Simulation and Modeling

**Chapter 13**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

**211**

Natural Hazards - Impacts,

Adjustments and Resilience

Reinforced concrete is a global material, the utilization of which has no limits. India is a country that uses mostly RC framed structures as the routine building construction type. The building is made of inter-connecting elements in horizontal and vertical directions. To showcase the effectiveness of high grade of concrete and confining reinforcement much research has been carried out till date from 1980s. However, in design of structures we do not consider the effect of confining reinforcement in resisting stress in any member element. Various tools have been developed to find the capacity of member at element level to resist forces. For performance-based design of buildings, it is necessary to evaluate the performance at individual local level and at global levels. In this study, the effect of available tools (for section analysis) and design codes for member limit calculation is demonstrated and structure is evaluated for the threshold limits given in ASCE-41. It is observed that the code designed members are sufficient to resist lateral earthquake forces effectively for the estimated hazards if proper design tools are employed.

**Keywords:** disaster mitigation, resilient structures, performance-based design, design tools, displacement-based design, seismic performance evaluation

Indian subcontinent is a region experiencing seismic activities since ancient times. According to BIS seismic zoning map, over 65% of the country is prone to earthquakes of intensity MSK VII or more, putting 38 cities in high risk zones. In 2011, there were 80 earthquakes in India, with magnitude ranges between 3.5 M to 6.5 M on Richter scale. The year 2012 was an equally eventful year with 19 earthquakes by 5th March. Great earthquake having magnitude of 8.0 M or higher occurs somewhere in the world every year. Seismic engineering of structures is in discussion since decades while the aspects of risk mitigation and hazard assessment are relatively new in this field which are in concern with our preparedness for future events. The aim of a structural design engineer is always the safety as against the sole aim of economy. However, architectural needs and budget compromises the higher target of an engineer to bring resilience as an important consideration in design of buildings in seismic prone regions. The code provisions give legal benefit to developers while the resilience aspects highlight the need to bring better scientific methods to safeguard the community during strong earthquakes. With the advancement in knowledge and promotion of performance-based design procedures, it has become possible to safeguard our interests against the fury of nature.

*Bhushan Mohan Raisinghani*
