Design safe and flexible structures

The shocks following the Kahramanmaras earthquake in Turkey and disasters close to home such as the Joshimath crisis have had a global impact, forcing us to look closely at the engineering solutions available to natural disasters and how to enforce them. Given the current national and global events, safety concerns have prompted architects to reconsider earthquake-resistant designs. In India, earthquakes have been recorded throughout the nation’s history, with intensity within the different earthquake zones ranging from minor tremors to large earthquakes of destructive intensity. The damage caused is not only due to ground movement causing vertical and horizontal movement, but also after-effects such as landslides, floods, fires, and communication disruptions. Hence, understanding the seismic history and threats of the local area and the land on which it is built is critical to structural planning.

The Indian National Building Code contains a general set of guidelines that require seismic data from regional earthquake studies to be accounted for as part of the design brief in the early stages of project planning. IS codes provide guidance for all types of structures: buildings, industrial plants, bridges, dams, liquid retention tanks, etc. Codes such as IS1893, IS 4326, IS 13920, IS 13827, and IS 13828 are some of the basic seismic codes that range from general to specific to specific intensity. Set regulations to ensure that structures can respond to shocks of moderate intensity without structural damage and shocks of severe intensity without Total collapse.

In highly seismic areas, it is preferable to avoid constructions involving heavy debris such as masonry, especially mud masonry and rubble stone, as they lead to increased loss of life in the event of an earthquake. Moreover, a minimum of M20 concrete is preferred for all buildings over three storeys in height. Besides general design considerations and rules, NBC also sets guidelines for specific structural members. Therefore, consideration of vertical and horizontal loads during earthquake and post-shock necessitates precise technical guidelines that must be addressed.

IS 13920, for example, establishes standards for detailing beams and columns with the aim of providing these elements with sufficient strength and ductility to make structural components capable of undergoing extensive inelastic deformations and consistent dissipation of seismic energy. These include detailed specifications for aspect ratios, reinforcements, materials and other strategies. For example, according to NBC, the minimum width of the beam should be greater than 0.3 times the depth of the beam and 0.75 times the width of the supporting column, and not less than 200mm or the width of the supporting column. In addition, the width of the column shall not be less than 200mm for the span of the framing girders up to 5m and the effective height of the column up to 4m.

The codes also regulate requirements for detailing reinforcement in beams and columns, including joint faces, connections, and anchoring requirements. Provisions are also included for calculating design shear strength and detailing transverse reinforcement in beams. This becomes necessary given how columns and beams form the basic structural framework, and the compression and expansion forces associated with earthquakes can cause a myriad of damages, such as tears and cracks that endanger the entire building. In the case of beams, dimensional restrictions are imposed on the cross-section of the members subjected to axial and flexural load. For example, the beam must have two bars of at least 12 mm in diameter on the upper and lower faces, that is, at least a bar of 12 dia located in each corner of the beam. The maximum longitudinal steel ratio available on any face in any section shall be 0.025. The longitudinal steel on the lower face of the beam and near the column face shall be at least half of the steel on the upper face of the same section and at least 1/4 of the longitudinal steel on the upper face of the beam and column in any section. From the outside, the upper and lower bars of the beams shall be provided with a mooring length exceeding the inner face of the column. In the case of columns, ties and cross joints shall be provided along the entire length of the joint with a spacing of not more than 150 mm, with no more than 50% of the bars being cut in a single section, and the spacing of longitudinal bars shall not exceed 300 mm.

The earthquake response of different structures is also affected by different types of foundation systems, as the shock intensity of an earthquake can vary locally due to differences in soil conditions. Essentially during an earthquake, the ground movement directly affects the foundation of any building. The National Building Code provides design guidelines with response spectra for three types of foundation layers: rocky, hard, medium and soft soils. In-depth research and adherence to these tried and tested codes can be the difference between life and death for users.

Earthquakes are not only a threat to the users of the structure, but also to the surrounding areas in the event of a collapse. Fatalities occur in the case of large earthquakes not because of the ground shaking directly but primarily because of debris and failed structures. This makes a compelling case that architects and engineers have an indisputable responsibility to create safer and stronger structures that can withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters while providing shelter during these perils, and the safest way to ensure structural stability and strength is by following building bylaws. and codes for building flexible structures.

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