Concept of Earthquake Resistant

Design

Sudhir K Jain
Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar
November 2012

1
 Bhuj Earthquake of 2001
Magnitude 7.7, ~13,805 persons dead
Peak ground acceleration ~0.60g at Anjar
About 44 km from epicentre
Earlier significant earthquakes in the region:
1819 Kachchh earthquake, ~M8.0, ~1,500 deaths
1956 Anjar earthquake, ~M7.0, ~115 deaths
 Facts
Severe earthquakes are rather infrequent
Low probability of strong shaking during life time
of the structure
Structures to resist most severe ground shaking
without damage are too expensive to build.
 Objectives of EQ Resistant Design
Should the structure be designed to withstand
strong shaking without sustaining any damage?
Such a construction will be too expensive.
It may be more logical to accept some damage
in case of strong but infrequent shaking.
However, loss of life and contents in the
structure must be protected even in case of
strong shaking.
 Objectives of EQ Resistant Design (contd)

Structures should be able to resist

Minor (and frequent) shaking with
No damage.
Moderate shaking with
No structural damage
Some non-structural damage
Severe (and infrequent) shaking with
Structural damage, but without collapse
 Implications of Design Objectives
Design earthquake loads << maximum
expected elastic loads during strong shaking.
Design force may be as low as one-tenths of the
expected maximum elastic force.
Reliance placed on inelastic response of the
structure
Good detailing and quality of construction are
more crucial than for ordinary construction
To ensure adequate post-elastic response
 Level of Design Force
Level of earthquake protection to depend on
consequences of damage
Essential services (water, electricity, hospitals,
schools, etc)
Needed for post-earthquake management
Must be provided with higher earthquake
protection than the ordinary buildings
 Level of Design Force (contd)

Dams, nuclear plants, ...

May cause another disaster if damaged
Must be provided maximum level of protection
 Nature of Aseismic Design Problem
Civil Engineering Structures
Large
Unique (one-of-a kind; unlike aircrafts or cars)
Expensive
 Nature of Aseismic Design Problem (contd)

Response of structure
Dynamic
Cyclic about equilibrium
Elastic behaviour upto yield
Inelastic behaviour beyond yield
Cyclic Loads
+P

P=0 t

-P
Cyclic About Equilibrium (e.g. Seismic)

Pav

P=0 t

Cyclic About an Average Load (e.g. Wind)

 Nature of Aseismic Design Problem (contd)

Civil Engineering Profession

Limited time for design and development
Limited funds
 Nature of Aseismic Design Problem (contd)

Uncertainties in Input Motion

When and where the next earthquake?
On which fault?
Of what magnitude (size)?
Nature of ground shaking near source?
Effect of travel path on shaking at a distance?
Effect of local geology, topography and soil
profile?
 Nature of Aseismic Design Problem (contd)

Structural response depends on

Input motion
Structural properties
 Nature of Aseismic Design Problem (contd)

Uncertainties in structural properties

Natural periods/stiffness?
Damping?
Soil-foundation interaction?
Post-yield behavior?
 Implications
Non-linear dynamic analysis desirable, but
Complex, time consuming, and expensive
Numerous uncertainties in input motion
Requires parameters which are hard to specify
accurately
 Implications (contd)

Linear static analysis

Considered adequate for most purposes
With due consideration to inelastic dynamic
behaviour
Simple design approach to a complex problem
With implicit consideration of some of the
complexities
 Loading: Force versus Displacement
P

P P

Applied Force Applied Displacement
 Force-Controlled Systems
Example: Gravity Loads
Failure if Imposed force > Yield force

P P
Failure

 Displacement-Controlled Systems
Example: Seismic Loads
No failure even if Imposed displ. > Yield displ.
Provided the system is ductile

 Earthquake Force
It is an inertia force
Given by mass times acceleration
Acceleration of the mass
Generated where the mass is located
That is, at floors of the building
Needs to be transferred safely to the ground
 Ground Vibrations
Random in magnitude and direction
Two horizontal and one vertical component
Vertical vibrations
Vertical inertia force
Adds and subtracts to the gravity force
Generally not a problem due to factor of safety
in gravity design
Vertical Vibrations

Gravity Loads

Vertical Component of EQ - Induced Inertia Force

 Horizontal Vibrations
Cause horizontal inertia force
Need to provide adequate load transfer path for
the force to be transferred to the ground
Need adequate strength along the load transfer
path.
Load Transfer Path and Elements
 Single Degree of Freedom System
Linear elastic system m
Natural frequency:
k c k
m
Natural period:
Ground
2 m Motion
T 2
k
Damping:
c
2m
 Dynamic Response
Response of linear elastic structure to the
ground motion depends on
Input motion
Natural period (frequency)
Damping
 Response Spectrum
Response Spectrum is a plot of maximum response
versus natural period (for different values of
damping) for a given input motion.
By response we may mean force, displacement,
velocity, acceleration,

For different values of

Maximum damping
Response

Natural Period
 Response Spectrum (contd)

Velocity response spectra

for N-S component of 1940
El Centro record (damping
values of 0, 2, 5 and 10%)
Fig From Housner, 1970

Maximum Velocity, in/sec

Natural Period T (sec)

 Elastic versus Inelastic Response

Total
Horizontal Elastic
Force

Inelastic, Ductile

Brittle: Unacceptable

Roof Displacement
Cyclic Behaviour

Poor Desirable
 Detailing versus Cyclic Response

Fig. from Poor detailing Desirable detailing

Wakabayashi
 Force Deformation Response
Force

Fy

Actual curve

Idealized curve

y Deformation

Elasto-plastic system
 Ductility

Fy

Force

y max
Displacement
Maximum displacement
max imumdispla cement
Ductility
Yield displacement
yielddispl acement

hkh
max
dfh
y
 Ductility (contd)

Overall structural ductility

Base shear versus roof displacement
Storey ductility
Storey shear versus storey drift
Member ductility
Displacement ductility
Rotation ductility
Section ductility
Curvature ductility
Ductility versus Response

Force Force
Fmax

Fy

max y max
Displacement
Displacement
Linear Elastic System Elasto-plastic System
 Ductility Reduction Factor
Ductility Reduction Factor (R) is ratio of
maximum elastic force and the yield force
Fmax
R f ,T
Fy
It gives reduction in yield force on account of
ductility.
If ductility () is assured, the structure can be
designed to yield at a reduced force of (Fmax/R)
 Ductility Reduction Factor (R)
Force Force

Displacement Displacement
Short Period Structures Intermediate / Large
(T<0.4 sec) Period structures (T>0.4 sec)

R 2 1 R
 Overstrength
Overstrength factor () is the ratio of yield force
of the structure and the design force.
Yield Force (Fy )
Overstrength ( )
Design Force (Fd )
 Overstrength contributed by
Partial Safety Factors
Partial safety factor on seismic loads
Partial safety factor on gravity loads
Partial safety factor on materials
 Overstrength contributed by (contd)

Material Properties
Member size or reinforcement larger than
required
Strain hardening in materials
Confinement of concrete improves its strength
Higher material strength under cyclic loads
 Overstrength contributed by (contd)

Strength contribution of non-structural elements

Special ductile detailing adds to strength also
Redundancy in the structure
 Response Reduction Factor
Total
Horizontal
Maximum force Load
if structure remains elastic Fel
Due to
Linear Elastic Ductility
Response
Total Horizontal Load

Non linear
Maximum Response
Load Capacity Fy First
Significant
Load at Due to
First Yield Fs Yield
Overstrength

Design force Fdes

0 w y max
Roof Displacement ()
 Response Reduction Factor
Response Reduction Factor (R) =
Ductility Reduction factor (R) Overstrength ()
R= R

Max. Elastic Force (Fmax)

Design Force =
R

R= 10 to 12 for special ductile frames !

 Design Spectrum
Design specification in terms of response spectrum
Accounts for ductility, overstrength,...
Smooth
As against peaks and valleys in response spectrum
Specified concurrently with
Damping to be used
Procedure for calculation for natural period
Permissible stresses/strains, load factors, etc.
Typical Design Spectrum

Period (sec)
 Fundamental Period of Building
Due to uncertainty in calculating the period of a
building, modern codes now require one of the
following safeguards:
Enforce an upper bound on the period that can
be used for calculating design seismic force. The
upper bound is based on empirical period (e.g.,
NEHRP).
Place a lower bound on design base shear
based on empirical period (e.g., UBC).
 Lateral Stiffness
Low lateral stiffness leads to
Large deformations/strains, and hence more
damage in inelastic response.
Significant P- effect.
Damage to non-structural elements
Due to large deformations
Discomfort during vibrations
Acceleration Spectrum

Period (sec)
Displacement Spectrum

Period (sec)
 Lateral Stiffness (contd)

Even though low force for high natural period,

stiff structures perform better during
earthquakes.
Codes specify limit on lateral displacement to
ensure adequate stiffness.
 Structural Configuration
Simple, direct load transfer path gives better
performance
Regular configuration preferred
Even distribution of mass and stiffness in building
plan and with building height
In buildings with irregular configuration
Simple code expressions not valid
Ductility demand gets concentrated in a few
storeys or elements
 Importance of Configuration
To quote Late Henry Degenkolb, the well-known
earthquake engineer in California:
If we have a poor configuration to start with, all the
engineer can do is to provide band-aid improve a
basically poor solution as best as he can. Conversely,
if we start off with a good configuration and a
reasonable framing system, even a poor engineer
cant harm its ultimate performance too much.
Irregular Buildings

End Wall
Conditions for
Imperial
Services County
Building
damaged in
1979
earthquake
 Irregular Buildings (contd)

Seismic codes discourage buildings with

irregular distribution of mass or stiffness in plan
or in elevation.
Requires a good understanding of structural
behaviour by the architect, and
A good coordination between the architect and
the structural engineer.
 Soils and Foundations
Main Effects
Effect of local soil-type on input ground motion

Soil-structure interaction

Effect of travel path on dissipation energy

Differential settlement
 Response Spectra

Average Acceleration Spectra for different site conditions

Response Spectra (contd)

Normalized Response Spectra for 5% Damping

 Capacity Design Concept

Brittle Ductile
Link Link

The chain has both ductile and brittle elements.

To ensure ductile failure, we must ensure that
the ductile link yields before any of the brittle
links fails.
 Capacity Design Concept (contd)

Assess required strength of chain from code.

Apply suitable safety factors on load and
material
Design/detail ductile element(s).
Assess upper-bound strength of the ductile
element
Design brittle elements for upper-bound load
Ensures that brittle elements are elastic when
the ductile elements yield.
 Capacity Design Concept (contd)

For instance, in a RC member

Shear failure is brittle
Flexural failure can be made ductile
Element must yield in flexure and not fail in shear
Beams can be made ductile more easily than the
columns
Beams should yield and not the columns
Weak beam strong column philosophy
 Non-Traditional Methods
Base isolation systems
Energy dissipation devices
 To Summarise
In case of strong shaking, some damage is
acceptable.
Design seismic force only a fraction of the
maximum expected elastic force.
Horizontal acceleration is of more serious
concern as compared to vertical acceleration.
Structure should have adequate
Lateral strength
Lateral stiffness
Ductility
Structural configuration