Subject: Question for any civil engineers
Posted by: samak
Date: Apr 03 24
Someone will no doubt know the answer to this:
When we see the shocking scenes in Taiwan, how is it that the buildings which are now at a crazy angle after the earthquake don't just continue toppling to the ground ?
Posted by: samak
Date: Apr 03 24
Someone will no doubt know the answer to this:
When we see the shocking scenes in Taiwan, how is it that the buildings which are now at a crazy angle after the earthquake don't just continue toppling to the ground ?
6 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
kaddarsgirl 
|
I'm not an expert in seismic design specifically but have done concrete design for seismic areas in the past. There are a lot of special detailing requirements that must be adhered to when designing in high seismic regions that allow the buildings to be both flexible and strong. In the leaning buildings in Taiwan, mostly just the first floor columns collapsed under the cyclic loading of the earthquake while the other floors remained intact (due to their detailing). That is exactly what those buildings were designed to do and is the result of some brilliant seismic engineering. It's easier to design steel for high seismic areas, but it's possible in concrete. The concrete buildings I designed for seismic were hospitals that had to survive an earthquake event. Reply #1. Apr 04 24, 4:43 PM |
| kaddarsgirl
|
If I had to guess, there are probably very large concrete pile foundations down to bedrock under the intact columns that are anchoring one side of the building and are now carrying the forces from the leaning portion of the building, keeping it from toppling over completely. Reply #2. Apr 04 24, 4:47 PM |
samak
|
Thanks very much for the response. Interesting ! Reply #3. Apr 06 24, 9:25 PM |
Verbonica
|
Then there's this incredible building: https://amazingarchitecture.com/residential-building/tao-zhu-yin-yuan-by-vincent-callebaut-architectures-taipei-taiwanI don't know how they'd know where, or if, it was tilted by the quake? Reply #4. Apr 06 24, 9:40 PM |
| kaddarsgirl
|
I don't know if the buildings in Taiwan were designed for this as part of their seismic calculations, but another thing I just thought of is that the buildings may be designed for progressive collapse. In addition to hospitals, I've done US military structures which are designed for blast and for progressive collapse, meaning that there's redundancy in both the horizontal and vertical frames of the structure that would allow loads to be redistributed and keep the majority of the building intact during a partial collapse event. Reply #5. Apr 07 24, 7:28 AM |
kstyle53
|
Very good info! Thanks for sharing all of this! Reply #6. Apr 13 24, 5:56 PM |
6 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
Legal / Conditions of Use
|
|
: