MIRANDA, DAVY JOHN U.
CENG 116
BSCE 5-2
REACTION PAPER NO. 1
Overturning Failure Of Apartment Complex Buildings During
Niigata 1964 Earthquake
FAILURE: BUILDING OVERTURN
YEAR: 1964
LOCATION: NIIGATA, JAPAN
TYPE: EARTHQUAKE – LIQUEFACTION
On June 16. 1964, the city of Niigata
experienced a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
Kawagishi-cho, a complex of eight 4-story
apartment buildings with approximate
dimensions of 30m by 8m, was built on
reclaimed land. During the earthquake, the
complex experienced severe soil settlement,
resulting in various degrees of tilting of up to
80° from the vertical. Although the buildings
had been designed and constructed to
withstand the violent shaking, the soils
beneath the foundations turned to “quicksand”.
These reinforced concrete buildings sank into
the earth and tilted.
The earthquake caused the peak
surface acceleration of 0.16 g’s near the site.
The buildings, which were built with shallow
foundations, tilted because of the shear
strength of the liquefied sand diminished
during the earthquake. This process became -
ENGR. LARRY E. ROCELA
known as liquefaction. Civil and geotechnical
engineers around the world immediately
became aware of the devastating potential of
earthquake-induced ground failures that were
rarely considered before in the design process.
Liquefaction is a phenomenon in
which the strength and stiffness of a soil is
reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid
loading. Liquefaction occurs in saturated soils:
that is, soils in which the space between
individual particles is completely filled with
water. The water exerts a pressure on the
particles that influences how tightly they are
pressed against each other. Prior to an
earthquake, the water pressure is relatively low.
However, earthquake shaking can cause the
water pressure to increase to the point where
the soil particles can readily slide by each
other. Earthquake shaking often triggers this
increase in water pressure; however,
construction-related activities, such as blasting,
can also cause an increase in water pressure.
As more and more projects are being
constructed in hazardous locations, the threat
of liquefaction has grown. However, through
careful evaluation and engineering, the risks of
liquefaction can be mitigated. Since that
Niigata earthquake, the methods of Earthquake
Drains and Vibro-replacement have been
developed so as to mitigate the risk
liquefaction.
REFERENCE
https:buildingfailures.wordpress.com/2000/10/01/n
iigata-kawagishi-cho-apartment-buildings.