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6.
8 Problems and solutions addressed earthquake with respect to Civil Engineering issues and
concerns
Why are earthquakes so stressful on buildings?
Civil engineering requires solving problems in ways that can then actually be used in real life
scenarios. One of the particular challenges with earthquakes is that buildings and other
structures often only deal with vertical stress or structure on a day-to-day basis, but when the
ground shakes and moves that creates horizontal stress. Earthquakes have driven civil
engineering progress
There’s no question that advances in civil engineering have made an enormous difference in
not only minimizing property damage but also in saving lives. Whether building better bridges,
more shock absorbent buildings, or more sound structures of any kind, the casualty numbers
speak for themselves.
Civil engineering and earthquake hazard mitigation

Resultantly, engineers now develop mitigation plans incorporating alternative measures,
such as land planning, structure relocation and natural land feature preservation.
An innovative natural/earthquake hazard mitigation tool

Civil engineers use a comparatively new technology, building information modeling (BIM), to
design secure buildings. BIM allows designers to uncover building feature interaction during
seismic events or accidental blasts and allows designers from varying disciplines to collaborate
in producing structures that withstand a typical forces. This software also allows property
owners to monitor and track mechanical systems for the entire structure life cycle.
Designing Earthquake Safe Buildings and Structures
Buildings and structures are susceptible to the ravaging devastation of earthquakes. Great
amounts of research have been performed to determine what types of buildings and structures
are able to withstand an earthquake and how structural engineers can design earthquake-safe
buildings and structures for the future.
• Flexibility is the Key
One of the most important physical traits of earthquake safe buildings and structures is
flexibility. A rigid structure will crumble and collapse during the movement caused by an
earthquake.
• Materials Matter
The construction materials used in buildings and structures can significantly help reduce
the amount of damage caused during an earthquake. Wood and steel have greater flexibility
than stucco, unreinforced concrete, or masonry.
• Earthquake Reinforcement
Buildings and structures can be created with additional strategically placed beams that
help transfer the energy of the sway of the building during a quake to the base of the structure
and the surrounding earth.
• Earthquake-Proof Foundations
Specially designed foundations for buildings and structures can also help limit damage.
Foundational plates can be layered to allow for a sliding movement during a quake, providing a
stable base for the structure throughout the movement.
• Soil Types Can Limit Damage
Softer soils and surrounding earth that contains a high amount of moisture are more prone
to induce greater amounts of structural damage during an earthquake. This is partly due to the
properties of resonance as energy passes through the soil during the shocks of the quake.
• Saving Lives with Planned Failure
Some structures and buildings are designed to fail in a certain way in the event of an
earthquake. These planned failings allow for protection of interior spaces where people are
likely to be located. The structures are also designed to limit the amount of rubble and debris
that is deposited around the foundation of the structure to keep from damaging nearby
buildings.
Alternatives:
1. To use passive control systems such as base isolators or energy dissipators
That is, to retrofit the structure with devices that will absorb some energy in the event of an
earthquake. Today, the most mature and widely used technology is base isolation, which
consists in adding special supports that decouple the movement of the structure's base from
the movement of the ground. A flexible device is installed that allows the base to move. The
friction that this causes dissipates some of the energy that would otherwise directly enter the
structure. Another system is to support the structure on flexible elements made from materials
such as neoprene. In this method, the deformation of the support elements is what allows the
base to move.
Energy-dissipation systems essentially consist of dampers placed at the joints between
structural elements -- for example, where beams meet diagonal supports. During an
earthquake, these devices,made from very weak steel, may undergo plastic deformation or
even break, but only in very specific, predefined areas of the building.
2. To employ an active control system
This is designed to apply a force that counteracts that of the earthquake. Active systems
differ from passive systems in that they apply force to the structure by means of a real-time
process. A series of sensors begin by measuring the structure's response (displacement, velocity
and acceleration). The measurements are digitized and sent to a computer that carries out a
control algorithm. Algorithm calculates the value of the necessary displacement and governs
the mechanism of the actuators, which transform the signal into effective force. Active systems
have great potential but are difficult to implement in practice. The main difficulty is a
technological one, having to do with the way in which forces can be applied to large structures
such as buildings. This is why much of the research in the field is focused on developing
semiactive strategies.

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6.

Civil engineering and earthquake hazard mitigation

An innovative natural/earthquake hazard mitigation tool

• Flexibility is the Key

• Soil Types Can Limit Damage

• Saving Lives with Planned Failure

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