Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 1

A short Research Paper

on
Affordable Solution for Earthquake Resistant Building Construction in Haiti
by
Dawang Sherpa



Submitted to
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology-SAIT
Calgary, Alberta


February 24, 2010








Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 2

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Some Concepts on Earthquake Resistant Construction
2.1 Earthquake Casualties
2.2 Reasons for Buildings Failure during Earthquake
2.3 Earthquake-Resistant Building Technologies
3. Low Cost Earthquake Resistant Building Technology and Practices
3.1 Adobe Buildings with Earthquake Resistant Components
3.2 Rice Straw/Wheat Straw Buildings
3.3 Bamboo & Wooden Houses
3.4 Masonry Buildings with Earthquake-Resistant Components
3.5 Other Practices
4. Recommendations
5. Conclusion
References

Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 3


1.0 Introduction
On J anuary 10, 2010, an earthquake of 7.0 M magnitude struck Haiti, killing more
than 230,000 people. At least 300,000 Haitians were injured and around 1.5 million people
became homeless (BBC News: One Minute World News, Americas, 2010). However, in
October of 1989, the same magnitude of earthquake in San Francisco killed only 62 people
and injured 3757 people (San Francisco Earthquake History 1915-1989). Why did Haiti
suffer so much devastation and lost so many of its innocent citizens? (J oyce, 2010) states,
.buildings were barely built to engineering standards and were hopelessly fragile in the
grip of such a strong quake.
It is clear that there is higher probability for earthquake occurrences in Haiti because
it lies on the earthquake zone just above the fault of North American Plate and the Caribbean
Plate. The potential for a major earthquake at any given time was always in Haiti. One of the
major reasons for such an overwhelming loss of life and property in Haiti is due to
inappropriate construction, which lacked earthquake proof designs. Most of the buildings in
Haiti were constructed with whatever materials were available, and as the ground shook the
un-reinforced masonry and insufficiently constructed frame structures resulted in collapse of
buildings leading to unimaginable fatalities.
One of the major reasons for such an overwhelming loss of life and property in Haiti
is inappropriate construction, which lacked earthquake proof designs. Now, there are many
reliable high-tech practices such as ground isolation, damping of the seismic forces, retro-
fittings, and active controls for seismic resistant construction used in developed cities.
Unfortunately, constructing earthquake-proof building by these techniques is a challenging
task for poor countries like Haiti because they require highly technical and skilled workforce,
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 4

and are expensive as well. A poor country such as Haiti has neither sufficient financial
resources nor the skilled workforce, and hence cannot benefit with those practices in spite of
the availability of reliable technologies. The selection of affordable and safer construction
technology is therefore the only option to overcome these challenges to provide safety to
people in poor countries such as Haiti.
The purpose of this research paper is to present some cost effective solutions for
constructing seismic resistant houses in developing countries like Haiti. The paper, first,
explores and discuses some of the cost-effective housing construction models that are in
practice in different parts of the world. Next, the paper identifies techniques and methods for
making these buildings earthquake resistant. And, finally, it recommends some affordable
construction methods that are earthquake resistant which might be applicable for cheaper and
safer construction.
2.0 Some Concepts on Earthquake Resistant Construction
2.1 Earthquake Casualties
Earthquake is a frequent phenomenon in areas called earthquake zones. Earthquakes may
create various kinds of casualties like loss of life and damage of property depending upon its
magnitude; causalities could range from small property damage to landslides and long range
of liquefaction. Secondary effects like fire; blockage on services such as water supply,
electricity and transportation; and communication disruption are sometimes even more
disastrous. Manmade infrastructures are however the major contributor of casualties during
earthquake devastations. These structures therefore should be carefully designed and
constructed.
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 5

For examples, the improper placement of partition wall, chimney, staircase, and how water
supply, electrical systems are arranged, are responsible for killing people and in facilitating
structural damage to property.

2.2 Reason for Buildings Failure during Earthquake
Vertical and horizontal shaking from earthquakes and inertia of buildings that causes
frequent changes in buildings weight, and the use of poor quality materials and massive
structures are some of the reasons for building failures. Greater the mass of building, more
lateral force is exerted on buildings, and this alone is the major component behind building
damages. When there are no strong joint-components like walls, beam, column, roofs, slabs,
in buildings, the buildings move independently on their own direction, and velocity of their
movements are dictated by the buildings weight and orientation, and all these result in
separation of a building. The separation of building components and failure to support
designed force is actually a building failure.

2.3 Earthquake-Resistant Buildings
Buildings with rigid layout (box like structure) with strong joints between different
components are generally earthquake proof because rigid buildings react as a single unit to
earthquake forces. This is a general practice of constructing an earthquake proof building.
According to Ambrose, J . & Vergun, D. (1995),
A major seimic consideration is that of typing the building together so that it is
quite literally not shaken apart.With regard to the structure, this means that the
various elements must be positively secured to one another. The detailing of
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 6

construction connections is a major part of the structural designing for earthquake
resistane
However, there are other highly developed approaches as well. In designing and mitigating
earthquake, Scawthorn (2007) states, During the 1980s and 1990s, new approaches to
seismic design emerged which involved modifying the structural response to reduce
earthquake loads to more tolerable levels. These included base isolation, supplemental
damping and active control. Base isolation involves placing special components called
isolators within the structure, which are relatively flexible in the lateral direction, yet can
sustain the vertical load. Unfortunately, these techniques require highly technical workforce
and is hardly affordable in developing countries.

3.0 Low Cost Earthquake Resistant Building Technology and Practices
There are conventional, economical and simple construction practices that can be
incorporated in constructing quality earthquake resistant buildings, which can reduce cost
and make it safer to live. According to Sarkar (2006), material cost accounts for 70 to 80
percent of the housing construction cost, and this cost should be optimized by choosing
appropriate materials.
3.1 Adobe Buildings with Earthquake Resistant Components
According to Blondet et al (2003) in the article Earthquake-Resistant Construction of
Adobe Building: A Tutorial, in 50 percent of developing countries, more than 30% people use
adobe rammed earth to construct their house. 73 percent of people in India and 60 percent
of people in Peru have adobe buildings because they are less expensive to build for poor rural
people. The earthquake resistance quality of these buildings are very weak. However, If
properly constructed, adobe building can resist earthquake forces. The state-of-the-art
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 7

research studies and field applicationss research recommend that when a robust layout (box
type layout) is incorporated in construction of adobe block and when earthquake resistant
components which imporoves adobe buildings seismic performance are used, these adobe
structures can resist considerabe amount of lateral forces. Detail guidelines can be taken from
Earthquake-Resistant Construction of adobe Buildings: A Tutorial

3.2 Rice Straw/Wheat Straw Buildings
Rice and wheat straw bale buildings are cheaper and stronger, and are constructed
with easily available materials to rural people. These buildings are light and can be used as
earthquake proof houses. In Battesbys (2009) House of Straw, Donovan tries to make an
earthquake proof straw house in Pakistan. Using straw, they have tested on shaking table and
have achieved good results so far.

3.3 Bamboo & Wooden Houses
Stating the reason of earthquake casualties in Haiti, American Wood Council (2010) Says,
Much of the severe devastation weve seen is from collapsed, older un-reinforced
concrete and masonry structures and could have been prevented if these structures
had been built from wood. Unfortunately, un-reinforced or lightly reinforced concrete
and masonry structures cant dissipate seismic energy or provide ductility under
earthquake loads the way wood construction can. A recent full-scale test in J apan
demonstrated that a six-story wood apartment building can withstand a 7.5 magnitude
earthquake considerably more severe than the one that struck Haiti,
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 8

Wood being cheaper, wooden structure buildings have been tested during earthquakes, and
building wooden houses as a means to safer buildings against earthquake forces are in
practice these days. Similarly, bamboo is a well known cheap construction material found
everywhere. It has good seismic performance properties; it is lighter in weight and is ductile.

3.4 Masonry Buildings with Earthquake-Resistant Components
Stone and brick are most commonly used materials in the world for making load
bearing members (walls and footing) of buildings. They are cheaper and readily available.
However, they are brittle and vulnerable to earthquake. Hence, most catastrophic effects on
every earthquake happen to take place on masonry buildings. But where there is will, there is
idea. Engineers and scientists have done plenty of researches on such construction practices
for making buildings which can resist great amount of vertical and horizontal forces that
resembles earthquake force. Findings from various kinds of shake table shows that masonry
can be made earthquake-proof with application of earthquake resisting components. As per
Sarkar (2006), earthquake casualties are caused by inappropriately built masonry. Therefore,
construction of earthquake resistant masonry requires careful consideration and application
of three reinforced cement concrete bands at three different heights of a building; plinth
height, lintel height and roof height. Nowadays, this is a general practice in various
earthquake resistant housing constructions. This practice helps enhance with the firmness of
structures which then can sufficiently withstand average earthquakes forces. Making
reinforced cement concrete band might be more reliable and more expensive as well. If
Reinforced concrete band is unaffordable, finely seasoned good quality wood or bamboo can
be used as a cheaper material for making the bands which also serves well enough.
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 9

3.5 Other Low Cost Construction Materials and Practices.
There are many other low cost materials for construction. As Sarkar (2006) states,
Wardah tumbler tile is a lighter, cheaper, durable and is a weather resistance material for
roofing purpose. Ferro cement is another option for roofing and walls. It is prepared by
putting cement mortar and closely-spaced-wire-mesh together to make stiff and thin
structure. Flash sand lime bricks, Clay Fly-ash Burnt Bricks, Fly-ash Based Light Weight
Aerated Concrete Walling and Roofing Blocks, Cement Bonded Fiber Roofing Sheets, Clay
Red Mud Burnt Bricks, Gypsum Based Ceiling Tiles, Panel Blocks and Door/Window
Shutters, Pre-cast Stone Blocks, Pre-cast Hollow Concrete Blocks, Pre-cast RCC Door and
Window Frames, Pre-cast Plank and J oist Flooring/Roofing, Holo-Pan System are other
cheaper construction materials. If rice husk is easily available, rice husk ash is a cost
effective building material.

4.0 Recommendations
Choosing low cost building material does not mean the material will provide poor
quality and poor performance during earthquake shakings. Instead selection of low-cost
building material is a basic criterion for providing safer and affordable houses to many needy
people around the globe. First of all, locally available materials like adobe, brick, stones,
wood, bamboo, rice/wheat straw whatever they can find locally would be the best sources for
reducing construction expenses. However, some modification on the material might be
required for making them strong enough to resist significant amount of forces. Bamboo and
wood are lighter, flexible and ductile materials. Therefore, they can be used effectively for
seismic resistant construction. They can be used in constructing frame, partitions, and hence
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 10

can be effective earthquake resisting members. Similarly, Ferro-cement, rice straw, rice husk,
and potter like materials are also other less expensive materials.
Secondly, provision of earthquake resistant components to the local non-engineered
constructions is the most vital thing to any construction whatever material they used. There
are more non-engineered structures than engineered ones in most of the developing countries
around the world. We can also make the non-engineered structures, too, earthquake resistant.
We can make them safer and; to make them safer; non-engineered structures should be
constructed earthquake proof just by applying earthquake resistant components on
construction. Providing at least three bands at plinth, at lintel and at roof level to resist lateral
forces; proving vertical joints to resist vertical forces; and making joints of wall stronger with
stitches on any buildings no matter what kinds of building material, be it adobe or stone or
brick, can be strong enough to resist significant amount of vertical as well as lateral force.
This can save loss of property and life.
Finally, intensive trainings to local level mason and awareness to community people
is the most important. If, easy applicable thumb rule for constructing earthquake proof non-
engineered structures is prepared, local level mason can follow those guidelines easily. And,
making implementing the building Code and bylaws incorporating all those earthquake
resistant components for the construction of buildings is another vital part. Government
should be more aware to ensure safety of their citizens.

5.0 Conclusion
The same magnitude of earthquake had shockingly different catastrophic results in
Haiti as compared to San Francisco. There might be many reasons about why there were no
Earthquake Resistant Building Construction - 11

earthquake-proof buildings in Haiti. However, one of the reasons, the expense involved in
constructing these earthquake-proof buildings is main one. Highly technical earthquake
resistant buildings like in San Francisco are not affordable to most developing countries.
However, these developing nations can construct less expensive earthquake proof houses
using locally available material and applying earthquake resistant construction methods.




References

Ambrose, J ., & Vergun, D. (1995). Simplified Building for Wind and Earthquake Forces
(Third Edition ed.). New York,NY, USA: J ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Battersby, S.(2009). House of Straw, Retrieved February 15, 2010, from
http://nees.unr.edu/projects/straw_bale_house/house_of_straw.pdf

BBC News: One Minute World News, Americas. (2010, February 10). Retrieved February
10, 2010, from BBC News Website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8507531.stm

Blondet, M., M., G. V., & Brzev, S. (2003, March). Earthquake-Resistant Construction of
Adobe Building: ATutorial. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from http://www.world-
Housing.net/uploads/WHETutorial_Adobe_English.pdf

J oyce, C. (2010, J anuary 14). NPR News: Top Stories. Retrieved February 10, 2010, from
Npr News Website: http://m.npr.org/news/front/122547242?singlePage=true

San Francisco Earthquake History 1915-1989. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2010, from
The Virtual Museum of City of San Fransisco:
http://www.sfmuseum.org/alm/quakes3.html

Sarkar, R. (2006). Post Earthquake Housing Construction Uusing Low Cost Building
Material. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from
http://conf.ncree.org.tw/Proceedings/i0951012/data/pdf%5C4ICEE-0275.pdf

Scawthorn, C. (2007). Designing and mitigating earthquakes, Inaccessscience@McGraw-
Hill, Retrieved February 5, 2010, from
http://www.inacessscience.com DOI-8542.YBO70130