7 Tips to Construct Earthquake Resistant Buildings

The architecting and engineering standards have come a long way to deal with seismic activities and provide robust structures for buildings to be developed. Many significant studies on this aspect have been carried out to meet the growing challenges of ground stability and seismic movements. The team of experts at ILD offers you the best practices to be considered to make earthquake resistance buildings with sheer perfectionism. We aim to offer the most reliable, advanced, and secure structures to our customers, and hence our R&D works diligently to provide possible solutions for every possible hurdle in the construction field.

Stiffness and Strength

Before starting with a real estate project for earthquake resistance building, we recommend adequate vertical and lateral stiffness and strength. The vertical part has to be focused much as it is a competent measure to support any structure on the ground even in case of earthquakes, vertical stiffness plays a crucial role. The buildings generally move left and right during earthquakes and these vertical strengths may help a lot in supporting the structure with its vertical flexibility.

Use Diaphragms Efficiently

This structural element is very useful in transmitting lateral loads to the vertical resisting elements of a structure. Many flats/Apartments in Gurgaon have used this common tactic efficiently. Especially the roof and floors are so designed using diaphragms that it simultaneously supports gravity loads to them. It transfers loads to frames or shear walls depending on their location in the structure.

Deal Damping Professionally

There are certain technologies in the real estate sector that engineers use to counter shockwaves in the structures as a preventive measure for earthquakes. Techniques like vibrational control devices and pendulum dampers act similarly like a shock absorber in your cars or bikes. The use of dampers between a column and a beam can be used where each damper consists of a piston heading towards the cylinder which is filled with silicon oil. Pendulum power is mostly used in skyscrapers where structures tend to be high-rising buildings.

Controlling the Foundation Moisture

It is often noticed that the foundation of any structure gets affected by the local soil and the moisture content in it. Efforts should be made to keep the standard moisture content constant while in the development stage of any flats/apartments in Gurgaon. Any extra amount of moisture can completely damage the base which can result in fragile structures. Different lands have their own foundational characteristics which should be evaluated well before and efforts should be made that a strong and robust foundation is prepared which can support the building even in the most challenging phases. 

Cross Bracing and Resisting Frames

Cross bracings provide efficient diagonal support at intersections. These should be used efficiently among the columns in such a way that columns, braces, and beams transfer the seismic load downwards to the ground. Shear walls and cross braces enable the entire structure to transfer any movement away to the foundation without actually affecting beams and columns. Moreover, the use of resisting frames will offer enough resistance to lateral forces by providing flexible movements in columns and beams whereas other connections and joints remain rigid. This allows your real estate structure to bear the shocks of earthquakes by providing enough flexibility among all columns and beams without affecting the basic foundation. 

Providing Sufficient Load Paths

A continuous load path among the beams and columns allows the jerks of the earthquake to travel through these paths without affecting the basic structure. The structural components of the building should be aligned and interconnected providing load paths to protect the building against any lateral or vertical damage. Load paths provide sufficient connections to your real estate structure and help in tying them together to stand robustly against any calamity.

Base Isolation Method

This method is generally used where the frequency of these earthquakes is quite often. As the name suggests itself, the base of a building is separated by a series of bearing pads which are placed between the foundation and the building structure. This helps in supporting the structure in a vertical sense whereas provides enough flexibility in the horizontal direction. Some flats/apartments in Gurgaon are based on this similar technology. Nowadays, a series of bearing pads have been developed which offers complete flexibility in reducing the shocks in case of earthquakes. 

It has been found that the movement of earthquakes causes a lateral effect under the ground due to which the columns of the building undergo major changes which may result in serious damages sometimes. Efforts should be made to ensure robust column placement which should eventually support the overall structure.