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1/22/2016
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ACI constantly strives to be responsive to its mission of disseminating concrete knowledge. Its Strategic Plan directs ACI to act as a leader in collecting design and repair protocols for concrete structures. This directive became a reality with the formation of ACI Committee 133 Disaster Reconnaissance, which was deployed to investigate and publish a report for the Nepal government on the earthquake that took place in April 2015. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal caused more than 8500 casualties and left over 22,000 people injured. Thousands of buildings were destroyed and many more rendered unsafe. The reconnaissance effort, funded by the American Concrete Institute, entailed detailed surveys and inspections of reinforced concrete structures affected by the earthquakes. According to Michael Kreger, Chair, ACI Committee 133, “this was the first time that ACI 133 Committee deployed ACI members on this type of mission.” The goal of this effort was to focus on how the structural concrete performed during the earthquakes, and obtain data that will allow ACI to update its resources on structural concrete, seismic rehabilitation, concrete repair, and more. Four teams participated in the research, including students from the University of Nepal. According to Santiago Pujol, ACI Committee 133 member and lead researcher, “the reconnaissance produced damage information, photographic records, detailed drawings, and (in instances) structural analysis models for twenty-eight engineered buildings with up to seventeen stories. This type of information will help the Institute evaluate and improve its own design procedures.” The publically available research has been catalogued online, and includes maps, photos, videos, diagrams, and more: High-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings Research » Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings Research » “ACI established Committee 133 to gather information from major disasters and report on the effects on concrete construction around the world,” said JoAnn Browning, Technical Activities Committee contact to Committee 133. “The committee provides a path for institutional members to aid reconnaissance efforts with their knowledge and skills after major disasters occur, and to carefully document and disseminate the results of these efforts,” continued Browning. “With this committee work, the Institute can now contribute to larger initiatives to reduce the hazards associated with major disasters through research, education, and practice. For example, the Nepalese data collected by Pujol creates a more complete database of building performance when combined with lessons learned from other reconnaissance teams. Other ACI committees may use this data when developing new documents for the concrete practicing community. In addition, the work of Committee 133 enables ACI to partner with other technical societies and international groups that are working to improve the performance of concrete construction worldwide.” “The Nepal earthquake reconnaissance is particularly useful because it gathered quantitative data about construction configurations and degree of damage,” said Jack Moehle, Chair ACI Committee 318 Structural Concrete Building Code, and member of ACI Committee 133. “One simple measure of building seismic resistance is the ratio of wall and column areas in the first floor to the total floor area of a building. Studies of past earthquakes have shown that this ratio correlates to the degree of damage, including collapse. Data gathered during the Nepal earthquake reconnaissance have added to this database and confirmed the basic relations observed in past earthquakes. Similar ratios are being considered for rapid building evaluation in the United States, as part of the FEMA-funded ATC 78 project, and the data from the Nepal reconnaissance will inform evaluation parameters of that project.” The research findings, which are being shared with ACI committees focusing on structural concrete, seismic rehabilitation, concrete repair, and more, are critical for ACI to produce the most up-to-date technical docs. By investing in this research, ACI continues to proactively gather and share information on transformational ideas, practices, and techniques. Earn CEUs (PDHs) by taking the ACI University online course: Learning from the Nepal 2015 Earthquake.
ACI constantly strives to be responsive to its mission of disseminating concrete knowledge. Its Strategic Plan directs ACI to act as a leader in collecting design and repair protocols for concrete structures. This directive became a reality with the formation of ACI Committee 133 Disaster Reconnaissance, which was deployed to investigate and publish a report for the Nepal government on the earthquake that took place in April 2015. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal caused more than 8500 casualties and left over 22,000 people injured. Thousands of buildings were destroyed and many more rendered unsafe.
The reconnaissance effort, funded by the American Concrete Institute, entailed detailed surveys and inspections of reinforced concrete structures affected by the earthquakes. According to Michael Kreger, Chair, ACI Committee 133, “this was the first time that ACI 133 Committee deployed ACI members on this type of mission.” The goal of this effort was to focus on how the structural concrete performed during the earthquakes, and obtain data that will allow ACI to update its resources on structural concrete, seismic rehabilitation, concrete repair, and more.
Four teams participated in the research, including students from the University of Nepal. According to Santiago Pujol, ACI Committee 133 member and lead researcher, “the reconnaissance produced damage information, photographic records, detailed drawings, and (in instances) structural analysis models for twenty-eight engineered buildings with up to seventeen stories. This type of information will help the Institute evaluate and improve its own design procedures.”
The publically available research has been catalogued online, and includes maps, photos, videos, diagrams, and more:
High-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings Research »
Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings Research »
“ACI established Committee 133 to gather information from major disasters and report on the effects on concrete construction around the world,” said JoAnn Browning, Technical Activities Committee contact to Committee 133.
“The committee provides a path for institutional members to aid reconnaissance efforts with their knowledge and skills after major disasters occur, and to carefully document and disseminate the results of these efforts,” continued Browning. “With this committee work, the Institute can now contribute to larger initiatives to reduce the hazards associated with major disasters through research, education, and practice. For example, the Nepalese data collected by Pujol creates a more complete database of building performance when combined with lessons learned from other reconnaissance teams. Other ACI committees may use this data when developing new documents for the concrete practicing community. In addition, the work of Committee 133 enables ACI to partner with other technical societies and international groups that are working to improve the performance of concrete construction worldwide.”
“The Nepal earthquake reconnaissance is particularly useful because it gathered quantitative data about construction configurations and degree of damage,” said Jack Moehle, Chair ACI Committee 318 Structural Concrete Building Code, and member of ACI Committee 133. “One simple measure of building seismic resistance is the ratio of wall and column areas in the first floor to the total floor area of a building. Studies of past earthquakes have shown that this ratio correlates to the degree of damage, including collapse. Data gathered during the Nepal earthquake reconnaissance have added to this database and confirmed the basic relations observed in past earthquakes. Similar ratios are being considered for rapid building evaluation in the United States, as part of the FEMA-funded ATC 78 project, and the data from the Nepal reconnaissance will inform evaluation parameters of that project.”
The research findings, which are being shared with ACI committees focusing on structural concrete, seismic rehabilitation, concrete repair, and more, are critical for ACI to produce the most up-to-date technical docs. By investing in this research, ACI continues to proactively gather and share information on transformational ideas, practices, and techniques.
Earn CEUs (PDHs) by taking the ACI University online course: Learning from the Nepal 2015 Earthquake.
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