Earthquakes for been a constant force of nature since the beginning of the Earth. The damage done by earthquakes over time cannot be over looked. The damage has been monetary, emotional, and has taken many lives. Today, a capstone in Civil Engineering, Earthquake Engineering is trying to reduce all of these damages using modern technology and resources to build structures that can withstand the mass forces of earthquakes.
Earthquake engineering is broken down into two major parts, the first being understanding how earthquakes affect current structures and the types of forces they apply to that are able to withstand the forces of nature and keep the inhabitants or people around the structures safe. The goal to designing an earthquake serviceable …show more content…
California is frequent to many smaller earthquakes and has some large ones throughout the years. The most remembered earthquake in California history is the Great San Francisco quake of 1906 with a magnitude of 7.8. The death toll here was about 3000 and much of the city was in disaster after many buildings were not ready for the seismic activity of this magnitude. After this event, many codes were to be passed and buildings had to be inspected and passed for structural safety. These codes have been built on for many years as technology improves and so does our understanding of seismic activity. An example of a code that was passed in California was that after the Loma Prieta earthquake that struck the Santa Cruz Mountains, analyzation of some of the cities buildings revealed that some rooves of buildings were damaged due to their flexibility. If the earthquake were any stronger, the flexibility in the rooves would have been a hazard to the occupants of the building. A new Uniform Building Code was passed that required newer buildings to be designed with a much sturdier roof to reduce the risk of collapse. The building designs and codes are the first line of safety against seismic activity so analyzing the data we have and testing new things to improve the structures is very …show more content…
Shear walls are another form of vertical structural support that stiffen the design of a structure. They are often placed in open columns within a building such as elevator shafts or staircases. Although shear walls reduce flexibility, sometimes Civil Engineers use moment-resisting frames. These can either be used with shear walls or as a complete substitute for them. Moment-resisting frames which allow the beams and columns to have flexibility. Yet the joints between them or rigid. This allows the entire member to move as a lateral force acts upon it but yet as points that are less affected than that of shear walls. The moment-resisting frames allow for more options in placing walls, ceilings, and other architectural
Earthquake engineering is broken down into two major parts, the first being understanding how earthquakes affect current structures and the types of forces they apply to that are able to withstand the forces of nature and keep the inhabitants or people around the structures safe. The goal to designing an earthquake serviceable …show more content…
California is frequent to many smaller earthquakes and has some large ones throughout the years. The most remembered earthquake in California history is the Great San Francisco quake of 1906 with a magnitude of 7.8. The death toll here was about 3000 and much of the city was in disaster after many buildings were not ready for the seismic activity of this magnitude. After this event, many codes were to be passed and buildings had to be inspected and passed for structural safety. These codes have been built on for many years as technology improves and so does our understanding of seismic activity. An example of a code that was passed in California was that after the Loma Prieta earthquake that struck the Santa Cruz Mountains, analyzation of some of the cities buildings revealed that some rooves of buildings were damaged due to their flexibility. If the earthquake were any stronger, the flexibility in the rooves would have been a hazard to the occupants of the building. A new Uniform Building Code was passed that required newer buildings to be designed with a much sturdier roof to reduce the risk of collapse. The building designs and codes are the first line of safety against seismic activity so analyzing the data we have and testing new things to improve the structures is very …show more content…
Shear walls are another form of vertical structural support that stiffen the design of a structure. They are often placed in open columns within a building such as elevator shafts or staircases. Although shear walls reduce flexibility, sometimes Civil Engineers use moment-resisting frames. These can either be used with shear walls or as a complete substitute for them. Moment-resisting frames which allow the beams and columns to have flexibility. Yet the joints between them or rigid. This allows the entire member to move as a lateral force acts upon it but yet as points that are less affected than that of shear walls. The moment-resisting frames allow for more options in placing walls, ceilings, and other architectural