EARTHQUAK

Earthquake is definedE as the shaking of

Earth’s surface due to any reason which
results in release of large amount of energy.

Earthquakes are a major cause of concern

for Civil Engineers because the effect of
this disaster is measured in terms of extent
damage.
 Basic Terms Related
to
Earthquake
1.Focus - The point
inside the surface of the
earth from where the
earthquake originates is
the focus or hypocenter.

2.Epicenter- The point

on the earth’s surface
vertically above the focus
is the epicenter.
 3. Magnitude – Magnitude is a quantitative measure
of the earthquake size. It is a measure of amount of
energy release during the earthquake. The magnitude of
an earthquake is generally measured on Richter scale.

A relationship b/w energy released by an earthquake

and its magnitude is given as follows :-
log E = 11.4+1.5M

4. Intensity – Intensity is a qualitative measure of the

earthquake. It is a way of measuring or rating the effects
of an earthquake at different sites.
 Causes of
Earthquake
Earthquakes
two reasons:-
are primarily caused due to

1.Natural disturbances
2.Artificial disturbances

Natural disturbances are further divided in

two categories:-
a)Volcanic causes
b)Tectonic causes
 Natural
1. Disturbances
Volcanic causes – Volcanic activity
keeps on taking place in several parts of
the world, it produces sudden out burst
or explosion. These earthquakes are not
very deep and of mild intensity. The
damage caused due to this type of
earthquake is confined within a few
kilometers. All
volcanic eruption don’t produce earthquake.
 2.Tectonic
Causes-
Tectonic causes are those which occur inside the earth
surface.
According to the theory of plate tectonics, the Crust is
made up of rocks and is divided into many plates. These
plates are constantly in motion in different directions and
with different speeds. These plates have strain energy
stored in them.
The earthquake which occur due to sudden release of
strain energy as a result of sudden slip of fault is called as
tectonic earthquake.
More than 90% of total earthquakes are because of
tectonic reasons.
 Artificial Disturbances
Sometimes the surface of earth vibrates due to
man-made or artificial disturbance. These vibration
are very mild and affect the surrounding area.

Some of the artificial disturbances causing

earthquakes are :-
i.Nuclear tests and explosion.
ii.Mining blasts in the mining area.
iii.Large and deep excavations.
iv.A massive landslide along hill slopes caused
because of deforestation.
 What to do ?
Before an earthquake

During an

earthquake After an
 Before an
Earthquake
• Place heavier objects on lower shelves to prevent
breakage and personal injury.

• You should have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit.

• Learn how to turn off the gas, water, and

electricity.

• Install latches on cupboard doors to prevent

them from opening.
 During an
Earthquak
e
• Stay calm! If you're indoors, stay inside. If you're
outside, stay outside.

• Immediately take a safe location , if inside sit under a

table or desk, if outside come in an open atmosphere.

• Cover the back of your head and your eyes to

minimize injury from flying debris.

• Do not take elevators during an earthquake.

 After an
Earthquake
• Check yourself and others for injuries. Provide first aid for
anyone who needs it.

• Stay out of damaged buildings and damaged area.

• Be careful around broken glass. Wear boots or sturdy

shoes to keep from cutting your feet.

• Check gas, water, electrical lines, and appliances for

damage. If you smell gas or see a broken line, shut off the
main valve. Do not switch on the gas or electricity again
until the power company checks your home.
Seismology
The waves generated by the earthquake are
called Seismic waves. The study of earthquake
and seismic waves is called Seismology and the
researchers are called Seismologists.

Seismic waves are divided into two broad

categories:-
1.Body Waves
2.Surface Waves
 Body
Waves
In Body waves the speed decreases with increasing
density of rock and increases with increasing rock
elasticity. Rock elasticity increases faster than
density with depth.

There are two kinds of body waves

1.P-waves
2.S-waves
Difference in P waves and S waves
P S
waves
The P-waves are called
primary, push or longitudinal
waves.
They
vibrate parallel to
the direction of wave
movement.
They have shortest
wavelength, fastest speed {5-
7 km/s}.
They can travel through
solid, liquid or gas.
waves
 The S-waves are called
secondary, shock , sheer or
transverse waves.
 They vibrate
perpendicular to the direction
of wave movement.
 They have a medium
wavelength, Their velocity is 3
to 4 km per second.
 They only travel through solids
because liquids and gases
have no sheer strength.
 Surface
Waves
A seismic wave that travels across the surface of the
Earth as opposed to through it.
Surface waves usually have larger amplitudes and
longer wavelengths than body waves, and they travel
more slowly than body waves do.

There are two kinds of Surface waves:-

1.Love waves
2.Rayleigh waves
 Love Waves and
Rayleigh
Waves
Love waves make the ground vibrate at right angles to
the direction of waves . They are a variety of S-waves
where the particles of an elastic medium vibrate
transversely to the direction of wave propagation, with
no vertical components.

Rayleigh waves travel near the earth’s surface and within

a depth of 30-32 kilometers from the surface. These
are called Rayleigh waves after Lord Rayleigh who first
described these waves. Generally slower than Love
waves.
 What is
Earthquake
Earthquake Engineering as a profession in India is a
Engineering
newly introduced ?
field in academics and industry.
Since 60% of Indian geography is declared sensitive to
earthquakes, the role of earthquake engineers proves
vital in building quake resistant structures.
Traditionally, it has been narrowly defined as the study
of the behaviour of structures and geo-structures
subjected to seismic loading, thus considered as a
subset of both structural and geotechnical engineering.
Cont..
India was struck with several earthquakes in the
past causing damage to life and property.
Government of India has constituted National
Information Center on Earthquake
Engineering (NICEE). It is the Apex Body of
Government of India on Earthquake Researches
and damage control.
Requirements for Earthquake
resistant structure ?

Tie up the walls, floor, roof, and foundations into a
rigid box that holds together when shaken by a quake.

Provide adequate reinforcement

Column should be placed adjacent to one another to

resist the force due to wind coming from different
directions.

Structure should be as light as possible.

Base isolation

Energy dissipation

technique Sill-anchoring
 Base
Isolation
A base isolated structure
is supported by a series of
bearing pads which are
placed between the
building and the
building’s foundation. A
variety of different types
of base isolation bearing
pads have now been
developed
 Energy
Dissipation
Devices
The second of the major
new techniques for
improving the earthquake
resistance of buildings also
relies upon damping and
energy dissipation, but it
greatly extends the
damping and energy
dissipation provided by
lead-rubber bearings.
 SILL-ANCHORING
A sill plate, also TECHNIQUE
known as
a sole plate, is the bottom
horizontal member of a
wall or building to which
the vertical studs will be
attached.
It does keep the boards
attached to the foundation
during an earthquake
allows a building to move
with its foundation
 CASE
STUDY:-
GUJARAT
EARTHQUAKE
26 th Jan, 2001
 INTRODUCTION TO
GUJARAT
Gujarat, one of the western state in India. Its capital
is Gandhinagar. It has an area of 196,024 km2.
Gujarat is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west,
by Rajasthan in the north, by Madhya Pradesh in
the east and by Maharashtra in the south and south
east.

The best time to visit Gujarat is from October to

March.
 GUJARAT
EARTHQUAKE 26TH
JANUARY, 2001
On the morning of January 26, 2001, The nation’s 52
Republic Day. A devastating earthquake occurred in
nd

the Kutch district of the state of Gujarat.

The earthquake was felt as far away as Delhi in the
north, Kolkata in the east and Chennai in the south.
Bhuj town and the village Bhachau,60km east of Bhuj
were the worst affected and many other areas of
Gujarat including its state headquarters Ahmedabad,
were badly affected .
DAMAGES BY EARTHQUAKE
MAJOR DEFECTS OF STRUCTURE
IN GUJARAT
Floating column

Pounding

Soft storey

building

Unsymmetry
 FLOATING
COLUMN
When the co l
u m n and shear
wall do not co
nti n ue up to the
grou nd b ut end
at an upper level
as shown in fig.
 POUNDING
When the roof s of
two adjacent
buildings are at
diff. levels then
,during Earthquakes ,
the brick works faces
hit against each
other this is called
as pounding.
 SOFT STOREY IRREGULAR
BUILDING
Due to the absence
of infill wall in the
groung floor
structure of the
building , it behaves
a separate unit
w.r.t the upper
floors and known
as ground soft
story .
 IRREGULARITIES &
UNSYMMETRY
The building as a
whole or its
various blocks
should be kept
symmetrical bout
both the axes .
A building should
be light as
possible & should
be simple
 EFFECTS ON
STRUCTRAL
The earthquakeMONUMENTS
devastated Kutch.
Practically all buildings
and structures of
Kutch were brought
down.
Ahmedabad, Rajkot,
Jamnagar,
Surendaranagar and
Patan were heavily
damaged.
 EFFECTS ON HUMAN LIFE
Nearly 19,000 people
died. Kutch alone
reported more than
17,000 deaths.
1.66 lakh people were
injured. Most were
handicapped for the rest
of their lives.
The dead included 7,065
children (0-14 years) and
9,110 women.
There were 348 orphans
and 826 widows.