Title:
Damage to Concrete Buildings with Precast Floors during the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake
Author(s):
Kenneth Elwood
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_F19_Elwood.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
10/20/2019
Abstract:
The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand resulted in shaking in excess of design level demands for buildings with periods of 1 to 2 seconds at some locations in Wellington. This period range correlated to concrete moment frame buildings of 5 to 15 stories, many of which had been built in Wellington since the early 1980s, and often with precast concrete floor units. Varying degrees of beam hinging and residual beam elongation were observed. Cases of significant beam elongation and associated support beam rotation resulted in damage to precast floor unit supports—in one case leading to loss of support for double-tee units. The deformation demands also resulted in damage to floor diaphragms, especially those with hollow-core floor units. Cracking in floor diaphragms was commonly concentrated in the corners of the buildings. Transverse cracking of hollow-core floor units was identified as a particular concern. Following the earthquake, a guideline was developed for the seismic assessment of existing buildings with precast floors. This presentation will discuss damage from the Kaikoura Earthquake and the implementation of seismic assessment guidelines for buildings with precast floors in New Zealand.