Indian Seismic Codes

Building Construction Group 6

Importance of codes:

Ground vibrations during earthquake cause forces and deformation

in structure. Seismic codes help designer, engineers in planning,
designing, detailing and constructing of structures accordingly.

These regulations /codes ensures that structures are able to respond

to earthquake shakings of moderate intensities without structural
damage and of heavy intensities without total collapse.
I.S codes

The list of Indian Standard Codes for Earthquake design of structure include

IS 1893 - 2002 ( Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures)

IS 4326 - 1993(Code of practice for earthquake design resistant design and construction of buildings)

IS 13827 - 1993 ( Improving Earthquake Resistance of Earthen Building)

IS 13920 -1997(course of practice for ductile detailing of reinforced concrete structures subjected to seismic force)

IS 13935 - 1993( Seismic Evaluation, Repair And Strengthening of Masonry Building Guidelines)
These codes are the guidance of designer to plan , design and construct buildings to withstand earthquake.
IS 1893, (1993)

This standard deals with earthquake resistant design of structures and is applicable to buildings; elevated
structures; bridges; dams etc. It also gives a map which divides the country into five seismic zones based on the
seismic intensity.
IS 1893 was initially published in 1962 as `Recommendations for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures’ and
then revised in 1966. As a result of additional seismic data collected in India and further knowledge and
experience gained the standard was revised in 1970, 1975 and then in 1984.
Design regulations

To perform well in an earthquake, a building should possess four main

attributes:

● Simple and regular configuration

● Adequate lateral strength
● Stiffness
● Ductility
Calculations while designing a new structure

- Permissible stress

- earthquake resistance

- vertical earthquake load

- values of elastic modulus of building materials

IS 4326, 1993
This code covers general principles for earthquake resistant buildings. Selection of materials and special
features of design and construction are dealt with for the following types of buildings: timber constructions,
masonry constructions using rectangular masonry units, and buildings with prefabricated reinforced
concrete roofing/flooring elements.
Details of Separation section and Crumple Section
Stud wall construction
IS 13827, 1993 and IS 13828, 1993
Guidelines in IS 13827 deal with empirical design and construction aspects for improving earthquake resistance
of earthen houses, and
Those in IS 13828 with general principles of design and special construction features for improving earthquake
resistance of buildings of low-strength masonry. This masonry includes burnt clay brick or stone masonry in weak
mortars, like clay-mud.
These standards are applicable in seismic zones III, IV and V.
Inclusion of features mentioned in these guidelines may only enhance the seismic resistance and reduce
chances of collapse.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

1. For the safety of earthen houses, appropriate precautions must be taken against the actions of rain and
flood waters and earthquakes. Minimum precautions are recommended in this standard.
2. Whereas dry clay block is hard and strong in compression and shear, water penetration will make it soft
and weak, the reduction in strength could be as high as 80 to 90 percent. Hence, once built, ingress of
moisture in the walls Must be prevented by the protection, roof projection and waterproof mud plastering.
3. LIGHTNESS - The building shall be as light as possible, consistent with structural safety and functional
requirements. Roofs of buildings should be made of light weight type.
4. HEIGHT -Experience in intensity areas of VIII has shown the high vulnerability of two-storeyed houses, hence
only one storey construction should preferably be adopted in seismic zones IV and V.
5. SHAPE OF THE BUILDING - The building should have a simple rectangular plan and be symmetrical, as far as
possible about both the axes. The load bearing walls should run continuously in both directions. Large
houses may have an inner courtyard for light and ventilation with proper drainage outlets, instead of
having projections giving rise to L, T shape plans.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SEISMIC ZONES
WALLS:

● The height of the adobe building should be restricted to one storey

plus attic only in seismic zones V and IV and to two storeys in zone III.
Important building ( I > 1.5 ) should not be constructed with earthen
walls in seismic zones IV and V and restricted to only one storey in
seismic zone III.
● The length of a wall, between two consecutive walls at right angles to
it, should not be greater than 10 times the wall thickness ‘t’ nor
greater than 64*t^2/h where ‘h’ is the height of wall.
● When a longer wall is required, the walls should be strengthened by
intermediate vertical buttresses.
● The width of an opening should not be greater than 1.20 m

HOUSE SITE: Sites with sandy loose soils, poorly compacted clays, and fill
materials should generally be discarded due to their excessive settlements
during seismic vibrations. Also, sites with very high water table should be
avoided.
FOUNDATION:

● Width of strip footings of the walls may be kept as follows:

i) One storey on firm - Equal to wall soil thickness.

ii) 1.5 or 2 storeys on - I.5 times the firm soil wall thickness

iii) One storey on soft soil - 1.5 times the wall thickness

iv) 1.5 or 2 storeys on soft - 2 times the wall soil thickness

● The depth of foundation below existing. ground level should at least be 400 mm.
● The footing should preferably be built by using stone, fired brick using cement or lime mortar. Alternatively,
it may be made in lean cement concrete with plums ( cement : sand-: gravel : stones as 1 : 4: 6 : 10 ) or
without plums as 1 : 5 : 10. Lime could be used in place of cement in the ratio lime : sand : gravel as 1 : 4 :
8.

PLINTH MASONRY: The wall above foundation up to plinth level should preferably be constructed using stone or
burnt bricks laid in cement or lime mortar. The height of plinth should be above the flood water line or a minimum
of 300 mm above ground level.
ROOF:

● The roof covering should preferably be of light material, like

sheeting of any type. Heavy roofs consisting of wood joists
and earth topping are dangerous and should not be used in
Zones V and IV. Tiled and slate roofs are also heavier and
shall be avoided in zones V and IV.
● If thatch is used for roof covering, it should be made
waterproof and fire resistant by applying waterproof mud
plaster.
● The roof beams, rafters or trusses should preferably be rested
on longitudinal wooden elements for distributing the load on
walls.
● The slopes and the overhanging will depend on local climatic
conditions. In zones subjected to rain and snow, walls
protection must be ensured by projecting the roof by about
500 mm beyond the walls.
● The roof beams or rafters should be located to avoid their
position above door or window lintels. Otherwise, the lintel
should be reinforced by an additional lumber
IS 13935, 1993

These guidelines cover general principles of seismic strengthening, selection of materials, and techniques for
repair/seismic strengthening of masonry and wooden buildings.
The code provides a brief coverage for individual reinforced concrete members in such buildings, but does not
cover reinforced concrete frame or shear wall buildings as a whole. Some guidelines are also laid down for
non-structural and architectural components of buildings.
IS 13935, 1993

1) Non-structural/Architectural Repairs may cover the damages to civil and electrical items including the
services in the building which need to be taken up after the structural repairs and retrofitting work are carried
out.
These repairs involve: Patching up cracks ,repairs of doors ,windows,electrical fittings ,checking of pipes and
other fixtures ,etc

2)Structural Repairs/Restoration
a) Assessment - The structural condition of building is checked ,whether structure is amenable for repairs or
whole structure needs to be demolished .Accordingly mapping of cracks,distress locations ,etc of whole
structure is assessed .
b) Repairs of individual structural member is carried out by removal of cracked masonry and rebuilding
it,addition of reinforcing mesh on both sides of the cracked wall ,Grouting can be done in cracks at
beam,lintel,slabs
c) Seismic strengthening- Increasing lateral strength ,giving unity to structure ,eliminating features that
produces stress in some members
d) Seismic retrofitting
e) Strengthening or Retrofitting Versus Reconstruction
IS:4326-1993 and IS:13828 - 1993
Design of Lintel Bands - During earthquake
shaking, the lintel band undergoes bending and
pulling actions (Figure 3). To resist these actions,
the construction of lintel band requires special
attention. Bands can be made of wood
(including bamboo splits) or of reinforced
concrete (RC) (Figure 4); the RC bands are the
best. When wooden bands are used, the
cross-section of runners is to be at least
75mm×38mm and of spacers at least
50mm×30mm. When RC bands are used, the
minimum thickness is 75mm, and at least two bars
of 8mm diameter are required, tied across with
steel links of at least 6mm diameter at a spacing
of 150 mm centers.
Building Configuration ( NBC VOL 1 - PART 6 STRL DESIGN - SECTION 4 )
1)The building should have a simple rectangular plan and be symmetrical both with respect to mass and rigidity so that
the centre of mass and rigidity of the building coincide with each other in which case no separation sections other than
expansion joints are necessary.
2)If symmetry of the structure is not possible in plan, elevation or mass, provision shall be made for torsional and other
effects due to earthquake forces in the structural design or the parts of different rigidities may be separated through
crumple sections. The length of such building between separation sections shall not preferably exceed three times the
width.
3) Buildings having plans with shapes like L, T, E and Y shall preferably be separated into rectangular parts by providing
separation sections at appropriate places
STIRRUPS IN RC BEAMS
Stirrups in RC beams help in three ways, namely
a)They carry the vertical shear force and thereby resist diagonal
shear cracks
b)They protect the concrete from bulging outwards due to
flexure, and
c)They prevent the buckling of the compressed longitudinal bars
due to flexure.
In moderate to severe seismic zones, the Indian Standard
IS 13920-1993 prescribes the following:
(a) The diameter of stirrup must be at least 6mm; in beams more
than 5m long, it must be at least 8mm.
(b) Both ends of the vertical stirrups should be bent into a 135°
hook and extended sufficiently beyond this hook to ensure that
the stirrup does not open out in an earthquake.
(c)The spacing of vertical stirrups in any portion of the beam
should be determined from calculations
(d) The maximum spacing of stirrups is less than half the depth of
the beam.
(e) For a length of twice the depth of the beam from the face of
the column, an even more stringent spacing of stirrups is
specified, namely half the spacing mentioned in (d) above.
BEHAVIOUR OF COLUMNS
Columns, the vertical members in RC buildings, contain two types of steel
reinforcement, namely:
(a) long straight bars (called longitudinal bars) placed vertically along the
length, and
(b) closed loops of smaller diameter steel bars (called transverse ties)
placed horizontally at regular intervals along its full length
Columns can sustain two types of damage, namely axial-flexural (or
combined compression bending) failure and shear failure.
Shear damage is brittle and must be avoided in columns by providing
transverse ties at close spacing
Steel reinforcement in
columns

Extra links are required to

keep the concrete in place
The Indian Standard IS 13920-1993 prescribes following
details for earthquake-resistant columns:
Closely spaced ties must be provided at the two ends of
the column over a length not less than larger dimension
of the column, one-sixth the column height or 450mm.
Over the distance specified in item
(a) above and below a beam-column junction, the
vertical spacing of ties in columns should not exceed D/4
for where D is the smallest dimension of the column (e.g.,
in a rectangular column, D is the length of the small side).
This spacing need not be less than 75mm not more than
100mm.
At other locations, ties are spaced as per calculations
but not more than D/2.
The length of tie beyond the 135° bends must be at least
10 times diameter of steel bar used to make the closed
tie; this extension beyond the bend should not be less
than 75mm.

Steel reinforcement in
seismic columns