BUILDINGS DO!

If possible, rocky ground areas should be preferred.

Quality of building materials and inspection: Inspection should be done thoroughly and correctly, and the company that made the construction should not be able to choose the company that will carry out the inspection. The structure should be in accordance with the project, and arrangements such as column cutting, wall removal, and illegal story adding should be avoided. Concrete and steel must be produced under the required quality standards. In past examples, it has been observed that the sea gravel and sea sand in the concrete content used in some earthquake zones reduce the concrete quality.

Column and beam condition: Cracks on columns and beams can give information about the durability of the building. But even if there are no cracks in these areas, this does not mean that the durability of the building is high. An earthquake resistance test can only obtain the most accurate result.

Experts recommend that an earthquake resistance test be carried out in the event of dampness in the basement as this may damage the structural systems, cracks in columns or beams, or if buildings have shops on the ground floor. Facilities that do not have sufficient durability are reinforced by different techniques or rebuilt with urban transformation and made more suitable and robust for today’s conditions.

In the tests, first, the plan of the building is drawn, and its static conformity is examined. While testing the durability, experts first look at the building’s floor and carrier systems. The ground condition of the building, its distance from the fault line, and the earthquakes it has experienced are examined. With the X-ray technique, it is learned how often iron and beam columns are used. When necessary, a core sample is taken from the concrete, and various pressure tests measure the durability of the concrete.

Reinforcement is the first option as it costs less than rebuilding. Different reinforcement techniques are used, such as steel and column sheathing, adding wings, epoxy injection, and cladding with carbon fiber material. As a result of the tests, if it is understood that the reinforcing will not be enough, however costly, the buildings should be demolished and rebuilt under the scientific light of today’s engineering, such as inspection, ground survey, and material quality. Because life is more valuable than the cost of any building, and an earthquake is always with us like a bomb that may explode at any time. Let’s hope to reach the day when earthquakes are no longer considered natural disasters that take lives.

Hakan Yağcı

Reşit Efe Bayram

Sources:

Bbc: “Japonya’da Büyük Depremler Nasıl Az Hasarla Atlatılıyor? (How Major Earthquakes Survive with Little Damage in Japan)”

ResearchGate: “Damaging Effects of July 26, 1963, Skopje Earthquake”

Discovering Macedonia: “The Skopje Earthquake – a devastating catastrophe.”

Indigo Dergisi: “Deprem dayanıklılık testi nedir? Nasıl yapılır? (What is an earthquake endurance test? How to do it?)”

BCI Construction: “Which Factors Determine the Lifespan of a Building?”

Dergipark: “Türkiye’deki Depremlerde Alınan ve Alınabilecek Önlemler (Taken and Need to Take Precautions in Turkey’s Earthquakes)”

Mapfre: “Binanın Depreme Dayanıklı Olduğu Nasıl Anlaşılır? (How to Tell if the Building is Earthquake Resistant)”

Intac Insaat: “Reinforcement of Buildings”