. 24/7 Space News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Technology, ancient and modern, can help buildings survive quakes
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 8, 2016


Shocking images of a Taiwan apartment complex felled like a tree by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake have highlighted what is needed to build a structure that can withstand seismic shocks.

Like Taiwan, Japan is quake-prone -- it suffers about a fifth of the world's most powerful tremors. It has used a mix of ancient and modern technologies to make its buildings increasingly quake-proof.

Lessons have been consistently learnt and building standards subsequently raised in the wake of deadly disasters such as the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which killed 6,434 people.

When a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, the shaking in Tokyo was violent.

But buildings -- including the nearly complete 634-metre (2,080 feet) Tokyo Skytree tower and other skyscrapers -- survived intact.

Here is a look at advanced technologies that Japan uses to protect its buildings:

-- Basic steps to make a building quake-resistant:

Resisting the force of a tremor is the most conventional way to protect structures from earthquakes.

That means basically reinforcing the walls and supporting columns. One often-seen example is strengthening bridges by wrapping their support columns with steel frames.

After the March 2011 quake, many schools reinforced their buildings by adding cross-beams to window frames, another example of that extra bit of strength that can go a long way to make buildings safer.

-- Special mechanisms for protecting skyscrapers:

Tall buildings can be constructed to absorb shocks from an earthquake. The idea is for the building to control the tremor rather than the other way around. Oil dampers -- oil-filled cylinders that work like giant shock absorbers -- are a key technology employed in Tokyo skyscrapers.

When a powerful quake hits, such buildings are designed to sway like a pendulum so that the movement effectively absorbs the shockwaves.

The high-rise Mori Tower in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills development uses the technology. During the March 2011 quake, not a single glass was broken in a 50th-floor restaurant.

-- Fresh ideas:

The latest idea is to "isolate" tremors, which means separating the building from the earth by measures including embedding absorbent rubber in its foundation.

"This mechanism is often applied to mid- and low-rise buildings lacking structural flexibility, such as condominiums, rather than high-rise structures," said Kenji Sawada, executive director of the Japan Society of Seismic Isolation.

By using "seismic isolation" technologies, the scale of tremors felt in the topping structure could be greatly reduced, experts say.

But Sawada also said: "It doesn't mean reinforcing building structure (with beams and steel frames) is an outdated idea. We should examine the structural nature of a building and apply these three types of technologies, depending on suitability."

-- Ancient knowledge:

Japan has been dealing with earthquakes for centuries and technological principles from ages past are still valid -- with one used in the construction of the Tokyo Skytree.

Parts of the 7th century Horyuji Buddhist temple complex in the ancient capital of Nara, including its five-storey pagoda, are the oldest wooden structures in the world.

The pagoda's central pillar is only attached to the top storey, remaining separated from the four lower ones. This ensures the structure will be flexible when shaken by an earthquake.

"Thanks to the pillar, any distortion by an earthquake would be evenly distributed among the five storeys, therefore preventing the shock from focusing on a single point and causing a break," Sawada said.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
SHAKE AND BLOW
Rescuers race to save over 100 buried after Taiwan quake
Tainan, Taiwan (AFP) Feb 7, 2016
Rescuers raced against time Sunday to free more than 100 people buried beneath the rubble of apartment blocks felled by an earthquake in southern Taiwan that left 19 dead, as an investigation was launched into the building collapse. The death toll is rising as emergency workers dig to find survivors of the 6.4-magnitude quake that toppled the 16-storey apartment complex containing almost 100 ... read more


SHAKE AND BLOW
Lunar Flashlight selected to fly as secondary payload on Exploration Mission-1

Phase of the moon affects amount of rainfall

Russia postpones manned Lunar mission to 2035

Audi joins Google Lunar XPrize competition

SHAKE AND BLOW
Opportunity Reaches 12 Years on Mars!

4 people to live in an HERA habitat for 30 days at JSC

Sandy Selfie Sent from NASA Mars Rover

Getting real - on Mars

SHAKE AND BLOW
Astronaut rescue exercise proves Det. 3 command, control ready to support DoD, NASA

Innovations in the Air

Challenger disaster at 30: Did the tragedy change NASA for the better?

Voyager Mission Celebrates 30 Years Since Uranus

SHAKE AND BLOW
Last Launch for Long March 2F/G

China aims for the Moon with new rockets

China shoots for first landing on far side of the moon

Chinese Long March 3B to launch Belintersat-1 telco sat for Belarus

SHAKE AND BLOW
Russians spacewalk to retrieve biological samples

New Tool Provides Successful Visual Inspection of ISS Robot Arm

Russian Cosmonauts to Attach Thermal Insulation to ISS

Astronaut Scott Kelly plays ping pong with water

SHAKE AND BLOW
Space Launch System's first flight will launch small Sci-Tech cubesats

Initial launcher assembly clears Ariane 5 for its payload integration process

ILS Proton Successfully Launches Eutelsat 9B for Eutelsat

Pentagon Can't Overcome Its Russian Engines Addiction: McCain

SHAKE AND BLOW
Astronomers discover largest solar system

Lonely Planet Finds a Mum a Trillion Km Away

Follow A Live Planet Hunt

Lab discovery gives glimpse of conditions found on other planets

SHAKE AND BLOW
Scientists bridge different materials by design

Novel 4-D printing method blossoms from botanical inspiration

Controlling the magnetic properties of individual iron atom

NASA's ICESat-2 equipped with unique 3-D manufactured part









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.