How do you build an Earthquake-proof building?

After the massive earthquake near Japan this morning one wonders if it’s possible to build an earthquake-proof building? The
answer is yes and no. There are of course, engineering techniques that can be used to create a very sound structure that will
endure a modest or even strong quake. However, during a very strong earthquake, even the best engineered building may suffer
severe damage. Engineers design buildings to withstand as much sideways motion as possible in order to minimize damage to
the structure and give the occupants time to get out safely.

Effect of isolating the base of a building subject to a sideways ground movement.

Buildings are basically designed to support a vertical load in order to support the walls, roof and all the stuff inside to keep them
standing. Earthquakes present a lateral, or sideways, load to the building structure that is a bit more complicated to account for.
One way to to make a simple structure more resistant to these lateral forces is to tie the walls, floor, roof, and foundations into a
rigid box that holds together when shaken by a quake.
The most dangerous building construction, from an earthquake point of view, is unreinforced brick or concrete block. Generally,
this type of construction has walls that are made of bricks stacked on top of each other and held together with mortar. The roof is
laid across the top. The weight of the roof is carried straight down through the wall to the foundation. When this type of
construction is subject to a lateral force from an earthquake the walls tip over or crumble and the roof falls in like a house of cards.
Construction techniques can have a huge impact on the death toll from earthquakes. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile in
2010 killed more than 700 people. On January 12, 2010, a less powerful earthquake, measuring 7.0, killed more than 200,000 in
Haiti.
The difference in those death tolls comes from building construction and technology. In Haiti, the buildings were constructed
quickly and cheaply. Chile, a richer and more industrialized nation, adheres to more stringent building codes.
3.1 INTRODUCTION Experience in past earthquakes has demonstrated that many common buildings and typical methods of
construction lack basic resistance to earthquake forces. In most cases this resistance can be achieved by following simple,
inexpensive principles of good building construction practice. Adherence to these simple rules will not prevent all damage in
moderate or large earthquakes, but life threatening collapses should be prevented, and damage limited to repairable
proportions. These principles fall into several broad categories: (i) Planning and layout of the building involving consideration of
the location of rooms and walls, openings such as doors and windows, the number of storeys, etc. At this stage, site and
foundation aspects should also be considered. (ii) Lay out and general design of the structural framing system with special
attention to furnishing lateral resistance, and (iii) Consideration of highly loaded and critical sections with provision of
reinforcement as required. Chapter 2 has provided a good overview of structural action, mechanism of damage and modes of
failure of buildings. From these studies, certain general principles have emerged: (i) Structures should not be brittle or collapse
suddenly. Rather, they should be tough, able to deflect or deform a considerable amount. (ii) Resisting elements, such as bracing
or shear walls, must be provided evenly throughout the building, in both directions side-to-side, as well as top to bottom. (iii) All
elements, such as walls and the roof, should be tied together so as to act as an integrated unit during earthquake shaking,
transferring forces across connections and preventing separation. (iv) The building must be well connected to a good foundation
and the earth. Wet, soft soils should be avoided, and the foundation must be well tied together, as well as tied to the wall. 2
IAEE MANUAL Where soft soils cannot be avoided, special strengthening must be provided. (v) Care must be taken that all
materials used are of good quality, and are protected from rain, sun, insects and other weakening actions, so that their strength
lasts. (vi) Unreinforced earth and masonry have no reliable strength in tension, and are brittle in compression. Generally, they
must be suitably reinforced by steel or wood

The main objectives of earthquake engineering are:

 Foresee the potential consequences of strong earthquakes on urban areas and civil infrastructure.
 Design, construct and maintain structures to perform at earthquake exposure up to the expectations and in
compliance with building codes.[2]
During an earthquake, a wave propagates from the rock to the soil and then into the
structure, creating a sway in the structure. The key to designing an earthquake-resistant
structure is to build a ductile structure rather than a stiff structure.
 Geodesic dome structures are used as private residences, commercial buildings, places of
worship, schools, sports arenas, theaters, and vacation homes. Dome homes can be found in all
50 of the United States. They can be found in many places throughout the world such as
China,Africa, Europe, and the Antarctic. Some notable geodesic domes are the Climatron, a
climate controlled botanical garden in St. Louis, Missouri (1960), the Houston Astrodome
(1965), and the dome for the American pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal. Humans

Forces acting in domes

Domes are also characterized by a thrust. As well as arches and vaults, the dome’s thrust is also composed of its weight and the horizontal
thrust of the basic arch section. Therefore there is also a line of thrust which corresponds to the arch section.

When a dome is generated by the intersection of two vaults, the forces involved are identical to those of vaults. But when a dome is created by
the rotation of an arch around a vertical axis, another force is acting in it: the circular force (CF). Domes generated by the rotation of an arch are
built with successive horizontal rings. Each block of this ring behaves like the voussoir of an arch. Therefore, it will create a thrust (in the plan of
the ring) against the next blocks.

The circular force in a “circular dome” is acting in a horizontal plan, a ring, and can be assimilated to the thrust which acts downwards in a
vertical plan, in the case of arches or vaults. This force explains why it is possible to build circular domes without support. The dome is self
supporting at every stage of its construction because the horizontal thrust of one half of the dome is transferred to the other half by the various
rings. The force of gravity will obviously transfer vertically the circular force into the line of thrust.

The arch section, which generates the circular dome, rotates around a vertical axis. Therefore, the dome can be assimilated to an infinitesimal
number of arches whose thrust radiates from the centre towards the periphery. On the springer level, the combination of all these horizontal
thrusts will create a peripheral tension (PT) which will tend to open the wall supporting the dome.

The combination of the multitude of circular forces and lines of thrust will create a net of compression forces which will develop on the entire
surface of the dome. Thus a dome becomes a kind of cohesive nutshell which can resist tremendous stress.

In case of failure of any part of the dome, under an exceptional stress, this net of compressive forces will find another way to act in the dome,
and the latter will rarely collapse entirely as long as the supports (walls or columns) are intact.

CF = Circular force in every ring

LT = Line of thrust of “an arch” of the dome
HT = Horizontal thrust of “an arch” of the dome
W = Vertical weight of “an arch” and the overload
T = Thrust, resultant force of the horizontal thrust and weight of “an
arch”
P = Peripheral tension which is created by the combination of the
horizontal thrusts of all the arches, that are radiating from the
centre

Forces in domes

Note that ”circular domes” are generated by concentric circles. They can be spherical, pointed or segmental, and they can be built either on
circular or quadrangular plans.
In the case of a quadrangular plan, the intersection of the circular shell
and the walls will be:
A semicircle for a sphere
A segmental circle for a segmental sphere
A catenary curve for a pointed dome

The portion of the circular shell in between the walls is called pendentive.

Dome on pendentives

STABILITY PRINCIPLE

The line of thrust should always remain in the middle third of the arch section and pier. Disregard of this rule will cause collapse.