bp oil spill hits coastline

"Earthquakes do not kill people – poorly constructed buildings do." This is the message displayed on the homepage of the construction site change.

Build Change is an international non-profit that designs social earthquake-resistant houses in developing countries and trains builders, owners, engineers and government officials to build them. By developing local capacity in countries like China and Indonesia, the goal is to create a permanent change in construction practice.

With about 500,000 detectable earthquakes worldwide each year and 100 of them cause any damage, it is important that those who live in areas at high risk to acquire skills and knowledge to protect themselves and their buildings.

E INDONESIA ITALY

residential buildings constructed by themselves been most affected by the earthquake in Indonesia last year (and in Haiti last month) because they were not included in seismic building codes. Buildings in Indonesia have been constructed from unreinforced masonry which is not very efficient in earthquakes. From Indeed, as it was not required before the earthquake in the seismic design of low-rise structures, less two per cent of the property in the area has been designed in accordance with current seismic codes Indonesia for buildings of two or several floors.

Lessons learned in the West. According to a report by the Natural Hazards Center in the United States, after the earthquake L'Aquila, Italy, in April, 38 percent of residents live in reinforced concrete structures suffered moderate to heavy damage in their homes.

Light modern buildings built before the introduction of standards of earthquake-resistant building in 1980, were most affected. Aquila Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque survived several earthquakes over the centuries.

Structural Testing

Scientists agree that one day the new buildings will be able to withstand earthquakes of the magnitude that destroyed San Francisco in 1906 7.8 on the Richter scale. He is working with extra strong materials that can bend, stretch and compress without breaking. At the University Lehigh in Bethlehem, PA, which has the largest installation of structural testing in the United States, scientists have tested a self-centered "using huge strip of rope to keep the building columns and beams in place during earthquakes.

The strips are covered with plastic prevent the deformation of buildings, allowing the beams and columns to separate, twist and indie rock set. friction plates are also used to dissipate the energy of the earthquake. After the earthquake the steel bands pull the beams and columns back to their original positions. The Engineers believe this system could be used commercially in the next 10 years.

Seismic Design Principles

The successful seismic design requires an understanding of geological hazards. Structures straddling fault lines may be at risk of earthquakes land based on the dynamics and the type of soil that is built. Loose saturated soils, for example, can be liquefied and separated from sand particles in water. This leads to the construction of settlements. The solution is either to improve land or to build foundations deeper.

Liquefaction that the solution of a number of buildings during earthquakes, as in Niigata, Japan in 1964 and most recently in Mexico in 1985, Adapazari, Turkey 1999. Accordingly, it is now common practice to investigate the soil conditions and design accordingly.

Similarly, if the buildings are very close to a slope that may become unstable due to rain and the movement of the Earth. Following an earthquake in El Salvador in 2001, 585 of 844 killed by the impact the earthquake has killed in a major landslide. In Pakistan, during the 2005 earthquake, many buildings have been damaged because they were hit by falling rocks from the hills.

"The fundamental principle is to build structures design Seismic as flexible as possible, "says Ziggy Lubkowski, Delegate Director Arup Geotechnical – Earthquake Engineering Group. "Some damage will be inevitable and there must be elements of sacrifice in the design, but as long as the damage is not excessive building does not collapse.

"Plastic hinges and the plain of seismic isolation can be used to absorb the shock wave energy and allow a certain degree movement. There are, of course, cost implications associated with that level of proprietary design and generally used structures such as hospitals, schools, police stations and airports, farm buildings should be used after an earthquake. "

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Other projects include Arup Istanbul airport is located in an area with a probability of 60 percent of a major earthquake in the next 20-30 years. It includes the design of seismic isolation and is the largest building in the world anti-seismic.

Beijing is also one of the areas most seismically active world. advanced analytical equipment and said that the model of Bird's Nest Olympic stadium was designed to withstand major earthquakes. And the new building of the town of China Central TV is a great 234m track Bent "three dimensional" structure tube prepared sufficiently robust to withstand any seismic activity likely.

The building principal support is obtained through irregular grid on its surface, a visible expression of the forces to travel through the tubular structure, the smallest of the diagonal, plus costs and greater support.

Arup adopted an innovative approach to seismic design of the substructure of a new cable-stayed bridge linking the city of Incheon, near Seoul, and the coastal road west of Incheon International Airport, one the longest fixed link in the world stage in March

The bridge is located in a seismically active region and said that the crossover design was structurally sound. He also introduced savings costs resulting from the reduction of construction complexity.

"The seismic design evolves constantly growing is a science and each earthquake, we increase our knowledge of how buildings perform and how the soil reacts to the forces, "said Lubkowski.

"However, design and construction of high technology is expensive and not always the highest priority in a developing country struggling to feed a population numerous. In this perspective, the development in the implementation of seismic design is still a long way to go. "

BP Oil Spill Hits Louisiana Coastline #2 – 4-30-2010 Democracy NOW!