What kind of infrastructural and and structural facility are required in urban community living in earthquake prone areas?

Answer 1

There are certain features which if taken into consideration at the stage of architectural planning and structural design of buildings, their performance during earthquakes will be appreciably improved. Some of these are stated below :

Building configuration

★ The building should have a simple rectangular plan.

★ Long walls should be supported by Reinforced Concrete columns.

★ Large buildings having plans with shapes like T, L, U and X should preferably be separated into rectangular blocks by providing gaps in between.

Foundation

Buildings which are structurally strong to withstand earthquakes sometimes fail due to inadequate foundation design. Tilting, cracking and failure of structure

may result from soil liquefaction. Soil liquefaction refers to transformation of soil from a solid state to a liquid state as a consequence of increased pressure. Depending on the type of soil conditions the depth of the foundation has to be decided.

Control on openings in walls

Door and window openings in walls should preferably be small and more

centrally located. Too many or large openings will make the wall vulnerable

to collapse during earthquakes. The location of openings should not be

too close to the edge of the wall.

Reinforced concrete bands in masonry buildings

For integrating the walls of an enclosure to perform together like a rigid box reinforced concrete bands are provided which run continuously on all external and internal walls including fixed partition walls. One or more of the following bands may be necessary in a building. Plinth band, lintel band, roof band, and gable band are names used for the band depending on the level of the building where the band is provided.

Vertical reinforcement

Vertical reinforcement should be provided at corners and junction of walls. It shall be passing through the lintel bands and floor slabs or floor level bands in all storeys.