Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

ABSTRACT
Natural phenomenon like earthquakes and cyclones become disasters because of lack of awareness on how to construct affordable disaster resistant houses by using viable technologies. It has been observed that this ignorance results in the violation of the basic rules of good construction and hazard resistant technology leading to deaths, injury and un warranted hardship to the people along with huge losses in terms of houses and infrastructure. In addition to the direct losses caused by the disaster it has been observed that the people suffer self- inflicted losses out of ignorance and under the influence of the un scientific myths that there was no future in their houses built out of stone , wood and mud. The Kashmir region has witnessed frequent earthquakes in the past. But the earthquake of 2005 demonstrated how extremely vulnerable the buildings in this region are. It also showed that when people build houses and institutions, they dont seem to be aware of the threats posed by the earthquakes. As has been observed in other earthquakes, people are unable to assess the root causes of earthquake destruction. The 2005 earthquake shook the confidence of many Kashmiris in local building materials, and even in the techniques they had been using to build houses for many years. The immediate reaction has been a strong desire to abandon traditional architecture and building system and adopt cement and steel based construction, without understanding the long term consequences as well as the viability of such introduced systems in the local context. Some structures were totally destroyed by the earthquake. But many more were left standing, either damaged to varying degrees or with no damage at all. People in slightly damaged houses are likely to simply patch up the damage and continue living in them. But those in moderately damaged buildings often think that these are beyond repair and thus want to demolish and rebuild them. Two main questions arise; 1) Is it really necessary to tear such a building down? 2) Are there enough resources and adequate knowledge to build a new earthquake resistant structure? The solution rather an immediate answer to these popping questions lies in the seismic evaluation of existing structures.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

Seismic codes for buildings were developed very recently in 1960s.Many buildings which exist today have not been designed as per codal requirements are earthquake prone. Strengthening of existing structures is far more important than going for construction of new structures that are earthquake resistant. We limit our work to evaluation and strengthening of educational buildings. Educational buildings fall in the category of important buildings and population vulnerable is youth which is highly undesirable. Seismic performance evaluation is a formal procedure to qualify and quantify the level of actual or anticipated seismic performance associated with the direct damage to an individual building subjected to a specified ground shaking.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

OBJECTIVES
Broader objectives of our study / research are: 1) To determine seismic stability criteria of existing educational institutions. 2) To characterize educational institution buildings on the basis of seismic vulnerability. In other words determine the degree of risk of educational institutions. 3) Primary and detailed seismic survey of educational buildings. 4) Identify typical architectural and structural flaws that have been observed in past earthquakes leading to failure and falling of structural components. 5) To frame or formulate general guidelines for safe seismic design of educational buildings. 6) To identify the feasible and necessary methods that can be used for seismic up-gradation of educational buildings. 7) Spread awareness among people regarding safety of educational institutions against earthquakes. 8) Last but not least; contribute towards the development of society on social, economical and technical grounds.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC
The study conducted by Roger Bilham, a seismologist and professor of geology at the University of Colorado at Boulder US, states that the major earthquake with magnitude 9 is likely to occur in Kashmir valley anytime from now. Professor Roger has already issued a warning about the major earthquake in Kashmir valley so the responsibility lies on us to work towards making our buildings earthquake resistant. Moreover the existing structures prone to earthquakes outnumber recently constructed structures. More damage can be prevented by retrofitting of existing earthquake prone structures than going for building of new structures that are earthquake resistant. Here , we limit our evaluation to educational institutions because they fall under the category of important buildings. Also their importance increases from the fact that their collapse affects the younger generation and children.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

METHODOLOGY
Seismic evaluation methodology implies vulnerability analysis of existing structures. A simple method to carry out vulnerability assessment involves visual evaluation of the building from the viewpoint of damage that it could suffer in the event of an earthquake. This will help in deciding the retrofitting requirements for the building. Methodologies available for the evaluation of existing structures can be divided into two categories: (1) Quantitative method (2) Analytical method

Methodology that we are going to adopt will be qualitative, based on the background information available of the building and its construction site, which requires some or few documents like drawings, past performance of the similar buildings under seismic activities, visual inspection report. The strategy for seismic evaluation based on visual and survey report will involve: 1) Selection of various educational institutions and collection of necessary data. 2) Preliminary and simple survey by site visit and visual inspection. 3) Detailed evaluation by comparing the various structural and architectural features with codal provisions. 4) Using Rapid screening procedure (RSP). The Rapid Screening Procedure (RSP) is aimed for identifying potentially hazardous buildings in the study area, without going into detailed analysis. RSP utilizes a methodology based on visual inspection of a building and noting the structural configuration. The methodology begins with identifying the primary structural lateral load resisting system and materials of the building. The method generates a Structural Score S, which consists of a series of scores and modifiers based on building attributes that can be seen during building survey. The Structural Score S is related to probability of the building sustaining life- threatening

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

damage should a severe earthquake in the region occur. A low S score suggests that the building is vulnerable and needs detailed analysis, whereas a high S score indicates that the building is probably safe for defined earthquake loads. Thus, the expression for structural score is: S (Structural score) = BSH (Basic Structural Hazard) + PMFs (Performance Modification Factor).

5) Using specified codal tests and checks wherever required. 6) Grouping or classifying buildings as seismically adequate or inadequate. 7) Framing a comparative report on seismic status of educational institutions. 8) Development of general model of guidelines after complete seismic evaluation.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

Flow chart of methodology

Selection of educational buildings for seismic evaluation.

Simple survey

Preliminary survey

Detailed survey, tests.

Comparing results of survey and tests with general guidelines.

Evaluating seismic performance on the basis of comparison.

Solutions provided/ revision of guidelines/modification of constructional philosophy.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

WORK DONE
The project work is in its infancy. The project chosen by us involves ideas which havent been covered in any of our courses. For that matter we have to build our ideas before we proceed with the project work. However, inspite of that we have done some preliminary work as mentioned below: Earmarked various educational institutions for seismic evaluation. Collected necessary required literature and past history of seismic evaluation. Formulated a general checklist guideline for rapid screening of buildings. The guideline checklist is attached with the report along with their pictorial representation for a general building in Kashmir.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

LITERATURE REVIEW
Earthquake engineering is the most fast growing field of civil engineering. Tremendous research has been carried out for earthquake related problems and their solutions. In this regard seismic evaluation of buildings has a formidable importance as it helps in determining the seismic performance of existing structures. Some noteworthy research in this regard is as follows: 1) Manual for restoration and retrofitting of rural structures in Kashmir. A research carried out by Govt. of India in association with UNDP and UNESCO that underlines the guidelines for reducing vulnerability of existing structures in earthquake affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir. 2) Manual for hazard resistant construction in India; prepared by Govt. of India, UNDP in association with ISDR, USAID, DFID. 3) Experimental study for higher seismic performance of masonry walls in developing countries. A research performed by K.Yoshimura, K.Kikuchi, M.Kuroki,

H.Nonaka,K.T.Kim & L.Ma. 4) Simple ways to earthquake safety for Jammu and Kashmir: An introduction to simple and affordable steps of earthquake resistant buildings to get maximum safety at minimum cost. A research performed by Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council; Ministry OF Urban Employment & Poverty Alleviation , Govt. of India, New Delhi. 5) Seismic upgrading for public school buildings in Taiwan: A research performed on 3621 elementary and high schools in Taiwan by Fu Pei Hsiao, Shyh-Jiann Hwang, Wen- Yu Chein, National Centre for Research on Earthquake Engineering, National Taiwan University. 6) Seismic evaluation of Marine Elementary School ; prepared for Albany Unified district Albany CA, November 2012 by R.P.Gallagher Associates Inc, Structural engineers Oakland, CA. 7) Seismic evaluation and strengthening of existing structures Dr. Durgesh C. Rai, Department of civil engineering, IIT Kanpur. 8) Rapid structural and Non-structural assessment of school and hospital buildings in SAARC countries by SAARC Disaster Management Centre, New Delhi. National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

Seismic evaluation of Educational institutions 2012

9) Shunsuke Otani (2004) studied earthquake resistant design of RCC Buildings (Past and Future). This paper briefly reviews the development of earthquake resistant design of buildings. 10) Measurement of ground acceleration started in 1930s, and the response calculation was made possible in 1940s. Design response spectra were formulated in the late 1950s to 1960s. Non-linear response was introduced in seismic design in 1960s and the capacity design concept was introduced in 1970s for collapse safety. The damage statistics of RCC buildings in 1995 Kobe disaster demonstrated the improvement of building performance with the development of design methodology. Buildings designed and constructed using outdated methodology should be upgraded. Performance basis engineering should be emphasized, especially for the protection of building functions following frequent earthquakes.

National Institute Of Technology, Hazratbal

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