Hnw dn Earthquakcs Affcct RcInfnrccd Cnncrctc BuI!dIngs?

Earthquakc TIp
17
|carning
|ar|nqua|c Dcsign
and
Ccns|ruc|icn
Reinforced Concrete uiIdings
In iecenl lines, rcinfcrccd ccncrc|c luiIdings have
lecone connon in India, pailicuIaiIy in lovns and
cilies. Reinfoiced conciele (oi sinpIy RC) consisls of
lvo piinaiy naleiiaIs, naneIy ccncrc|c vilh rcinfcrcing
s|cc| oars. Conciele is nade of sand, crusncd s|cnc (ca||cd
aggrcga|cs) and ccncn|, aII nixed vilh pie-deleinined
anounl of valei. Conciele can le noIded inlo any
desiied shape, and sleeI lais can le lenl inlo nany
shapes. Thus, sliucluies of conpIex shapes aie
possilIe vilh RC.
A lypicaI RC luiIding is nade of hoiizonlaI
nenleis (ocans and s|aos) and veilicaI nenleis
(cc|unns and ua||s), and suppoiled ly fcunda|icns lhal
iesl on giound. The syslen conpiising of RC coIunns
and connecling leans is caIIed a RC |ranc. The RC
fiane pailicipales in iesisling lhe eailhquake foices.
Lailhquake shaking geneiales ineilia foices in lhe
luiIding, vhich aie piopoilionaI lo lhe luiIding nass.
Since nosl of lhe luiIding nass is piesenl al fIooi
IeveIs, eailhquake-induced ineilia foices piinaiiIy
deveIop al lhe fIooi IeveIs. These foices liaveI
dovnvaids - lhiough s|ao and ocans lo cc|unns and
ua||s, and lhen lo lhe foundalions fion vheie lhey aie
dispeised lo lhe giound. As ineilia foices accunuIale
dovnvaids fion lhe lop of lhe luiIding, lhe coIunns
and vaIIs al Iovei sloieys expeiience highei
eailhquake-induced foices (Iiguie 1) and aie lheiefoie
designed lo le sliongei lhan lhose in sloieys alove.













RoIes of FIoor SIubs und Musonry WuIIs
IIooi sIals aie hoiizonlaI pIale-Iike eIenenls,
vhich faciIilale funclionaI use of luiIdings. UsuaIIy,
leans and sIals al one sloiey IeveI aie casl logelhei.
In iesidenliaI nuIli-sloiey luiIdings, lhickness of sIals
is onIy aloul 11O-15Onn. When leans lend in lhe
veilicaI diieclion duiing eailhquakes, lhese lhin sIals
lend aIong vilh lhen (Iiguie 2a). And, vhen leans
nove vilh coIunns in lhe hoiizonlaI diieclion, lhe
sIal usuaIIy foices lhe leans lo nove logelhei vilh il.
In nosl luiIdings, lhe geoneliic disloilion of lhe sIal
is negIigilIe in lhe hoiizonlaI pIane, lhis lehavioui is
knovn as lhe rigid diapnragn ac|icn (Iiguie 2l).
SliucluiaI engineeis nusl considei lhis duiing design.











Aflei coIunns and fIoois in a RC luiIding aie casl
and lhe conciele haidens, veilicaI spaces lelveen
coIunns and fIoois aie usuaIIy fiIIed-in vilh nasoniy
vaIIs lo denaicale a fIooi aiea inlo funclionaI spaces
(ioons). NoinaIIy, lhese nasoniy vaIIs, aIso caIIed
infi|| ua||s, aie nol connecled lo suiiounding RC
coIunns and leans. When coIunns ieceive hoiizonlaI
foices al fIooi IeveIs, lhey liy lo nove in lhe hoiizonlaI
diieclion, lul nasoniy vaIIs lend lo iesisl lhis
novenenl. Due lo lheii heavy veighl and lhickness,
lhese vaIIs alliacl ialhei Iaige hoiizonlaI foices
(Iiguie 3). Hovevei, since nasoniy is a liillIe
naleiiaI, lhese vaIIs deveIop ciacks once lheii aliIily
lo caiiy hoiizonlaI Ioad is exceeded. Thus, infiII vaIIs
acl Iike saciificiaI fuses in luiIdings, lhey deveIop
ciacks undei seveie giound shaking lul heIp shaie lhe
Ioad of lhe leans and coIunns unliI ciacking.
Lailhquake peifoinance of infiII vaIIs is enhanced ly
noilais of good slienglh, naking piopei nasoniy
couises, and piopei packing of gaps lelveen RC
fiane and nasoniy infiII vaIIs. Hovevei, an infiII vaII
lhal is unduIy laII oi Iong in conpaiison lo ils
lhickness can faII cu|-cf-p|anc (i.c., aIong ils lhin
diieclion), vhich can le Iife lhiealening. AIso, pIacing
infiIIs iiieguIaiIy in lhe luiIding causes iII effecls Iike
sncr|-cc|unn cffcc| and |crsicn (lhese viII le discussed
in sulsequenl ||TK-8MTPC |ar|nqua|c Tips).










Figure 1: TotaI horizontaI earthquake force in a
buiIding increases downwards aIong its height.
Total Force
F
I
o
o
r

L
e
v
e
I

5
4
3
2
1
Figure 3: InfiII waIIs move together with the
coIumns under earthquake shaking.
Compression
Cracks
Figure 2: FIoor bends with the beam but moves
aII coIumns at that IeveI together.
Gap
(a) Out-of-plane
Vertical Movement
(b) In-plane Horizontal Movement
IITK-BMTPC Earthquakc TIp 17
Hnw dn Earthquakcs Affcct RcInfnrccd Cnncrctc BuI!dIngs? pagc 2

HorizontuI Eurthquuke Effects ure Different

Grati|q |cading (due lo seIf veighl and conlenls) on
luiIdings causes RC fianes lo lend iesuIling in
s|rc|cning and sncr|cning al vaiious Iocalions. Tension
is geneialed al suifaces lhal slielch and conpiession
al lhose lhal shoilen (Iiguie 4l). Undei giavily Ioads,
lension in lhe leans is al lhe lollon suiface of lhe
lean in lhe cenliaI Iocalion and is al lhe lop suiface al
lhe ends. On lhe olhei hand, car|nqua|c |cading causes
lension on lean and coIunn faces al Iocalions
diffeienl fion lhose undei giavily Ioading (Iiguie 4c),
lhe ieIalive IeveIs of lhis lension (in lechnicaI leins,
ocnding ncncn|) geneialed in nenleis aie shovn in
Iiguie 4d. The IeveI of lending nonenl due lo
eailhquake Ioading depends on seveiily of shaking
and can exceed lhal due lo giavily Ioading. Thus,
undei sliong eailhquake shaking, lhe lean ends can
deveIop lension on eilhei of lhe lop and lollon faces.
Since conciele cannol caiiy lhis lension, sleeI lais aie
iequiied on lolh faces of leans lo iesisl rctcrsa|s of
lending nonenl. SiniIaiIy, sleeI lais aie iequiied on
aII faces of coIunns loo.
Strength Hierurchy
Ioi a luiIding lo ienain safe duiing eailhquake
shaking, coIunns (vhich ieceive foices fion leans)
shouId le sliongei lhan leans, and foundalions


































(vhich ieceive foices fion coIunns) shouId le
sliongei lhan coIunns. Iuilhei, conneclions lelveen
leans & coIunns and coIunns & foundalions shouId
nol faiI so lhal leans can safeIy liansfei foices lo
coIunns and coIunns lo foundalions.
When lhis slialegy is adopled in design, danage is
IikeIy lo occui firs| in leans (Iiguie 5a). When leans
aie delaiIed piopeiIy lo have Iaige ducliIily, lhe
luiIding as a vhoIe can defoin ly Iaige anounls
despile piogiessive danage caused due lo consequenl
yieIding of leans. In conliasl, if coIunns aie nade
veakei, lhey suffei seveie IocaI danage, al lhe lop and
lollon of a pailicuIai sloiey (Iiguie 5l). This IocaIized
danage can Iead lo coIIapse of a luiIding, aIlhough
coIunns al sloieys alove ienain aInosl undanaged.















ReIevunt Indiun Stundurds
The uieau of Indian Slandaids, Nev DeIhi,
pulIished lhe foIIoving Indian slandaids peilaining lo
design of RC fiane luiIdings: (a) Indian Seisnic Code
(IS 1893 (Iail 1), 2OO2) - fcr ca|cu|a|ing car|nqua|c fcrccs,
(l) Indian Conciele Code (IS 456, 2OOO) - fcr dcsign cf
RC ncnocrs, and (c) DucliIe DelaiIing Code foi RC
Sliucluies (IS 1392O, 1993) - fcr dc|ai|ing rcquircncn|s in
scisnic rcgicns.
ReIuted - Eurthquuke Tip
Tl 5: What are the selsmlc effects on structures?
Resource MuteriuI
LngIekiik,R.L., Scisnic Dcsign cf Rcinfcrccd and Prccas| Ccncrc|c
8ui|dings, }ohn WiIey & Sons, Inc., USA, 2OO3.
IeneIis,C.C., and Kappos,A.}., |ar|nqua|c Rcsis|an| Ccncrc|c
S|ruc|urcs, L&IN SION, UK, 1997.
Net Upcoming Tip
Hov do eans in RC uiIdings Resisl Lailhquakes`










Au|ncrcd oq.
C.V.R.Muily
Indian Inslilule of TechnoIogy Kanpui
Kanpui, India
Spcnscrcd oq.
uiIding MaleiiaIs and TechnoIogy Iionolion
CounciI, Nev DeIhi, India
TIs ccusc s u oct o IIT Kunu und HMTPC Ncu
DcI. It nu Ic coduccd utIout cIungng ts contcnts
und utI duc ucInoucdgcncnt. Suggcstons/conncnts
nu Ic scnt to. cqtstI.uc.n. Visi| vvv.nicee.oig oi
vvv.lnlpc.oig, lc scc prcticus ||TK-8MTPC |ar|nqua|c Tips.
Augus| 2003
Figure 5: Two distinct designs of buiIdings that
resuIt in different earthquake performances
columns should be stronger than beams.
Small
displacement
at collapse
All damage
in one
storey
Weak Columns,
Strong Beams
Damage
distributed
in all
storeys
Large
displacement
at collapse
Strong CoIumns,
Weak Beams
(a) (b)
Figure 4: Earthquake shaking reverses tension
and compression in members reinforcement is
required on both faces of members.
Stretching of member
and locations of tension
Amount of
tension
(b)
(d)

(a)
(c)

Gravity
Load
Earthquake
Load
Tension
Tension