Basic Design Consideration for Earthquake Resistant Techniques in Small Scale Buildings

Shape of plan
The shape of the plan of the house might have an important influence on its stability. The following rules must be considered: The more compact a plan, the better the stability. This means a square plan is better than a rectangular one, and a circle is better than a square. L-shaped plans are less stable. The best solution in this case is to separate the Elements.

Placement of house in the case of slopes In earthquake-prone areas, where the site is inclined, the following rules must be taken into account: a) The house should not be cut into the slope, as the adjacent wall might collapse due to the horizontal forces of the earth. b) The house should not stand on the slope a sit might slip down. c) The house should not stand near steep slopes as it might collapse due to falling rocks or earth avalanches. d) If a slope is given, a platform has to be formed and the house has to be placed at sufficient distance from the slopes. e) It is recommended that massive and heavy houses stand on soft sandy soils, whereas light flexible structures can stand on rocky soils. f) Different floor levels should be avoided. If it is necessary, the rooms should be separated.

Typical failures, typical design mistakes

diagonal cracks lead from the edges of windows to the bottom of the wall. the lintel often destabilizes the walls, especially if it is not long enough and does not have sufficient bond with the wall.

if the wall between window and door or between opening and corner is not long enough, it might break.
if the wall has no ring beam at the top it breaks easily when suffering perpendicular loads which produce bending.

Typical design mistakes which might lead to the collapse of the house

1. Ring beam is lacking.

2. Lintels do not reach deeply enough into masonry. 3. The distance between door and window is too small. 4. The distance between openings and wall corner is too small. 5. Plinth is lacking. 6. The window is too wide in proportion to its height. 7. The wall is too thin in relation to its height. 8. The quality of the mortar is too poor, the vertical joints are not totally filled, the horizontal joints are too thick (more than 15 mm). 9. The roof is too heavy. 10. The roof is not sufficiently fixed to the wall.

causes of failure

Good features of earthquake resistant construction

Corner solution

Expedient proportion of wall

Structural design aspects

1. Walls and roof are well interconnected and so rigid that no deformation occurs in the earthquake.

2. Walls are flexible enough, so that the kinetic energy of the earthquake is absorbed by deformation. In this case a ring beam, which is able to take bending forces, is necessary and the joints between wall and ring beam and ring beam and roof must be strong enough.
3. the roof is fixed to columns separated from the wall, so that both structural systems can move independently as they have different frequencies.

Joint with lateral stability

Internal reinforcement 5 cm diameter

Ring beams

stiffening the corners for ring beams

able to take bending loads when there are lateral forces against the wall.
prevent the walls from buckling and falling. Can also act as a support for the roof structure.

Ring beams which act as roof support positioned centrally over the wall.
a top layer of burnt bricks be built for better stress distribution.

Gables If gables are part of the wall, they are very weak against perpendicular forces. build a roof with four inclined planes (pyramidal shape), with which no gables appear. build a light gable which is fixed only to the roof.

build a gable wall and to stabilize it with a buttress. If a concrete skeleton structure is used, which is the most expensive solution, the gable also has to be stabilized by reinforced concrete elements.

Gable fixed roof

Stabilization by buttresses

Stabilization by reinforced concrete structure

Strengthening of long walls by buttresses

Roofs should be built as light as possible. Roofs with tiles or stone plates are not recommended, as they are heavy and in case of an earthquake the tiles or plates might fall into the house. a pyramidal roof with 4 inclined planes, which rest on a horizontal ring beam, is the best solution.

Separated roofs due to their different moment and weight, the safest solution is to separate the roof from the wall and have it resting on columns which are positioned inside or outside the wall. Then the roof and wall systems can move independently of each other.

Roof Overhangs Must Be Kept Short

Openings in Long Overhangs Help Reduce Wind Pressure

Openings for doors and windows Openings within the walls destabilize the wall system. Lintels have to penetrate into the wall for at least 40 cm in order to achieve a good bond. use the lintel as a ring beam on which the roof structure rests. part below the window be built as a light flexible structure
The length of the windows should not be more than 1.20 m and not more than 1/3 of the length of the wall. The length of walls between openings must be at least 1/3 of their height and not less than 1 m. Doors must be opened towards the outside. Opposite the entrance door there should be a large window or another door, which acts as emergency exit.

Stabilized openings

Recommendable dimensions of openings

Recommendable positions of openings

Reinforcing around openings

Vertical reinforcement in walls

Stone masonry through stones one -per m2 of wall area, e.g. one every 1.2 m horizontally in every 0.9 m height.

Random rubble masonry with through stones or other bonding elements

Random rubble masonry with through stones or other bonding elements

Foundations

Masonry footing for load bearing walls

Depth of footing should go below the weathering zone. Usually a depth of 75 to 90 cm below ground level will be adequate. footing width for safe bearing pressure. Storey width 1 75cm 2 1m 3 1,2m

Masonry footing for load bearing walls

Plasters and paints

Adobe walls have to be plastered by mortars made of earth or lime, or by earth stabilized with cement, lime or bitumen.
A pure cement plaster should never be used, as it is too brittle and tends to crack under thermal loads (through expansion and retraction) and under mechanical impacts. If water penetrates through these cracks, the earth underneath will expand creating more cracks, or even burst off. If an earth mortar is used for plastering, it is recommended that the surface be made waterproof by applying a paint of lime or limecasein. Rammed earth walls do not need plastering. It is better to smoothed the surface with a trowel while it is still humid and then add two or three layers of thin lime or lime-casein paint.

The first layer must have a high water content, so that it penetrates 2 or 3 mm deep into the wall.

Quality of construction Materials should conform to appropriate specifications e.g. properly fired bricks of uniform sizes, seasoned or dried heart wood. Proper mortar should be used in construction, filling all horizontal and vertical joints. The masonry units should be laid with proper bond avoiding continuation of vertical joints particularly at the intersection of walls. Stone masonry walls must have appropriate mortar filling in the hearting and use of through stones or bonding elements is a must.

Ground Floor Soft Story Columns Must Be Braced

Diagonal Bracing

Chevron Bracing

EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT CONFINED MASONRY CONSTRUCTION WHAT it is ?? a building technology that offers an alternative to both unreinforced masonry and RC frame construction.

suitable for one to four storey high.

consists of masonry walls (made either of clay brick or concrete block units) and horizontal and vertical RC confining members built on all four sides of a masonry wall panel.

Vertical members, called tie-columns Horizontal elements, called tie-beams,

Enhancing the stability and integrity of masonry walls for in-plane and out-of-plane earthquake loads (confining members can effectively contain damaged masonry walls). Enhancing the strength (resistance) of masonry walls under lateral earthquake loads. Reducing the brittleness of masonry walls under earthquake loads.

A typical confined masonry building

Confined Masonry Different from RC Frame Construction Confined masonry construction Gravity and lateral load resisting system Masonry walls are the main load bearing elements and are expected to resist both gravity and lateral loads. Confining elements (tie-beams and tie columns) are significantly smaller in size than RC beams and columns. RC frame construction RC frames resist both gravity and lateral loads through their relatively large beams, columns, and their connections. Masonry infills are not load-bearing walls.

Foundation construction Superstructure construction sequence

Strip footing beneath the wall and the Isolated footing beneath each RC plinth band column 1. The frame is constructed first. 2. Masonry walls are constructed at a later stage and are not bonded to the frame members; these walls are nonstructural, that is, non-load bearing walls.

Confined Masonry Construction: a Guideline

Building Layout - The building plan should be of a regular shape.

Building plan aspect ratio - The building should not be excessively long relative to its width; ideally, the length-to-width ratio should not exceed 4.

 Symmetrical wall layout - The walls should be built in a symmetrical manner.

Continuous walls up the building height.

 Position of openings in a building

Confining Elements Tie-beams should be placed at every floor level. Vertical spacing of tie-beams should not exceed 3 m. Tie-columns should be placed at a maximum spacing of 4 m, as well as at the following locations: a) at wall-to-wall intersections.
b) within the wall if necessary to ensure that 4 m spacing between the adjacent confining elements is not exceeded. c) at the free end of a wall.

Horizontal reinforcement in confined masonry walls

a) Toothed wall construction; b) horizontal dowels at the wall-to-column interface.