Technologies
Developed Technologies:Technologies that have been developed to help lessen the effect of earthquakes on infrastructure include earthquake resistant buildings, which are structures built intended to withstand the most largest certain earthquake of it’s probability within the area.The aim is to preserve life, lessen the possibility of total collapse as well as saving expenses spent on future construction costs. Some structures have been constructed with deep foundations with rubber shock absorbers and concrete reinforced steel.
Ideas implemented in Earthquake resistant structures: Base Isolation Bearings: This type of construction technique is used to hold a building above the ground using a foundation built on springs, padded cylinders and bearing to essentially isolate the building from potential dangerous ground movement. Seismic isolation is the type of building design that utilizes the collection of structural components used to decouple the main structure from it's substructure which rests on the shaking ground, protecting the building. The device has the ability to reduce the amount of magnitude made by vibratory motions from the bouncing suspension by changing the kinetic energy from the ground into heat energy that can be dispersed by fluid. Cross Bracing: In the construction of buildings, cross bracing is a system in which the structure of buildings are reinforced with intersecting diagonal supports. Cross bracing increases a building's capacity of withstanding higher seismic activity from earthquakes. Two diagonal supports are placed in an X shape, which deals with both compression and tension forces at varying points. |
Depending on the strength of the forces or where the pressure is placed on, one brace may be in tension while the other is slack. Cross bracing can apply to any rectangular frame structure. In steel construction, steel cables are often used for their outstanding resistance to tension, although there are no advantages for compression. The basic uses for cross bracing includes side supports, along with structural foundations. This method is most common due to the maximum load weight the structure is able to support.
Shear Walls: A shear wall is a structural system composed of shear panels to counter the effects of lateral load on the building structure. Shear walls are designed to mainly carry wind and seismic loads. Shear walls are the best known way to strengthen wooden frame. It is a single unit that ties together the floor, roof, walls and foundation for greater resistance. Professional engineering is usually required to design shear walls for larger houses or houses with more complicated internal structures. The conventional material used is plywood. Earthquake proof buildings take many years of experimentation, dating back to the ancient 9th-12th century where architecture like the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza was built using ideas to construct a long-lasting, stiff and strong temple.collaboration with other scientists and the formulation of philosophies to achieve such a specialized structure. There are many philosophies of design in earthquake engineering, these must incorporate use of experimentation results, computer graphing and simulations, observations from past earthquake events and research and study from strong buildings that still stand today like the El Castillo that’ve endured many years of combat. New types of building materials have emerged proven to help with stabilizing buildings in earthquakes such as precast concrete which has been used in countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that have demonstrated satisfactory performance in seismic movement. Base isolation, cross bracing and shear walls are just some technologies that've been developed over time using research and expenses to help reduce the effect of earthquakes on infrastructure. There are many more different types of methods and strategies that are constantly being used in the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings and procedures to lessen impact but all have the ability to protect structures. |