Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

RC Row Houses in Nepal and their Vulnerability to Impending Earthquakes

  • CASE STUDY
  • Published:
Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, several buildings in Nepal suffered heavy damages; however, those related to pounding were few. As result, row housing practices with inadequate seismic gap between buildings have been prevalent. This paper aims to compare the pounding effects of the Gorkha earthquake with that of earthquakes representative of hazard level prescribed by the national seismic design code in order to shed light on the risk of pounding damages due to potential future earthquakes in Nepal. Two reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, five storied and seven storied, were modeled and subjected to time histories of eight earthquakes—Gorkha, Kobe, El Centro, Loma Prieta, Cape Mendocino, Erzincan, Landers and Northridge Olive View matched to the response spectrum of NBC 105:2020 and the actual time history of the Gorkha earthquake. Spectral matching of the earthquakes was performed in frequency domain to preserve their frequency characteristics. The simulation of pounding was facilitated by the use of Kelvin–Voigt impact element which is capable of modeling energy dissipation during impact. The results show that the pounding forces in case of matched earthquakes were 1.3–4.4 times as great as that of Gorkha earthquake. Similarly, separation gap requirement was found to be greater for the matched earthquakes than that of Gorkha earthquake.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The data will be available upon request to the corresponding author.

References

  1. V. Jeng, W.L. Tzeng, Assessment of seismic pounding hazard for Taipei City. Eng. Struct. 22, 459–471 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-0296(98)00123-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. E. Shehata, Abdel Raheem seismic pounding between adjacent building structures. Electron. J. Struct. Eng. 6, 66–74 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. H. Elwardany, A. Seleemah, R. Jankowski, S. El-khoriby, Influence of soil-structure interaction on seismic pounding between steel frame buildings considering the effect of infill panels. Bull. Earthq. Eng. 17, 6165–6202 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-019-00713-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. M. Miari, K.K. Choong, R. Jankowski, Seismic pounding between bridge segments: a state-of-the-art review. Arch. Comput. Methods Eng. 28, 495–504 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11831-019-09389-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. H. Rezaei, S.A. Moayyedi, R. Jankowski, Probabilistic seismic assessment of RC box-girder highway bridges with unequal-height piers subjected to earthquake-induced pounding. Bull. Earthq. Eng. 18, 1547–1578 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-019-00764-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. G.L. Cole, R.P. Dhakal, F.M. Turner, Building pounding damage observed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Earthq. Eng. Struct. Dyn. 41, 893–913 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.1164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. F. Kazemi, M. Miari, R. Jankowski, Investigating the effects of structural pounding on the seismic performance of adjacent RC and steel MRFs. Bull. Earthq. Eng. 19, 317–343 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-020-00985-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. K. Kasai, B.F. Maison, Building pounding damage during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Eng. Struct. 19, 195–207 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-0296(96)00082-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. R. Meli, E. Rosenblueth, The 1985 earthquake causes and effects in Mexico City. Concr. Int. ACI Detroit Mich 8, 12 (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  10. NBC: 105: 2020 Seismic Design of Buildings in Nepal (2020)

  11. D. Adhikari, A. Gautam, Structural failure analysis of earthquake affected buildings in Gorkha (Nepal) Earthquake 2015 in Kathmandu Valley. J. Adv. Coll. Eng. Manag. 4, 29–49 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3126/jacem.v4i0.23177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. B. Shrestha, H. Hao, Building pounding damages observed during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 32, 04018006 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0001134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. B. Shrestha, Effects of separation distance and nonlinearity on pounding response of adjacent structures. Int. J. Civ. Struct. Eng. 3, 10 (2013). https://doi.org/10.6088/ijcser.201203013055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. R. Bilham, Earthquakes in India and the Himalaya: tectonics, geodesy and history. Ann. Geophys. 47, 36 (2009). https://doi.org/10.4401/ag-3338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. S. Mahmoud, R. Jankowski, Pounding-involved response of isolated and non-isolated buildings under earthquake excitation. Earthq. Struct. 1, 231–252 (2010). https://doi.org/10.12989/EAS.2010.1.3.231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. H. Chaulagain, H. Rodrigues, E. Spacone, H.S. Varum, Response of current RC buildings in Kathmandu Valley. Struct. Eng. Mech. 53, 791–818 (2015). https://doi.org/10.12989/SEM.2015.53.4.791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Computers and Structures [CSI] Inc. ETABS: Building Analysis and Design, v. 19; Computers and Structures [CSI] Inc.: Walnut Cree, CA, USA (2001)

  18. Bureau of Indian Standard. Criteria for Earthquake Resistance Design of Structures [IS 1893 (Part 1) : 2016]; Bureau of Indian Standard: New Delhi, India (2016)

  19. J.B. Mander, M.J.N. Priestley, R. Park, Theoretical stress-strain model for confined concrete. J. Struct. Eng. 114, 1804–1826 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(1988)114:8(1804)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Computers and Structures [CSI] Inc. SAP: Integrated Software for Structural Analysis and Design, v. 22 Walnut Cree, CA, USA (2001)

  21. G.H. Powell, Modeling for Structural Analysis: Behavior and Basics (Computers and Structures: Berkeley, 2010). ISBN 978-0-923907-88-4

  22. A. Kassimali, Structural Analysis (Cengage, 2020)

    Google Scholar 

  23. ASCE Standard, ASCE/SEI, 41-17: Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings; Structural Engineering Institute, Structural Engineering Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, Eds.; American Society of Civil Engineers: Reston, Virginia (2017). ISBN 978-0-7844-1485-9.

  24. CSI (Computers and Structures, Inc.) CSI Analysis Reference Manual for SAP2000, ETABS, SAFE and CSiBridge (2017)

  25. T. Takeda, M.A. Sozen, N.N. Nielsen, Reinforced concrete response to simulated earthquakes. J. Struct. Div. 96, 2557–2573 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1061/JSDEAG.0002765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. J.-K. Son, C.-H. Lee, Evaluation of appropriate hysteresis model for nonlinear dynamic analysis of existing reinforced concrete moment frames. Materials 14, 524 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030524

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. R. Jankowski, Non-linear viscoelastic modelling of earthquake-induced structural pounding. Earthq. Eng. Struct. Dyn. 34, 595–611 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. J.G.M. Van Mier, A.F. Pruijssers, H.W. Reinhardt, T. Monnier, Load-time response of colliding concrete bodies. J. Struct. Eng. 117, 354–374 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(1991)117:2(354)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. R.M. Chung, The January 17, 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu (Kobe) Earthquake: performance of structures, lifelines, and fire protection systems, vol 18 (US Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1996)

  30. PEER Ground Motion Database - PEER Center Available online: https://ngawest2.berkeley.edu/. Accessed 26 Oct 2022.

  31. U.S.G.S. M 7.8–36 km E of Khudi, Nepal. (2015). Available online: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us20002926/executive. Accessed 25 Nov 2018

  32. R. Suwal, Damage Study of RC Buildings in Kathmandu Valley after Gorkha Earthquake (National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), Government of Nepal, 2015)

  33. S. Guisbert, D. Zekkos, A. Nisar, Time vs. frequency domain ground motion modification: effects on site response analyses and seismic displacements; Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2010), pp. 25–29

  34. S. Khatiwada, T. Larkin, N. Chouw, Influence of mass and contact surface on pounding response of RC structures. Earthq. Struct. 7(3), 385–400 (2014). https://doi.org/10.12989/eas.2014.7.3.385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. N. Chouw, H. Hao, Significance of SSI and nonuniform near-fault ground motions in bridge response I: effect on response with conventional expansion joint. Eng. Struct. 30(1), 141–153 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2007.03.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The present work was partially supported by the ASNEngr Research and Development Grant. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Kabir Shakya, Chiyoda Corporation for the constructive comments during project development. The authors acknowledge the above supports.

Funding

The present work was partially supported by the ASNEngr Research and Development Grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, 44600, Nepal

    Binu Devkota, Aarosh Dahal, Bikesh Sedhain, Aayush Maan Karki, Aashish Pokhrel, Tunisha Gyawali & Kshitij C. Shrestha

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas, 78539, USA

    Bikesh Sedhain

  3. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA

    Aarosh Dahal

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 76019, USA

    Aashish Pokhrel

Authors
  1. Binu Devkota
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aarosh Dahal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bikesh Sedhain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Aayush Maan Karki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Aashish Pokhrel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Tunisha Gyawali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Kshitij C. Shrestha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kshitij C. Shrestha.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Devkota, B., Dahal, A., Sedhain, B. et al. RC Row Houses in Nepal and their Vulnerability to Impending Earthquakes. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A 105, 195–207 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-024-00781-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-024-00781-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation