Innovative Reinforced Building Designs To Avoid A Catastrophe Like Earthquakes
Today you can witness some incredible building designs and structures that could amaze anyone with their out-of-the-box innovative construction. But back in time, when people used to build houses or multi-story buildings, there were limited and basic structures with the least safety measures against earthquake seismic waves. This is why most old buildings, which aren’t even that high, fall to dust while a skyscraper built with modern design and construction ideas stands tall proudly.
It has all became possible due to the newly introduced building materials and innovative structural engineering. And the best part is that using some of these ideas and materials, we can also safeguard the old buildings which don’t have enough support to withstand earthquakes, and this procedure is termed as στατικη ενισχυση κτιριων.
Process Of Strengthening Existing Foundations Of An Old Building
The foundations are most likely to get eroded or become weak after so many years of holding the building in position. There could be multiple reasons behind this, such as accumulating moisture due to leaking pipes or soil erosion or bending of foundation due to extra load, etc. So, to strengthen the structure of the building, reinforcement of foundation and columns can be done.
- One way to strengthen the foundation is to install dowels in the footing, fasten new steel bars, and create a new steel cage around it to strengthen and ensure proper load transfer.
- Another way to do this is to underpin and enlarge the foundation’s base by using solid concrete slabs to strengthen it.
- And a simple alternative could be piling or broadening the foundation with new shock-absorbent material.
Reinforcement Ready Building Material And Designs
Using reinforcement material in newly built buildings is a must if you want to protect them against earthquakes. Structural engineers also propose not only material but reinforcement designs to strengthen the building design. For instance, these days, you will find unique reinforcement concrete mix mixed with shock absorbents and strengthening material used for foundation and shear walls generally. These would minimize the vibrations caused by seismic waves for the rest of the building by absorption.
Modern Building Designs That Are Earthquake-Proof And Highly Innovative
In order to withstand an earthquake and avoid collapse, the building has to redistribute the vibrations or forces coming from the earthquake. There are multiple technologies for στατικη ενισχυση κτιριων that can be used, such as shear walls, cross braces, or moment-resisting frames and diaphragms.
Cross braces and shear walls are generally built together to help the building maintain its shape. The steel beams used for diagonal cross braces support compression and can withstand tension, which will counteract the pressure and push forces to the foundation during an earthquake.
Diaphragms are used in the center of the building to divide the pressure equally among the vertical structures. The floor slab is placed right above the horizontal frames so that it does not put a load on any single column but divide most of it horizontally, and the columns then handle the rest.
