Abstract:
Earth quake engineering in Pakistan became popular in last few decades for both
assessment and design of structures. Innovation in design codes for all structural
topologies with the incorporation of seismic assessment, procedures based on
identification of damage status in terms of displacement thresholds have brought
revolution in the said field. Most of the rural areas in Pakistan employ Adobe and mud
masonry for construction dwelling.
In Pakistan, most of the rural areas use Adobe and mud masonry construction for
dwelling primarily because, one, they are poor and, second, it is cheap and extreme
environmental conditions favor this construction. In Baluchistan, 80% of the population
is living in houses constructed of Adobe masonry. Baluchistan is an earthquake prone
area and has seen many earthquakes in the past. Thus, it is essential that houses
constructed in Baluchistan should be properly designed to perform well during
earthquakes. Adobe and mud masonry construction did not perform well during the past
earthquakes and most of the houses were severely damaged. During recent Awaran
Earthquake, more than 80% of houses in earthquake hit area were completely
destroyed resulting into loss of life and property. Thus, there is a need to make this type
of construction better earthquake resistant.
In this research, gravity load and seismic analysis of Adobe Wall Panel (12 feet x 10
feet) having 18 inches thickness and Adobe room (12 feet x 12 feet x 10 feet) was
performed using commercial software SAP2000. Nonlinear Static Pushover and
Nonlinear Dynamic Time History Analysis procedures were used for Seismic Analysis.
First, simple Adobe Wall Panels and then Adobe room were analyzed and the
weaknesses were identified. Then, Adobe Wall Panels and Adobe room strengthened
with locally available Bamboos and Palm Leaves were analyzed. Lateral displacement
and shear stresses were studied under all kinds of loadings.
