REPORT ON TRAINING PROGRAMME SEISMIC DESIGN OF MULTISTOREY BUILDING :

IS-1893 vs. Eurocode 8 HELD FROM 26th to 28 th May 2014 at New Delhi organised by
IIT Roorkee , BMTPC and NORSAR.
By
Er. Prasanta Kumar Tripathy. A.E.E
Designs-II , Branch
O/O E.I.C (Civil), Nirmansoudha, Bhubaneswar
Introduction : A large number of reinforced concrete multi storied framed R.C buildings were
heavily damaged and many of them collapsed completely due to various earthquake. In India
severe damage had occurred due to Bhuj earthquake in 2001. Later on it is found that many
buildings in Ahmedabad , which are situated at more than 250 km away from the epicenter of
the earthquake, damaged or collapsed. These buildings were not designed and detailed for
earthquake forces specified in IS-1893 , which was in existence from 1962 and revised in
1970, 1976 and 1984.Recently earthquake of Magnitude 5.6 of ritcher scale occurred in several
parts of Odisha and India. It is therefore very much essential to impart training to structural
engineers , architects and field engineers for design , planning and detailing of buildings
respectively so that earthquake resistant buildings can be planned, designed and constructed
and there will be less damage to buildings and thereby saving valuable life and property. A
training programme on seismic design of Multistory building , IS-1893 vs. Eurocode 8 was
organized by IIT Roorkee , BMTPC and NORSAR from 26th to 28 th May 2014 at New Delhi.
Details of training programme and its application in the field of structural design are
narrated below:
1) Seismic hazard assessment was described by Dr. D.H.Lang. Senior Research
Engineer, NORSAR
IS 1893 (Part 1) zoning map PGA, Intensity

Deterministically derived , purely based on the maximum effects observed

during past earthquakes

each of the four seismic hazard zones connected to a Zone Factor (i.e.
effective PGA):
Seismic
Zone

Intensity
level

Intensity
IMSK64

Zone
factor

II

low

VI

0.10

III

moderate

VII

0.16

IV

severe

VIII

0.24

very severe

IX

0.36

Definition of Design Basis Earthquake (DBE) and Maximum Considered

Earthquake (MCE)

DBE: (..) the earthquake which can reasonably be expected to occur at

least once during the design life of the structure.

MCE: The most severe earthquake effects considered by this standard.

No information on the respective return periods TR

(i.e. x probability of exceedance in y exposure time)

EPGA DBE

EPGA MCE
2

Zone Factor Z represents EPGA for MCE, to derive

EPGA for DBE a (hazard) reduction factor of 0.5 is applied:

EPGAMCE I Sa
Z I Sa




2 R g
2 R g

Ah

horizontal seismic coefficient Ah :

Calculation of the design

Ah Z

Sa
I S
EPGAMCE a
R g
g

D
B
with:Z, Z/2 Table 2

zoning factor (effective PGA);

I
- importance factor (functional use of
the structure); Table 6
R

- response reduction factor; Table 7

- damping correction factor; Table 3

(for = 5% = 1.00)

Estimation of fundamental time period Ta :

use empirical expressions given in the Code IS: 1893(Part I): 2002.
Without brick infill panel
Ta = 0.075 h0.75 for RC frame building
Ta = 0.085 h0.75 for steel frame building
Without brick infill panel
Tax = 0.09h/d along x-axis
Taz = 0.09h/b, along z-axis
where h is the height of the building and d and b are the base dimensions of the building
along x and z axis respectively.

Calculation of the total base shear(VB) :

The design value of base shear VB

VB = Ah W
W = Seismic weight of the building
Vertical Distribution of Lateral force at different floor levels can be obtained from the equation

Where Qi = Design Lateral force at floor i

Wi = Seismic weight of the floor i
hi = Height of floor i measured from base
n = Number of Storeys
For design of the building and portions thereof, the base shear corresponding to higher of Ahax and Ahx,
similarly between Ahaz and Ahz will be taken as minimum design lateral force.

PSHA contour maps for India (NDMA 2011)

2) Dr D.K. Paul Emeritus fellow , Department of earthquake Engineering IIT Roorkee

described about basic concept of structural dynamics.

3) Dr D.H. Lang described about site amplification and procedure for finding out
design response spectrum as per provision in IS 1893 and Eurocode 8.

NEHRP soil classification

Average soil properties for the uppermost 30 m of

soil layers
Site class

Description
Shear-wave
velocity vs,30

Standard
penetration test
value N

Undrained shear
strength us [kPa]

Hard, strong, intact rock,

Eastern U.S. only

> 1500 m/s

not applicable

not applicable

Rock (most California rock

cases)

7601500 m/s

not applicable

not applicable

Very dense soil and rock

360760 m/s

50

100

Stiff soils

180360 m/s

15 N 50

50 N 100

Soft soils, profile with more

than 3 m of soft clay defined as
soil with PI > 20, moisture
content w > 40%

< 180 m/s

< 15

< 50

Soils requiring site-specific

evaluations, e.g., potentially
liquefiable sand or peat

not specified

not specified

not specified

Indian seismic code (IS 1893):

each ground type I, II, III is
connected to a set of corner periods TB,
TC

soil amplification factors S are not

specified!!!
Soil
type

Description of stratigraphic profile

vs,30

TB [sec]

TC [sec]

> 400

0.10

0.40

200400

0.10

0.55

< 200

0.10

0.67

Rock or Hard Soil:

I

well graded gravel and sand gravel mixtures

with or without clay binder, and clayey sands
poorly graded or sand clay mixtures (GB, CW,
SB, SW, and SC) having N > 30
Medium Soils:

II

a) all soils with 10 < N < 30

b) poorly graded sands or gravelly sands
with little or no fines (SP) with N > 15
Soft Soils:

III

all soils other than SP with N < 10

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Horizontal response
Indian code (IS 1893):
site-specific design response spectra

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currently Eurocode 8 is more a template for a

code rather than a complete code (each
member country has to provide its own
National Annex, select Type 1 or 2 spectra
and an own seismic hazard map jumps in
the level of seismic design loads
between neighboring countries are thus
automatically produced)
EN 1998 soil classification: sites with deep
and/or very soft soil deposits probably deamplification of ground motion
IS 1893 soil classification very outdated
concept of constructing the horizontal design
spectrum is outdated for both IS 1893 and EN
1998 (only anchored to PGA) U.S. concept
much more innovative
adjustment of damping ratios higher than 5 %

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vs ,30

30
hi

i 1 vs ,i
N

Computation of average shear wave

velocity vs,30 :

Layer

H [m]

vs [m/s]

3.7

157

4.8

320

13.4

279

13

5.8

468

7.7

362

9.6

412

Shear wave velocity vs

Shear wave velocity vs is a parameter that is directly related to the dynamic properties of the
material (here: the soil).

vs

in [m/s]

with:

Example

eq. (1.2)

G shear modulus in [kN/m2]

material density in [t/m3]

Calculation of shear wave velocity

Sand, densely bedded

Rock

G = 120 MN/m2 = 120,000 kN/m2

G = 5,170 MN/m2 = 5,170,000 kN/m2

= 1900 kg/m3 = 1.90 t/m3

= 2,300 kg/m3 = 2.30 t/m3

vs

G
120,000

1.90

vs
251 m/s

G
5,170,000

2.30
1,500 m/s

Soil amplification
Effects of soil on ground motions (site effects)
Any soil profile acts as a filter modifying the amplitude, frequency content and duration of
bedrock motions. The general site effects can summarized as:
-

the soil profile acts as filter,

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the amplitude of seismic waves increases so-called amplification (de-amplification of ground

motion can also happen in certain circumstances),
the frequency content of bedrock motion changes and usually tends towards higher periods,
the duration of ground motion changes, usually the soft soil profile tends to extend the
duration of ground motion.

Illustration of site effects.

Definition of soil amplification
The soil amplification factor S can be essentially defined in two ways:
1. Ratio of Fourier amplitudes:

afree surface
(f)
abedrock
(f)

2. Ratio of spectral amplitudes:

Sa, free surface

(f)
Sa,bedrock
(f)

4) Dr Y.Singh described about causes of failure of multistorey buildings

Failures of columns due to high shear force from infill was discussed. Shear wall structure and
their behavior was discussed. The causes of failure of RC framed building were also discussed.
The failures are due to mainly lack of good design of beam /column frame action .
THE CAUSES OF THE COLLAPSE OF RC FRAME BUILDINGS
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The collapse of RC frame buildings may be due to the following :

1. Softness of base soil on which buildings are constructed.
2. Soft first storey of the building if any
3. Bad structural system such as structural system using floating columns.
4. Heavy water tanks on roof.
5. Lack of earthquake resistant design.
6. Improper detailing of reinforcement in beams and columns of the structure.
7. Tortional failure
8. Pounding damage of adjacent buildings.
9. Lack of stability of infill walls
10. Poor construction quality
Softness of Base Soil
The soft soil on which most buildings in Ahmedabad were founded would have affected the
response of the buildings in three ways:
(i) Amplification of the ground motion at the base of the building
(ii) Absence of foundation raft or piles
(iii)Relative displacement between the individual column foundations vertically and laterally, in
the absence of either the foundation struts as per IS: 4326 or the plinth beams
Soft-first Storey:
Open ground storey (stilt floor) used in most severely damaged or, collapsed R.C. buildings,
introduced severe irregularity of sudden change of stiffness between the ground storey and
upper storeys since they had infilled brick walls which increase the lateral stiffness of the frame
by a factor of three to four times. Such a building is called a building with soft ground storey, in
which the dynamic ductility demand during the probable earthquake gets concentrated in the
soft storey and the upper storeys tend to remain elastic. Hence whereas the soft storey is
severely strained causing its total collapse, much smaller damages occurs in the upper storeys,
if at all.

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Collapse of soft middle storey in a

building at Bhuj
Bad Structural System:
Floating columns used in structural systems are very undesirable in earthquake zones of
moderate to high intensity as in Zone III, IV & V since it will induce large vertical earthquake
forces even under horizontal earthquake ground motions due to overturning effects.
Heavy Water Tanks on the Roof:
Heavy water tanks add large lateral inertia forces on the building frames due to the so called
whipping effect under seismic vibrations, but remain unaccounted for in the design.
Improper detailing of Beams & Columns:
The structural detailing of beams and columns was inadequate in terms of provisions in IS:
13920-1993 and also for proper installation of reinforcements in Beam-Column joints as per IS:
456 and IS: 13920.

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)
Improper Detailing of Reinforcement:
In detailing the stirrups in the columns, no conformity appeared to satisfy lateral shear
requirements in the concrete of the joint as required under IS 4326- 1976 and IS: 13920-1993.
The shape and spacing of stirrups seen in collapsed and severely damaged columns with
buckled reinforcement was indicative of non-conformity even with the basic R.C. Code IS: 4561978.
Short Column Detailing:
In some situations the column is surrounded by walls on both sides such as upto the window
sills and then in the spandrel portion above the windows but it remains exposed in the height of
the windows. Such a column behaves as a short column under lateral earthquake loading where
the shear stresses become much higher than normal length columns and fail in shear.

Damage to buildings due to short column effect on columns

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Tortional Failures:
Tortional failures are seen to occur where the symmetry is not planned in the location of the
lateral structural elements as for example providing the lift cores at one end of the building or at
one corner of the building or unsymmetrically planned buildings in L shape at the street corners.
Large tortional shears are caused in the building columns causing there torsional shear failures.
Pounding Damage of Adjacent Buildings:
Severe damage even leading to collapse are seen due to severe impact between two adjacent
buildings under earthquake shaking if the adjacent blocks of a building or two adjacent buildings
are of different heights with floors at different levels and with inadequate separation. Such
buildings can vibrate out of phase with each other due to very different natural frequencies thus
hitting each other quite severely.
Lack of Stability of Infill Walls:
The infill walls were not properly attached either to the column or the top beams for stability
against out-of-plane bending under horizontal earthquake forces.
Poor Construction Quality:
The construction quality of the damaged R.C. buildings was found to be much below that
desired, as seen by the cover to reinforcement in the damaged members and the bad quality of
concrete in the columns in 150 to 300 mm length just below the floor beams and within the
beam column joints.
Lack of Earthquake Resistant Design:
Lack of earthquake resistant design is the major factor due to which most of the high rise
buildings collapse. Many buildings in Gujrat were not designed for the earthquake forces
specified in IS:1893-2002. The structural designers ignores the seismic forces in design. It may
also be stated that most buildings are designed against lateral loads in the transverse direction,
hence they collapse in longitudinal direction.
It is worst mentioning that earthquake resistant RC buildings should be designed to resist
anticipated seismic forces. The structure must satisfy safety and serviceability conditions in
order to resist expected loadings. It is necessary to understand the behaviour of materials like
concrete and steel under seismic loading. In order to resist earthquake the structure must have
adequate ductility in order to dissipate the energy through inelastic deformation. It is also
essential to provide adequate detailing of reinforcement in members of a structure so that the
structure can safely respond to strong ground motion. A general objective in design of RC
member is to so proportion such elements that they should posses adequate strength and
stiffness. The structure should posses adequate ductility. The critical region should be capable
of sustaining minimum number of deformation cycles of specified amplitude without loss of
strength.

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In order to avoid the collapse of RC multi-storeyed frame buildings, they should be well
conversant with the present codal design provisions. The following are some important design
codal provisions related to earthquake resistant multi-storeyed frame buildings.
5) Dr Y.Singh described about different types of building configuration :

Building Configurations :
Tubular system : An efficient way to increase the lateral stiffness of tall buildings is to put the
most of the lateral load resisting material along the perimeter of the building.The resulting
system is called a Tubular Building. Most of the tall buildings of world both in steel as well as
concrete have been constructed based on this concept.
Tube System
The basic idea is to make a rectangular tube out the the perimeter of the building.
The tube is made up of closely spaced columns connected by stiff spandrel beams
creating very stiff moment frames.
Frames parallel to direction of force act like webs to carry the shear.

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Frames perpendicular to the direction of force act as

flanges. Flange forces are not uniform.

Best applied to rectangular or circular plans.

Suitable for both steel and concrete.
Use for buildings of 40 stories or more.
Frames are repetitive and easily constructed.

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Fig. 1: Tube System

Fig-2 (Tube in tube)

22

23

24

fIg2 a INTERIOR STRUCTURES

fig2 b EXTERIOR STRUCTURES

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6) Dr Y.Singh described about the earthquake resistant design and detailing of RC

buildings

Ductile Detailing
Concrete is known to be brittle material i.e. it fails suddenly when subjected to load . But
concrete can be made ductile when confined by reinforcement. It can be seen that confinement
not only increases the strength of concrete, but it tremendously increases the ductility of
concrete. The confinement is obtained by providing stirrups should be hooked at 135 0 in to core
concrete otherwise these stirrups open up under force due to earthquake.

The frame column-beam, shear walls and foundation are designed by limit state theory
as per IS: 456:2000, then all details of longitudinal steel, overlaps, shear capacities,
confining reinforcement requirements, stirrups and ties etc. shall be worked out using
the provisions of IS: 13920-1993.The drawings should clearly show all the adopted
details. Some typical detailing of reinforcement for external beam-column junction,
detailing showing spacing of stirrups, column and joint detailing and detailing showing
transverse reinforcement in column as per IS:13920-1993 are indicated in Figs. 3, 4, 5
and 6, respectively.

Fig. 3: Detailing at External Beam

Column Junction (IS:13920,1993)

Fig. 4: Detailing showing spacing stirrups

(IS:13920,1993)

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Fig. 5: Column and joint detailing(IS:13920,1993)

27

Fig. 6 : Transverse reinforcement in column(IS:13920,1993)

28

Fig -7 Calculation of Design shear force for column

Fig -8 Calculation of Design shear force for column

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The spacing of hoops used as special confining reinforcement shall not exceed 1/4 of
minimum member dimension but need not be less than 75 mm nor more than 100 mm.

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Conclusion :
Structural hazard assessment, basic concept of structural dynamics, site amplification in various
type of soil, calculation of horizontal response spectrum for a particular soil , structural system of
different types of multi storied buildings, earthquake resistant design and detailing of
multistoried building were discussed during this training programme. Design provision in IS as
well as Eurocode was discussed. Hands on training was imparted for calculation of site
specific design response spectra. The procedure for dynamic as well as Static analysis of
multistoried buildings was discussed. Basic refreshing enriched knowledge was acquired in the
field of earthquake resistant design of multistoried buildings which can be applied in design of
multistoried buildings of Government in Works Department.
The following conclusions are arrived at the end of the three days rigorous
training session .

The multistoried framed building shall be analyzed and designed as per

provisions laid down in IS:1893-2002. Different methods of analysis like
Static Seismic coefficient method and Dynamic response spectra method
may be adopted for analysis of multistoried framed buildings in order to
satisfy the criteria of earthquake resistant design.
Suitable type of foundation may be adopted for multistoried framed buildings
for different types of soil . The soil exploration is very much essential. Various
IS codes like IS:6403, IS:2911, IS:1904 and IS:1888 etc may be referred for
calculation of safe bearing capacity , allowable bearing pressure and
allowable settlement for design of isolated , combined, raft or pile foundations
for buildings.
After analysis and design detailing of column and beams and foundations
may be done as per IS: 13920 for ensuring ductile performance during
earthquake. Quality of construction in field shall be ensured and detailing of
reinforcement shall be carried out as per structural drawings.

*********

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