Earthquake Retrofitting and What You Should Know About It

Earthquake retrofitting is a term used in building engineering which means to make a standing buildings resistant to earthquake and other seismic activities. Earthquake retrofitting, also known as seismic retrofitting, is the process in which an existing buildings is modified and adapted to brace against earthquake tremors, ground vibrations, request for retrial of the earth and soil shifting in the event of an earthquake. Previously, before modern seismic codes were introduced in 1960s, buildings were constructed without much attention given to details like security against earthquake damage. Recently, with industrialized studies of seismic action and the toll it takes on buildings, the need for earthquake retrofitting has been well recognized.

It should be understood that there is no such thing as a faultless earthquake proof structure. However, with earthquake retrofitting changes can be made within the buildings to make it more resilient to ground action and less prone to damage during a seismic activity. While new buildings these days are constructed with detailed plans and illustrate techniques of earthquake retrofitting, many of the older buildings lack such plans and need to be reinforced to avoid damage to people as well as the building. According to experts, most of the damage caused to buildings during seismic activities is because of side-to-side shaking of the foundation. This can cause the building to slide off its foundation if it is not secured. Or it can even cause the foundation to crack and the building to collapse. In both ways, serious damage would be caused to human life as well as the building, rendering it uninhabitable.

Earthquake & Tsunami In Japan

Earthquake retrofitting is done for four basic objectives. The most basic of all objectives is security of the public. It ensures that the buildings will not collapse while it can be safely exited by the residents or the people inside. However, in case of a severe seismic action the buildings might have to be wholly replaced. The next objective called buildings survivability is to ensure that the buildings will experience the earthquake; however, it may want comprehensive repairs before it can be used again. The next objective, structural functionality, is a high level of earthquake retrofit and commonly only requires minor repairs like crack repairs etc. Lastly, buildings unaffected is the top level of earthquake retrofit which is applied to buildings of great historic, political, cultural or economic value. However, as already mentioned above, no buildings can be entirely guaranteed to be damage free.

Earthquake retrofitting is carried out to make sure that buildings can stand the stress and strain of a seismic activity. The continuous, and sometimes violent shaking of ground from side to side can take a great deal of toll on buildings. One of the most common techniques of retrofitting is to bolt a building to its foundation. Many a times, the connections in the middle of the bottom of a building to that with foundation is inadequate and needs to be reinforced. In this manner, the shaking of the foundation will not cause the building to slide off or collapse. Someone else common recipe is strengthening the pony walls or cripple walls. Other techniques include external post-tensioning of the structure, dampers, slosh tanks, active operate ideas and many more.

Earthquake retrofitting is solely the firm of a building engineer. It is performed by a building expert and anything who wants to have their house or commercial buildings retrofitted should look into the perceive and expert escort of a proper building firm before hiring them. To read more on the subject see http://www.copperfoundation.com.

Earthquake Retrofitting and What You Should Know About It