Seismic Design Concept for Non-Structural Connections using Post-installed Anchors
Kamalika Kundu, Head – Codes and Technical Marketing, Hilti India Pvt. Limited
Introduction
As the seismic activity in and around India, has been steadily increasing, the government has taken the initiative to conduct several workshops and trainings to spread awareness on the subject. Seismic design of structures is essential in high seismic zones. It is more so for important buildings like hospitals, schools etc. In the recent past, several Indian Standards on seismic evaluation and design including our National Building Code have undergone changes to make them more robust. This is evident from the shift in our approach towards performance-based design. Our revised National Building Code 2016 recognizes the need for properly designing our primary structure as well as securing non-structural connections so that they can withstand the seismic forces. A book on earthquake protection of non-structural elements and connections in building titled - “Introduction to Earthquake Protection of Non-structural elements in buildings”, has also been published by Gujarat State Disaster Management[1] to highlight the damages that can be associated with failure of these structures and counter measures to be adopted. Despite these efforts, there is still little to no guidance on how to do seismic design of post-installed anchor connections for fixing secondary structures or service utilities.
During less severe earthquake, most damage to life and property is caused due to failure of non-structural connections like appendages to buildings, services and utilities. It is important to ensure that the service utilities continue to perform especially in structures like hospitals. To ensure this, it is important to use a post-installed anchor system that in qualified for use in seismic connections as well as to design it for seismic forces.
This paper discusses behavior of post-installed anchors under seismic loads and presents basic design concept for seismic conditions.
Codes and Standards
Introduction
As the seismic activity in and around India, has been steadily increasing, the government has taken the initiative to conduct several workshops and trainings to spread awareness on the subject. Seismic design of structures is essential in high seismic zones. It is more so for important buildings like hospitals, schools etc. In the recent past, several Indian Standards on seismic evaluation and design including our National Building Code have undergone changes to make them more robust. This is evident from the shift in our approach towards performance-based design. Our revised National Building Code 2016 recognizes the need for properly designing our primary structure as well as securing non-structural connections so that they can withstand the seismic forces. A book on earthquake protection of non-structural elements and connections in building titled - “Introduction to Earthquake Protection of Non-structural elements in buildings”, has also been published by Gujarat State Disaster Management[1] to highlight the damages that can be associated with failure of these structures and counter measures to be adopted. Despite these efforts, there is still little to no guidance on how to do seismic design of post-installed anchor connections for fixing secondary structures or service utilities.
During less severe earthquake, most damage to life and property is caused due to failure of non-structural connections like appendages to buildings, services and utilities. It is important to ensure that the service utilities continue to perform especially in structures like hospitals. To ensure this, it is important to use a post-installed anchor system that in qualified for use in seismic connections as well as to design it for seismic forces.
This paper discusses behavior of post-installed anchors under seismic loads and presents basic design concept for seismic conditions.
Codes and Standards
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NBM&CW February 2018
