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Proceedings of the Intel national Conference on
Advances and New Challenges in Earthquake
Engineei mg Research Hong Kong Volume
317
SEISMIC BEHAVIOR OF WOODEN HOUSE
USING DISTINCT ELEMENT METHOD
J Kiyono 1 and A Furukawa 1
1 Graduate School of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
ABSTRACT
Collapsing process of wooden houses during an earthquake has been analyzed using the Distinct
Element Method (DEM) DEM is a numerical analysis method in which the positions of the elements
are calculated by solving the equations of motions step by step Not only individual but also group
behavior can be simulated using this method The structure is modeled as an assembly of distinct
elements and these elements are connected by virtual springs and dashpots Damage to human bodies
has been considered as well The human body is modeled as a circle and put on the floor The
maximum impact acceleration experienced by a human body during an earthquake is calculated
Damage to human bodies in the house is discussed based on the index of Chest-G and HLC
INTRODUCTION
During the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, many wooden houses were destroyed More than 6400
people were killed during this quake, and 80% of them died due to the structural failure To reduce
casualties due to earthquakes, it is very important to know the way structures collapse and how people
get injured because of it The purposes of this study are firstly to simulate collapsing process of
wooden houses using DEM, secondly to estimate the impact acceleration applying to the people m the
house, and finally to assess the damage level of people
Rigid Body
(a) rectangular element
(b)circular element
Fig.3.1 Contact model of elements