help protect the wall fr om sliding as
well as from collapsing in the weak direction.
(a) Cracking in building with no corner reinforcement
Bending Lintel Band Reinforcement

of Pier Bars
Sill Band
(Similar to
Lintel Ba nd,
but disconti nue d
at door ope nin gs)
Vertical steel bars anchored i n

foundation and roof band
(b) No cracks in building with vertical reinforcement
(a) Vertical reinforcement causes bending of
masonry piers in place of rocking (See Figure 2). Figure 5: Cracks at corners of openings in a
masonry building – reinforcement around them
helps.
Related - Earthquake Tip

Tip 5: What are the seismic effects on structures?
Tip12: How brick masonr y houses behave during earthquakes?
Tip13: Why masonry buildings should have simple structural
configuration?
Tip14: Why horizontal bands are required in masonry buildings?
Resource Material
Amrose,J., (1991), Simplified Des ign of Masonry Structur es, John Wile y
(b) Vertical reinforcement prevents sliding in walls & Sons, Inc., New York, USA.
BMTPC, (2000), Guidelines: Improving Earthquake Resistance of
(See Figure 3).
Housing, Build ing Materials and Technology Promotion Council,
Figure 4: Vertical reinforcement in masonry w alls New Delhi.
– wall behaviour is modified. IS 4326, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Earthquake Resistant
New Delhi.
Protection of Openings in Walls IS 13828, (1993), Indian Standard Guidelines for Improving Earthquake
Sliding failure mentioned above is rare, even in Resistance of Low-strength Masonry Buildings, Bureau of Indian
unconfined masonry buildings. However, the most Standards, New Delhi.
common damage, observed after an earthquake, is Next Upcoming Tip
diagonal X-cracking of wall piers, and also inclined How to improve seismic behaviour of stone masonr y buildings?
cracks at the corners of door and window openings.
When a wall with an opening deforms during Authored by:
earthquake shaking, the shape of the opening distorts C.V.R.Murty
and becomes more like a rhombus - two opposite Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
corners move away and the other two come closer. Kanpur, India
Under this type of deformation, the corners that come Sponsored by:
closer develop cracks (Figure 5a). The cracks are bigger Building Materials and Technology Promotion
when the opening sizes are larger. Steel bars provided Council, New Delhi, India
in the wall masonry all around the openings restrict
these cracks at the corners (Figure 5b). In summary, Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
lintel and sill bands above and below openings, and and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
vertical reinforcement adjacent to vertical edges, may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
provide protection against this type of damage. June 2003
30
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How to make Stone Masonry Buildings Earthquake Resistant?
Behaviour during Past India Earthquakes masonry dwellings. Likewise, a majority of the over
Stone has been used in building construction in 13,800 deaths during 2001 Bhuj (Gujarat) earthquake is
India since ancient times since it is durable and locally attributed to the collapse of this type of construction.
available. There are huge numbers of stone buildings The main patterns of earthquake damage include:
in the coun try, ranging from rural houses to royal (a) bulging/separation of walls in the horizontal
palaces and temples. In a typical rural stone house, direction into two distinct wythes (Figure 2a), (b)
there are thick stone masonry walls (thickness ranges separation of walls at corners and T-junctions (Figure
from 600 to 1200 mm) built using rounded stones from 2b), (c) separation of poorly constructed roof fr om
riverbeds bound with mud mortar. These walls are walls, and eventual collapse of roof, and (d)
constructed with stones placed in a random manner, disintegration of walls and eventual collapse of the
and hence do not have the usual layers (or courses) whole dwelling.
seen in brick walls. These uncoursed walls have two
exterior vertical layers (called wythes) of large stones,
filled in between with loose stone rubble and mud
mortar. A typical uncoursed random (UCR) stone
masonry wall is illustrated in Figure 1. In many cases,
these walls support heavy roofs (for example, timber
roof with thick mud overlay).
Vertically split Vertical gap

layer of wall (a) Separation of a thick wall into two layers
Vertically split layer
of wall
Mud mortar
Outward bulging
of vertical wall
layer
Half-dressed
oblong stones
(b) Separation of unconnected adjacent walls at

junctions
Figure 2: Maj or concerns in a traditional stone
Figure 1: Schematic of the wall section of a house – deficiencies in walls, roof and in their
traditional stone house – thick walls without connections have been prime causes for failure.
stones that go across split into 2 vertical layers.
Earthquake Resistant Features
Laypersons may consider such stone masonry Low strength stone masonry buildings are weak
buildings robust due to the large wall thickness and against earthquakes, and should be avoided in high
robust appearance of stone construction. But, these seismic zones. The Indian Standard IS:13828-1993
buildings are one of the most defi cient building states that inclusion of special earthquake-resistant
systems from earthquake-resistance point of view. The design and construction features may raise the
main deficiencies include excessive wall thickness, earthquake resistance of these buildings and reduce
absence of any connection between the two wythes of the loss of life. However, in spite of the seismic
the wall, and use of round stones (instead of shaped features these buildings may not become totally free
ones). Such dwellings have shown very poor from heavy damage and even collapse in case of a
performance during past earthquakes in India and major earthquake. The contribution of the each of
other countries (e.g., Greece, Iran, Turkey, former these features is diffi cult to quantify, but qualitatively
Yugoslavia). In the 1993 Killari (Maharashtra) these features have been observed to improve the
earthquake alone, over 8,000 people died, most of performance of stone masonry dwellings during past
them buried under the rubble of traditional stone earthquakes. These features include:
31
How to make Stone Masonry Buildings Earthquake Resistant? page 2
(a) Ensure proper wall construction The wall thickness resistance, its extensive use is likely to continue due to
should not exceed 450mm. Round stone boulders tradition and low cost. But, to protect human lives and
should not be used in the constructi on! Instead, the property in future earthquakes, it is necessary to
stones should be shaped using chisels and follow proper stone masonry constructi on as described
hammers. Use of mud mortar should be avoided in above (especially features (a) and (b) in seismic zones
higher seismic zones. Instead, cement-sand mortar III and higher). Also, the use of seismic bands is highly
should be 1:6 (or richer) and lime-sand mortar 1:3 (or recommended (as described in feature (c) above and in
richer) should be used. IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 14).
(b) Ensure proper bond in masonry courses: The masonry Discontinuiti es in lintel
walls should be built in construction lifts not Horizontal band shoul d be av oided
exceeding 600mm. Through-stones (each extending Lintel Band
over full thickness of wall) or a pair of overlapping
bond-stones (each extending over at least ¾th s
thickness of wall) must be used at every 600mm
along the height and at a maximum spacing of 1.2m
along the length (Figure 3).
W all Alternatives to
Section Through Stones
Wood
plank
< 600mm Hooked
steel link
S-shaped
steel tie
< 600mm
<450mm
Floor W all
Level Plan Figure 4: Horizontal lintel band is essential in
random rubble stone masonry w alls –
provides integrity to the dwelling, and holds the
Pair of overlapping stones
<1200mm walls together to resist horizontal earthquake
(each of length at least Bond effects.
¾ths the w all thickness) stone
Tip14: Why horizontal bands are required in masonry buildings?
Resource Material
Brzev,S., Greene,M. and Sinha,R. (2001), “Rubble stone masonr y
<1200mm <1200mm <400mm
walls with timber walls and timber roof,” World Housing
Figure 3: Use of “through stones” or “bond Encyclopedia (www.world-housing.net), India/Report 18,
stones” in stone masonry w alls – vital in published by EERI and IAEE.
IAEE, (1986), Guidelines for Earthquake Resistant Non-Engineered
preventing the wall from separating into wythes. Construction, The ACC Limited, Thane, 2001 (See www.niceee.org).
IS 13828, (1993), Indian Standard Guidelines - Improving Earthquake
(c) Provide horizontal reinforcing elements: The stone Resistance of Low-Strength Masonry Buildings, Bureau of Indian
masonry dwellings must have horizontal bands
Publications of B uilding Materials and Technology Promotion Council,
(See IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 14 for plinth, lintel, New Delhi (www.bmtpc.org):
roof and gable bands). These bands can be (a) Retrofitting of Stone Houses in Marathwada Area of Maharashtra
constructed out of wood or reinforced con crete, and (b) Guidelines For Improving Earthquake Resistance of Housing
(c) Manual for Repair and Reconstruction of Houses Damaged in
chosen based on economy. It is important to
Earthquake in October 1991 in the Garhwal Region of UP
provide at least one band (either lintel band or roof
Next Upcoming Tip
band) in stone masonry construction (Figure 4). What are the seismic effects on RC frame buildings?
(d) Control on overall dimensions and heights: The
unsupported length of walls between cross-walls Authored by:
should be limited to 5m; for l onger walls, cross C.V.R.Murty
supports raised from the ground level called Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
buttresses should be provided at spacing not more Kanpur, India
than 4m. The height of each storey should not Sponsored by:
exceed 3.0m. In general, stone masonry buildings Building Materials and Technology Promotion
should not be taller than 2 storeys when built in Council, New Delhi, India
cement mortar, and 1 storey when built in lime or
mud mortar. The wall should have a thickness of at Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
least one-sixth its height. and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
Although, this type of stone masonry construction may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
practice is defi cient with regards to earthquake
July 2003
32
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How do Earthquakes Affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings?
Reinforced Concrete Buildings In most buildings, the geometric distorti on of the slab
In recent times, reinforced concrete buildings have is negligible in the horizontal plane; this behaviour is
become common in India, particularly in towns and known as the rigid diaphragm action (Figure 2b).
cities. Reinforced concrete (or simply RC) consists of Structural engineers must consider this during design.
two primary materials, namely concrete with reinforcing
steel bars. Concrete is made of sand, crushed stone (called
aggregates) and cement, all mixed with pre-determined
amount of water. Concrete can be molded into any
desired shape, and steel bars can be bent into many
shapes. Thus, structures of complex shapes are (a) Out-of-pl ane
Vertical Mov ement
possible with RC.
(b) In-plane Horizontal Movement
A typical RC building is made of horizontal
Figure 2: Floor bends w ith the beam but mov es
members (beams and slabs) and vertical members
all columns at that level together.
(columns and walls), and suppor ted by foundations that
rest on ground. The system comprising of RC columns After columns and floors in a RC building are cast
and connecting beams is called a RC Frame. The RC and the concrete hardens, vertical spaces between
frame participates in resisting the earthquake forces. columns and floor s are usually filled-in with masonry
Earthquake shaking generates inertia forces in the walls to demarcate a floor area into functi onal spaces
building, which are proportional to the building mass. (rooms). Normally, these masonry walls, also called
Since most of the building mass is present at floor infill walls, are not connected to surr ounding RC
levels, earthquake-induced inertia forces primarily columns and beams. When columns receive horizontal
develop at the floor levels. These for ces travel forces at floor levels, they try to move in the horizontal
downwards - thr ough slab and beams to columns and direction, but masonry walls tend to resist this
walls, and then to the foundations from where they are movement. Due to their heavy weight and thickness,
dispersed to the ground. As inertia forces accumulate these walls attract rather large horizontal for ces
downwards from the top of the building, the columns (Figure 3). However, since masonry is a brittle
and walls at lower storeys experience higher material, these walls develop cracks once their ability
earthquake-induced forces (Figure 1) and are therefore to carry horizontal load i s exceeded. Thus, infill walls
designed to be stronger than those in storeys above. act like sacrificial fuses in buildings; they develop
cracks under severe ground shaking but help share the
5 load of the beams and columns until cracking.
4
Earthquake performance of infill walls i s enhanced by
mortars of good strength, making proper masonry
Floor Level
3 courses, and pr oper packing of gaps between RC

frame and masonry infill walls. However, an infill wall
2
that is unduly tall or long in comparison to its
thickness can fall out-of-plane (i.e., along its thin
1
direction), which can be life threatening. Also, placing
Total Force infills irregularly in the building causes ill effects like
Figure 1: Total horizontal earthquake force in a short-column effect and torsion (these will be discussed
building increases dow nwards along its height. in subsequent IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips).
Roles of Floor Slabs and M asonry Walls

Floor slabs are horizontal plate-like elements,
which facilitate functi onal use of buildings. Usually,
beams and slabs at one storey level are cast together.
Gap
In residential multi-storey buildings, thickness of slabs Compressi on
is only about 110-150mm. When beams bend in the
vertical direction during earthquakes, these thin slabs
Cracks
bend along with them (Figure 2a). And, when beams
move with columns in the horizontal direction, the Figure 3: Infill w alls mov e together w ith the
slab usually forces the beams to move together with it. columns under earthquake shaking.
33
How do Earthquakes Affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings? page 2
Horizontal Earthquake Effects are Different (which receive forces from columns) sh ould be
Gravity loading (due to self weight and contents) on stronger than columns. Further, connections between
buildings causes RC frames to bend resulting in beams & columns and columns & foundati ons sh ould
stretching and shortening at various locations. Tension not fail so that beams can safely transfer force s to
is generated at surfaces that stretch and compression columns and columns to foundation s.
at those that shor ten (Figure 4b). Under gravity loads, When this strategy is adopted in design, damage is
tension in the beams is at the bottom surface of the likely to occur first in beams (Figure 5a). When beams
beam in the central location and is at the top surface at are detailed properly to have large ductility, the
the ends. On the other hand, earthquake loading causes building as a whole can deform by large amounts
tension on beam and column faces at l ocati ons despite progressive damage caused due to consequent
different from those under gravity loading (Figure 4c); yielding of beams. In contrast, if columns are made
the relative levels of this tension (in technical terms, weaker, they suffer severe local damage, at the top and
bending moment) generated in members are shown in bottom of a particular storey (Figure 5b). This localized
Figure 4d. The level of bending moment due to damage can lead to collapse of a building, although
earthquake loading depends on severity of shaking columns at storeys above remain almost undamaged.
and can exceed that due to gravity loading. Thus, Damage
under strong earthquake shaking, the beam ends can Large Small
displ aceme nt displ aceme nt
develop tension on either of the top and bottom faces. at collaps e at collaps e
Since concrete cann ot carry this tensi on, steel bars are
required on both faces of beams to resist reversals of Damage
distributed All damage
bending moment. Similarly, steel bars are required on in all in one
all faces of columns too. storeys storey
Strength Hierarchy
For a building to remain safe during earthquake
shaking, columns (which receive forces from beams) (a) Strong Columns, (b) Weak Columns,
should be str onger than beams, and foundati ons Weak Beams Strong Beams
Figure 5: Tw o distinct designs of buildings that
result in different earthquake performances –
Gravity Earthquak e columns should be stronger than beams.
Load Load
Relevant Indian Standards
The Bureau of Indian Standards, Ne w Delhi,
(a) published the following Indian standards pertaining to
design of RC frame buildings: (a) Indian Seismic Code
(IS 1893 (Part 1), 2002) – for calculating earthquake forces,
Stretchi ng of member (b) Indian Concrete Code (IS 456, 2000) – for design of
and locati ons of tensi on Tension RC members, and (c) Ductile Detailing Code for RC
Structures (IS 13920, 1993) – for detailing requirements in
seismic regions.
Tip 5: What are the seismic effects on structures?
Resource Material
Englekir k,R.E., Seismic Desig n of Reinforced and Precast Concrete
Tension Building s, John Wiley & S ons, Inc., USA, 2003.
Penelis,G.G., and Kappos,A.J., Earthquake Resistant Concrete
(b) (c) Structures, E&FN SPON, UK, 1997.
Next Upcoming Tip
Amount of How do Beams in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
tension
Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
(d) Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
Figure 4: Earthquake shaking reverses tension and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
and compression in members – reinforcement is may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
required on both faces of me mbers.
August 2003
34
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How do Beams in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
Reinforcement and Seismic Damage (b) Shear Failure: A beam may also fail due to shearing
In RC buildings, the vertical and horizontal action. A shear crack is inclined at 45° to the
members (i.e., the beams and columns) are built horizontal; it develops at mid-depth near the
integrally with each other. Thus, under the action of support and grows towards the top and bottom
loads, they act together as a frame transferring for ces faces (Figure 2b). Closed loop stirrups are provided
from one to an other. This Tip is meant for beams that to avoid such shearing action. Shear damage occurs
are part of a building frame and carry earthquake- when the area of these stirrups is insufficient.
induced forces. Shear failure is brittle, and therefore, shear failure
Beams in RC buildings have two sets of steel must be avoided in the design of RC beams.
reinforcement, namely: (a) long straight bars (called Design Strategy
longitudinal bars) placed along its length, and (b) closed Designing a beam involves the selection of its
loops of small diameter steel bars (called stirrups) material properties (i.e, grades of steel bars and concrete)
placed vertically at regular intervals along its full and shape and size; these are usually selected as a par t
length (Figure 1). of an overall design strategy of the whole building.
And, the amount and distribution of steel to be provided
Vertical Stirrup
Smaller diameter steel in the beam must be determined by performing design
bars that are made i nto Beam calculations as per is:456-2000 and IS13920-1993.
closed l oops and are
placed at regular Column
Column
intervals al ong the full
length of the beam
Beam
Bottom fac e stretc hes in tension

and vertical cracks dev elop
(a) Flexure Failur e
Column
Inclined crack
Longitudinal Bar
Larger diameter steel bars that
go through the full length of the
beam
Figure 1: Steel reinforcement in beams - stirrups Beam 45°
prevent longitudinal bars from bending outwards.
(b) Shear F ailur e
Beams sustain two basic types of failures, namely:
Figure 2: Tw o types of damage in a beam:
(a) Flexural (or Bending) Failure: As the beam sags under flexure damage is preferred. Longitudinal bars
increased loading, it can fail in two possible ways. resist the tension forces due to bending while
If relatively more steel is present on the tension vertical stirrups resist shear forces.
face, concrete crushes in compression; this is a brittle
failure and is therefore undesirable. If relatively Longitudinal bars are provided to resist flexural
less steel is present on the tension face, the steel cracking on the side of the beam that stretches. Since
yields first (it keeps elongating but does not snap, as both top and bottom faces stretch during strong
steel has ability to stretch large amounts before it earthquake shaking (IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 17),
snaps; see IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 9) and longitudinal steel bars are required on both faces at the
redistribution occurs in the beam until eventually ends and on the bottom face at mid-length (Figure 3).
the concrete crushes in compression; this is a ductile The Indian Ductile Detailing Code IS13920-1993
failure and hence is desirable. Thus, more steel on prescribes that:
tension face is not necessarily desirable! The ductile (a) At least two bars go through the full length of the
failure is characterized with many vertical cracks beam at the top as well as the bottom of the beam.
starting from the stretched beam face, and going (b) At the ends of beams, the amount of steel provided
towards its mid-depth (Figure 2a). at the bottom is at least half that at top.
35
How do Beams in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes? page 2
bars are (a) made away from the face the column, and
Bottom s teel at supp orts At least 2 bars should go (b) not made at locations where they are likely to
at least half of that at top full length of beam
stretch by large amounts and yield (e.g., bottom bars at
mid-length of the beam). Moreover, at the locati ons of
laps, vertical stirrups sh ould be provided at a cl oser
spacing (Figure 6).
Beam
Spacing of stirrups Spacing of stirrups
Total amount of steel as calculated as calculated
Column from calculation Column (but not more than d/4 (but not more than d/4
and 8 times beam bar and 8 times beam bar
Figure 3: Location and amount of longitudinal diameter) Spacing of stirrups
diameter)
as per calculations
steel bars in beams – these resist tension due to (but not more than 2d
2d
flexure. d/2)
Stirrups in RC beams help in three ways, namely d

(i) they carry the vertical shear force and thereby resist
diagonal shear cracks (Figure 2b), (ii) they protect the 2d Beam 2d
concrete from bulging outwards due to flexure, and Column Column

(iii) they prevent the buckling of the compressed
longitudinal bars due to flexure. In moderate to severe Figure 5: Location and amount of vertical stirrups
in beams – IS:13920-1993 limit on maximu m
seismic zones, the Indian Standard IS13920-1993
spacing ensures good earthquake behaviour.
prescribes the following requirements related to
stirrups in reinforced concrete beams:
(a) The diameter of stirrup must be at least 6mm; in Lapping of longitudinal bars
beams more than 5m long, it must be at least 8mm.
(b) Both ends of the vertical stirrups should be bent Spacing of stirrups
not more than 150mm
into a 135° hook (Figure 4) and extended Beam
sufficiently beyond this h ook to ensure that the

stirrup does not open out in an earthquake.
(b) The spacing of vertical stirrups in any por tion of Lapping prohibited in
the beam should be determined from calculations regions wh ere
Column longitudinal bars can Column
(c) The maximum spacing of stirrups is less than half yield in tension
the depth of the beam (Figure 5).
(d) For a length of twice the depth of the beam from
Figure 6: Details of lapping steel reinforcement
the face of the column, an even more stringent
in seismic beams – as per IS13920-1993.
spacing of stirrups is specified, namely half the
spacing mentioned in (c) above (Figure 5).
135 ° Tip 9: How to Make Buildings Ductile for Good Seismic
The ends of s tirrups
Performance?
are bent at 135°.
Tip 17: How do E arthquakes Affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings?
Such s tirrups do not
open during s trong Resource Material
earthquake s haking. IS 13920, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing of
Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces, Bureau of
Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Preferr ed: Paulay,T., and Priestley,M.J.N., Seismic Design of Masonry and
135 ° hooks i n ≥10 ti mes Reinforced Concrete Building s, John Wiley & S ons, USA, 1992.
Horizontal
adjac ent Spacing diameter of McGregor,J.M., Reinforced Concrete Mechanics and Des ign, Third
stirrups on stirrup Edition, Prentice Hall, USA, 1997.
alternate si des 135º Next Upcoming Tip
How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Figure 4: Steel reinforcement in seismic beams
Kanpur, India
- stirrups with 135 ° hooks at ends required as per
Sponsored by:
IS:13920-1993.
Steel reinforcement bars are available usually in Council, New Delhi, India
lengths of 12-14m. Thus, it becomes necessary to
overlap bars when beams of longer lengths are to be Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
made. At the location of the lap, the bars transfer large and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
forces from one to another. Thus, the Indian Standard may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
IS:13920-1993 prescribes that such laps of longitudinal
September 2003
36
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
Possible Earthquake Damage Vertical Bars tied together with Closed Ties
Columns, the vertical members in RC buildings, Closely spaced horizontal cl osed ties help in three
contain two types of steel reinforcement, namely: (a) ways, namely (i) they carry the horizontal shear forces
long straight bars (called longitudinal bars) placed induced by earthquakes, and thereby resist diagonal
vertically along the length, and (b) closed l oops of shear cracks, (ii) they hold together the vertical bars
smaller diameter steel bars (called transverse ties) and prevent them from excessively bending outwards
placed horizontally at regular intervals along its full (in technical terms, this bending phenomenon is called
length (Figure 1). Columns can sustain two types of buckling), and (iii) they contain the concrete in the
damage, namely axial-flexural (or combined compression- column within the cl osed loops. The ends of the ties
bending) failure and shear failure. Shear damage is brittle must be bent as 135° hooks (Figure 2). Such hook ends
and must be avoided in columns by providing prevent opening of loops and consequently buckling
transverse ties at close spacing (Figure 2b). of concrete and buckling of vertical bars.
Vertical bars Closed Ties The ends of ties are

Smaller diameter steel bars
Larger diameter steel bent at 135°. Suc h ti es
that are made into closed
bars that go through do not open during
loops and are plac ed at Ties with
the full height of the strong earthquake 10 ti mes
regular intervals along the ends bent at 135°
column shaking. diameter
full hei ght of the column
of tie
135 °
Vertical
Spacing
(a)
Column
Figure 1: Steel reinforcement in columns – closed Shear Failure

Large spacing of
ties at close spacing improve the performance of ties and lack of
columns under strong earthquake shaking. 135° hook ends in
them causes brittle
failure of during
Design Strategy 2001 Bhuj
Designing a column involves selection of m aterials earthquake
to be used (i.e, grades of concrete and steel bars), (b)
choosing shape and size of the cross-section, and
calculating amount and distribution of steel reinforcement. Figure 2: Steel reinforcement in seismic columns
The first two aspects are part of the overall design – closed ties with 135 ° hooks are required as per
strategy of the whole building. The Indian Ductile Indian Ductile Detailing Code IS:13920-1993.
Detailing Code IS:13920-1993 requires columns to be at
least 300mm wide. A column width of up to 200mm is The Indian Standard IS13920-1993 prescribes
allowed if unsupported length is less than 4m and following details for earthquake-resistant columns:
beam length is less than 5m. Columns that are required (a) Closely spaced ties must be provided at the two
to resist earthquake forces must be designed to ends of the column over a length not less than
prevent shear failure by a skillful selection of larger dimension of the column, one-sixth the
reinforcement. column height or 450mm.
37
How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes? page 2
(b) Over the distance specified in item (a) above and
below a beam-column junction, the vertical spacing
of ties in columns should not exceed D/4 for where Spacing of ties
not mor e than D/4, but need
D is the smallest dimension of the column (e.g., in a not be l ess than 75mm nor
At leas t larger of
rectangular column, D is the length of the small D, hc/6 and 450 mm more than 100 mm
side). This spacing need not be less than 75mm nor
more than 100mm. At other locations, ties are
Beam
spaced as per calculations but not more than D/2.
(c) The length of tie beyond the 135° bends must be at
least 10 times diameter of steel bar used to make hc/4
the closed tie; this extension beyond the bend
should not be less than 75mm. Spacing of ties
not mor e than D/2
Construction drawings with clear details of closed
ties are helpful in the effe ctive implementation at
hc
construction si te. In columns where the spacing
Spacing of ties in lap length
between the corner bars exceeds 300mm, the Indian Lapping of not mor e than s maller of
vertical b ars
Standard prescribes additional links with 180° hook D/2 and 150 mm
in middle-half
ends for ties to be effective in holding the concrete in of column
its place and to prevent the buckling of vertical bars.
These links need to go around both vertical bars and Spacing of ties
not mor e than D/2
horizontal closed ties (Figure 3); special care is
required to implement this properly at site.
hc/4
Extra Li nks
Beam
At leas t larger of Spacing of ties
D, hc/6 and 450 mm not mor e than D/4, but need
not be l ess than 75mm nor
more than 100 mm
180° lin ks around

BOTH vertical bars Figure 4: Placing vertical bars and closed ties in
and 135° ties columns – column ends and lap lengths are to
be protected with closely spaced ties.
Column
Figure 3: Extra links are required to keep the Tip17: How do E arthquakes Affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings?
Tip18: How do Beams in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
concrete in place – 180 ° links are necessary to
prevent the 135 ° tie from bulging outwards. Resource Material
IS 13920, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing of
Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces, Bureau of
Lapping Vertical Bars Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Paulay,T., and Priestley,M.J.N., Seismic Design of Masonry and
In the constructi on of RC buildings, due to the Reinforced Concrete Building s, John Wiley & S ons, USA, 1992.
limitations in available length of bars and due to
Next Upcoming Tip
constraints in construction, there are numerous How do Beam-Column Joints in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
occasions when column bars have to be joined. A
simple way of achieving this is by overlapping the two Authored by:
bars over at least a minimum specified length, called C.V.R.Murty
lap length. The lap length depends on types of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
reinforcement and concrete. For ordinary situati ons, it Kanpur, India
is about 50 times bar diameter. Further, IS:13920-1993 Sponsored by:
prescribes that the lap length be provided ONLY in the Building Materials and Technology Promotion
middle half of column and not near its top or bottom Council, New Delhi, India
ends (Figure 4). Also, only half the vertical bars in the
column are to be lapped at a time in any storey. Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
Further, when laps are provided, ties must be and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
provided along the length of the lap at a spacing not may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
more than 150mm. October 2003
38
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How do Beam-Column Joints in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
Why Beam-Column Joints are Special Further, under the action of the above pull-push
In RC buildings, portions of columns that are forces at top and bottom ends, joints undergo
common to beams at their intersections are called beam- geometric distorti on; one diagonal length of the joint
column joints (Figure 1). Since their constituent elongates and the other compresses (Figure 2b). If the
materials have limited strengths, the joints have limited column cross-se ctional size is insufficient, the concrete
force carrying capacity. When forces larger than these in the joint develops diagonal cracks.
are applied during earthquakes, joints are severely Reinforcing the Beam-Column Joint
damaged. Repairing damaged joints is difficult, and so Problems of diagonal cracking and crushing of
damage must be avoided. Thus, beam-column joints concrete in the joint region can be contr olled by two
must be designed to resist earthquake effects. means, namely providing large column sizes and
providing closely spaced closed-loop s teel ties around
Beam-Column Joint column bars in the joint region (Figure 3). The ties hold
Overlap v olume
common to beams together the concrete in the joint and also resist shear
and columns force, thereby reducing the cracking and crushing of
concrete.
Closed ties
10 ti mes
Beam diameter of ti e
Figure 1: Beam-Column Joints are critical parts 135º

of a building – they need to be designed.
Earthquake Behaviour of Joints Column
Under earthquake shaking, the beams adjoining a

joint are subjected to moments in the same (clockwise Figure 3: Closed loop steel ties in beam-column
or counter-clockwise) direction (Figure 1). Under these j oints – such ties with 135 ° hooks resist the ill
moments, the top bars in the beam-column joint are effects of distortion of joints.
pulled in one direction and the bottom ones in the Providing closed-loop ties in the joint requires
opposite directi on (Figure 2a). These forces are some extra effort. Indian Standard IS:13920-1993
balanced by bond stress developed between concrete recommends continuing the transverse loops ar ound
and steel in the joint region. If the column is not wide the column bars through the joint region. In practice,
enough or if the strength of concrete in the joint is low, this is achieved by preparing the cage of the
there is insufficient grip of concrete on the steel bars. reinforcement (both longitudinal bars and stirrups) of all
In such circum stances, the bar slips inside the joint beams at a floor level to be prepared on top of the
region, and beams loose their capacity to carry load. beam formwork of that level and lowered into the cage
(Figures 4a and 4b). However, this may not always be
possible particularly when the beams are long and the
Compression entire reinforcement cage becomes heavy.
Gripping of
bar inside Anchoring Beam Bars
joint regi on
Tension The gripping of beam bars in the joint region i s
improved first by using columns of reasonably large
cross-secti onal size. As explained in Ear thquake Tip 19,
the Indian Standard IS:13920-1993 requires building
(a) Loss of grip on beam bars (b) Distortion of joint:
causes diagonal columns in seismic zones III, IV and V to be at least
in joint region:
Large column width and good cracking and crushing 300mm wide in each direction of the cross-section
concrete help in holding the of concrete when they support beams that are longer than 5m or
beam bars
when these columns are taller than 4m between floors
Figure 2: Pull-push forces on j oints cause tw o (or beams). The American Concrete Institute
problems – these result in irreparable damage in recommends a column width of at least 20 times the
joints under strong seismic shaking. diameter of largest longitudinal bar used in adjoining beam.
39
How do Beam-Column Joints in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes? page 2
beam top bar in positi on while casting the column up
Temporary
prop
(a) Stage I : to the soffit of the beam. On the other hand, if column
Beam top bars are not
placed, but horizontal width is large, the beam bars may not extend below
ties in the j oint region the soffit of the beam (Figure 5b). Thus, it is preferable
are stack ed up. to have columns with sufficient width. Such an
approach has been used in the American practice
[ACI318M, 2002].
In interior joints, the beam bars (both top and
bottom) need to go through the joint without any cut
in the joint region. Also, these bars must be placed
within the column bars and with no bends (Figure 6).
Beam bars bent in joi nt region overstress
the c ore c oncrete adjoini ng the bends
Column (a) Poor Practice
Beam
Beam Beam bars are within c olumn
(b) bars and also str aight
Stage II :
Top bars of the beam Column
are inserted i n the (b) Good Practice
beam stirrups , and 98-2, EERI, Oakland, CA, USA
Photo from: The EERI Annotated Slid e CD,
beam rei nforcement Shear failure of RC

cage is lowered into beam-column joint
the for mw ork during the 1985
Mexico City
(c) Earthquak e,
Stage III : when beam bars
Ties in the joi nt region are are passed outside
raised to their final locati ons, the c olumn cross-
tied with binding wire, and section
column ties are c ontinued
Figure 4: Providing horizontal ties in the j oints – (c)
three-stage procedure is required.
Figure 6: Anchorage of beam bars in interior
j oints – diagrams (a) and (b) show cross-
In exterior joints where beams terminate at
columns (Figure 5), longitudinal beam bars need to be sectional views in plan of joint region.
anchored into the column to ensure proper gripping of
bar in joint. The length of anchorage for a bar of grade Tip17: How do E arthquakes Affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings?
Fe415 (characteristic tensile strength of 415MPa) is Tip18: How do Beams in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
about 50 times its diameter. This length is measured Tip19: How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
from the face of the column to the end of the bar Resource Material
anchored in the column. In columns of small widths ACI 318M, (2002), Building Code Requireme nts for Structural Concrete
and Commentary, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills,
and when beam bars are of large diameter (Figure 5a), (MI), USA.
a portion of beam top bar is embedded in the column IS 13920, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing of
that is cast up to the soffit of the beam, and a part of it Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces, Bureau of
overhangs. It is difficult to hold such an overhanging
SP 123, Design of Beam-Column Joints for Seismic Resistance, Special
Narro w Column W ide Column Publication, American Concrete Institute, USA, 1991
Next Upcoming Tip
Approxim ately 50 times b ar diam eter
Why are Open-Ground Storey Buildings Danger ous in Earthquakes?

L-shaped
bar ends ACI 318M-2002
Practice Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
Portion of top beam Building Materials and Technology Promotion
bar below soffit of the Portion of colu mn
already cast
beam
(a) (b) Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
Figure 5: Anchorage of beam bars in exterior may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
j oints – diagrams show elevation of joint region. www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
November 2003; March 2005
40
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Why are Open-Ground Storey Buildings Vulnerable in Earthquakes?
Basic Features Ahmedabad alone has about 25,000 five-storey
Reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings are buildings and about 1,500 eleven-storey buildings;
becoming increasingly common in urban India. Many majority of them have open ground storeys. Further, a
such buildings constructed in recent times have a huge number of similarly designed and constructed
special feature – the ground storey is left open for the buildings exist in the various towns and cities si tuated
purpose of parking (Figure 1), i.e., columns in the in moderate to severe seismic zones (namely III, IV
ground storey do not have any partition walls (of and V) of the country. The collapse of more than a
either masonry or RC) between them. Such buildings hundred RC frame buildings with open ground
are often called open ground storey buildings or buildings storeys at Ahmedabad (~225km away from epicenter)
on stilts. during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake has emphasised that
such buildings are extremely vulnerable under
earthquake shaking.
The presence of walls in upper storeys makes
them much stiffer than the open ground storey. Thus,
the upper storeys move almost together as a single
block, and most of the horizontal displacement of the
building occurs in the soft ground storey itself. In
common language, this type of buildings can be
explained as a building on chopsticks. Thus, such
buildings swing back-and-forth like inverted pendulums
during earthquake shaking (Figure 2a), and the
columns in the open ground storey are severely
Figure 1: Ground storeys of reinforced concrete stressed (Figure 2b). If the columns are weak (do not
buildings are left open to facilitate parking – have the required strength to resist these high stresses)
this is common in urban areas in India. or if they do n ot have adequate ductility (See IIT-
An open ground storey building, having only BMTPC Earthquake Tip 9), they may be severely
columns in the ground storey and both partiti on walls damaged (Figure 3a) which may even lead to collapse
and columns in the upper storeys, have two distinct of the building (Figure 3b).
characteristics, namely:
(a) It is relatively flexible in the ground storey, i.e., the
relative horizontal displacement it undergoes in the Earthquak e
ground storey is much larger than what each of the oscillations
storeys above it does. This flexible ground storey is
also called soft storey.
(b) It is relatively weak in ground storey, i.e., the total
horizontal earthquake for ce it can carry in the
ground storey is significantly smaller than what
each of the storeys above it can carry. Thus, the
open ground storey may also be a weak storey.
Often, open ground storey buildings are called soft Inverted
(a)
storey buildings, even though their ground storey may Pendulum
be soft and weak. Generally, the soft or weak storey
usually exists at the ground storey level, but it could
Stiff upper storeys:
be at any other storey level too. Small displac ement between
Earthquake Behaviour adjac ent floors
Open ground storey buildings have consistently Soft ground storey:

shown poor performance during past earthquakes Large displ acement between
foundation and first fl oor
across the world (for example during 1999 Turkey, 1999
Taiwan and 2003 Algeria earthquakes); a significant (b) Ground storey col umns sev erely stress ed
number of them have collapsed. A large number of Figure 2: Upper storeys of open ground storey
buildings with open ground storey have been built in buildings move together as a single block –
India in recent years. For instance, the city of such buildings are like inverted pendulums.
41
Why are Open-Ground Storey Buildings Vulnerable in Earthquakes? page 2
structure. The Code suggests that the forces in the
columns, beams and shear walls (if any) under the
action of seismic l oads spe cified in the code, may be
obtained by considering the bare frame building
(without any infills) (Figure 4b). However, beams and
columns in the open ground storey are required to be
designed for 2.5 times the forces obtained from this
bare frame analysis.
For all new RC frame buildings, the best option i s to
avoid such sudden and large decrease in stiffness
and/or strength in any storey; it would be ideal to
build walls (either masonry or RC walls) in the ground
Photo Courtesy: The EERI Annotate d Slid e Set CD, Earthquak e
storey also (Figure 5). Designers can avoid dangerous
Engin eeri ng Res earch Institute, Oaklan d (CA), USA, 1998. effects of flexible and weak ground storeys by
(a) 1971 San Fernando Earthquake ensuring that too many walls are not discontinued in
the ground storey, i.e., the drop in stiffness and
strength in the ground storey level is not abrupt due to
the absence of infill walls.
The existing open ground storey buildings need to be
strengthened suitably so as to prevent them from
collapsing during strong earthquake shaking. The
owners should seek the services of qualified structural
engineers who are able to suggest appropriate
solutions to increase seismic safety of these buildings.
(b) 2001 Bhuj Earthquake

Figure 3: Consequences of open ground storeys
in RC frame buildings – severe damage to
ground storey columns and building collapses.
Direct flow of forces
The Problem through w alls
Open ground storey buildings are inherently poor

systems with sudden drop in stiffness and strength in
the ground storey. In the current practice, stiff masonry Figure 5: Av oiding open ground storey problem –
walls (Figure 4a) are neglected and only bare frames are continuity of walls in ground storey is preferred.
considered in design calculati ons (Figure 4b). Thus,
the inverted pendulum effect is not captured in design. Related - Earthquake Tip
Tip 6: How Architectural Features Affect Buildings During
Infill walls not Earthquakes?
considered i n Tip17: What are the Earthquake Effects on Reinforced Concrete
upper storeys Buildings?
Resource Material
IS 1893(Part 1) (2002), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Criteria for
Design of Earthquake Resistant Structures, Bureau of Indian
Next Upcoming Tip
(a) Actual building (b) Building being assum ed Why are short columns more damaged during earthquake s?
in current design pr actice
Figure 4: Open ground storey building – Authored by:

assumptions made in current design practice C.V.R.Murty
are not consistent with the actual structure. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur, India
Improved design strategies
Sponsored by:
After the collapses of RC buildings in 2001 Bhuj
earthquake, the Indian Seismic Code IS:1893 (Part 1) -
2002 has included special design provisions related to Council, New Delhi, India
soft storey buildings. Firstly, it specifies when a This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
building should be considered as a soft and a weak and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
storey building. Secondly, it specifies higher design may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
forces for the soft storey as compared to the rest of the www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
December 2003
42
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Why are Short Columns more Damaged During Earthquakes?
Which Columns are short? The Short Column Behaviour
During past earthquakes, reinforced concrete (RC) Many situations with short column effect arise in
frame buildings that have columns of different heights buildings. When a building is rested on sloped ground
within one storey, suffered more damage in the (Figure 1a), during earthquake shaking all columns
shorter columns as compared to taller columns in the move horizontally by the same amount along with the
same storey. Two examples of buildings with shor t floor slab at a particular level (this is called rigid floor
columns are sh own in Figure 1 – buildings on a diaphragm action; see IITK-BMTPC Ear thquake Tip 17). If
sloping ground and buildings with a mezzanine floor. short and tall columns exist wi thin the same storey
level, then the short columns attract several times
(b) larger earthquake force and suffer more damage as
Mezzanine compared to taller ones.
Floor The short column effect al so occurs in columns
that support mezzanine floors or l oft slabs that are
(a) added in between two regular floors (Figures 1b).
There is another spe cial situation in buildings
when short-column effect occurs. Consider a wall
(masonry or RC) of partial height built to fit a window
Short Regular over the remaining height. The adjacent columns
Column
Column behave as short columns due to presence of these
Tall walls. In many cases, other columns in the same storey
Column
Sloped Ground are of regular height, as there are no walls adjoining
them. When the floor slab moves horizontally during
Figure 1: Buildings w ith short columns – two an earthquake, the upper ends of these columns
explicit examples of common occurrences. undergo the same displacement (Figure 3). However,
the stiff walls restrict horizontal m ovement of the
Poor behaviour of sh ort columns is due to the fact lower portion of a short column, and it deforms by the
that in an earthquake, a tall column and a shor t full amount over the short height adjacent to the
column of same cross-section move horizontally by window opening. On the other hand, regular columns
same amount Δ (Figure 2). However, the short column deform over the full height. Since the effective height
is stiffer as compared to the tall column, and it attracts over which a sh ort column can freely bend is small, it
larger earthquake force. Stiffness of a column means offers m ore resistance to horizontal moti on and
resistance to deformation – the larger is the stiffness, thereby attracts a larger force as compared to the
larger is the force required to de form it. If a shor t regular column. As a result, short column sustains
column is not adequately designed for such a large more damage. Figure 4 shows X-cracking in a column
force, it can suffer significant damage during an adjacent to the walls of partial height.
earthquake. This behaviour is called Short Column
Effect. The damage in these short columns is often in Partial
Short Regular
the form of X-shaped cracking – this type of damage of column
Height
Opening Wall Column
columns is due to shear f ailure (see IITK-BMTPC
Earthquake Tip 19).
Δ Δ
Short
Portion of
column
restrained
Long
from
Tall Column:
Attracts s maller moving
Short Column:
horizontal force Attracts l arger
horizontal force
Figure 3: Short columns effect in RC buildings
Figure 2: Short columns are stiffer and attract w hen partial height walls adj oin columns –
larger forces during earthquakes – this must the effect is implicit here because infill walls
be accounted for in design. are often treated as non-structural elements.
43
Why are Short Columns more Damaged During Earthquakes? page 2
Length depends
on diameter of
longitudinal bar
Regular floor
transverse confining ties,

transverse confining ties
Closely spac ed s peci al

throughout the height
Closely spac ed s peci al
and into column abov e

Mezz anine
floor
only at end s
Short column
Source:
between lintel Wakabayas hi,M.,
Desig n of Earthquak e-Res istant Buil din gs,
and sill of McGraw Hill Bo ok Comp any, New York,
window USA
Figure 4: Effectiv e height of column over w hich it

can bend is restricted by adj acent walls – this
short-column effect is most severe when Short Column Regular Column
opening height is small. Figure 5: Details of reinforcement in a building
w ith short column effect in some columns –
The Solution additional special requirements are given in
In new buildings, short column effect should be IS:13920-1993 for the short columns.
avoided to the extent possible during architectural
design stage itself. When it is not possible to avoid Related - Earthquake Tip
Tip 6: How Architectural Features Affect Buildings During
short columns, this effect must be addressed in
Earthquakes?
structural design. The Indian Standard IS:13920-1993 Tip 17: How do E arthquakes Affect Reinforced Concrete Buildings?
for ductile detailing of RC structures requires special Tip 19: How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
confining reinforcement to be provided over the full Resource Material
height of columns that are likely to sustain short IS 13920, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing of
column effect. The special confining reinforcement (i.e., Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces, Bureau of
closely spaced closed ties) must extend beyond the
short column into the columns vertically above and Next Upcoming Tip
Why are buildings with shear walls preferred in seismic regions?
below by a certain distance as shown in Figure 5. See
IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 19 for details of the special Authored by:
confinement reinforcement. C.V.R.Murty
In existing buildings with short columns, different Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
retrofit solutions can be employed to avoid damage in Kanpur, India
future earthquakes. Where walls of partial height are Sponsored by:
present, the simplest solution is to close the openings Building Materials and Technology Promotion
by building a wall of full height – this will eliminate
the short column e ffect. If that is not possible, short
columns need to be strengthened using one of the well
established retrofit techniques. The retrofit solution and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
should be designed by a qualified structural engineer may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
with requisite background. www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
January 2004
44
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
Why are Buildings with Shear Walls Preferred in Seismic Regions?
What is a Shear Wall Building structural elements (like glass windows and building
Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings often have contents).
vertical plate-like RC walls called Shear Walls (Figure 1) Architectural Aspects of Shear Walls
in addition to slabs, beams and columns. These walls Most RC buildings with shear walls also have
generally start at foundation level and are continuous columns; these columns primarily carry gravity loads
throughout the building height. Their thickness can be (i.e., those due to self-weight and contents of building).
as low as 150mm, or as high as 400mm in high rise Shear walls provide large strength and stiffness to
buildings. Shear walls are usually provided along both buildings in the direction of their orientati on, which
length and width of buildings (Figure 1). Shear walls significantly reduces lateral sway of the building and
are like vertically-oriented wide beams that carry thereby reduces damage to structure and its contents.
earthquake loads downwards to the foundation. Since shear walls carry large horizontal earthquake
forces, the overturning effects on them are large. Thus,
design of their foundations requires special attention.
Shear walls should be provided along preferably both
length and width. However, if they are provided along
only one direction, a proper grid of beams and
RC
Walls columns in the vertical plane (called a moment-resistant
frame) must be provided along the other direction to
resist strong earthquake effects.
Plan Door or window openings can be provided in
shear walls, but their size must be small to ensure least
interruption to force flow through walls. Moreover,
openings should be symmetrically located. Special
RC design checks are required to ensure that the net cross-
Foundation Shear sectional area of a wall at an opening is sufficient to
W all
carry the horizontal earthquake force.
Figure 1: Reinforced concrete shear walls in
buildings – an excellent structural system for Shear walls in buildings must be symmetrically
located in plan to reduce ill-effects of twist in buildings
earthquake resistance.
(Figure 2). They could be placed symmetrically along
Advantages of Shear Walls in RC Buildings one or both dire ctions in plan. Shear walls are more
Properly designed and detailed buildings with effective when located along exterior perimeter of the
shear walls have shown very good performance in past building – such a layout increases resistance of the
earthquakes. The overwhelming success of buildings building to twisting.
with shear walls in resisting strong earthquakes is
summarised in the quote:
“We cannot afford to build concrete buildings meant Unsymmetric
location of
to resist severe earthquakes without shear walls.” shear walls
:: Mark Fintel, a noted consulting engineer in USA not desirable
Shear walls in high seismic regions require special
detailing. However, in past earthquakes, even Symmetry of building in
plan about both axes
buildings with sufficient amount of walls that were
not specially detailed for seismic performance (but had Symmetric lo cation of
enough well-distributed reinforcement) were saved shear walls along the
perimeter of the
from collapse. Shear wall buildings are a popular
building is d esir able
choice in many earthquake prone countries, like Chile,
New Zealand and USA. Shear walls are easy to
construct, because reinforcement detailing of walls is
relatively straight-forward and therefore easily
implemented at site. Shear walls are efficient, both in
terms of constructi on cost and effectiveness in Figure 2: Shear walls must be symmetric in plan
minimizing earthquake damage in structural and non- layout – twist in buildings can be avoided.
45
Why are Buildings with Shear Walls Preferred in Seismic Regions? page 2
Ductile Design of Shear Walls increased. RC walls with boundary elements have
Just like reinforced concrete (RC) beams and substantially higher bending strength and horizontal
columns, RC shear walls also perform much better if shear force carrying capacity, and are therefore less
designed to be ductile. Overall geometric proportions susceptible to earthquake damage than walls without
of the wall, types and am ount of reinfor cement, and boundary elements.
connection with remaining elements in the building
help in improving the ductility of walls. The Indian
Standard Ductile Detailing Code for RC members Tension Compressi on
(IS:13920-1993) pr ovides special design guidelines for
ductile detailing of shear walls.
Overall Geometry of Walls: Shear walls are
Closely spaced confining
oblong in cross-se ction, i.e., one dimension of the reinforcem ent in boundary
cross-secti on is much larger than the other. While elem ents
rectangular cross-secti on is common, L- and U-shaped Proper anc horing of v ertical
sections are also used (Figure 3). Thin-walled hollow reinforcement into foundation
RC shafts ar ound the elevator core of buildings also
act as shear walls, and should be taken advantage of to
resist earthquake forces.
(a)
C-Shaped
Boundary Boundary Elements
L-Shaped
Elem ent without increased thickness
Boundary Elements Boundary

with incr eased thickness Elem ent
RC Hollow
Core around
Elevators Confining reinforcement in Anchoring of wall
boundary elements: reinforcement in
135° hooks, closel y s pac ed ti es boundary element
Rectangular (b)
Figure 3: Shear walls in RC Buildings – different Figure 4: Layout of main reinforcement in shear
walls as per IS:13920-1993 – detailing is the
geometries are possible. key to good seismic performance.
Reinforcement Bars in RC Walls: Steel
reinforcing bars are to be provided in walls in Related - Earthquake Tip
regularly spaced vertical and horizontal grids (Figure Tip 6: How Architectural Features Affect Buildings During
Earthquakes?
4a). The vertical and horizontal reinfor cement in the Tip 19: How do Columns in RC Buildings Resist Earthquakes?
wall can be placed in one or two parallel layers called
Resource Material
curtains. Horizontal reinforcement needs to be IS 13920, (1993), Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing of
anchored at the ends of walls. The minimum area of Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces, Bureau of
reinforcing steel to be provided is 0.0025 times the Indian Standards, New Delhi.
cross-secti onal area, along each of the horizontal and Paulay,T., and Priestley,M.J.N., (1992), Seismic Desig n of Reinforce d
Concrete and Masonry Buildings, J ohn Wiley & S ons, USA
vertical directions. This vertical reinforcement should
be distributed uniformly across the wall cross-section. Next Upcoming Tip
How to Reduce Earthquake Effects on Buildings?
Boundary Elements: Under the large overturning
effects caused by horizontal earthquake forces, edges Authored by:
of shear walls experience high compressive and tensile C.V.R.Murty
stresses. To ensure that shear walls behave in a ductile Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
way, concrete in the wall end regions must be Kanpur, India
reinforced in a special manner to sustain these load Sponsored by:
reversals without loosing strength (Figure 4b). End Building Materials and Technology Promotion
regions of a wall with increased confinement are called Council, New Delhi, India
boundary elements. This special confining transverse
reinforcement in boundary elements is similar to that Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
provided in columns of RC frames (See IITK-BMTPC and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
Earthquake Tip 19). Sometimes, the thickness of the may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
shear wall in these boundary elements is also
February 2004
46
Learning
Earthquake Tip and
Construction
How to Reduce Earthquake Effects on Buildings?
Why Earthquake Effects are to be Reduced them look like large rubber pads, although there are
Conventional seismic design attempts to make other types that are based on sliding of one part of the
buildings that do not collapse under strong earthquake building relative to the other. A careful study is
shaking, but may sustain damage to non-structural required to identify the most suitable type of device
elements (like glass facades) and to some structural for a particular building. Also, base isolation is not
members in the building. This may render the building suitable for all buildings. Most suitable candidates for
non-functi onal after the earthquake, which may be base-isolation are low to medium-rise buildings rested
problematic in some structures, like hospital s, which on hard soil underneath; high-rise buildings or
need to remain functional in the aftermath of the buildings rested on soft soil are not suitable for base
earthquake. Special techniques are required to design isolation.
buildings such that they remain practically If the gap between the
undamaged even in a severe earthquake. Buildings building and v ertical wall of
the foundation pit is s mall,
with such improved seismic per formance usually cost the v ertical wall of the pit Rollers
more than normal buildings do. However, this cost is may hit the building, w hen
justified through improved earthquake performance. the ground moves under
Two basic technol ogies are used to protect the building.
buildings from damaging earthquake effects. These are (a) Hypothetical
Base Isolation Devices and Seismic Dampers. The idea Building
behind base isolation is to detach (isolate) the building
Building on rollers without any friction
from the ground in such a way that earthquake – building will not move with ground
motions are not transmitted up through the building,
or at least greatly reduced. Seismic dampers are special Small
Forces induced can be up to mov ement
devices introduced in the building to absorb the 5-6 ti mes s maller than those
of building
in a regular building resti ng
energy provided by the ground motion to the building directly on ground.
(much like the way shock absorbers in motor vehicles Large
mov ement
absorb the impacts due to undulations of the road). Flexible pad s in isolators
Base Isolation
The concept of base isolati on is explained through
an example building resting on frictionless rollers Original
(Figure 1a). When the ground shakes, the rollers freely Lead pl ug Isolator
roll, but the building above does not move. Thus, no Flexible
force is transferred to the building due to shaking of Material
the ground; simply, the building does not experience the
earthquake. Now, if the same building is rested on Stainless
steel plates
flexible pads that offer resistance against lateral
movements (Figure 1b), then some effect of the ground (b) Base Isolated
Isolator during Earthquake
shaking will be transferred to the building above. If Building
the flexible pads are properly chosen, the for ces Building on flexible pads connected to building
induced by ground shaking can be a few times smaller and foundation – building will shake less
than that experienced by the building built directly on
ground, namely a fixed base building (Figure 1c).
The flexible pads are called base-isolators, whereas Forces induced are large. Large
mov ement
the structures pr otected by means of these devices are
of building
called base-isolated buildings. The main feature of the
base isolation technology is that it introduces
flexibility in the structure. As a result, a r obust (c) Fixed-Base
medium-rise masonry or reinforced concrete building Building
becomes extremely flexible. The isolators are often Building resting directly on ground
designed to absorb energy and thus add damping to – building will shake violently
the system. This helps in further reducing the seismic
response of the building. Several commercial brands of Figure 1: Building on flexible supports shakes
base isolators are available in the market, and many of lesser – this technique is called Base Isolation.
47
How to Reduce Earthquake Effects on Buildings? page 2
Base Isolation in Real Buildings provided in a 18-storey RC frame structure in Gurgaon
Seismic isolation is a relatively recent and evolving (See http://www.palldynamics.com/main.htm).
technology. It has been in increased use since the
1980s, and has been well evaluated and reviewed Viscous
internationally. Base isolation has now been used in Fluid
numerous buildings in countries like Italy, Japan, New
Zealand, and USA. Base isolation is also useful for
retrofitting important buildings (like hospitals and
historic buildings). By now, over 1000 buildings across Piston
the world have been equipped with seismic base
isolation. In India, base isolation technique was first
demonstrated after the 1993 Killari (Maharashtra) (a) Viscous Damper
Earthquake [EERI, 1999]. Two single storey buildings
(one school building and another shopping complex
building) in newly relocated Killari town were built Steel
with rubber base isolators resting on hard ground. Both Plate
were brick masonry buildings with concrete roof. After the
2001 Bhuj (Gujarat) earthquake, the four-storey Bhuj
Hospital building was built with base isolation Bolt
technique (Figure 2).
Photo Courtesy:
Marjori e Greene, EERI, USA
(b) Friction Damper
Yield loc ation

of metal
Basement c olumns Base Isolator (c) Yielding Dampers

supporting bas e isol ators
Figure 3: Seismic Energy Dissipation Devices –
Figure 2: View of Basement in Bhuj Hospital
building – built with base isolators after the each device is suitable for a certain building.
original District Hospital building at Bhuj
collapsed during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake. Tip 5: What are the Seismic Effects on Structures?
Tip 8: What is the Seismic Design Philosophy for Buildings?
Seismic Dampers Resource Material
Another approach for contr olling seismic damage EERI, (1999), Lessons Learnt Over Time – Learning from Earthquakes
in buildings and improving their seismic performance Series: Volume II Innovative Recovery in Ind ia, Earthquake
Engineering Research Institute, Oakland (CA), USA; also
is by installing seismic dampers in place of structural available at http://www.nicee.org/reading s/EERI_Report.htm.
elements, such as diagonal braces. These dampers act Hanson,R.D., and Soong,T.T., (2001), Seismic Design with
like the hydraulic shock absorbers in cars – much of Supplemental Energy Dissipation Devices, Earthquake Engineering
the sudden jerks are absorbed in the hydraulic fluids Research Institute, Oakland (CA), USA.
Skinner,R.I., Robinson,W.H., and McVerry,G.H., (1999), An
and only little is transmitted above to the chassis of the Introduction to Seismic Isolation, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
car. When seismic energy is transmitted through them,
dampers absorb part of it, and thus damp the motion of Authored by:
the building. Dampers were used since 1960s to C.V.R.Murty
protect tall buildings against wind effects. However, it Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
was only since 1990s, that they were used to protect Kanpur, India
buildings against earthquake effects. Commonly used Sponsored by:
types of seismic dampers include viscous dampers Building Materials and Technology Promotion
(energy is absorbed by silicone-based fluid passing Council, New Delhi, India
between piston-cylinder arrangement), friction dampers
(energy is absorbed by surfaces with friction between Delhi. I t may be reproduced without ch anging its conten ts
them rubbing against each other), and yielding dampers and with du e acknowled gemen t. Suggestion s/co mmen ts
(energy is absorbed by metallic components that yield) may be sent to: eqtip s@iitk.ac.in. Visit www.nicee.org or
(Figure 3). In India, friction dampers have been www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
March 2004
48
Minor Shaking
Moderate Shaking
Strong Shaking
For more information, please contact:

Coordinator
National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering
Kanpur 208016
Phone: (0512) 259 7866; Fax: (0512) 259 7794
Email: nicee@iitk.ac.in; Web: www.nicee.org

Earthquake Tips: Learning Earthquake Design and Construction

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Earthquake Tips: Learning Earthquake Design and Construction

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Earthquake Tips: Learning Earthquake Design and Construction

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Earthquake Tips

Learning Earthquake Design and Construction

Department of Civil Engineering

Building Material and Technology Promotion Council

Department of Civil Engineering

Building Material and Technology Promotion Council

National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering

Ms. Alpa R. Sheth, Vakil Mehta Sheth Consulting Engineers, Mumbai

Tip 01: What Causes Earthquake? 1

have a timer device (i.e., the drum holding the chart

Basic Difference: M agnitude versus Intensity 100 Watt Bulb

Figure 1: Effect of Inertia in a building w hen

Figure 3: Principal directions of a building

(b) Collapse of reinforced concrete columns (and

Next Upcoming Tip

Vertical Layout of Buildings: The earthquake

Figure 4: Pounding can occur between adj oining

Next Upcoming Tip

Reinforced Authored by:

Again, let us go back to the rope swings on the

(a) Single-storey building (b) Three-storey building

W all Next Upcoming Tip

Total Horizontal Earthquake For ce

Horizontal Movement of Roof of Building

Earthquake Design Criteria, EERI, USA

Photo from: Housner & Jennings,

Earthquake-resistant design is therefore concerned

loads, but again its behaviour in tension is poor. The Ductile

(a) Building pulled with a rope tied at its roof

Inverted Pendulum Model Figure 2: Fundamental natural periods of

Motion an d Soil L iqu efaction D urin g Earthqu akes,

Adapted from: Seed and Idriss, (1982), Ground

Structural Dam age Intensity (%)

Indian Seismic Codes

IS 13920, 1993 Authored by:

Cross W all Long Wall Next Upcoming Tip

(a) Building with Flat Roof

(a) Building with no horizontal lintel band:

Direction of Related Earthquake Tip

buildings to improve their earthquake performance.

Figure 1: Sub-units in masonry building – walls

Bending Lintel Band Reinforcement

Vertical steel bars anchored i n

Related - Earthquake Tip

Vertically split Vertical gap

(b) Separation of unconnected adjacent walls at

3 courses, and pr oper packing of gaps between RC

Roles of Floor Slabs and M asonry Walls

Bottom fac e stretc hes in tension

Stirrups in RC beams help in three ways, namely d

concrete from bulging outwards due to flexure, and Column Column

sufficiently beyond this h ook to ensure that the

Vertical bars Closed Ties The ends of ties are

Figure 1: Steel reinforcement in columns – closed Shear Failure

180° lin ks around

Figure 1: Beam-Column Joints are critical parts 135º

Earthquake Behaviour of Joints Column

Under earthquake shaking, the beams adjoining a

Column (a) Poor Practice