247

A NEW DRAFT CODE FOR SEISMIC

DESIGN OF BUILDINGS IN INDONESIA
I.A.N. Fraser*
SYNOPSIS:
The paper describes a new loading code for Indonesia developed
under the aegis of the New Zealand Bilateral Aid Programme" to
Indonesia by the executing consultants, under the direction of a
NZ Steering Committee and Indonesian Counterpart Team.
The paper summarizes the method of zoning, determining
lateral load levels, and the assessment of factors relevant to
the design loading code such as risk, ground condition, structural
types, ductility and the development of the concept of dual documents
namely:
(a)

a code for use as the bylaw and for more complex structures,
and

(b)

1.

a manual as a means of compliance with the code for easier

design of straightforward buildings complying with one of a
number of well defined structural types.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:

In 19 73 the Indonesian Government

published in their Blue Book of desirable
proj ects , an Earthquake Engineering Study,
called project KTA6A, with the following
principal objectives

The project was undertaken in 3

stages as listed below:
Stage I
(a)

Review existing Indonesian seismic

provisions and practices

: evaluation of existing seismic

zoning maps and preparation of
recommendations

(b)

Collect data which is relevant to

seismic activity and to zoning
considerations

: evaluation of existing seismic

codes and related provisions,
and preparation of recommendations

(c)

Carry out any necessary processing

of the data

(d)

Evaluate available data and

information and make recommendations
whether zoning is justified.

: training of Indonesian Engineers

in Earthquake Engineering
Following keen interest by the NZ
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Beca
Carter Rollings and Ferner Ltd, discussions
and proposals in Indonesia led to the
acceptance in late 1974 by the Indonesian
Government, of Beca Carter Hollings and
Ferner s credentials for undertaking the
study and of an overall approach.
Subsequently it was decided that the NZ
input should be directed by a specially
selected broad based committee including
specialists in the range of disciplines
necessary for zoning and drafting of
regulations.
By mid 1976 the Committee
was established together with the terms
of reference for the executing consultants,
Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd,
and the project commenced under the aegis
of the New Zealand Bilateral Assistance
Programme to Indonesia.
An Indonesian
Counterpart Committee was also established
to review the reports and recommendations
of the New Zealand team and to assist with
the obtaining of local data.
Members of
the Committees are acknowledged in the
reports which present the findings of the
Study. 1 2
3 ^ 5 6 7
1

* Senior Director: Beca, Carter, Hollings

& Ferner Ltd, Consulting Engineers,
Wellington, New Zealand.

Stage II
If Stage I concludes zoning is
justified undertake the necessary work
to present zoning recommendations.
Stage III
(a)

Recommend items to be
code.

covered by a

(b)

Prepare a draft of the seismic

provisions of a code for general
structural design and design
loadings.

The project also included training

of two Indonesian Engineers at New
Zealand University and in New Zealand
design offices.
Following the completion of Stage I,
the project was extended to include the
conducting of testing of full scale samples
of Indonesian masonry construction under
simulated inplane and face loading.
The following sections of this paper
describe in summary form the conclusions of
each stage and identify some of the policy
decisions in drafting proposed new
regulations.

B U L L E T I N OF T H E NEW Z E A L A N D N A T I O N A L SOCIETY FOR E A R T H Q U A K E E N G I N E E R I N G , V O L . 16, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1983

248
2.

REVIEW OF EXISTING CODE PROVISIONS:

The existing loading code contained

a formula for the calculation of the
horizontal earthquake load on a building
and its distribution.
The formula
included parameters for zone, soil type,
structural material and importance factor.
Other seismic design considerations such as
drift, separation and torsion were given
in general terms.
The design procedure was essentially
elastic and the concrete materials code
included some seismic provisions similar
to the ACI code provisions but excluding
those relating to ductility.
It was recommended that consideration
be given to reviewing load distribution,
the use of different loads for structural
type of different inherent ductility and
more specific requirements for torsion,
separation, drift and the distribution
of forces according to member stiffnesses.
One frequent request from practising
Engineers was that any recommended new
code should be simpler and therefore reduce
design time.
It was difficult to give
reassurance on this because of the general
world trend toward more complex design
codes, particularly for ductility provisions
in materials codes.
The need for ductile
detailing was not generally well recognized
and even existing code provisions often
poorly understood.
A dominant feature of Indonesian
construction was the use of masonry of
locally made red bricks.
Bricks are by
far the most commonly used material for
infill walls but are generally not load
bearing except for single and two storey
construction.
The masonry is unreinforced
except for "practical" columns and beams
of similar thickness to the wall so that
the usually plastered faces are planar.
The design rule is empirical requiring
panels of no greater area than 12 square
metres between practical beams and columns.
The columns themselves generally
contain 4 - 1 0 mm dia bars with 6 mm
ties at about 300 mm spacing.
This
empirical approach was understood to have
been established during the Dutch era.
Such masonry walls were not considered in
the analysis of structures (typically
with a reinforced concrete frame) and
walls were cast against "structural"
members at random positions over the
floor plan and elevation.
The project
was extended to include testing of full
scale wall samples to assess the stiffness
and strength of walls in relation to a
typical frame.
This was to confirm
whether the stiffness of the walls in an
unsymmetric wall configuration could lead
to building torsions and unexpected
ductility demands or "soft storeys",
and also whether the walls could reliably
be used as shear walls.
7

Apart from the widespread use of the

above noted masonry, in-situ reinforced
concrete was found to be the most common
structural material.
The national
reinforced concrete design code was based
on elastic theory along the lines of

European practice.
Some structural steel construction was
in evidence and in the absence of local
material code, it was the custom to
use recognized international codes.
Generally speaking, there was found
to be a wide range in the quality of materials , in the standards of workmanship and
in design; and this variability would
be expected to be carried through to the
ability of structures to resist earthquakes.
3.

SEISMOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DATA:

The Indonesian Islands cover an

enormous area extending some 45 in
longitude and 17 in latitude.
The
Islands straddle the collision zones of
the Indian-Australian, Pacific and
Eurasian plates.
The active margins
contain trenches, young mountain ranges,
volcanic arcs and frequent seismic activity.
Other parts of Indonesia are in stable
shelf areas with rare seismic activity..
Data on historical earthquake
occurrence and late quaternary earth
deformation in Indonesia were obtained
from international agencies and from
the relevant Indonesian Government
departments and agencies.
4.

ZONING:

It was concluded that there was

enough data for a meaningful zoning to
be carried out, but it was recommended
that the zoning map is reviewed as more
suitable geological research is undertaken
and complete earthquake records are obtained
over a longer period of time.
The zoning
method adopted is briefly described below
but it has been described in more detail
in a previous conference.
8

A seismic zone was defined as a

region where the expected risk of structural
and non-structural damage from earthquakes
to normal buildings is approximately
uniform.
This expected risk was calculated
from an integration of
A.

The expected frequency of occurrence

of shallow earthquakes of different
magnitudes at positions which would
affect the site and

B.

The patterns and strength of structural response expected from individual

shallow earthquakes of different
magnitude in Indonesia.

The following paragraphs summarise

how assessments of these were obtained and
subsequently integrated.
4.1

The expected occurrence of earthquakes

in Indonesia.

(i) Indonesian earthquake listings were

analysed to determine the historical
frequency of occurrence of shallow
earthquakes of varying magnitude.
2

(ii) A review of Late Quaternary earth

deformation was undertaken and a

249
response at a site (for a given
structural period and site condition)
was determined by a straightforward
integration procedure from the
appropriate attenuation curves and
the estimates of earthquake occurrence near the site.

tectonic zoning map prepared.

The
map illustrated zones where earth
deformation has occurred in the last
20 , 000, 250,000 and 2-3 million
years.
Work was carried out by
G.J. Lensen of the D.S.I.R.
(iii).A study of the seismotectonic
units of Indonesia was prepared and
maximum typical earthquakes assigned
to each unit.
This was undertaken
by Mr Eiby of the D.S.I.R.
(iv) A study of b values in Indonesia
was carried out and it was
recommended that in symmetric units
(Kalimantan, Stlawesi) b * 0.9,
and in asymmetric units (Java,
Sumatra, Halmahera, West Irian,
Minahassa Peninsula) b t 1.0.
1

(v) The results of (i) to (iv) above

were evaluated and a map illustrating
the expected frequency of shallow
earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or
more per square degree in Indonesia
was prepared.
(vi) The earthquake occurrence map (from
(v) above), the b values and the
maximum typical earthquakes in all
regions allows the expected frequency
of occurrence of earthquakes of any
magnitude to be calculated throughout
Indonesia.
Details of this procedure are given
in references (2) and (3).
4.2

Patterns of shaking in Indonesian

Earthquakes.

Because there are no strong-motion

records of Indonesian earthquakes and only
a few isoseismal maps, estimation of the
patterns of shaking in Indonesian earthquakes
was based on data from regions outside of
Indonesia.
Elastic horizontal acceleration
response spectra at 5% damping were collected
for a number of recorded strong-motions, and
grouped in categories depending on regional
location, magnitude, epicentral distance and
site conditions; "Average" spectra were
calculated for each category.
Details
of this procedure are given in references
(3) and (9).
In constructing the attenuation curves
emphasis was placed on Japanese strong-motion
data, as, these were considered more representative of the likely shaking in Indonesian
earthquakes than other sources.
It was found in constructing the
attenuation curves that two site conditions
are necessary (hard and soft ground) and that
for each site condition only two curves
are needed - one for short period structures
and one for long period structures (with
interpolation for other periods).
4.3
I

Risk Calculations
(i) The expected frequency of acceleration
b is the constant in the equation - Log
N = a - bM where a is a constant and N
is the frequency of occurrence of
earthquakes in a specified region in
the magnitude interval M

(ii) Two refinements to the calculation

procedure were necessary.
The first
was an adjustment to take account
of the elliptical nature of the
contours of equal shaking.
The
second refinement took account of
the errors introduced by using
deterministic attenuation relationships .
(iii) The risk was assessed at 30 sites
throughout Indonesia, for each
of the four combinations of
soil type and natural period, and.
contour maps constructed by allowing
interpolation.
The sensitivity
of the maps to variations in the
input data was assessed.
Contour
maps were drawn illustrating the
peak acceleration response in
elastic structures with 5% damping
expected on average every 20 years.
Seismic zones were defined by
specifying appropriate ranges in
response level and are shown in
Figure 1 which is an extract from
the draft code.
5.

DESIGN LOADINGS CODE:

The recommended draft design loadings

code was developed from an examination of
trends in other world codes and in
particular the requirements of A T C 3 .
The simplicity of the existing code and
the general desire to maintain a simple
and easily applied code led to less
detailed analysis procedures than in
other codes such as NZS 4203.
The draft
includes fairly standard references to
matters such as torsion, inter-connection,
method of analysis, symmetry, dynamic
analysis etc. and includes a formula for
calculating the horizontal seismic load of:
10

V = C I K W
Where V is the total horizontal
seismic base shear and W is the weight
of the structure (including some live
load).
C is the basic seismic coefficient
which depends on the risk of potentially
damaging ground motions at the site, the
natural period of vibration of the structure and the stiffness of the foundation
soils.
I is the importance factor, which
takes a value of 1.0 for typical structures.
Higher values are used for important
structures to provide a decrease in the
probability of damage.
K, the structural type factor, is
intended to reflect the potential
performance of different types of
structures and materials in severe
earthquakes.
Structures with substantial
ductility and capable of dissipating

at
o

251
energy at a substantial number of locations
(where plastic hinges form) are assigned
low K values and K increases as the
available ductility decreases.

Change in return period

.67
1.5
2
5

Values for C, I and K were developed

in accordance with the following philosophy:
1.

2.

The lateral strength of the building

should be sufficient to ensure that
the expected frequency of occurrence
of onset of structural damage is
acceptable.
The lateral strength of the building
should be sufficient to ensure the
probability of ground shaking in a
severe earthquake causing deflections
and strains beyond the capacity of
the structure is acceptable in the
assumed life of the structure.

The values of C and I were set by

criterion 1 and K by criterion 2.
5.1

Determination of Basic Coefficient C:

Assuming K = 1 and 1 = 1 , values of

C were set from the risk analysis carried
out in Stage II of the project such that
for any combination of site condition
(soft or firm), natural period of
vibration of the structure, and seismic
zone, the expected average return period
of an earthquake response causing the
possible onset of structural damage was
approximately equal and acceptable.
The
structural response causing the possible
onset of damage was defined as that
required for the structure to reach full
over-strength stresses in a significant
number of elements.
Using the load
levels in the previous code the "acceptable"
return period for stiff structures on soft
ground in the Jakarta zone was calculated
to be approximately 20 years.
(It should
be noted that this calculation is probably
conservative because the numerous
assumptions in its derivation are likely to
be slightly conservative.
Therefore
one would expect a real structure in
Jakarta to respond to the level of
incipient damage less frequently than a
long term average of 20 years.)
Once
this 20 year average return period was
set, the values of C for other zones, soil
types and structural periods followed
from work carried out in Stage II.
These
are shown in figure 2 which is an extract
from the draft code.
5.2

Determination of Importance Factor (I)

The desired level of earthquake

protection varies depending on the importance of the facility and the consequences
of failure.
An importance factor, I,
was used to change the lateral design
load to achieve the required degree of
acceptable risks of the potential onset
of damage.
For normal structures I
is 1.0.
To illustrate, an increase in
response from 0.05 to 0.075 for Zone 4
corresponds to an increase in return period
from 20 to 30 years for stiff structures
on soft ground.
Similar calculations
for other return periods, soil conditions
and seismic zones lead to generalised
values for I.

times
times
times
times

Importance Factor
(I)
0.8
1.5
1.7
2.0

Strictly, for a given change, I

depends on the seismicity, the natural
period and on site conditions, but the
variation was not worth considering and
an average value was adopted.
5.3

Determination of the Structural

Type Factor (K)

The purpose of the structural

type factor in the loading expression
was to take account of the expected
difference in post elastic performance of
varying structure types and materials in
severe earthquakes.
The K factor provides
sufficient lateral strength to ensure that
demands do not exceed available ductility
in severe earthquakes.
Structures with
substantial ductility and which are
capable of dissipating energy in a
significant number of members were given
low K factors.
Structures which have
few energy dissipating mechanisms need
to have higher lateral strength to provide
adequate protection in severe shaking.
These structures have higher K factors.
K was assessed on both the configuration of the structure and the
material of construction.
Values of K were calculated for the
major structural types from an assessment
of available ductility and a "design"
severe earthquake defined in terms of
elastic response.
Using the existing
code loads, K = 1, and an assessment
of available ductility in concrete frame
structures being constructed in Jakarta,
it was assessed that the "design" earthquake had an expected average return period
of at least 200 years.
Again, this
calculation is conservative because of
the number of probably conservative
assumptions contained in its derivation and
the real equivalent elastic response is
likely to have a significantly greater
return period.
This level of risk
(similar to existing ductile reinforced
concrete framed structures in Jakarta)
was deemed acceptable by the Indonesian
Committee and adopted for the calculation
of K values for other structural and
material types.
The recommendations and
contents of ATC 3 were used extensively
in the assessment of available ductility
in structural types for which K values
were given in the code.
K values range
from 1.0 for structures with relatively
high ductility to 4.0 for structures
with little.
Ductility provisions were found to
be inadequate in the existing concrete
code and additional requirements were
included in an appendix to the design
Manual.
6.

DESIGN MANUAL:

Although the design code was kept

as simple as possible it was appreciated
by the project team that some resistance

Structures on firm ground

Structures on soft ground

252

0-2

Zone 1

Zone 2

-13

0-1

09

09
07

045
035

045

0-5

30

20

0-2

05

VO

20

30

Zone I*

Zone 3

8
8

0-1

-J

07
05

cn
u>

035
025

(b

0-5

1-0

20

3 0 -

025
015
3

0 5

10

2-0

3-0

0-2
Zone 5

Zone 6
Nil

0-1

-03
01

02
01

10
20
30
Natural Period (sees)

FIGURE 2

RECOMMENDED C V A L U E S

10

20
30
Natural Period (sees)

253
might arise from the building industry
because of increased design effort.
However, if structures were to be
adequately designed there could be no
further simplification or standards
would be compromised or generally
applicable rules be made so sweeping that
some instances would be too conservative.
The concept of a manual was developed
as a means of compliance with the draft
code (which could become a b y l a w ) .
The Manual was a simplified or "cookbook" approach which would require
neither the level of expertise nor the
design time that was required by the full
code.
The manual could be applied to
only relatively small simple structures
with a high degree of regularity.
More complex or larger structures would
be designed in full in accordance with
the code.
The manual approach was considered
practical for the Indonesian industry
because of the limited range of building
materials and structural systems under
frequent use.
Seven standard structural types
were chosen as representative and these
are described in table 1 which is extracted
from the draft manual.
Type A was a new suggestion based on
the masonry testing programme which
demonstrated that the masonry
construction could be used as
shear walls providing the reinforcing is increased and providing
a ductile frame also exists to
give greater over all ductility.
Type B was a typical reinforced
concrete frame with infill brick
walls, Bl allowing random walls
but low height and B2 allowing
greater height but a symmetrical
wall layout.
Type D is similar to B
separation required at
because of an increase
height and random wall

but with
infill walls
in allowable
layout.

developmental discussions in both

Indonesia and in New Zealand caused the
necessary local input to be available
at the correct stages.
All data and
drafts were circulated freely between
the two committees in both countries
either directly or more usually through
the executing consultants.
Although
this took a little longer than hoped it
led to a greater base for decision making
and a greater sense of involvement for all
parties.
8.

Acknowledgement must be given to the

NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
the NZ
Steering Committee, including Messrs
McKenzie, Butcher, Eiby, Lensen, Drs
Skinner and Smith and particularly the
late Mr 0.A. Glogau who was the chairman;
the Indonesian Counterpart Team and the
Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner team of
Messrs Bentley, Binney and Hollings.
REFERENCES:
1.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner

Ltd et al.
A Review of Existing
Indonesian Seismic Provisions and
Practices.
Unpublished Volume 1
of Indonesian Earthquake Study, 1977.

2.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd

et al.
Earthquake Risk in
Indonesia:
Collation of Seismological and Geological Data.
Unpublished
Volume 2 of Indonesian Earthquake
Study, 1980.

3.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd

et al.
Seismic Zones for Building
Construction in Indonesia.
Unpublished Volume 3 of Indonesian
Earthquake Study, 1980.

4.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner

Ltd et al.
Lateral Loadings for
Earthquake Resistant Design of
Building Construction in Indonesia.
Unpublished Volume 4 of Indonesian
Earthquake Study, 1981.

5.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner

Ltd et al.
Draft Code of Practice
for Seismic Design of Building
Construction in Indonesia.
Unpublished Volume 5 of Indonesian
Earthquake Study, 1981.

6.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner

Ltd et al.
Manual for the Design
of Normal Reinforced Concrete and
Reinforced Masonry Structures in
Indonesia.
Unpublished Volume 6
of Indonesian Earthquake Study, 1981.

7.

Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd

et al.
Masonry Testing.
Unpublished
Volume 7 of Indonesian Earthquake
Study, 1981.

8.

Bentley R.J., and Zen M . T . The

Seismic Zoning of Indonesia for
Normal Building Construction.
Proc.
2nd South Pacific Conference on
Earthquake Engineering, Wellington,
1979.

Type C is a reinforced concrete

masonry shear wall building to allow
for the increasing (though still
modest) manufacture of concrete
masonry.
For each structural type a specific
formula and analysis method is stated
with unnecessary calculations omitted.
For example:
torsion calculation
is not required for structures meeting
strict rules for symmetry and the "K"
factors are built in to the "C" factors;
design charts are given for reading off
values of parameters in formulae for
bending moment calculations.
7.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS;

CONCLUSION:

It is believed that a useful set

of documents have been developed during
the project with a high level of
acceptability to the Indonesian Engineering
profession.
The participation of the
Indonesian counterpart team in the

254
9.

10.

Bentley R.J., Average Estimates

of the Attenuation of 5% Damped
Horizontal Acceleration Response/
Proc. 2nd South Pacific Conference
on Earthquake Engineering, Wellington
1979.
United States Applied Technology
Council "Tentative Provisions for
the Comprehensive Seismic Design
of Buildings", 1978,

TABLE 1 : DESIGN MANUAL - STRUCTURAL TYPES

Structure Type
Restrictions on
The Structural Form

Bl

1.

Construction
Material

Reinforced Concr. Reinforced

Concr .Frame
Frame

2.

Maximum Height:

4 Storeys or
14 metres

3.

Separation of
Masonry Infill
walls from the
structure:

4.

Limitations on
Masonry Infill
Walls:

B2
Reinforced
Concr.Frame

Reinforced
Concr.
Masonry

Reinforced.
Concr. Frame

2 Storeys
7 Storeys
or 8 metres or 25 metres

3 Storeys
or 11 metres

10 Storeys
or 35 metres

Not
separated

Not
separated

Not
separated

Not
separated

Separated

Reasonably
symmetrical
placement. The
sum of the
lateral load
resisting wall
thickness must
exceed

Random
wall
placement.

Reasonably
symmetrical
placement.

Random
wall
placement.

Random Wall
placement.
No limit on
wall placement .

Effect of
infill walls
ignored

Effect of
infill walls
ignored

35
H
for red brick
or
120 E j
3

IP"

for batako.
5.

Assumed Structural Performance

of Infill Walls:

Infill walls
assist seismic
load resistance.

Effect of
Effect of
infill walls infill walls
ignored
ignored