by Maurizio Leggeri, Giuseppe Lacava, Eugenio Viola
This building type is commonly used for multifamily housing in urban areas of Italy and is particularly common in the region of Potenza (Basilicata). Prior to 1981, this region was not included in the official seismic zonation map of Italy, in spite of the historical evidence. However, after the major earthquake of November 1980, the entire Potenza province was recognized as a seismically prone area. Consequently, seismic considerations were not taken into account for in the building design projects predating the 1980 earthquake. The main load-bearing structure is reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill walls. Many buildings of this type were strengthened using the financial assistance provided by the government. The upgrade typically consists of installing new shear walls and L-shaped columns, and strengthening the foundation.
Report # 29 : Single-family historic brick masonry house (Casa unifamiliare in centro storico, Centro Italia)
by Dina D’Ayala, Elena Speranza, Francesco D’Ercole
This single-family housing type, found throughout the Central Italy (Centro Italia) mainly in hill towns and small cities, is typically built on sloped terrain. A typical house is 3 stories high, built between two adjacent buildings with which it shares common walls. The main facade of the house faces a narrow road. The ground floor level (perforated with openings on one side only) is used for storage, while the other two stories are used for residential purposes. Typical buildings of this type are approximately 3 m wide and 9 m long. The building height on the front side is on the order of 4.5 m, whereas the height on the rear side is larger (close to 5 m). All the walls are made of unreinforced brick masonry in lime mortar, while the floor structures are vaults at the ground floor level, and timber floor structures at the higher levels. The roof is made of timber and is double-pitched, sloping down towards the front and rear walls. Buildings of this type are expected to demonstrate rather good seismic performance, mostly due to their modest height. Problems related to seismic performance might be caused by the adjacent buildings (typically one story higher). Seismic strengthening techniques for buildings of this type are well established and strengthening of some buildings has been done after the recent earthquake.
Report # 28 : Single-family stone masonry house
by Dina D’Ayala, Elena Speranza
These buildings form the historic centers of most hilltop villages and towns in central Italy. They are arranged in long terraced clusters. Hillside dwellings have common walls and a variable number of stories (up to 2 or 3). Buildings situated in the valley usually have 4 or 5, with a maximum of 6, stories. The typical house is usually formed by one or two masonry cells, depending on the depth of the block, and with a staircase (usually but not necessarily) running along the common wall. The masonry is made of roughly squared stone blocks set in lime mortar, and the walls are made of two leaves with a rubble core at the base, tapering at the upper floors. Limestone is used for the blocks, while a particular type of tuffa stone is used for the lintels above the openings. At the ground level there are sometimes vaulted structures. The upper stories were originally spanned by timber beams, with joist and timber boards covered by tiles. The roof structure is usually original and made of timber trusses. In the recent past, many of the original floors have been replaced either with iron ‘I’ beams and jack arches (renovations occurring before World War II), or during the last fifty years, with weakly reinforced concrete slabs. Other alterations include vertical extensions, the closing and opening of windows, and introduction of hygienic services. A high proportion of these houses exhibit the traditional iron ties introduced in the 18th century to tie together the orthogonal walls and floors for better seismic performance. After the introduction of modern seismic codes in the 1980s, many buildings have undergone further strengthening through the use of RC ring beams and concrete jacketing of walls.
Report # 27 : Confined brick masonry building with concrete tie columns and beams
by Behrokh H. Hashemi, Faramarz Alemi, Mohsen G. Ashtiany
This is a typical confined brick masonry housing construction common in rural areas of Iran. This building type is often used as a single-family house. Brick masonry shear walls confined with concrete tie columns and beams provide earthquake resistance in both directions. This building type is expected to have good seismic performance.
Report # 26 : Semi-rigid steel frame with “Khorjinee” connections
by Behrokh H. Hashemi, Mohsen G. Ashtiany
This housing type is commonly used for low-rise building construction in Iran, mainly for family apartment buildings. This structure is characterized with a special type of semi-rigid beam-to-column connection called “Khorjinee connection.” This connection consists of a pair of continuous beams spanning over several columns and connected to the column sides by means of angle sections. Beam and column are welded to the angle section. A major problem with the Khorjinee connection is that it is very difficult to improve the rigidity of the connection in the weak direction (the direction perpendicular to the connection) since the crossed beams are connected to the web of Khorjinee beams. Thus, in the weak direction of the frames, the connections are considered as pinned (hinges) and the bracing is used to resist seismic loads. However, in the Khorjinee direction, since the possibility of using the bracing is very limited, the frame is considered a rigid structure. Also, out-of-plane partial beam-to-column transfer of bending moment and early onset of failure in the angles are the most likely causes of failure for a building subjected to lateral earthquake loads. These buildings are vulnerable in earthquakes (e.g., 1990 Manjil earthquake).
Report # 25 : Steel frame with semi-rigid “Khorjini” connections and jack arch roof “Taagh-e-Zarbi”.
by Arzhang Alimoradi
This is a common type of urban/rural construction in many parts of Iran. It is widely used in the cities as a popular structural system for low-rise residential buildings because of the ease of construction and of erecting the frame. Buildings of this type are up to 5 stories high, with a height/width aspect ratio on the order of 1.5. This system consists of a special kind of steel framing with heavy brick infills as partitions. Roof girders are connected to the supporting columns by means of semi-rigid connections. Diaphragms may range from flexible to rigid depending on the detailing and the construction quality. The structure is extremely heavy because of the brick infills between the roof beams. The roof is constructed in the form of a shallow arch called a ‘jack arch’. Roofs, ceilings, and floors constructed in this way contributed to building failures and to an unusually high death toll in many recent earthquakes in Iran. As many as half the buildings completed in the early 1970s in Iran had jack arches. In a jack arch system, steel beams or a reinforced concrete joist system span the distance between the main girders across the length of the building. An arch made of small bricks connect the beams. Each arch rises only about ten centimeters. The ‘valleys’ of this wave-like surface are filled with mortar. The completed ceiling, roof, or floor is thick and heavy. Frequently the steel support beams are not tied together properly or are left untied (From: http://www.johnmartin.com/eqshow/647014_00.htm). Seismic vulnerability of this system is observed as medium to high. The dynamic behavior of the system in the two main perpendicular directions of the building plan differs significantly because of the differences in the stiffness and configuration of the connections in these two directions. Furthermore, ‘X’ bracings are usually used in the weak direction which further magnifies the non-uniform behavior of the structural system.
Report # 24 : Unreinforced clay brick masonry house
by Sugeng Wijanto
Unreinforced clay brick masonry (UCB) housing construction is still often found in rural areas of Indonesia. This is a single-story building and the main load-bearing structure in these buildings consists of brick masonry walls built in cement mortar and a timber roof structure. This is non-engineered construction built following the traditional construction practice, without any input by architects or building experts. Builders follow a pattern by observing the behavior of typical buildings in the surrounding area. Buildings of this type typically experience severe damage or collapse in the earthquakes in Indonesia.
Report # 23 : Rural mud house with pitched roof
by Amit Kumar
This is a typical rural construction found throughout India, except in the high rainfall areas in the northeastern part of the country. It is a single-family house, mainly occupied by the poorer segment of the population. The main load-bearing system consists of mud walls, which carry the roof load. In some cases wooden posts are provided at the wall corners and at intermediate locations. The wooden posts and walls are not structurally integrated, and therefore the loads are shared by the walls and the frame. There are very few openings (doors and windows) in these buildings. In rural areas there are usually no windows at all. In general, this type of construction is built by the owners and local unskilled masons and the craftsmanship is very poor. This building type is classified as grade-A (most vulnerable) per the IAEE building classification and IS Code 1893:1984. This is a low-strength masonry construction and it is considered extremely vulnerable to seismic forces.
Report # 22 : Unreinforced brick masonry walls with pitched clay tile roof
by Amit Kumar
This is a traditional construction practice followed in India for centuries. Buildings of this construction type are used for residential, commercial, and public purposes throughout India, especially in the northern and central parts, where good quality soil for brick production is widely available. This is a single-story construction used both in rural and urban areas. The walls are constructed using clay bricks laid in mud, brick-lime or cement/sand mortar. The roof does not behave as a rigid diaphragm. These buildings are built without any seismic provisions and are considered to be moderately-to-highly vulnerable to earthquake effects.
Report # 21 : Unreinforced brick masonry building with reinforced concrete roof slab
by Ravi Sinha, Svetlana N. Brzev
Typical rural and urban construction in western and southern India. This construction is widely prevalent among the middle-class population in urban areas and has become popular in rural areas in the last 30 years. Brick masonry walls in cement mortar function as the main load-bearing element. The roof structure is a cast-in-situ reinforced concrete slab. If constructed without seismic features, buildings of this type are vulnerable to earthquake effects. They exhibited rather poor performance during the Koyna (1967), Killari (1993), Jabalpur (1997), and Bhuj (2001) earthquakes in India.