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ARMATURE CROSSWALL PROJECT
An Earthquake
Hazard Mitigation Proposal for
Vulnerable Reinforced Concrete
Buildings
based on the Performance
of Traditional Timber and Masonry Infill-wall Construction
In a
number of recent earthquakes, large numbers of people have died in the complete
collapse of buildings constructed with reinforced concrete frames and infill
walls of masonry while nearby, many much older buildings of weak mud, brick, and
timber buildings managed to withstand the same shaking. Here Randolph Langenbach
describes how certain examples of traditional construction of brick and timber
in Turkey and in other countries have demonstrated good resistance to
earthquakes which have destroyed contemporary buildings of reinforced concrete.
“Armature Crosswalls,” which are based on traditional infill-wall construction,
are designed to address the problems in reinforced concrete structures by
changing the standard construction of the infill walls to increase the
building’s flexibility and energy dissipation, rather than by adding to the
strength and stiffness of the walls. To accomplish this, the infill walls will
be constructed or retrofitted with an “armature” of studs and crossbeams that
subdivide the masonry into a series of panels, and the masonry panels themselves
will be constructed with softer and weaker lime mortar, rather than strong, but
brittle, cement mortar.
ARMATURE
CROSSWALLS
In
Steel
or
Reinforced
Concrete
infill-frame
buildings,
to
avoid
what
you
see
in
the
image
on
the
left,
construct
the
infill
as
you
see
it
on
the
right
1)
Description of research project
(c) Randolph Langenbach, 2005
PUBLISHED PAPERS on the
subject of Armature Crosswalls:
(in reverse chronological order)
(1)
2008,
Learning from the Past to Protect the Future: Armature Crosswalls,
Engineering Structures, Elsevier. Vol. 30, No. 8, August 2008, pp 2096-2100
2006,
ARMATURE CROSSWALLS:
A Proposed Methodology to Improve the
Seismic Performance of Non-ductile Reinforced Concrete
Infill Frame Structures,
8th U.S. National
Conference on Earthquake Engineering (8NCEE), San Francisco
1906 anniversary, 2006.
by Randolph
Langenbach, Khalid Mosalam, Sinan Akarsu, Alberto Dusi
For
further information on Portuguese "Gaiola" Construction:
PHOTO ESSAY:
Pombalino "Gaiola" Construction
revealed during
renovation work in Lisbon, Portugal, January, 2003.
(2)
2005
ARMATURE CROSSWALLS,
How pre-modern
construction practices
may hold the key to avoiding the
collapse of vulnerable urban housing blocks,
Joint US-India
Symposium on Urban Housing and Infrastructure in New Delhi,
October, 2005.
by Randolph Langenbach
(3)
2003
CROSSWALLS"
INSTEAD OF
SHEARWALLS:
A
Proposed
Research Project
for the Retrofit
of Vulnerable
Reinforced
Concrete
Buildings in
Earthquake Areas based on
Traditional
Hımış
Construction,
Proceedings
of the Turkish
Fifth National
Conference on
Earthquake
Engineering,
Istanbul, 26-30
May, 2003.
(1.6 MG)
by Randolph Langenbach
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