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Structural Vulnerability of Changu Narayan Temple

Conference Paper · October 2021

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

STRUCTURAL VULNERABILITY OF CHANGU NARAYAN TEMPLE

R. Suwal(1), P. Joshi(2)
(1) Associate Professor, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, rajan_suwal@ioe.edu.np
(2) Senior Lecturer, Lalitpur Engineering College, Tribhuvan University, 070bce112pukar@pcampus.edu.np

Abstract
Nepal lies in the central part of the Himalaya Range, one of the most seismically active zones in the world. Nepal has a
long history of devastating earthquakes. This is due to the subduction of the Indian plate underneath the Eurasian plate.
Furthermore, different past researches have mentioned that the accumulated slip deficit is likely to produce large
earthquakes in the future.
Most of the Nepalese traditional temples, listed in UNESCO World heritage, were built during the period of the Malla
dynasty (1200 A.D. -1768 A.D.) Changu Narayan temple, which is considered for the study, is the oldest temple of
Nepal built in the 4th century and reconstructed in 1702 A.D. These temples were erected following simple guidelines
and design details to satisfy the seismic resistance criteria, or also without any regard for seismic resistance. Studies of
the previous earthquakes indicate the potential damage that can occur in unreinforced traditional masonry structures in
future earthquakes. The conservation and restoration of these ancient temples are one of the major concerns for the
protection of our built heritage and its transfer to future generations. The present paper outlines structural fragility
characteristics in the Changu Narayan temple which affects their seismic performance.
Every structural problem is aimed to be solved by numerical analysis and calibrated by testing. However, only a little
research has been done for experimental testing of structural components of traditional temples. Also, experimental
testing for seismic performance of traditional temples is rarely done. Furthermore, the lack of geometric dimensions,
material properties, and characteristics of inner construction components makes numerical modeling complicated
demanding experimental results or some other ways to calibrate the results. To do so, photographic evidence of the
damages in the temple due to the Gorkha earthquake, 2015, and the damage study of the Changu Narayan temple will
be used to justify the model analysis.
Damages in the fragile member of the temple cause a change in the global stiffness hence changing the fundamental
frequency of the temple. To study this, parametric analysis using Finite Element modeling is carried out to identify
structural fragilities of the temple, the associated traditional building technology, and constructional details.
The findings of this study show that the base storey masonry wall is fundamental in the reduction of global stiffness of
the structure followed by wall corners. Timber and roof structures not showing an appreciable reduction in global
stiffness indicated that it should be modeled and analyzed separately to understand its structural vulnerability.
Keywords: Traditional Nepali temple; Finite element modeling; Structural fragility; Seismic performance
 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

1. Introduction
Changu Narayan temple, devoted to Lord Vishnu, is the oldest temple of Nepal which is believed to be built
in the fourth century. The temple is located in Changu Narayan Municipality of Bhaktapur, 12 km east of
Kathmandu. Changu Narayan temple is built in pagoda style having two roofs and is surrounded by ancient
carvings and statues. The temple was reconstructed in 1702 A.D. after the major fire incident. Changu
Narayan temple was listed in UNESCO World heritage in 1979 A.D. Being the oldest temple and listed in
UNESCO world heritage, it carries great historical significance and hence selected for our study.

Fig. 2 – Changu Narayan area after Gorkha

Fig. 1 – Changu Narayan temple
Earthquake, 2015
Although the Changu Narayan temple survived the devastating Gorkha earthquake, it suffered some minor
damages [1]. However, some Chaityas around the temple had completed collapsed. Fig 2. shows Changu
Narayan area after the Gorkha earthquake, 2015. Damage in the temple is concentrated around the wall
corners as can be seen from Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 – Damage concentration in wall corners

The traditional temples built in the ancient time carries historical and archaeological importance. They are
built with the best available material and skills at the time of construction. The conservation and restoration
of these ancient temples are one of the major concerns for the protection of our built heritage and its transfer
to future generations [2]. Seismic assessment of these structures is very important to safeguard these
heritages from possible earthquakes in the future.
The paper aims to study structural fragility and characteristics affecting the seismic performance of the
Changu Narayan temple. Parametric analysis is done with the help of 3D numerical modeling software –

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

ETABS V 18. Linear time history analysis using the Gorkha earthquake, 2015 is done and the stress
concentration due to flexure and shear is found. The stress concentration obtained from the analysis is
compared with the photographs, collected during damage study after the Gorkha earthquake, for verification
of the model made. Also, stresses and fundamental time period of the model are compared with past
literature for further verification of the model. Parametric analysis is done by comparing the change in global
frequency of the structure due to the localized damage or degradation of structural components. The findings
indicate that masonry is the most essential structural component to protect from deterioration. More
specifically, the reduction of the structure's global stiffness is dominated by the base storey masonry wall.
The findings of this study help to explain the structural fragility of the traditional Nepali temple and the
related traditional building technologies and construction details. It also helps to define structural parameters
for seismic vulnerability assessment. The findings of this study will encourage the seismic rehabilitation of
ancient buildings within World Heritage sites across Nepal and proactive action plans to protect them from
potential earthquake hazards.

2. Structural Characterization
The structural system of a multi-tiered temple can be classified into four groups namely roof, timbers,
masonry wall, and foundation. The roof provides an aesthetic to the temple and is generally supported by
rafters made up of timber. Rafter transfers the load to the purlin via timber strut which is then transferred to
the thick masonry wall which acts as the core load-bearing system. The floors are made up of regularly
spaced wooden beams above which wooden planks are placed in the direction perpendicular to the beams.
The surface of the floor is smoothened by providing a thick mud layer above the wooden planks [3].
Masonry wall transfers the load to the foundation which is generally a huge plinth as in the case of multi-
tiered temples.

Fig. 4 – Plan of Changu Narayan Fig. 5 – Section of Changu Narayan

2.1 Foundation
Like most of the multi-tiered temple, the foundation of Changu Narayan temple is wide plinth platform
which behaves as a mat foundation. Because of this, stepped footing for the main wall is expected [4]. A four
feet high plinth is used, such huge plinth base massive foundations is expected to eliminate the earthquake
risks associated with soft soils [5].

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

2.2 Masonry Wall

There are two cores of a wall in the Changu Narayan temple. The outer core extends up to the second floor
i.e. 23’-4” from the plinth level and the inner core extends up to 41’-6”. These walls of constant thickness 2’-
6” extended in both longitudinal and transverse directions are the main load-bearing systems in the temple.
The walls are arranged in box configuration as shown in Fig. 4. Wall structures were built with three layers,
the inner face is made of sun-dried bricks while the outer face is made of fired clay brick with smooth
finishing [6]. The bonding mortar inside the massive walls though not visible plays an important role in the
structural strength and resistance of the temple. The bonding mortar may be yellow color clay mortar, mud
mortar, or sometimes even lime-surkhi mortar [7].
2.3 Roof System
Changu Narayan temple is built in pagoda style having two roofs. Temple roofs have symmetrical pitches
springing from the central point of the inner masonry cell. The pitches are constituted of small rafters as
shown in Fig. 6 that spring from corners in a radial arrangement [8]. The dead load of the whole roof is
supported by rafters, which are then transferred to the purlins and then to the wall plates originating from the
core. The inclined timber struts, which hold the roof, transfer the load from purlin to the wall section. The
connection between the strut with purlin and the main masonry wall is not rigid [9].

Fig. 6 – Bottom eves, rafters and beam layout Fig. 7 – Beam-column joint [8]

2.4 Timber Member

Given Nepal's earthquake-prone location, carpenters have modified their building techniques to provide
additional bracing by connecting vertical and horizontal structural components [8]. In the presence of lateral
forces, this technique is very successful in preventing relative sliding of the floor structure on the walls,
resulting in a box behavior response. This is accomplished by using wedges (timber pegs) to secure the wall
plate around the circumference of the house through the joists that extend both within and outside the
structure. The wall plate, which is a kind of ring-beam that runs along the circumference of the wall, allows
for a smoother distribution of dead and live loads along the length of the wall, as well as better in-plane
stiffness and stress distribution [10].

3. Numerical Modeling
Numerical modeling temple structures is difficult because of difficulties identifying the characteristics of the
construction material and uncertainties in construction process [9]. Even though many uncertainties, Changu
Narayan temple is modelled using linear finite element modelling in ETABS V18.

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

Fig. 8 – Arrangement of rafters

Thick shell element is used to model masonry wall structure, timber is modeled as frame element and the
roof is modeled as thin shell element. Modeling is done as per the plan obtained from Monument
Conservation Office, Department of Archaeology, Bhaktapur as shown in Fig. 3. The materials of structural
components are assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic, and linearly elastic. The presence of opening is taken
into account in the model. The material properties used for modeling are taken as presented by Jaishi et
al. (2003) [2] and are shown in Table 1. At each floor level, rigid diaphragm constraints are assigned due to
the high concentration of the timber elements that compose the floors [11].

Table 1 – Material properties used in modeling [2]

Material Density (kg/m3) Young’s Modulus (MPa) Poisson’s Ratio
Timber 800 1250 0.12
Roof (Clay layer + tiles) 1400 400 0.10
Mud- mortar brick masonry 2000 800 0.10

It is difficult to ensure the optimized model without verifying the analytical results with some experimental
values. Hence, for the verification of the model, the results of the past experiments found in the literature are
used. Also, matching photographs showing damage concentrations as shown in Fig. 3 and stress
concentration obtained from model analysis as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are used for model verification.
The fundamental time period for Nepalese temple structures is less than 0.6 seconds [2]. To ensure this, the
fundamental time period was checked from the analytical model and was found to be 0.272 seconds. Also,
the manual and analytical axial and vertical stress of timber strut and at base level respectively is nearly the
same indicating a reliable model.
For further verification of the model, linear time history analysis of the model was done using time history
data of the Gorkha earthquake as shown in Fig. 9. Photographs indicating damage were collected
immediately after the Gorkha earthquake. Fig. 3 shows that the damage is concentrated in the wall corners.
The stress diagram as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 also shows that the stress is concentrated in the wall
corners indicating the possible area for the damage or degradation of masonry structure and hence indicating
a reliable model.

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

Fig. 9 – Acceleration time history of Gorkha Earthquake, 2015

Fig. 10 – In plane stress concentration

Fig. 11 – Out of plane stress concentration

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

5. Parametric Analysis and Results

Damages in the fragile member of the temple cause a change in the global stiffness hence changing the
fundamental frequency of the temple. Parametric analysis using Finite Element modeling is carried out to
identify structural fragilities of the temple.
Table 2 shows analytical frequency for first three modes in E-W direction, N-S direction and in rotation
about vertical axis. Due to symmetry of the structure in E-W and N-S direction the modal frequencies in
different modes are near about same. Due to this fact, only fundamental frequency in either of the translation
direction and other in rotational direction is considered.

Table 2 – Analytical frequency for first three modes

Frequency (Hz)
Mode
E-W Direction N-S Direction Rotation
First 3.682 3.684 7.328
Second 8.016 8.326 11.344
Third 16.966 17.009 17.218

The first parametric analysis performed was to understand the different ways of modeling. Two models were
made modeling connection of timber strut to wall and purlin as rigid connection and pin connection. No
change in frequency was attained indicating it is difficult to find the local effect of connection in the global
stiffness of the model. Temples modeled with roofs are stiffer than without roofs [9] as roof and timber
rafters used to support the roof also provide the stiffness to the structure.
Damage or degradation in the structural member affects the local stiffness of the member hence affecting the
global stiffness of the structure. Stiffness of the member being related to the time period and hence the
frequency of the structure provides a measure to study the effect of local damage or degradation in the
overall stiffness of the structure by observing the change in frequency of the structure due to localized
damage. To study the effect of localized damage of structural member, few fragile members which are prone
to damage are selected.
For parametric analysis, masonry base storey walls and wall corners are selected. Parametric analysis of wall
corner joints is carried out to understand the effects of damages seen in traditional brick masonry walls such
as corner cracks or separating of wall faces with slight movement or settlement due to the lack of seismic
bands. Analysis of base storey wall is important to understand the effect of damages caused due to bulging of
a wall after water penetration and also erosion due to up splashing rainwater or insufficient damp proof
course [9].
Timber members such as struts, rafters, purlin, floor, and beams are liable to physical damage. Damage may
occur due to material degradation, decay, fungal or moisture attack. This may reduce the cross-section of the
timber that provided resistance.
The parametric analysis is done for localized damage in masonry base wall, wall corners, timber, roofs, and
at last accumulation of all types of damages at once. For this analysis, damage i.e. reduction in stiffness is
modeled by reducing its Young’s modulus of elasticity. Percentage change in fundamental translational and
rotational frequency in structure due to induced damages are summarized in Table 3.
The parametric analysis shows that damage in the base storey wall leads to reduce the overall stiffness of the
structure than any other portion of the wall. The rate of change of frequency is nearly uniform with the
percentage reduction of E for both translational and rotational modes.

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

Mode E-W Direction N-S Direction Rotation

First

Second

Third

Fig. 12 – Mode shapes for first three modes

Similarly, the results show that there is a significant reduction in the overall stiffness of the structure due to
the localized damage in the wall corner joint. Also, it can be seen that the change in E affects rotational
stiffness more than translational stiffness.

Table 3 – Percentage reduction in fundamental frequency due to various damage scenarios

Percentage reduction of E value
Member Mode
10 % 30 % 50 % 70 % 90 %
Base storey wall Translation 2.526 8.881 17.626 30.717 54.970
Rotation 3.371 11.517 22.216 37.172 61.941
Wall corner joint Translation 1.575 5.432 10.456 17.409 28.653
Rotation 2.716 9.102 17.140 27.770 39.820
Timber Translation 0.272 0.842 1.494 2.309 3.612
Rotation 0.109 0.328 0.628 1.064 2.634

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 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE
Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

Percentage reduction of E value

Member Mode
10 % 30 % 50 % 70 % 90 %
Roof Translation 0.027 0.081 0.163 0.244 0.462
Rotation 0.177 0.682 1.665 4.517 24.522
Cumulative of all Translation 5.133 16.350 29.305 45.247 68.387
above Rotation 5.131 16.335 29.299 45.224 68.382

Timber and roof structures, however, do not show an appreciable change in frequency due to the damage.
But, it can be seen that as the value of E of the roof keeps on reducing, there is an appreciable change in
frequency in rotational mode. If all of the damage of fragile members is accumulated, there is the highest
percentage reduction in the fundamental frequency in both the direction. Also, the accumulated damage
affects both the translational and rotational modes equally.

6. Conclusion
The research was carried out step by step to conclude the structural vulnerability of the Changu Narayan
temple. Three-dimensional modeling was developed using available detailed architectural drawings and was
verified using past literature and damage study evidence of the Gorkha earthquake, 2015.
To understand the structural vulnerability of the structural components, parametric analysis was carried out.
The result showed that the masonry wall is the most vulnerable component of the temple. A base storey
masonry wall is fundamental in the reduction of global stiffness of the structure followed by wall corners.
Timber and roof on the other hand did not show an appreciable reduction in global translational stiffness but
with the increase in localized damage in roof structure rotational global stiffness started decreasing.
Timber and roof structures not showing an appreciable reduction in global stiffness indicated that they
should be modeled and analyzed separately to understand their structural vulnerability.

7. Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Monument Conservation Office, Department of Archaeology, Bhaktapur for
providing the architectural plan and section of Changu Narayan temple.

8. Copyrights
17WCEE-IAEE 2020 reserves the copyright for the published proceedings. Authors will have the right to use
content of the published paper in part or in full for their own work. Authors who use previously published
data and illustrations must acknowledge the source in the figure captions.

9. References
[1] A. KC, K. Sharma, and B. Pokharel, “Performance of Heritage Structures during the Nepal Earthquake of April
25, 2015,” J. Earthq. Eng., 2019, doi: 10.1080/13632469.2017.1360225.
[2] B. Jaishi, W. X. Ren, Z. H. Zong, and P. N. Maskey, “Dynamic and seismic performance of old multi-tiered
temples in Nepal,” Eng. Struct., 2003, doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2003.08.006.
[3] B. Chalise and R. Suwal, “Seismic Performance of Masonry Buildings during Recent Gorkha Earthquake in
Nepal,” in International Conference on Innovation in Structural Engineering IC ISE 2015, 2016, no. January.

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Sendai, Japan - September 27th to October 2nd, 2021

[4] S. R. Tiwari, Temples of the Nepal Valley. Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books, 2009.
[5] S. Nienhuys, “Options for reconstructing and retrofitting of historic pagoda temples, example of the Narayan
temple in Kathmandu Durbar square. Kathmandu, Nepal.,” no. May, 2003.
[6] J. B. Thapa, “Test and Simulation of Brick Masonry Wall of Historic Buildings,” Institute of Engineering,
Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, 2011.
[7] R. K. Ranjitkar, “Seismic Strengthening of the Nepalese Pagoda,” in Earthquake-Safe, 2000.
[8] C. Bonpace and V. Sestini, “Traditional materials and construction technologies used in the Kathmandu
Valley,” Unesco, 2003.
[9] M. Shakya, H. Varum, R. Vicente, and A. Costa, “Seismic sensitivity analysis of the common structural
components of Nepalese Pagoda temples,” Bull. Earthq. Eng., 2014, doi: 10.1007/s10518-013-9569-6.
[10] F. Neves, A. Costa, R. Vicente, C. S. Oliveira, and H. Varum, “Seismic vulnerability assessment and
characterisation of the buildings on Faial Island, Azores,” Bull. Earthq. Eng., 2012, doi: 10.1007/s10518-011-
9276-0.
[11] R. L. Wood et al., “Damage assessment and modeling of the five-tiered pagoda-style nyatapola temple,”
Earthq. Spectra, 2017, doi: 10.1193/121516EQS235M.

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