Seeking Low-Cost Seismic Protection for Urban Masonry in an Unstable Terrain

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13 government-contracted companies working on public infrastructure and companies interested in constructing seismically protected buildings in the private sector. These corporations and others are working on seismic isolation primarily in urban areas of developed countries, meaning that these are rather large-scale, expensive projects. In a Robinson Seismic Limited seismic reinforcement project, they used 135 rubber bearings and 132 slider bearings for the Wellington Regional Hospital in Australia. [13] The seismic isolation alone cost about $110 per square meter, totaling three percent of the $165 million construction cost. In another project, they say that seismic isolation was closer to $140 per square meter, but again close to three percent of the total cost. [13] The addition of seismic base isolation technology to these construction projects helps to ensure safety of the occupants and contents of the building in case of an earthquake, and as an added benefit, the bearings typically don’t need to be replaced following an earthquake. Another possible benefit is a discount on insurance for buildings that are seismically isolated. In Japan, owners of base-isolated apartment buildings can expect a 30% discount on their insurance because of the safety enhancement provided by the technology. [13] These incentives provide a way to enhance safety in a city, but they rely on building owners having the resources to do so. When it comes to large downtown buildings, an employee from the engineering firm Simpson Gumpertz & Heger described the decision to use base isolation as “com[ing] down to judging the economic welfare of the individual property owner against that of society as a whole” and adds that “Most developers believe it is a low enough risk to warrant taking a chance.” [14] In the US, a base isolation system costs roughly $30 to $50 per square foot (about $100 to $160 per MARKET ANALYSIS OF LOW-COST SEISMIC PROTECTION BORTON, SAM
14 square meter), or between $600,000 to $1 million for a typical five-story building, adding about five to ten percent of the total construction cost. [14] The costs for adding a base isolation system to the construction projects of large engineering firms that build in urban areas of developed countries do not pose a barrier. When extrapolated to communities in developing countries, the situation looks much different. Not only would over $100 per square meter be too significant of a cost, but products like rubber bearings and sliding pads are not readily accessible in these communities. III. MARKET TRENDS/STABILITY Focusing specifically on low cost methods of seismic protection, one foundational trend is the rise in awareness of this industry in general. Not until the late 20 th century did base isolation become popular, and that trend unsurprisingly began in developed yet seismically vulnerable locations like Japan and California. In recent years, research has begun addressing the barriers of cost and access that prevent seismic protection from reaching similarly vulnerable communities in developing countries. A few different factors facilitated this shift into the low-cost arena. For one, as international media coverage has become more prevalent, awareness of international natural disasters has increased, like earthquakes of the past fifteen years in Haiti, Nepal, Ecuador, Chile, and Indonesia. With greater awareness comes more foreign aid and attention from the scientific research community. Along with greater media attention, there is also greater physical accessibility to some of these developing areas. Improving infrastructure can allow for easier and less costly transport of materials and engineers to seismically vulnerable communities. Policy MARKET ANALYSIS OF LOW-COST SEISMIC PROTECTION BORTON, SAM
Page 2 and 3: 1 Undergraduate Research Analyst: S
Page 4 and 5: 3 "Part of our role as structural e
Page 6 and 7: 5 Figure 1: Compliments of Dr. Marc
Page 8 and 9: 7 Figure 2: Frequency and severity
Page 10 and 11: 9 Table 1: Peru’s Economic Risk f
Page 12 and 13: 11 1. frequent (approx. every 43 ye
Page 16 and 17: 15 changes are another factor influ
Page 18 and 19: 17 to prevent the tragedies due to
Page 20 and 21: 19 energy, and no cracks were obser
Page 22 and 23: 21 5 USD per meter run for the marb
Page 24 and 25: 23 CURRENT ROCKING ISOLATION EXAMPL
Page 26 and 27: 25 APPENDIX A: Sustainable Developm
Page 28 and 29: 27 REFERENCES [1] Volcano Discovery
Page 30: 29 strategy in developing countries

Seeking Low-Cost Seismic Protection for Urban Masonry in an Unstable Terrain

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