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Description
Research has revealed essential findings related to the seismic response of typical new school buildings designed and built in Afghanistan. The buildings have a reinforced concrete (RC) frame and unreinforced brick walls that are not connected to the frame or to each other. Nonlinear time-history analyses were conducted on a detailed model of a portion of a prototype building structure. The model allowed for plastic hinging at girder ends and sliding of the walls relative to the remaining structure. It also recognized that compression can be transferred from the walls to the frame members, but in tension they move apart and form a gap. A total of 10 measured earthquake motions were selected and scaled to maximum credible earthquake (MCE) levels for the highest seismic regions in California. All of the MCE motions were applied in the longitudinal, transverse and diagonal directions, resulting in 30 nonlinear time-history analyses of the Afghan building. In separate analyses the model walls were prevented to slide relative to the frame members, and this represented the same structure designed to California and US standards. In addition, time-history analyses were conducted of the RC frame acting alone to better understand how the building would respond if all the walls and roof have collapsed. This thesis explores essential information regarding the prototype structure, idealized structure and earthquake motions. It also gives comparisons between Afghan-designed and US-designed buildings. The primary finding was that seismic loading of school buildings designed in Afghanistan, without connections between the walls and frame, and without reinforcement within the walls, cause walls to separate from the remaining structure and will likely lead to complete failure and collapse of the walls.
