How to Design & Build Earthquake Resistant Buildings?

With deteriorating environmental conditions, the world has got habituated to living with the horror of possible natural disasters. Of all, earthquakes are known for causing maximum damage to houses and buildings. Therefore, it is advisable to build substantial buildings that can sustain even during such disasters.

Are you wondering about the proper ways to build earthquake resistant buildings? Find out all about it in this article.

For designing earthquake resistant buildings, engineers must focus on counteracting a potential earthquake's forces. As earthquakes can release energy to push buildings from one direction, such buildings should balance it out by strengthening the other side. The following strategies will be helpful if you are wondering how to build earthquake-resistant housing.

1. Strong and Flexible Foundation

Earthquakes cause vibration to the ground, and houses can collapse. Therefore, building houses on flexible pads can be beneficial. These pads lift the building from the ground with base isolation. These pads are usually made of steel, rubber and lead. Thus, when an earthquake occurs, buildings do not feel the pressure.

Such flexible pads are robust. These can effectively absorb seismic waves, preventing them from travelling to the building. In addition, as it is not in direct contact with the ground, it will not feel an earthquake’s pressure.

2. Counter Forces with Damping

Like shock absorbers in cars, architects need to develop ways to incorporate features in a building that can absorb shocks. These are often termed seismic dampers. One can do it with the help of vibrational control devices. To make these, engineers place dampers between each building level between the beams and columns. These contain piston heads, which come inside cylinders filled with silicone oil. During an earthquake, buildings can transfer the vibration into pistons, which push against the oil. Finally, it transforms into heat, which dissipates forces of vibrations.

Another way of doing this is through pendulum power. Engineers suspend a large ball from the steel cables for skyscraper buildings, connecting it with a hydraulic system at the top of a building. Then, when the ground vibrates because of an earthquake, the ball acts as a pendulum. It prevents the building from moving to one side by balancing it with its opposite side. This way, it can counter an earthquake.

3. Shielding from a Juddering Ground

Earthquakes cause vibration in the ground, weakening the base of a building. Therefore, scientists and engineers have come up with the idea of a "seismic invisibility cloak”. It enables them to build a cloak with 100 concentric plastic and concrete rings. They then bury this cloak at least three feet beneath a building’s foundation.

When the seismic waves enter the ring during an earthquake, it moves through the outer rings because of the ease of travel. Ultimately, the vibration coming from the ground can be channelled away from the building, gradually dissipating into the ground.

4. Planning the Structure

If you wonder how to make earthquake resistant buildings, the secret is with its structuring. It should have the following features to avoid succumbing to an earthquake’s force.

• Shear walls: Architects consider these beneficial for transferring earthquake forces. They can keep a building safe from natural disasters with their multiple panels. Moreover, these get support from diagonal cross braces of steel, making them stronger. The beams can handle compression and tension, ultimately counteracting earthquake pressure.

• Diaphragms: The floors, roof and the decks of a building are placed over the diaphragms, making them a central part of a building. They help remove tension from the floors, thereby pushing forces to the vertical structure of buildings.

• Moment-resisting frames: Engineers often include this part in designing a building to add flexibility. Architects place these among the joints of buildings. While columns and beams can bend in pressure, these frames remain strong and rigid.

For designing earthquake-proof buildings, one should sort out the best materials and resources. Some of the best earthquake resident materials are as follows.

• Steel: Fighting stress and vibration is essential for earthquake safe buildings. Structural steel is a component that comes in multiple shapes and sizes. These are beneficial as they allow buildings to bend without breaking.
• Wood: Another essential material in this context is wood. It is a surprising ductile material. Its strength is relative to its lightweight structure. This can help buildings to stay strong during natural disasters.
• Bamboo: It is again tried and tested to be earthquake resistant. It is an affordable, practical and sustainable material for the development of buildings. Its tensile strength provides resilience, preventing buildings from bending during earthquakes.
• Innovative materials: The use of science and technology has allowed architects to develop innovative materials that can help develop earthquake-proof buildings. For instance, shape memory alloys can endure heavy staring and return to their original shape. On the other hand, one can use fibre-reinforced plastic wrap to wrap certain areas to enhance strength and ductility.

As you already know, predicting an earthquake is hardly possible. However, taking proper measures from the beginning can help your home avoid facing the harmful effects of an earthquake. Do you wish to keep your building safe from natural disasters? The following ways to make a building earthquake proof will help you do so.

• Conduct Regular Home Inspections 

As a house owner, it is advisable to conduct frequent inspections. Expert architects and engineers can help identify the possible defects and recommend solutions to repair these. If you repeat this process, your building will not succumb to the pressure of an earthquake. 

• Keep the Foundation Clean

As you probably know, a building’s base is responsible for its strength or weakness. It might be affected easily by the local soil and water conditions. You can maintain a constant moisture condition of your building's base by regularly ensuring rainwater drainage and cleaning the roof gutters.

• Brace the Cripple Walls

Wooden stud walls on the exterior foundation form cripple walls. As they carry the weight of the entire house, they are essential for your building. They act as shock absorbers, reducing the risk of collapse during an earthquake. It is advisable to brace these walls with plywood. This will make them stronger and resist damage.

• Focus on Simple Reinforcement Techniques

You should avoid having complicated reinforcement settings in your building, and it might become challenging to maintain them in future. A shear core and cross-bracing are essential for building a solid and robust building. Simply maintaining these will help you keep your building safe from earthquakes.

Home insurance helps you cover the damages to your house or building caused by an unforeseen earthquake. It is an excellent way of covering your unpredictable financial burden in such circumstances. The following factors are covered under earthquake insurance.

• Property coverage: This refers to the damages caused to your house or building during the earthquake. Damages caused to both the structure and contents of the house can be covered.
• Valuables coverage: If you have valuable objects and items inside the house that faced damage, the insurance will also cover this amount.

However, the following areas will not come under this insurance coverage.

• Damage from other natural disasters: If another disaster like a flood followed an earthquake and damaged your properties, the insurance will not cover those expenses. It will only cover your expenses regarding damages from the earthquake.
• Additional expenses: If you plan to move to a hotel or any other accommodation after the earthquake damaged your house, the insurance will not cover this expense.
• Loss of rent: If your house was on rent and the tenants decided to move out after the earthquake, the insurance will not cover this loss. 

You can follow the steps mentioned below to notify the insurer and raise a claim.

• Call your insurance company or send an email through the registered email ID and raise a claim.
• Take photographs and videos to document the damages caused to your property by the earthquake.
• You will receive a call from the insurance company. An agent will visit your property to inspect the damages in detail.
• After this inspection is done and your claim is verified, your compensation processing will start.

Thus, as you can see, earthquake resistant buildings can provide multiple benefits to you. First, these will stay strong and not succumb to the growing pressure and vibrations of the ground. The expenses of damage repair will therefore be less with such buildings. However, if your building is not earthquake resistant, you can make it so by following the tips mentioned in this article.