Lessons Learned From Damage of the Owner-Built RC Frames in the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes

Abstract eng:
The 2015 Mw-7.8 Nepal Earthquake and its aftershocks caused great loss of lives and severe damage to buildings. A team of 22 professors from China Earthquake Administration was sent for an extensive field investigation on the damage of buildings and lifelines. As part of the research efforts, the study presents the observation results and quantitative analyses on damage of the own-built reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures, which are widely adopted in the urban or sub-urban areas throughout Nepal. The frames are constructed of slender RC columns, RC beams and masonry infill walls, and exhibited much better seismic performance than most of other types of buildings, such as the stone, soil, masonry or wooden buildings. However, a lot of owner-built RC frames were still severely damaged or even collapsed. Lessons must be learned from the damaged buildings for facing the future earthquakes. First, beside RC frames, traditional structural systems with a good integrity was examined and introduced. Second, Typical structural features of the Nepal owner-built RC frames are demonstrated. Third, a few collapsed or severely damaged RC frames are selected for a detailed analysis, and factors that caused severe damage are summarized based on a quantitative field investigation. The results show that the key reasons that may cause the collapse of these buildings include slope sites, failure of foundation, pounding of neighboring buildings, and damage accumulation of earthquake series. Proposals for the improvement of design and constructions are presented.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket