What is an earthquake?

An earthquake is the vibration of Earth produced by

the rapid release of energy
Energy radiates in all directions from its source,
the focus
Energy moves like waves
Seismographs record the event
The movement of Earth’s crust resulting from the release of
built up potential energy between two stuck tectonic plates!
Focus:
⚫ Point below Earth’s surface
where the rock breaks along
a fault and energy is released
Epicenter :
A point on Earth’s surface that
is directly above the focus of
an earthquake, where the
shaking is strongest and most
damage occurs
Anatomy of Earthquakes
Earthquakes are associated with faults
Earthquake depth
Based on focus-depth, there are 3 types of earthquakes:
1) shallow-focus at depths <70 km,
2) intermediate-focus at depths of 70-300 km
3) deep-focus at depths >300 km.
Of all earthquakes, 90% occur at depths <100 km and only 3% are
deep-focus.
The deepest focus ever recorded was about 700 km
The focal depth of an earthquake is the depth from the Earth's surface to
the region where an earthquake's energy originates (the focus).
Most earthquakes occur in the brittle portion of the crust above the
brittle-ductile boundary: the boundary between the lithosphere and the
asthenosphere.
 Causes of earthquake
⚫ Depending upon the possible cause of an earthquake,
earthquakes are generally classified into two categories:
1. Tectonic earthquakes
2. Non-tectonic earthquakes
Tectonic earthquakes are caused by the slippage or movement
of the rock masses along a rupture or break called fault.
Non-tectonic earthquake results from: volcanic eruptions;
landslides; subsidence of the ground etc.
 Elastic Rebound theory
❖ Rocks are believed to behave as elastic masses and would undergo elastic
deformation when subjected to stresses.
❖ This deformation is possible only up to a certain limit i.e. till the breaking
point or elastic limit.
❖ When the stress exceeds the frictional resistance of the rock, it will break
producing rupture in the rock.
❖ This rupture takes the form of faulting with relative movements of ruptured
rock blocks, when produced rapidly.
❖ Such movements involve sudden release of enormous amount of elastic
energy which may produce powerful seismic waves that travel in all
directions.
❖ The first evidence to support this theory came from the San Andreas fault
⚫ As the plate try to move relative to each other, strain energy gets
built up along the boundaries.
⚫ When the stress buildup reaches the ultimate strength of rock, rock
fractures and releases the accumulated strain energy.
⚫ The nature of failure dictates the effect of the fracture.
⚫ If the material is very ductile and weak, hardly any strain energy
could be stored in the plates due to their movement.
⚫ But if the material is strong and brittle, the stress built up and
subsequent sudden rupture releases the energy stored in the form of
stress waves and heat.
⚫ The propagation of these elastic stress waves causes the vibratory
motion associated with earthquakes.
The earthquake mechanism may be explained as occurring in three phases
in accordance with elastic rebound theory:
First, the preparatory process, in which non-hydrostatic stress field is
created in a certain region around the fault.
The duration of the preparatory phase is to ultimately define the size of the
earthquake.
Foreshocks occur during this phase.
Second the rupture phase, during which rupture takes place along the fault
and stored energy is released as seismic waves and also transformed into
heat energy.
Main shock occur during this phase.
Third post failure adjustment, during which medium is restored to a state
of equilibrium involving series of after shocks.
Residual strain energy released from the rocks.
These after shocks are often recorded for many months from the time of
occurrence of main shock.
Relationship Between
Stress and Strain

Demo: Rubber Band

Strain can be a change in shape (a deformation) due to an applied stress

Relationship Between
Stress and Strain at
low Temps and
Pressure or Sudden
Stress

Demo: Pencil
Relationship Between
Stress and Strain
under High Temps or
Pressure

Demo: gum
Plate tectonics and Earthquakes
The theory of plate tectonics, presented in early 1960s, explains that the lithosphere
is broken into seven large (and several smaller) segments called plates .
The upper most part of the earth is considered to be divided into two layers with
different deformation properties.
The upper rigid layer, called the lithosphere, is about 100 km thick below the
continents, and about 50 km under the oceans, and consists of Crust and rigid
upper-mantle rocks.
The lower layer, called the asthenosphere, extends down to about 700 km depth.
The rigid lithospheric shell is broken into several irregularly shaped major plates
and a large number of minor or secondary plates.
The lithospheric plates are not stationary, on the contrary, they float in a complex
pattern, with a velocity of some 2-10 cm/year on the soft rocks of the underlying
asthenosphere like rafts on a lake.
⚫ This theory requires a source that can generate tremendous force is
acting on the plates.
⚫ The widely accepted explanation is based on the force offered by
convection currents created by thermo-mechanical behavior of the
earth’s subsurface.
⚫ The variation of mantle density with temperature produces an
unstable equilibrium.
⚫ The colder and denser upper layer sinks under the action of gravity
to the warmer bottom layer which is less dense.
⚫ The lesser dense material rises upwards and the colder material as it
sinks gets heated up and becomes less dense .
⚫ These convection currents create shear stresses at the bottom of the
plates which drags them along the surface of earth.
⚫ As plate glides over the asthenosphere, the continents and
oceans move with it.
⚫ Because the plates move in different directions, they knock
against their neighbors at boundaries.
⚫ The great forces thus generated at plate boundary build
mountain ranges, cause volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
⚫ Most of the Earth’s major geological activity occurs at plate
boundaries, the zones where plates meet and interact.
Figure : Tectonic plate map of the world
Figure : The state of convection currents below the earth’s surface and
their effect on plate movement
Figure : Map of distribution of earthquake epicenters around the world.
These zones mark of edges of tectonic plates
95% of energy released by earthquakes originates in narrow zones
that wind around the Earth

Broad are subduction zone earthquakes, narrow are MOR. Lead to recognition of plates
Earthquake Depth and Plate Tectonic Setting

Subduction Zones discovered by Benioff

Earthquake in subduction zones
 Earthquake Waves
Earthquake vibrations originate from the point of initiation
of rupture and propagates in all directions.
These vibrations travel through the rocks in the form of
elastic waves.

Seismic waves
Body waves Surface waves
1. P-wave 1.Love wave
2. S-wave 2. Rayleigh wave
 Primary (P) Waves
These are known as primary waves, push-pull waves, longitudinal waves,
compressional waves, etc.
These waves propagate by longitudinal or compressive action, which mean
that the ground is alternately compressed and dilated in the direction of
propagation,
P waves are the fastest among the seismic waves and travel as fast as 8 to
13 km per second.
These are the first waves to reach any seismic station and hence the first to
be recorded.
The P waves resemble sound waves because these too are compressional or
longitudinal waves in nature.
Hence, the particles vibrate to and fro in the direction of propagation (i.e.
longitudinal particle motion). These waves are capable of traveling through
solids, liquids and gases.
Compressional Wave (P-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating compression and dilation.

Particle motion is parallel to the direction of propagation (longitudinal). Material returns
to its original shape after wave passes.
The P-waves propagates radial to the source of the energy release and
the velocity is expressed by

where E is the Young’s modulus; ν is the Poisson’s ratio (0.25); and ρ

is the density
 Secondary (S) Waves
These are also called shear waves, secondary waves, transverse waves,
etc.
Compared to P waves, these are relatively slow.
These are transverse or shear waves, which mean that the ground is
displaced perpendicularly to the direction of propagation, (Figure ).
In nature, these are like light waves, i.e., the waves move
perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
Hence, transverse particle motion is characteristic of these waves.
These waves are capable of traveling only through solids.
If the particle motion is parallel to prominent planes in the medium
they are called SH waves.
On the other hand, if the particle motion is vertical, they are called SV
waves. The shear wave velocity is given by
Transverse wave
 Shear Wave (S-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating transverse motion. Particle

motion is perpendicular to the direction of propagation (transverse). Transverse particle
motion shown here is vertical but can be in any direction. However, Earth’s layers tend to
cause mostly vertical (SV; in the vertical plane) or horizontal (SH) shear motions. Material
returns to its original shape after wave passes.
Body Waves
Bulk modulus
κ = ΔP / (ΔV/ V) ⇒

Shear modulus
or „rigidity“
μ = (ΔF/A) / (ΔL/L) ⇒

Young´s or „stretch“
modulus E = (F/A)/ (ΔL/L)
and Poisson ratio
σ = (ΔW/W) / (ΔL/L) ⇒
Deformation of material
samples for determining
elastic moduli
❖ Body waves are those which travel through the entire volume
of the Earth.
❖ There are two types:
❖ P-waves (Primary, or first arriving) are the quickest and have
a compressional particle motion parallel to the direction of
travel.
❖ S-waves (Shear) are quicker than surface waves, and have a
shearing particle motion perpendicular to the direction of
travel.
❖ The velocity of a P or S wave is related to the bulk or shear
moduli (respectively) of the material through which they
travel.
 P and S waves

Demo: P and S waves

Smaller amplitude than surface (L) waves, but faster, P arrives first, then S, then L
 Surface Waves
★ When the vibratory wave energy is propagating near the surface of
the earth rather than deep in the interior, two other types of waves
known a Rayleigh and Love waves can be identified.
★ These are called surface waves because their journey is confined to
the surface layers of the earth only.
★ Surface waves travel through the earth crust and does not propagate
into the interior of earth unlike P or S waves.
★ Surface waves are the slowest among the seismic waves.
Therefore, these are the last to be recorded in the seismic station at
the time of occurrence of the earthquake.
★ They travel at the rate of 4 to 5 km per second.
★ Complex and elliptical particle motion is characteristic of these
waves.
★ These waves are capable of travelling through solids and liquids.
★ They are complex in nature and are said to be of two kinds,
namely, Raleigh waves and Love waves.
– Rayleigh wave
 Rayleigh Wave (R-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of elliptical motions

(generally retrograde elliptical) in the vertical plane and parallel to the
direction of propagation. Amplitude decreases with depth. Material returns to
 Love Wave (L-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating transverse

motions. Particle motion is horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of
propagation (transverse). To aid in seeing that the particle motion is purely
horizontal, focus on the Y axis (red line) as the wave propagates through it.
Amplitude decreases with depth. Material returns to its original shape after
wave passes.
Surface Waves
⚫ Form at the free
surface
⚫ Amplitude decays
exponentially with
depth.

© Copyright 2004. L. Braile.

 ▪Seismic Waves 1: Surface waves
–Complex motion, great destruction
–High amplitude and low velocity
–Longest periods (interval between crests)
– Termed long, or L waves
Love waves

Rayleigh waves
Schematic diagram illustrating students performing wave simulations. Student
holds a poster board or cardboard circle in front of his or her body and walks
forward (like the seismic waves propagating in the Earth). While walking, the
student moves their circle forward and backward (“push and pull”, for the P
wave), or up and down (transverse motion for the shear wave), or in a retrograde
ellipse (for the Rayleigh wave), or side to side horizontally (for the Love wave), as
shown above.
Note how much bigger the surface waves are
Locating the Epicenter
Earthquake epicenters are located based on the difference in the
arrival time at seismograph stations of the first P-and S-waves, the
P-S time interval.
P-waves arrive first, followed in order by S-, Love, and Rayleigh
waves.
Seismologists know the average speeds of P-and S waves.
Based on these average speeds, P-S wave travel times have been
determined for distances between focus and seismograph.
Time-distance graphs plot “P-S time interval” versus “travel distance”
are used to locate epicenters
Locating Earthquake Epicenter
 Locating Earthquake Epicenter
⚫ If the “P-S travel times” are known from at least three seismograph stations,
then the epicenter of any earthquake can be located.
⚫ Using the P-S travel time for each station, travel distance can be
determined from the time-distance graph.
⚫ A circle with a radius equal to the travel distance is drawn for each of the
three seismograph stations.
⚫ The intersection of the three circles is the location of the epicenter.
Epicenter located using three seismographs
 Recording Earthquakes
⚫ The vibratory motion produced during an earthquake could be measured in
terms of displacement, velocity or acceleration.
⚫ A seismologist is interested in even small amplitude ground motions (in
terms of displacement) that provides insight into the wave propagation
characteristics and enables him to estimate the associated earthquake
parameters.
⚫ As accelerations are the causative phenomena for forces that damage
structures (Force = mass x acceleration), engineers are more concerned
with the earthquake causing structural damage, hence are interested in
acceleration measurement.
⚫ The instruments measure the ground displacements and are called
seismographs. The record obtained from a seismograph is called a
seismogram.
⚫ The seismograph has three components – the sensor, the recorder and the
timer.
⚫ The principle on which it works is simple – a pen attached at the tip of an
oscillating simple pendulum (a mass hung by a string from a support)
marks on a chart paper that is held on a drum rotating at a constant speed.
⚫ A magnet around the string provides required damping to control the
amplitude of oscillations.
⚫ The pendulum mass, string, magnet and support together constitute the
sensor; the drum, pen and chart paper constitutes the recorder; and the
motor that rotates the drum at constant speed forms the timer, (Figure).
⚫ By varying the characteristics of equipment one could record
displacement, velocity or acceleration during an earthquake
 Figure : Schematic of a
seismograph
Seismometers - instruments that record seismic
waves
⚫ Records the movement of Earth in relation to a
A seismograph designed to
record vertical ground motion
The heavy mass doesn’t move much
The drum moves
 Lateral Movement Detector

In reality, copper wire coils move around magnets, generating current which is recorded.
 The sensitivity of seismograph is related to the design period i.e.
time of Oscillation (T.O.) of the pendulum.
Based on this, a seismograph may be made to record either ground
acceleration; or ground velocity; or the ground displacement during
an earthquake.
(i) When T.O. of pendulum i.e design period of the seismograph is
shorter than the period of ground motion, then the deflection
induced would be broadly proportional to the ground acceleration.
Such instrument will record the acceleration with time called
accelerogram and seismograph is called an accelerometer.
(ii) When design period of a seismograph is very long compare to the
period of ground motion, then the deflection would be proportional
to the displacement of the ground.
The record amplitude of the seismogram simply reflect the
displacement of then ground (mm)
Such instruments are called displacement type seismographs
(iii) When the design period of a seismograph is of the same order as
the period of ground motion, then the instrument would record
deflections intermediate between acceleration and displacement.
Signals are proportional to ground velocity.
Such instruments are called velocity type seismographs.
 Measuring the size of earthquakes
⚫ Two measurements describe the size of an earthquake
⚫ Intensity – a measure of earthquake shaking at a
given location based on amount of damage

⚫ Magnitude – estimates the amount of energy

released by the earthquake
⚫ An imaginary line joining the points of same intensity of the
earthquake is called an 'iso-seismal'.
⚫ In plan, the different iso-seismals will appear more or less as
concentric circles over a plain, homogeneous ground if the
focus of the earthquake is a point.
⚫ On the other hand, if the focus happens to be a linear tract, the
iso-seismals will occur elongated.
⚫ Naturally, the areas or zones enclosed by any two successive
isoseismals would have suffered the same extent of
destruction.
⚫ The intensity of an earthquake refers to the degree of destruction
caused by it.
⚫ In other words, intensity of an earthquake is a measure of severity of
the shaking of ground and its attendant damage.
⚫ This, of course, is empirical to some extent because the extent of
destruction or damage that takes place to a construction at a given
place depends on many factors.
⚫ Some of these factors are:
(i) distance from the epicenter,
(ii) compactness of the underlying ground,
(iii) type of construction
(iv) magnitude of the earthquake
(v) duration of the earthquake and
(vi) depth of the focus. Intensity is the oldest measure of earthquake
⚫ Over the years, researchers have tried to develop more quantitative ways
for estimating earthquake intensity.
⚫ One of such relationships correlating earthquake intensity to peak ground
velocity is given by

where Vg is the peak ground velocity in cm/sec.

⚫ Another such relation reported by Wald et.al, (1999) based on Californian
earthquake database is
MMI = 3.47 log(Vg) + 2.35
⚫ In addition to peak ground velocity, empirical relationships correlating
peak ground acceleration to MMI has also been reported. For e.g.,
MMI = 3.66 log (Peak Ground Acceleration in cm/sec/sec) – 1.66
 Magnitude of Earthquake
⚫ The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the amount of energy
released by the geological rupture causing it, and is therefore a
measure of the absolute size of the earthquake, without reference to
distance from the epicenter.
⚫ While earthquake intensity is depicted in Roman numerals and is
always a whole number, magnitude is depicted in Arabic numerals
and need not be a whole number.
⚫ Similar to intensity scales, over the years, a number of approaches
for measurement of magnitude of an earthquake have come into
existence.
Richter Magnitude, ML
⚫ A workable definition of magnitude was first proposed by C.F.
Richter.
⚫ He based on the data from Californian earthquakes, defined the
earthquake magnitude as the logarithm to the base 10 of the largest
displacement of a standard seismograph (called Wood-Anderson
Seismograph) situated 100 km from the focus.

⚫ where A denotes the amplitude in micron (10⁻⁶m) recorded by the

instrument located at an epicentral distance of 100 km; and M is the
magnitude of the earthquake.
⚫ When the distance from the epicenter at which an observation is obtained
other than 100 km, a correction is introduced to the equation as follows:

where M is the magnitude of the earthquake;

∆ = distance from epicenter (km),
= magnitude of the earthquake calculated for earthquake
using the values measured at a distance ∆ from the epicenter.
⚫ Because of the logarithmic nature of the definition a difference of
1.0 in the magnitude represents a difference of 10 in the
seismograph amplitude
Moment magnitude
⚫ Over the years, scientists observed that different magnitude scales
had saturation points and the magnitudes estimated by different
approaches did not point to a unique value of earthquake size
⚫ The Richter magnitude saturates at about 6.8, and the surface
wave magnitude at about 7.8.
⚫ In addition, these magnitude estimates did not have a linear
relation with the energy released due to earthquake rupture.
⚫ To address these short falls, Hanks and Kanamori, in 1979
proposed a magnitude scale, termed as ‘moment magnitude’,
based on the seismic moment due to earthquake rupture.
⚫ Energy released or radiated from the entire fault is measured
rather than an assumed source of point.
⚫ The moment magnitude is given by

where Mw is the moment magnitude, Mo is the seismic moment in N⁻m.

Definition of Seismic Moment
Mo = μ S Ū
Where,
μ is the Shear Modulus of elasticity [for crust = ]

Ū – the amount of slip along the fault

S – the surface area that ruptured during earthquake (Length(L) and depth
of the fault plane (d)
 In addition, Surface wave magnitude, Ms, based on the amplitude of
Rayleigh waves having a period of about 20 seconds, body wave
magnitude, Mb based on the amplitude of first few P wave cycles are also
being used.
Energy of an Earthquake
⚫ An approximate relationship between surface wave magnitude, Ms, and
the energy released by an earthquake, E, is given by

⚫where E is measured in joules.

⚫ Thus the ratio of energies released by two earthquakes differing by 1 is
magnitude is equal to 31.6. The ratio is 1000 for earthquakes differing by 2
in magnitude
 Measuring earthquakes
⚫ The Richter Magnitude Scale is a quantitative measure of earthquake
magnitude, the amount of energy released by an earthquake at its source.
⚫ It is determined based on the amplitude of the largest seismic wave
recorded for a given earthquake.
⚫ The Richter Scale ranges from 1 to 9, with 9 assigned to the largest
quakes theoretically possible.
⚫ An increase of one unit on the Richter Scale, from 5.5 to 6.5 for example,
is equivalent to a 10-fold increase in the amplitude of the largest seismic
wave produced.
⚫ In terms of energy released, each one unit increase on the Richter Scale
equals a 30-fold increase in energy released at the focus.
⚫ It would take about 30 quakes of 5.5 magnitude to release as much
energy as one 6.5 quake.
 Depth of focus
⚫ For determining the depth of focus or focal depth of an earthquake,
Oldham has devised a method.
⚫ If ‘a’ is the intensity (i.e ground acceleration) at the epicenter point
(say A) and ‘b’ represents the intensity at another station (say B) and if
the distance between the two station is d, then the depth of focus (h) is
given by
⚫ h= d tanθ
⚫ If θ is known, h can be evaluated.
⚫ θ can be found from using the fact that theoretically the intensity from
focus decreases as the square of the distance; i.e.

⚫ Which is equal to

⚫ So = sinθ

⚫ The angle θ is thus known and can be used to calculate the value of ‘h’
 2
The ground acceleration at epicenter is 950mm/sec and at a
2
seismic recording station is 625mm/sec . The velocity of
P-waves is 5.90km/sec and S-waves is 3.25 km/sec. The S-P
interval recorded is 17 seconds. Find the distance of the
station from epicenter and depth of the focus
 Earthquake Forecasting And Prediction
⚫ Forecasting identifies both earthquake-prone areas and man-made
structures that are especially vulnerable to damage from shaking.
⚫ Earthquake prediction refers to attempts to estimate precisely (??) when
the next earthquake on a particular fault is likely to occur.
⚫ Earthquake forecasting is based largely on elastic rebound theory and plate
tectonics.
⚫ The elastic rebound theory suggests that if fault surfaces do not slip easily
past one another, energy will be stored in elastically deformed rock, just as
in a steel spring that is compressed.
⚫ Currently, seismologists use plate tectonic motions and Global positioning
System (GPS) measurements to monitor the accumulation of strain in
rocks near active faults.
Earthquake Forecasting And Prediction
⚫ Earthquake prediction has had few successes.
⚫ Earthquake precursors:
⚫ Suspicious animal behavior.
⚫ Unusual electrical signals.
⚫ Many large earthquakes are preceded by small earthquakes
called foreshocks
⚫ Chinese authorities used series of foreshocks as an warning
to anticipate the Haicheng earthquake in 1975.
 RECURRENCE OF EARTHQUAKES DUE
STRESSES DEVELOPED BY TECTONIC FORCES
•Triggering Stresses?
⚫ Small part of stresses are released which were accumulated slowly
when the earth's plates moved toward or past each other.
⚫ Since the earthquake drops the stress on the fault which slipped, the
earthquake will not recur until the stress rebuilds, typically
hundreds to thousands of years.
⚫ But an earthquake will occur elsewhere, at the sites other than the
slipped fault
⚫ The areas where the stress is building up will be the sites for the
next earthquakes to occur, both of large and small magnitude.
Almost all the earthquake occur along the active fault
⚫ •Active faults…
⚫ Along which movements occurred
– During last 10,000 years
– Likely to occur in near future
– Manifestation of the crustal deformation by displaced landforms
on the earth's surface
⚫ Considered to be source for large magnitude EQs in near future
⚫ Vital for seismic hazard assessment
Long Term Predictions

Seismic Gaps
Seismic Gaps at the Aleutian Islands SUBDUCTION ZONE
Seismic Gap along Himalayas
2005
 Short-Term Earthquake Prediction

Dilatancy of Highly Stressed Rocks

126
Safety measures to be adopted for Buildings
⚫ During an earthquake, the to and fro motion or up and down motion
of the ground shakes the structures.
⚫ A compact and a sturdy structure built on rigid foundations may just
oscillate along with the ground vibrations, and survive even strong
shock.
⚫ Poorly built structures, on weak and soft foundations, may however,
get badly destroyed.
⚫ Moreover, the horizontal shear force ( ), which topple the
building, must be considered while designing buildings.
⚫ The seismic forces can be calculated by using the seismic
coefficient method,
⚫ The horizontal seismic coefficient ( ) is given by :
= β.I.
⚫ Where,
= horizontal seismic coefficient
= basic seismic coefficient for the given seismic zone of
the country corresponding to the location of the city where the
building is to be constructed. (Table 1)
I = coefficient depending upon the importance of the
structure (Table 2)
β = coefficient depending upon the soil- foundation system
(Table 3)
Zone of the country
I 0.01
II 0.02
III 0.04
IV 0.05
V 0.08

Table 1: Values of basic seismic coefficient for various

seismic zones of India
Sl .No Type of structure Value of I

1 Containment structures of seismic power reactors for 3.0

preliminary designs
2 Dams (all types) 2.0
3 Containers of inflammable or poisonous gases or liquids 2.0
4 Important service and community structures, such as 1.5
hospitals, water towers and tanks, school, important
bridges, emergency buildings like telephone exchanges
and fire brigades, large assembly structures like cinemas,
assembly halls and subway stations.
5 All others 1.0

Table 2: Values of importance factor (I) for the given structure

Sl Soil type Values of β for different types of foundation
No
Isolated Combine Raft Pile Well
footings d or foundatio foundatio foundatio
without isolated ns ns ns
tie beam footings
with tie
beams
1 Rock or hard 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
soil
2 Medium hard 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2
soils
3 Soft soils 1.5 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.5
Table3: Values of β for different Soil foundation Systems.
⚫ The horizontal seismic coefficient ( ) will exert a horizontal
force at the base of the structure, given by the equation:
= .W
Where = Horizontal shear force caused by
seismic force.
W = Weight of the building or structure.
The overturning moment caused by this force can now be easily
calculated as :
= .Y
Where Y = the vertical distance of the c.g. of the structure above
the base or above the horizontal section being considered for check
under shear
⚫ Vertical seismic coefficient ( ) shall also be considered in the case
of structures in which the stability is a criterion of design, or vertical
stability of structures.
⚫ It may be taken as half of the value of horizontal seismic coefficient;
i.e.
⚫ =

⚫ The building or the structure should be designed to withstand the

above additional forces and their moments, while considering their
stability and safety.
 Summary
1. Good quality materials, strictly according to the specifications,
should be used.
2. The foundation should not be on soft ground, and rather it should
preferably be on the solid rocks. The depth of foundation should
also be uniform.
3. The walls should be continuous in nature, i.e. the long walls and
cross walls be erected simultaneously without any joints.
4. Doors and windows should be minimum; and should not be in
vertical rows, and should preferably be along the diagonals.
5. R.C.C may be preferred to brick work.
6. A.C. sheet roofing should be avoided, and more preferably R.C.C.
flat roofs should be laid.
7. Height of the building should be kept uniform, as it adds to its
stability.
8. All parts of the building, particularly its edges and corners should
be well tied, so that it moves as a single unit during an earthquake
vibration.
9. Construction of cantilevers, chimneys, domes, arches and other
extra projections should be avoided.
 GENERAL CONCEPTS OF EARTHQUAKE
RESISTANT DESIGN

⚫ Experience in past earthquakes has demonstrated that many

common buildings and typical methods of construction lack basic
resistance to earthquake forces.
⚫ In most cases this resistance can be achieved by following simple,
inexpensive principles of good building construction practice.
⚫ Adherence to these simple rules will not prevent all damage in
moderate or large earthquakes, but life threatening collapses should
be prevented, and damage limited to repairable proportions.
⚫ These principles fall into several broad categories:
(i) Planning and layout of the building involving consideration
of the location of rooms and walls, openings such as doors
and windows, the number of storeys, etc. At this stage, site
and foundation aspects should also be considered.
(ii) Lay out and general design of the structural framing system
with special attention to furnishing lateral resistance, and
(iii) Consideration of highly loaded and critical sections with
provision of reinforcement as required.
⚫ From studies of structural action, mechanism of damage and modes
of failure of buildings, certain general principles have emerged:
(i) Structures should not be brittle or collapse suddenly. Rather, they
should be tough, able to deflect or deform a considerable amount.
(ii) Resisting elements, such as bracing or shear walls, must be provided
evenly throughout the building, in both directions side-to-side, as
well as top to bottom.
(iii) All elements, such as walls and the roof, should be tied together so
as to act as an integrated unit during earthquake shaking, transferring
forces across connections and preventing separation.
(iv) The building must be well connected to a good foundation and the
earth. Wet, soft soils should be avoided, and the foundation must be
well tied together, as well as tied to the wall. Where soft soils cannot
be avoided, special strengthening must be provided
(v) Care must be taken that all materials used are of good quality, and are
protected from rain, sun, insects and other weakening actions, so that their
strength lasts.
(vi) Unreinforced earth and masonry have no reliable strength in tension, and
are brittle in compression. Generally, they must be suitably reinforced by
steel or wood.
CATEGORIES OF BUILDINGS
For categorising the buildings with the purpose of achieving seismic
resistance at economical cost, three parameters turn out to be significant:
(i) Seismic intensity zone where the building is located,
(ii) How important the building is, and
(iii) How stiff is the foundation soil.
A combination of these parameters will determine the extent of appropriate
seismic strengthening of the building.
1. Seismic zones
⚫ In most countries, the macro level seismic zones are defined on the
basis of Seismic Intensity Scales.
Zone A: Risk of Widespread Collapse and Destruction (Intensity
IX or greater),
Zone B: Risk of Collapse and Heavy Damage (Intensity VIII
likely),
Zone C: Risk of Damage (Intensity VII likely),
Zone D: Risk of Minor Damage (Intensity VI maximum).
The extent of special earthquake strengthening should be greatest in
Zone A and, for reasons of economy, can be decreased in Zone C,
with relatively little special strengthening in Zone D.
2. Importance of building
⚫ The importance of the building should be a factor in grading it for
strengthening purposes, and the following buildings are suggested as
specially important:
⚫ IMPORTANT --– Hospitals, clinics, communication buildings, fire
and police stations, water supply facilities, cinemas, theatres and
meeting halls, schools, dormitories, cultural treasures such as
museums, monuments and temples, etc.
⚫ ORDINARY -- Housings, hostels, offices, warehouses, factories,
etc.
3.Bearing capacity of foundation soil
⚫ Three soil types are considered here:
⚫ Firm: Those soils which have an allowable bearing capacity of more than
10
⚫ Soft: Those soils, which have allowable bearing capacity less than or equal
to 10 t/ .
⚫ Weak: Those soils, which are liable to large differential settlement, or
liquefaction during an earthquake.
⚫ Buildings can be constructed on firm and soft soils but it will be dangerous
to build them on weak soils.
⚫ Hence appropriate soil investigations should be carried out to establish the
allowable bearing capacity and nature of soil.
⚫ Weak soils must be avoided or compacted to improve them so as to qualify
as firm or soft.
Combination of parameters :
⚫ For defining the categories of buildings for seismic strengthening
purposes, four categories I to IV are defined in Table1. in which category I
will require maximum strengthening and category IV the least inputs.
⚫ The general planning and designing principles are, however, equally
applicable to them.
 GENERAL PLANNING AND DESIGN ASPECTS
1. Plan of building
(i) Symmetry: The building as a
whole or its various blocks should
be kept symmetrical about both the
axes.
⚫ Asymmetry leads to torsion during
earthquakes and is dangerous,
(Fig1). Symmetry is also desirable
in the placing and sizing of door
and window openings, as far as
possible.

Fig 1 : Torsion of unsymmetrical plans

 2011 Sikkim Earthquake , 18, Sept.
2011 at 6:10 pm

⚫ M6.9 India-Nepal Border

⚫ 68 km NW of Gangtok at a depth of 19.7 km (USGS)
⚫ Tremor lasted for 30-40 seconds 3 Aftershock- M5.7, M5.1 and
M4.6
(ii) Regularity: Simple rectangular shapes, (Fig 2a) behave better in an
earthquake than shapes with many projections (Fig 2b).
⚫ Torsional effects of ground motion are pronounced in long narrow
rectangular blocks.
⚫ Therefore, it is desirable to restrict the length of a block to three times
its width.
⚫ If longer lengths are required two separate blocks with sufficient
separation in between should be provided, (Fig 2c).
(iii) Separation of Blocks:
Separation of a large building into several blocks may be required so
as to obtain symmetry and regularity of each block.
For preventing hammering or pounding damage between blocks a
physical separation of 3 to 4 cm throughout the height above the
plinth level will be adequate as well as practical for up to 3 storied
buildings, Fig (2c).
Fig2 : Plan of building blocks.
⚫ Sufficient gap at least 50 mm per storey for regular 3-4 storey
building.
⚫ The separation section can be treated just like expansion joint or it
may be filled or covered with a weak material which would easily
crush and crumble during earthquake shaking.
⚫ Such separation may be considered in larger buildings since it may
not be convenient in small buildings.
(iv) Simplicity: Ornamentation invo1ving large cornices, vertical or
horizontal cantilever projections, facia stones and the like are
dangerous and undesirable from a seismic viewpoint. Simplicity is the
best approach.
⚫ Where ornamentation is insisted upon, it must be reinforced with
steel, which should be properly embedded or tied into the main
structure of the building.
⚫ Note: If designed, a seismic coefficient about 5 times the coefficient
used for designing the main structure should be used for cantilever
ornamentation.
(v) Enclosed Area:
⚫ A small building enclosure with properly interconnected walls acts
like a rigid box since the earthquake strength which long walls
derive from transverse walls increases as their length decreases.
⚫ Therefore structurally it will be advisable to have separately
enclosed rooms rather than one long room, (Fig 3).
⚫ For unframed walls of thickness t and wall spacing of a, a ratio of a/t
= 40 should be the upper limit between the cross walls for mortars of
cement sand 1:6 or richer, and less for poor mortars.
⚫ For larger panels or thinner walls, framing elements should be
introduced as shown at Fig (3c).
Fig 3: Enclosed area forming box units
(vi) Separate Buildings for Different Functions:
⚫ In view of the difference in importance of hospitals, schools, assembly
halls, residences, communication and security buildings, etc., it may be
economical to plan separate blocks for different functions so as to affect
economy in strengthening costs.
2. Choice of site
The choice of site for a building from the seismic point of view is mainly
concerned with the stability of the ground. The following are important:
(i) Stability of Slope:
Hillside slopes liable to slide during an earthquake should be avoided and
only stable slopes should be chosen to locate the building.
Also it will be preferable to have several blocks on terraces than have one
large block with footings at very different elevations.
A site subject to the danger of rock falls has to be avoided.
(ii) Very Loose Sands or Sensitive Clays:
⚫ These two types of soils are liable to be destroyed by the earthquake so
much as to lose their original structure and thereby undergo compaction.
⚫ This would result in large unequal settlements and damage the building.
⚫ If the loose cohesion less soils are saturated with water they are apt to
lose their shear resistance altogether during shaking and become
liquefied.
⚫ Although such soils can be compacted, for small buildings the operation
may be too costly and these soils are better avoided.
⚫ For large building complexes, such as housing developments, new
towns, etc., this factor should be thoroughly investigated and
appropriate action taken.
⚫ Therefore a site with sufficient bearing capacity and free from the above
defects should be chosen and its drainage condition improved so that no
water accumulates and saturates the ground close to the footing level.
3. Structural design
⚫ Ductility is the most desirable quality for good earthquake performance and
can be incorporated to some extent in otherwise brittle masonry
constructions by introduction of steel reinforcing bars at critical sections
 4. Fire resistance:
⚫ It is not unusual during earthquakes that due to snapping of
electrical fittings short circuiting takes place, or gas pipes may
develop leaks and catch fire.
⚫ Fire could also be started due to kerosene lamps and kitchen
fires.
⚫ The fire hazard sometimes could even be more serious than the
earthquake damage.
⚫ The buildings should therefore preferably be constructed of fire
resistant materials.
 STRUCTURAL FRAMING
⚫ There are basically two types structural framing possible to withstand gravity and
seismic load, viz. bearing wall construction and framed construction.
⚫ The framed construction may again consist of:
(i) Light framing members which must have diagonal bracing such as wood
frames or infill walls for lateral load resistance, Fig 3(c), or
(ii) Substantial rigid jointed beams and columns capable of resisting the lateral
loads by themselves.
⚫ The latter will be required for large column free spaces such as assembly halls.
⚫ The framed constructions can be used for a greater number of storeys compared to
bearing wall construction.
⚫ The strength and ductility can be better controlled in framed construction through
design.
⚫ The strength of the framed construction is not affected by the size and number of
openings.
⚫ Such frames fall in the category of engineered construction, hence outside the
scope of the present book
 REQUIREMENTS OF STRUCTURAL SAFETY
(i) A free standing wall must be designed to be safe as a vertical
cantilever.
⚫ This requirement will be difficult to achieve in un-reinforced
masonry in Zone A.
⚫ Therefore all partitions inside the buildings must be held on the
sides as well as top.
⚫ Parapets of category I and II buildings must be reinforced and held
to the main structural slabs or frames.
(ii) Horizontal reinforcement in walls is required for transferring
their own out-of-plane inertia load horizontally to the shear walls.
(iii) The walls must be effectively tied together to avoid separation at
vertical joints due to ground shaking.
(iv) Shear walls must be present along both axes of the building.
(v) A shear wall must be capable of resisting all horizontal
forces due to its own mass and those transmitted to it.
(vi) Roof or floor elements must be tied together and be capable
of exhibiting diaphragm action.
(vii) Trusses must be anchored to the supporting walls and have
an arrangement for transferring their inertia force to the end
walls.
 CONCEPTS OF DUCTILITY, DEFORMABILITY
AND DAMAGEABILITY
⚫ Desirable properties of earthquake-resistant design include ductility,
deformability and damageability.
⚫ Ductility and deformability are interrelated concepts signifying the
ability of a structure to sustain large deformations without collapse.
⚫ Damageability refers to the ability of a structure to undergo
substantial damage, without partial or total collapse.
⚫ This is desirable because it means that structures can absorb more
damage, and because it permits the deformations to be observed and
repairs or evacuation to proceed, prior to collapse.
⚫ In this sense, a warning is received and lives are saved.
(i) Ductility
⚫ Formally, ductility refers to the ratio of the displacement just prior to ultimate
displacement or collapse to the displacement at first damage or yield.
⚫ Some materials are inherently ductile, such as steel, wrought iron and wood.
⚫ Other materials are not ductile (this is termed brittle), such as cast iron, plain
masonry, adobe or concrete, that is, they break suddenly, without warning.
⚫ Brittle materials can be made ductile, usually by the addition of modest
amounts of ductile materials, Such as wood elements in adobe construction, or
steel reinforcing in masonry and concrete constructions.
⚫ For these ductile materials to achieve a ductile effect in the overall behaviour of
the component, they must be proportioned and placed so that they come in
tension and are subjected to yielding.
⚫ Thus, a necessary requirement for good earthquake-resistant design is to have
sufficient ductile materials at points of tensile stresses
(ii) Deformability
⚫ Deformability is a less formal term referring to the ability of a
structure to displace or deform substantial amounts without
collapsing.
⚫ Besides inherently relying on ductility of materials and
components, deformability requires that structures be
well-proportioned, regular and well tied together so that excessive
stress concentrations are avoided and forces are capable of being
transmitted from one component to another even through large
deformations.
⚫ Ductility is a term applied to material and structures, while
deformability is applicable only to structures.
⚫ Even when ductile materials are present in sufficient amounts in
structural components such as beams and walls, overall structural
deformability requires that geometrical and material instability be
avoided.
⚫ That is, components must have proper aspect ratios (that is not be
too high), must be adequately connected to resisting elements (for
example sufficient wall ties for a masonry wall, tying it to floors,
roof and shear walls), and must be well tied together (for example
positive connection at beam seats, so that deformations do not
permit a beam to simply fall off a post) so as to permit large
deformations and dynamic motions to occur without sudden
collapse.
(iii) Damageability
⚫ Damageability is also a desirable quality for construction, and refers to
the ability of a structure to undergo substantial damages, without partial
or total collapse
⚫ A key to good damageability is redundancy, or provision of several
supports for key structural members, such as ridge beams, and avoidance
of central columns or walls supporting excessively large portions of a
building.
⚫ A key to achieving good damageability is to always ask the question, “if
this beam or column, wall connection, foundation, etc. fails, what is the
consequence?
⚫ If the consequence is total collapse of the structure, additional supports or
alternative structural layouts should be examined, or an additional factor
of safety be furnished for such critical members or connections.
⚫
CONCEPT OF ISOLATION
⚫ An alternative approach which is presently emerging is to avoid the
forces, by isolation of the structure from the ground motions which
actually impose the forces on the structure.
⚫ This is termed as base-isolation.
⚫ For simple buildings, base- friction isolation may be achieved by
reducing the coefficient of friction between the structure and its
foundation, or by placing a flexible connection between the structure and
its foundation.
⚫ For reduction of the coefficient of friction between the structure and its
foundation, one suggested technique is to place two layers of good
quality plastic between the structure and its foundation, so that the plastic
layers may slide over each other.
FOUNDATIONS
⚫ For the purpose of making a building truly earthquake resistant, it
will be necessary to choose an appropriate foundation type for it.
⚫ Since loads from typical low height buildings will be light,
providing the required bearing area will not usually be a problem.
⚫ The depth of footing in the soil should go below the zone of deep
freezing in cold countries and below the level of shrinkage cracks
in clayey soils.
⚫ For choosing the type of footing from the earthquake angle, the
soils may be grouped as Firm and Soft ,avoiding the weak soil
unless compacted and brought to Soft or Firm condition
 Firm soil
⚫ In firm soil conditions, any type of footing (individual or strip
type) can be used.
⚫ It should of course have a firm base of lime or cement concrete
with requisite width over which the construction of the footing
may start.
⚫ It will be desirable to connect the individual reinforced concrete
column footings in Zone A by means of RC beams just below
plinth level intersecting at right angles.
Soft soil
⚫ In soft soil, it will be desirable to use a plinth band in all walls and
where necessary to connect the individual column footings by
means of plinth beams as suggested above.
⚫ It may be mentioned that continuous reinforced concrete footings
are considered to be most effective from earthquake considerations
as well as to avoid differential settlements under normal vertical
loads
⚫ These should ordinarily be provided continuously under all the
walls.
⚫ Continuous footing should be reinforced both in the top and bottom
faces, width of the footing should be wide enough to make the
contact pressures uniform, and the depth of footing should be
below the lowest level of weathering.