Post by: Soli Lachman, Madison Meabon and PN

GPS Coordinates: +44.045859, -123.076322

Location and General Description: Our group chose to do Fenton Hall because we are really interested in earthquake prevention. It is super interesting to learn about how the University is committed to earthquake research in preparation for “The Big One”. The window that allows us to look at the seismic retrofitting of Fenton Hall is located at the base of the stairs in Fenton Hall near the math library. Fenton Hall is one of several brick buildings on campus to have undergone seismic retrofitting but is unique in providing a window to examine said work. This is of importance due to the seismic risk in Oregon due to plate tectonics and the Cascadia subduction zone. Seismic retrofitting is when you add extra reinforcement to an existing building. This will help the building sway with the movement of the earthquake to prevent mass cracking and damage. This is important to buildings like Fenton Hall because of the brick exterior. When brick is cracked, it gets super weak and collapses easily, causing danger to people on campus.

Geological Observations: The retrofitting appears to be a set of steel skeletons with brown wooden blocks in between them in sets of two consistent sizes located on the interior of the exterior wall of the building. The supports are attached to the brick at a corner of the building specifically and not in the middle of walls, at least in this location. The skeleton appears to be attached to the wall using concrete or mortar, visible as gray patches near each wooden block. The wooden cross bars between the steel skeletons are approximately 20cm apart and the blocks are slightly narrower than the gaps between them.

Location on Google Earth (Site #2)

 

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What is the process by which masonry buildings, like Fenton Hall, suffer damage from earthquakes?

 

Contributed by: PN

 

Geological Question: Seismic retrofitting is done to buildings in order to ensure that the amount of damage that occurs to them, and therefore the amount of harm they can do to people, is minimized. This is clearly visible in Fenton Hall through the window that was provided during construction, as can be seen in Figure 1. Other brick buildings on campus, such as Chapman Hall, and around the world have undergone similar processes.However, understanding the process and ways by which buildings can be made earthquake safe caused me to wonder more about the how brick buildings are impacted by earthquakes in the first place, as while as if the soil and/or bedrock they are sited on in the first place impacts exactly how they are impacted.This led me to ask the question: What is the process by which masonry buildings, like Fenton Hall, suffer damage from earthquakes?

 

Description of Scientific Article: In order to answer this question I consulted an article by Meoni et al. (2019) discussing a new method for detecting earthquake damage during shaking-table tests, where a brick building is constructed on a surface that can artificially mimic an earthquake. This is a type of test where a building is constructed on a surface that can shake to replicate an earthquake. I hoped this article would allow me to learn about the process by which a building is damaged during an earthquake and what process causes the most severe types of damage. This article also discusses where a brick building is damaged in an earthquake. “Smart bricks” are a brick containing metallic microfibers that can provide data on the strain a building is undergoing at a given location by utilizing the metal’s electrical properties (Meoni et al., 2019). These bricks were used in the construction of a brick building that was then subjected to a simulated earthquake (Meoni et al., 2019). Related to my question, they found that after two earthquakes the building exhibited widespread cracking, especially on the lower portion of the building, but that the additional amount of cracking after each additional earthquake decreased (Meoni et al., 2019). However, this additional cracking occurred in the same parts of the building as the previous cracks (Meoni et al., 2019). The smart bricks showed the greatest deal of strain and damage occurred near windows and near the foundation of the building at corners (Meoni et al., 2019). This cracking put nearby bricks under considerable strain, as they were under greater pressure (Meoni et al., 2019). The strain increased following each additional earthquake (Meoni et al., 2019). 

 

Intersection between peer-reviewed research and observations on campus: This article discusses and displays the locations at which the building in the experiment underwent the greatest cracking and strain, specifically that corners at the base of the building underwent a great deal of strain and this strain was at a high level even after a smaller number of simulated earthquakes (Meoni et al., 2019). While other areas in the building grew in the amount of damage over earthquakes, this location experienced a high level of strain and cracking after 2 simulated earthquakes (Meoni et al., 2019). We observed that at Fenton Hall many of the seismic reinforcements were located at corners of the building. Therefore it is possible that these reinforcements in the building were located at areas that would undergo the greatest strain and cracking, and therefore risk of collapse, in the building, in order to reduce the amount of pressure the bricks were under or ensure that cracking does not lead to building collapse. Part of these reinforcements included shear walls and other structural renovations (Chambers Construction) in order to allowing the building to be under less strain during earthquakes.

 

An Answer to the Question: My question was partially answered by this article. I learned more about the damage that is done to masonry buildings by earthquakes, as well as how this can be measured and monitored. This included information about new methods of monitoring where damage occurs. However, I did not learn the exact process by which masonry buildings collapse during earthquakes. Instead I learned a great deal about where strain occurs during earthquakes. However, based on the article, the process by which damage is done is probably related to the cracking in the structure compromising its integrity. 

 

What I learned and future questions: One additional thing I learned from this article is that it historically has been expensive and challenging to measure where buildings are under strain during normal and earthquake conditions due to the expense and short-term durability of sensors that measure strain and pressure, especially in historic buildings with aesthetic considerations (Meoni et al., 2019). As someone who is greatly interested in urban planning, I began to wonder what building codes should look like in earthquake vulnerable areas and what a new earthquake-safe building looks like after reading this article. This led me to begin developing an additional question: What types of construction techniques are best for building earthquake resistant new buildings?

 

Sources Cited:

Meoni, A., D’Alessandro, A., Cavalagli, N., Gioffré, M., & Ubertini, F. (2019). Shaking table tests on a masonry building monitored using smart bricks: Damage detection and localization. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 48(8), 910-928.

University of Oregon Fenton Hall. (n.d). Chambers Construction. Retrieved November 30, 2024. https://www.chambersconstruction.com/university-of-oregon-fenton-hall.html 

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How do we establish earthquake prevention on historic buildings without compromising their historic value?

Contributed by: Soli Lachman

Geological Question: 

If you have ever been on a tour of the University of Oregon’s (UO) campus, you may have heard about our abundant historic buildings, ranging from University Hall (a National Historic Landmark, the highest ranking for any historic building) to the Knight Library (University of Oregon Historic Buildings & Landscapes Tour). These gorgeous buildings are part of what makes the UO such a wonderful place to go to school. Historic buildings are all over the country and play a large role in not only looking wonderful but also showcasing a piece of history. If you’ve ever wondered what one of the founding fathers’ houses looked like, you can go visit one. It is due to this importance that preserving historic buildings is so important. However, in many locations where historic buildings stand, there is a great risk of natural disasters such as earthquakes. In Oregon, we are at a large risk not only for earthquakes but for one of the biggest earthquakes ever predicted due to the subduction zone (a place where one content slides under the other) that sits just off the coast of the PNW. Because of the earthquake risk, one would want to construct buildings with earthquake safety measures. The combination of UOs wonderful historic buildings and the large earthquake risk got me interested in researching the question: How do we establish earthquake prevention on historic buildings without compromising their historical value?

Description of scientific article: 

In order to find an answer to this question, I researched how earthquake prevention might work on historic buildings using the article A Critical Discussion on the Earthquake Risk Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage Assets (Maio et al., 2018). I chose to use this article as it seemed to be looking into the same thing I was: the process of creating earthquake protections for historic buildings. The authors of this article aimed to promote the preservation and conservation of what they called ‘ancient building technologies’ to avoid the loss of identity and the mischaracterization of historic buildings, with emphasis on earthquakes (Maio et al., 2018). Due to the goal of the paper being to promote the preservation of historic buildings against earthquakes, I assumed that it would be relatively easy to find the information I needed about creating earthquake prevention.

Intersection between peer-reviewed research and observations on campus: 

As shown in Figure 1, we are looking at a visible seismic retrofitting of a campus building to help it withstand earthquakes. A seismic retrofitting is when a building is strengthened in some way to assist it in resisting earthquakes. In their 2018 article, Maio et al. show that seismic retrofitting is an option (and offered a necessary one) when mitigating earthquake risk. However, unlike the retrofitting that was donned in Fenton Hall, historic buildings have more regulations on how much one is allowed to change- even if it is to protect it from earthquakes. According to Maio et al., the retrofitting must be removable, durable, and feasible at a minimum. This presents a rather large challenge, as the balance between preservation and safety requirements is a difficult line to walk.

An answer to the question? 

The article by Maio et al. (2018) partially helped me answer my question. This article presents a high-quality discussion on the factors that go into earthquake mitigation on historic properties. However, it does not bring up specific details or methodology on how exactly this happens. This article shows steps that should be taken to preserve these buildings. It essentially outlines a process that one would use to figure out what next steps to take, but I am particularly interested in those next steps. I was hoping to learn what kinds of retrofitting are usable on historic buildings, a topic that the article I chose lacks.

What I learned and future questions: 

One thing that stood out to me in this article was the fact that historic buildings are often not only valuable for their historical meaning (in context, for example, a founding fathers’ home is valuable as it is where a piece of history lived) but also due to the style of architecture that was used on the building in question. It is, Often, a unique or out-of-date style of construction that some individuals are incredibly interested in. In the future, I would love to look more into how this unique style of construction affects the type of retrofitting that one might use.

 

Sources Cited: 

University of Oregon. “Historic Buildings & Landscapes Tour.” https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/history_tour_august_2020.pdf. Accsesed Dec. 4. 2024.

Maio, Rui, et al. “A Critical Discussion on the Earthquake Risk Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage Assets.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 27, Mar. 2018, pp. 239–47, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.10.010.

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What kind of hazards can brick buildings pose during an earthquake and how can falling bricks harm people?

By: Madison Meabon

Geological Question:

You never know when an earthquake could strike. This natural disaster is an enigma because of its unpredictability. Scientists and people never know how strong an earthquake will be until it is going on. As someone who is from California and lives along the San Adreas Fault Line, I have experienced earthquakes magnitude of 6.0 and learned that you will never truly be prepared for what’s to come. I’ve only been in my house when an Earthquake has struck, but everyone will be in different places. Earthquakes pose huge risks everywhere, and everything becomes a hazard, especially bricks. During an Earthquake, brick and mortar buildings can crack causing the structural integrity of the exterior to weaken and collapse quicker. When bricks fall off a building, they spread out far and can cause lots of damage to people. This makes me wonder what kind of hazards brick buildings pose during an earthquake and how can falling bricks harm people?

Description of Scientific Article:

The study Furukawa et al. (2009) should be trying to answer my geological question so we can better understand the hazards of bricks during an earthquake and how they can harm people. Furukawa et al. (2009) is an experiment looking at brick buildings and the hazard they pose during an earthquake. This experiment breaks down what happens to the bricks during the movement of the earthquake, showing how brick buildings separate and crack. The study created 6 different models of brick homes that will test what reinforcements or the load that the structure will have to uphold (Furukawa et al., 2009). For example, Model 1 is a brick home with no roof while Model 6 is a brick home with a roof and steel walls supporting it (Furukawa et al., 2009). Models 1-6 will be tested using the normal direction of East-West to simulate the BAM earthquake in Iran (Furukawa et al., 2009). In Furukawa et al. (2009), tests out Model 6 in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the progression of how Model 6 looks after an earthquake. Since Model 6 is reinforced with wall plates, steel columns and all connect the to roof, it is the most stable out of all the other models (Furukawa et al., 2009). From this experiment, scientists found that buildings should have reinforced walls and connected to the roof to provide structural support. In addition, Furukawa et al. (2009) goes over that many deaths from earthquakes are known as blunt injuries since you would be injured by falling objects or something that moves. I choose Furukawa et al. (2009) for my scientific article because Model 6 directly relates to our campus site regarding Earthquakes. The steel columns and reinforcement are a vital part of keeping a building up and you can see that the University or Oregon is trying to do just that. I think that Furukawa et al. (2009) does not answer my question. This article is super informative, but it does not exactly explain how dangerous bricks are. Furukawa et al. (2009) does touch a little on the harm that humans can face during an earthquake but does not specifically mention bricks.

Intersection between peer-reviewed research and observations on campus:

Furukawa et al. (2009) is super similar to the site we chose at Fenton Hall. In Furukawa et al. (2009), I primarily learned about their work with Model 6 of the experiment. Model 6 was super interesting because it was the only model that used steel columns to support Model 6 (Furukawa et al., 2009). Because of the steel columns, the building stood for longer before it collapsed (Furukawa et al., 2009). This finding has led Furukawa et al. (2009) to learn that reinforcing the walls should be priority number one to help keep the building up, even though it did nothing to help with the falling bricks. The study Furukawa et al. (2009) relates to our site at Fenton Hall because the window that we can look at shows the steel columns. This is super important for the older buildings on campus to have reinforcement like that to help keep the building more structurally sound. The University of Oregon also wants to make sure that the school is prepared when/if a large earthquake hits and to make sure that these older buildings stay standing.

An answer to the question:

No, Furukawa et al. (2009) does not answer my geological question. The study does a great job of explaining the importance of reinforcing buildings but does not go over the hazards that brick buildings pose during an earthquake. Furukawa et al. (2009) might potentially help answer the second question that I have, but it does not specifically discuss bricks and how they could seriously harm people. Unfortunately, Furukawa et al. (2009) does not answer my geological question, but it is still super interesting to learn.

What I Learned and Future Questions:

Something that I learned from Furukawa et al. (2009) was about a timber ring reinforcement method. This is an alternative to steel columns but nowhere near as effective as steel columns. Timber ring reinforcement tends to disintegrate when the walls are too weak during an earthquake (Furukawa et al., 2009). This was really cool, and I had no idea something like that could happen. I wonder why wood could disintegrate or become super weak during an earthquake?

Source:

Furukawa, Aiko, and Yutaka Ohta. “Failure process of masonry buildings during earthquake and associated casualty risk evaluation.” Natural hazards 49 (2009): 25-51.