The associate professor of the International Research Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering emphasized that “the performance of structures in large earthquakes is beyond the regulatory requirements”, said: the experience of Iran and neighboring countries shows that even buildings designed according to existing standards suffer serious damage in severe earthquakes, and in order to reduce the recovery time and maintain the function of hospitals and critical infrastructure, we need modern technologies, structural control systems and a fundamental review of the construction method.
According to IsnaDr. Abdolreza Saroqadamqadam, Associate Professor of the Structural Engineering Research Institute of the International Research Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, in the meeting “Reduction of earthquake risk in the country by preparing infrastructure, using new technologies and industrialization of constructions” held at the research institute, referring to the holding of a meeting in this field with the managers of construction companies, he added: In that meeting, it was emphasized that it is necessary to examine new products and technologies on a case-by-case basis in order to It should be determined under what conditions these materials can be used in projects. We also had a meeting with oil industry representatives. An industry that has wider seismic consequences than a normal building due to the nature of the units and the variety of equipment. For this reason, the issue of passive defense and the needs of this area was emphasized.
Saroqadamqadam said: Unfortunately, examples of damage have been seen in neighboring countries, and it is possible that we will face similar incidents in Tehran and other cities of the country. Therefore, the responsibility of the earthquake engineering and structure society is very heavy. The first point is to determine exactly where the “new need” is raised and to what extent it is observed.
The associate professor of the International Research Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering pointed out: Our main concern is the performance of the structure, because now the regulations work beyond the past and have more requirements than before; Requirements that used to be seen only for important buildings such as hospitals or industries, but are now also present in common buildings.
He continued: Currently, when a structure is built, it is not only evaluated based on the minimum criteria of the regulations; Rather, its functional behavior is considered. Similar to a car accident, where the body may be damaged, but the passenger space is preserved, in an earthquake, some building components may be damaged, but the goal is that the structure can absorb energy and remain standing. Of course, if the intensity of an earthquake like Kermanshah is repeated, it cannot be guaranteed that all buildings will not be completely destroyed, and one must be realistic.
He said: The use of dampers has been experienced in some projects and important buildings such as medical centers have special orders for protective equipment. These show that the level of global requirements has changed and more emphasis has been placed on the safety of structures.
Saroqadamqadam stated: Since the early 2000s, several agendas have been proposed in this field, and now various tools, software, and performance evaluation methods are at the disposal of engineers. In recent years, valuable efforts have been made in the country, because the indirect damages of the earthquake are several times the direct damages, and in some countries it has taken months or years to return to normal conditions.
He stated that it should not be assumed that all the consequences will disappear one week after the earthquake, and emphasized: World experience shows that this period of time should be reduced as much as possible so that vital services can be restored faster.
He added: For this purpose, it is necessary to pay attention to specific quantitative indicators in the regulations. One of the important indicators is “recovery time”, which is more measurable and reliable among all resilience indicators. But currently, there is no clear direction for it and many parts of the structural components play a role in this index.
This faculty member emphasized: Now the country’s engineering has the necessary tools and methods, but the selection of the goal and path should be more accurate so as not to lead to misleading impressions. If the roof system or structural components are upgraded at a small cost, the impact in reducing recovery time and increasing resilience will be significant and worth the investment.
Referring to the necessity of reviewing past experiences, Saroghadam Moghadam said: “There were many efforts behind these actions and it is necessary to re-diagnose these experiences and even combine them with control systems and new technologies in order to achieve the set goals.”
He added: Our goal is that if we face damage caused by an earthquake in Tehran or other cities, the vital structures and systems can have an acceptable performance and protect people’s lives. But these actions alone are not enough and it should be noted that the way forward needs more planning and strengthening.
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