2nd - ICEE PDRP PROCEEDING PDF

Conference Proceedings
Published by Khwopa Engineering College & Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal
Copyright ownership of this publication belongs to the publisher.
International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post

Disaster Reconstruction Planning
25 – 27 April, 2019, Bhaktapur, Nepal
Conference Proceedings
ISSN 2505 – 0737
Publication:
April 2019
Khwopa Engineering College
Khwopa College of Engineering
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Editorial Board
Advisors
1. Mr. Sunil Prajapati, Chairman, College Management Committee
2. Ar. Rajani Shrestha, Vice-Chairman, College Management Committee
3. Mr. Rabindra Jyakhwo, Member, College Management Committee
Chief Editors
1. Assoc. Prof. Sujan Maka, Principal, Khwopa Engineering College

2. Assoc. Prof. Sunil Duwal, Principal, Khwopa College of Engineering
Editors
1. Prof. Dr. Mohan Moorti Pant, Post Graduate Department of Urban Design & Conservation,
Khwopa Engineering College
2. Prof. Dr. Raju Bhai Tyata, Head, Department of Science & Humanities, Khwopa College of
Engineering
3. Assoc. Prof. Chandra Kiran Kawan, Head, Research & Development Unit, Khwopa College of
Engineering
4. Er. Ratna Shova Prajapati, Vice-Principal, Khwopa College of Engineering
5. Dr. Manjip Shakya, Head, Post Graduate Department of Earthquake Engineering, Khwopa
Engineering College
6. Er. Rameswor Shrestha, Member, Research & Development Unit, Khwopa College of
Engineering
7. Mr. Arjun Kumar Gaire, Senior Lecturer, Department of Science & Humanities, Khwopa
Engineering College
8. Mr. Nabaraj Budathoki, Head, Department of Science & Humanities, Khwopa Engineering
College
9. Ar. Libas Phaiju, Head, Post Graduate Department of Urban Design & Conservation, Khwopa
Engineering College
10. Dr. Subeg Man Bijukchhen, Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa
Engineering College
11. Mr. Phanindra Prasad Bhandari, Senior Lecturer, Department of Science & Humanities, Khwopa
Engineering College
12. Er. Sudip Karanjit, Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering
College
Committee
Main Committee
Chairman : Mr. Sunil Prajapati (Mayor, Bhaktapur Municipality)
Member : Ar. Rajani Shrestha (Deputy Mayor, Bhaktpur Municipality)
Member : Mr. Rabindra Jyakhwo (Chairman, Ward-9, Bhaktapur Municipality)
Member : Associate Prof. Sujan Maka (Principal, Khwopa Engineering College)
Member : Associate Prof. Sunil Duwal (Principal, Khwopa College of Engineering)
Steering Committee
Co-ordinator : Assoc. Prof. Sujan Maka
Vice-Coordinator : Assoc. Prof. Sunil Duwal
Member : Er. Rabindra Phoju (Vice-Principal, Khwopa Engineering College)
Member : Er. Ratna Shova Prajapati (Vice-Principal, Khwopa College of Engineering)
Member : Prof. Dr. Raju Bhai Tyata
Member : Prof. Dr. Mohan Moorti Pant
Member : Prof. Dr. Jatadhar Jha
Member : Assoc. Prof. Chandra Kiran Kawan
Member : Ar. Libas Phaiju
Member : Mr. Nabaraj Budathoki
Secretary : Dr. Manjip Shakya
Scientific Committee
National
Prof. Dr. Akal Bahadur Singh, Institute of Engineering-Tribhuvan University
Prof. Dr. Prem Nath Maskey, Institute of Engineering-Tribhuvan University
Prof. Dr. Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, Institute of Engineering-Tribhuvan University
Prof. Dr. Mohan Moorti Pant, Khwopa Engineering College
Assoc. Prof. Sujan Maka, Khwopa Engineering College
Assoc. Prof. Sunil Duwal, Khwopa College of Engineering
Assoc. Prof. Chandra Kiran Kawan, Khwopa College of Engineering
Dr. Hari Ram Parajuli, Nepal Reconstruction Authority
Dr. Mahendra Subba, GIZ Consultant
Dr. Bijaya Krishna Shrestha, Khwopa Engineering College
Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar, Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust
Dr. Prachand Man Pradhan, Kathmandu University
Dr. Purushotam Dangol, Earthquake Resistant Tech. Dev. & Consultancy Centre
Dr. Youb Raj Paudyal, Ministry of Urban Development
Dr. Manjip Shakya, Khwopa Engineering College
Dr. Ganesh Ram Nhemafuki, Ministry of Health, NHSSP
Dr. Sanjeev Prajapati, United Nations Development Programme
Mr. Sudhir Rajaure, Department of Mines and Geology
Mr. Dwarika Shrestha, Department of Urban Development & Building Construction
Mrs. Saubhagya Pradhananga, Department of Archaeology
Dr. Rakesh Dumaru, Bhaktapur, Nepal
Dr. Subeg Man Bijukchhen, Khwopa Engineering College
International
Prof. Dr. Anibal Costa, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Prof. Dr. Enrico Spacone, University of Chieti-Pescara “G.d’Annunzio”, Italy
Prof. Dr. Wei-Xin Ren, Hefei University of Technology, China
Prof. Dr. Humberto Varum, University of Porto, Portugal
Prof. Dr. Toshikazu Hanazato, Mie University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Susumu Kono, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
Prof. Dr. Nobuharu Suzuki, Yokohama City University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Rajesh Dhakal, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Prof. Dr. Domniki Asimaki, California Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Eiko Ishikawa, Yokohama City University, Japan
Dr. Mariko Fujioka, Yokohama City University, Japan
Dr. Netra Prakash Bhandari, Ehime University, Japan
Dr. Andre Barbosa,Oregon State University, USA
Dr. Mario Santana Quintero, Carleton University, Canada
Dr. Andreas Stavridis, University at Buffalo, USA
Dr. Anastasios Sextos, University of Bristol, UK
Dr. Romeu Vicente, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Dr. Marco Faggella, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Dr. Richard L. Wood, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Dr. Kaori Fujita, University of Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Hugo Rodrigues, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal
Dr. Alice Tavares Costa, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Dr. Giuseppe Brando, University of Chieti-Pescara “G.d’Annunzio”, Italy
Dr. Ricardo Barros, University of Porto, Portugal
Dr. Endo Yohei, University of Shinshu, Japan
Dr. Sujan Shrestha, Carleton University, Canada
Preface
We are delighted to publish the conference proceedings of the 2nd International Conference
on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning held in Bhaktapur,
Nepal, from 25 to 27 April 2019 organized by Khwopa Engineering College (PU) and
Khwopa College of Engineering (TU). The themes of the conference were Preparedness for
Earthquake, Engineering Seismology, Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Structural
Engineering, Disaster Risk Management, Conservation and Reconstruction Planning and
Lesson Learnt from past Earthquakes.
Earthquake safety and post disaster reconstruction are challenges for many countries in the
world. Today, Nepal is facing the same challenges. Understanding of earthquake and its
effects could play a role in building earthquake disaster resilient society in Nepal.
There is a need for the international researchers, the academicians and the professionals to get
together with a purpose. Accordingly, the intensity of interest in the subject matters of the
conference was appreciable. Sixty two papers were submitted for the presentation at the
conference. The great number of submissions demanded whole program to be segmented
in to 15 parallel sessions so that each paper could have enough time for the presentation and
all of them could be taken in the assigned time. Nine countries around the globe
were represented in the conference.
The 2nd International Conference was highly successful. All the papers presented in the
conference demonstrated the level of interest in the subject matters, which is also proved by
the fairly large number of submissions.
Finally, we would like to convey thanks to our main, steering and scientific committee'
members. We are also indebted to those who served as the Session chair, Rapporteur and
Keynote speaker, without whose support the conference could not have become a success.
Last but not the least, we acknowledge the authors of papers, whose expertise contributed in
making the conference possible.
Message from the Chairman
After the successful organization of the first ICEE-PDRP in April 2016, I, on behalf of ICEE-
PDRP committee, feel appreciated and highly encouraged to organize the second conference
with greater enthusiasm and for better purpose in April 2019.
As always, our objective of arranging such conference is to make experts and academicians
from around the world get together at a platform to understand the local and global issues of
earthquakes and reconstruction planning with a view at side to preserving the invaluable
monuments of Bhaktapur, which have been challenged by Gorkha Earthquake 2015. In fact,
Bhaktapur is a blend of northern art and southern mythological philosophy. The pagoda
and shikhar style temples, artistic private houses and other cultural and historical heritages are
the major monuments that Bhaktapur inherits from earlier generations. More importantly
the challenge of balancing safety against preservation of the architectural and artistic
features of historic structures always remains a pressing issue to address.
The organizing committee would highly appreciate your unflinching support.
As the chairman of the committee, I look forward to welcoming you at an ancient city in
April 2019.
SECTION 1
S.N. ID Title Page
1 1006 Comparative Study on the Properties of Coarse Aggregate being used in 1

Kathmandu Valley
2 1012 Volume of loose materials and the analysis of possibility of blocking and 7
dam break triggered by debris flows in Zhamunong gully
3 1016 Study of Non-Linear In-Plane Behavior of Traditional Masonry Wall of 16
Nepal Using the Simplified Micro Modeling Technique
4 1017 Analysis of Abutment Foundation Using Conventional Method and FEM 25
Model
5 1023 Contraflow Evacuation Planning Problems for Disaster Management 31
6 1024 Preliminary Results of Skew-Log-Logistic Distribution, Properties and 37
Applications
7 1027 After The M 6.9 2011 Sikkim Earthquake the Retrofitting Policy and 44
Measures for the Historic Monasteries in Sikkim, India.
8 1033 Estimation of VS30 by the HVSR method at a site in the Kathmandu 52
Valley, Nepal
9 1041 Effect of Setback on Fundamental Period of RCC Framed Structure 61
10 1043 Comparative Study of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Traditional 71
and Modern Brick
11 1046 Site Specific Ground Response Analysis of Bhaktapur City 76
12 1058 Behaviour of Waste Concrete Debris in Concrete 90
13 1060 Corrosion of Rebar and Earthquake Vulnerability 96
14 1061 Estimation of A 3-D Velocity Model of the Kathmandu Basin for Ground 102
Motion Simulation
15 1062 Importance of Orientation of Structure in Seismic Performance 109
16 1071 Numerical Investigation of The Sliding Response of Flexible Structures 116
Founded on Adeformable Granular Layer
17 1074 Condition Assessment of Bhairavnath Temple after 2015 Gorkha (Nepal) 126
Earthquake
18 1083 Physical and Mechanical Properties of Bamboo Species in Nepal 134
19 1085 Strategy of Cumulative Absolute Velocity for Earthquake risk 141
Assessment of Concrete Gravity Dam
20 1089 Risk Perception of People using Streets Occupied with Buildings under 151
Shoring.
21 1090 Physical Performance of Traditional Brick Mud Masonry 160
22 1092 In Situ Compressive Stress Estimation Using Flatjack Technique : Case 167
Study of Pujari Math, Dattatreya Square, Bhaktapur
23 1096 Numerical Runout Modelling of a Glaciated Debris Avalanche in the 176
Himalaya: A Preliminary Analysis
S.N. ID Title Page
24 1097 Analysis of Timber Reinforced Masonry in Historic Monuments 181

25 1104 Performance of Lime Mortar in Reconstruction of Monuments of 185
Bhaktapur
26 1115 Site-specific Ground Response Analysis of Bhaktapur Municipality with 189
Microtremor
27 1121 Study on the Effect of Mass and Stiffness Irregularities on Fundamental 195
Period of Infilled RC Framed Buildings
28 1124 Analytical Investigation of Unreinforced Masonry Walls Strengthened 204
using Ferrocement Overlay
29 1126 Comparison of Two Large Earthquakes in Nepal: The M7.8 Gorkha 214
Earthquake and the M7.3 Dolakha Earthquake in 2015
30 1127 Seismic Performance of RCC Buildings with Plan Irregularity 222
31 1129 Seismic Reliability Assessment of Calibrated Concrete Gravity Dam 230
Using High-Dimensional Model Representation and Cornell's Approach:
A Case Study
32 1131 Chemical Properties and Fineness of OPC Cement from Various 240
Manufacturers and Their Effect on Cement Grade – A Case Study of
Nepal
33 1132 Performance of Timber Joint System Used in Traditional Monuments of 246
Bhaktapur Municipality
34 1137 Determination of Properties of OPC Cement from Various Manufacturer 254
– A Case Study of Nepal
35 1146 Behavior and Modeling of Masonry Infilled RC Frame Subjected to 258
Column Loss Caused by Earthquake
36 1147 Strengthening of Nritya Vatsala Temple Using Timber Reinforcement 263
37 1148 Comparison of Recorded and Synthetic Response Spectrum Compatible 273
Ground Motions Based on Stochastic Ground Motion Model
38 1151 Mud Masonry Houses in Nepal: A Study Based on Reconstruction Work 282
After 2015 Gorkha Earthquake
39 1152 Micro-Tremor Measurement of Damaged Masonry Buildings in 292
Bhaktapur After the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake tn Nepal
40 1154 Consideration of Resiliency in Reinforced Concrete Buildings 302
41 1161 2015 Nepal Earthquake And Earthquake Resistance Structure 301
42 1170 Nepalese School Building Stock and Implications on Seismic 319
Vulnerability Assessment
43 1176 Seismic Performance of Three Tiered Pagoda Style Bhairavnath Temple 329
44 1177 Seismic Response Characteristics of Partially-Filled Spherical Storage 340
Tank
2nd International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning
Comparative Study on the Properties of Coarse Aggregate

being used in Kathmandu Valley
Jeetendra Prajapati1, Sarita Prajapati2 and Sudip Karanjit3
Abstract
Coarse aggregate is one of the key ingredient for various concrete as well as road construction
projects. Variation in properties of aggregate have significant effect on quality of construction work.
Existing research and study show lack of information about the extent of variation in physical and
mechanical properties of coarse aggregates being used in our construction works. The aim of the
study was to investigate the extent of variation of Coarse aggregates properties being used in
Kathmandu Valley, derived from various sources of Nepal.
In this study, ten different coarse aggregates sources were selected based on field enquiry and
questionnaire survey with suppliers and contractors. Among these, metamorphic and sedimentary
rocks were found dominant composed of limestone, marble, gneiss, schist, quartzite rock. Majority of
coarse aggregates were angular in shape with a few sub-angular and flaky types. From physical test
results, majority of coarse aggregate were found to be graded type with partial deviation from the
gradation limit given by IS383:1970. Specific gravity of coarse aggregates were found to be ranging
from 2.65 to 2.81 classifying them as medium weight aggregates. Water absorption value varies from
0.8% to 2.4%. Flakiness Index and Elongation Index of aggregate varies from 14% to 46% and 7% to
32% respectively. Los-Angeles Abrasion Value (LAV) ranges from 25% to 55% while Aggregate
Impact Value (AIV) ranges from 13% to 28%. Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV) ranges from 21% to
30% showing little variation. The study shows the greater variation in properties of aggregate being
used in Kathmandu Valley from various sources. Also few aggregate were not found suitable for
construction work as per the limit set by IS383:1970 and IS2386:1963.
Keywords: Post-Disaster Reconstruction; Aggregate Properties; ACV; AIV; LAV.
1. Introduction
Aggregates are typically combinations of gravel and crushed materials, such as limestone, basalt and
granite, but may also include blast furnace slag, or recycled concrete fragments. Particles with a
diameter greater than 4.75 mm are usually classified as coarse aggregate, while smaller particles are
called fine aggregate (McNally, 1998). Since majority of the volume of concrete is occupied by
aggregate, its quality is of considerable importance. Not only may the aggregate limit the strength of
concrete, but the aggregate properties greatly affect the durability and structural performance of
concrete. Aggregate was originally viewed as inert, inexpensive material dispersed throughout the
cement paste so as to produce a large volume of concrete. Many studies shows that aggregate type by
source has a significant correlation with the overall strength and performance of various concrete mix
in both green stage and hardened stage (Hassan, 2011; Aginam, et al., 2013; Jimoh & Awe, 2007).
Previous studies by Aitcin & Mehta (1990), Zhou et al. (1995) and De Larrard & Belloc (1997) agree
on the influence of different aggregate types on concrete compressive strength, with stronger
aggregate types increasing the overall strength of the concrete. The study on effect of content and
particle size distribution of coarse aggregate on the compressive strength of concrete revealed that
compressive strength is strongly linked to the coarse aggregate parameters (content, proportion of fine
to coarse aggregate and grain size distribution) of concrete mixture (Mohammed, et al., 2010).
With ever growing construction in and around the Kathmandu Valley, there is growing demand of
aggregates from the limited quarry sites within the valley. A study has been conducted to explore and
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, prajapati.jeetendra@khec.edu.np

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, prajapati.sarita@khec.edu.np
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, karanjit.sudip@khec.edu.np
1
evaluate suitability of natural crushed rock aggregates in western Kathmandu, Nepal for unbound
pavement structures (Khanal & Tamrakar, 2009). The study found that aggregate under study meet
the BS standard, American standard and Nepal standard, and are acceptable for road base and sub
base courses of unbound pavement in roads. Similar study performed by Dawadi (2015) on the quality
of river sediment (Malekhu Khola) and its suitability for aggregate as raw material for various uses;
revealed that majority of the aggregate particles were found metamorphic rocks of the Lesser
Himalaya like quartzite, schist, marble, metasandstone, amphibolites, gneiss and granite, etc. Most of
the deposits were matrix-supported and the matrix was basically sandy. The sediment size ranged
from granule to up to boulder but the modal size was of cobble grade. In the test of gradation, the
coarse aggregates ranged from uniform to gap graded categories. AIV (13.50%-15.70%) and ACV
(17.50%-19.67%) showed good soundness. LAV (37%-48.40%) showed the consistent hardness of
each of the samples. Another study carried out by Maharjan & Tamrakar (2007) to evaluate the
quality of Rapti river gravel to know its suitability as raw materials for concrete and road showed the
samples were categorized as quartzite group, carbonate group and granite group according to British
Standard Institution (BSI). Study shows gravel samples possessed low water absorption value (0.69%
to 1.12%) and low effective porosity. Dry density of samples ranged from 2,460 to 2,680 kg/m3.
Aggregate impact values of samples (14.2% to 16.1%) showed good soundness. Los Angeles abrasion
test also showed consistent hardness of each of the samples as uniformity factor did not exceed 0.2.
Comparing with the existing Nepal Standard, British Standard and American Standard of Testing
Material, the studied samples were suitable for concrete and road aggregates.
2. Objective and Scope

The objective of this study is to evaluate the extent of variation in geological, physical and mechanical
properties of the coarse aggregates being used in Kathmandu Valley from various sources. Scope of
work includes the field questionnaire survey to identify the major sources of coarse aggregates being
used in construction projects of Kathmandu Valley. Besides, the scope includes various physical test
(Gradation, Sp. Gravity, Water Absorption, Flakiness / Elongation Index) and Mechanical test (ACV /
AIV / LAV) of Coarse aggregate from various sources.
3. Methodology
In this research, both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. Qualitative approach
is done by field enquiry and questionnaire survey with the suppliers and local contractors to collect
factual information regarding the contemporary practice of using different sources of coarse aggregate
in Kathmandu valley. On the other, Quantitative approach was used for analyzing the data obtained by
testing, collecting and analyzing the physical and mechanical properties.
3.1 Source identification and sample collection
Field enquiry and questionnaire survey with construction material suppliers and local contractors was
carried out to have general overview of the major sources of coarse aggregate being used in
construction projects in Kathmandu valley. Among these sources, ten coarse aggregates from ten
different sources were selected (Table 1). Sampling of the coarse aggregates was done by direct visit
of the aggregate stockyard/construction site and sample collection from the coarse aggregate
stockpile.
2
Table 1. Coarse Aggregate Sample
Sample Name Source

ID
1 Gudedovan Quarry
2 Kaldhunga River
3 Dhunkharka Quarry
4 Melamchi-1 River
5 Kaldhunga Quarry
6 Chapagaun Quarry
7 Nepalthok Quarry
8 Khopasi Quarry
9 Mahadevsthan Quarry
10 Melamchi-2 River
Fig.1. Sources of coarse aggregate
3.2 Geological, physical and mechanical properties
After sampling, laboratory tests were carried to assess the geological, physical and mechanical
properties of coarse aggregate samples as per IS: 383-1970 Specification for Coarse and Fine
Aggregates from Natural Sources for Concrete; IS: 2386 (Part I) – 1963 Methods of Test for
Aggregates for Concrete Part I Particle Size and Shape; IS: 2386 (Part III) – 1963 Methods of Test for
Aggregates for Concrete Part III Specific Gravity, Density, Voids, Absorption and Bulking & IS:
2386 (Part IV) – 1963 Methods of Test for Aggregates for Concrete Part IV Mechanical Properties.
Geological properties of the coarse aggregate include identification of rock type, mineral
composition, texture, color and shape. Physical properties of coarse aggregate were evaluated by sieve
analysis, specific gravity, water absorption, flaky and elongation Index. Mechanical properties of
coarse aggregate were ascertained by Aggregate Impact Value test (AIV), Aggregate Crushing value
test (ACV) and Los Angeles Abrasion value test (LAV) and compared to requirements of IS383:1970.
4. Result and Discussion

4.1 Physical properties of coarse aggregate
Aggregate grading, specific gravity, water absorption, flakiness and elongation index has been tested
under physical test of aggregate. Aggregate gradation curve obtained from sieve analysis (Fig. 2)
shows that there is large variation in particle size distribution from various sources. Further, it
indicates that the aggregates are out of the gradation limit set by IS383:1970.
3
Fig. 2. Gradation curve of sample coarse aggregate
Aggregate specific gravity test (Fig. 3) shows that there is not very large variation in sp. gravity
from various sources, the sp. gravity of aggregate varies between 2.62 to 2.81 which indicates all the
aggregate are medium dense aggregate. Water absorption of aggregate is found to vary from 0.9% to
2.4%, which is within the permissible limit of 3%.
Fig. 3. Aggregate specific gravity Fig. 4. Aggregate water absorption %
Fig. 5. Flakiness Index Fig. 6. Elongation Index
4
Flakiness index of aggregate varies from 14% to 46% while elongation index varies from 7% to
32%. For few samples flakiness and elongation index has been found greater than limiting value
recommended by code.
4.2 Mechanical properties of coarse aggregate
Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV), Aggregate Crushing Value (AIV) and Los-Angeles Abrasion
Value (LAV) have been tested under mechanical test of aggregate. ACV of aggregate varies from
21% to 30% (Fig. 7) which is within the permissible limit given by code. AIV of aggregate varies
from 13% to 28% (Fig. 8) which is also within the permissible limit given by IS383:1970.
Fig. 7. Aggregate Crushing Value test Fig. 8. Aggregate Impact Value test
LAV of aggregate varies from 25% to 55% (Fig. 9) which exceed the permissible limit given by
IS383:1970 for few samples.
Fig. 9. Aggregate Los Angeles Abrasion Value (LAV) test
5. Conclusion
The selected coarse aggregates being used in the Kathmandu valley were found to be of sedimentary
and metamorphic rocks with major constituent of calcite, quartz, biotite, muscovite, plagioclase as
minerals. The aggregates were observed to be crushed, angular and sub-angular shape. The texture
5
shows crystalline and non-crystalline type with high variation in color of the aggregates ranging from
light yellow to dark black. From the study of the physical properties, it can be concluded that the
nominal maximum size of most of the coarse aggregate being used is 40mm. All the aggregates are
found to be partially out of gradation limit of IS383-1970. These aggregates were found to be of
medium density aggregate as indicated by specific gravity. Water absorption of all the aggregates are
found within the permissible limit. Flakiness and elongation index show that few aggregates have
large amount of flaky and elongated fraction. The results from LAV, AIV and ACV show that there is
no significant correlation among the mechanical properties. LAV of few aggregates indicates that they
are unsuitable to be used in construction works. Most of the aggregate can be concluded as suitable
for use in normal concrete construction work. But for pavement construction only three out of ten
samples have been found suitable in terms of LAV.
Acknowledgement
We would like to express our deep gratitude to Research and Development Unit, Khwopa Engineering College
for giving us opportunity for conducting this research work.
Besides, we are also grateful to Department of Civil Engineering (Khwopa Engineering College) for
providing us with Laboratory facilities for conducting different tests related to the research. We are also deeply
indebted with all the faculty members of civil department for their continuous support, co-operations and
guidance during the research work.
References
Aginam, C., Chidolue, C., & Nwakire, C. (2013). Investigating the Effects of Coarse Aggregate Types on The
Compressive Strength Of Concrete. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
(IJERA), 3(4), 1140-1144.
Hassan, N. S. (2011). Effect of grading and types of coarse aggregates on the compressive strength and unit
weight of concrete. 14. Mosul: Technical Institute,Mosul.
Jimoh, A., & Awe, S. (2007). A study on the influence of Aggregate Size and Type on the Compressive
Strength of Concrete. USEP:Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, 4(2), 13.
Khanal, S., & Tamrakar, N. K. (2009). Evaluation of quality of crushed-limestone and siltstone for road
aggregates. Bulletin of the Department of Geology,Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, 12, 14.
Maharjan, S., & Tamrakar, N. K. (2007). Evaluation of gravel for concrete and road aggregates, Rapti River,
Central Nepal Sub-Himalaya. Bulletin of the Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu,
Nepal, 10, 8.
McNally, G. (1998). Soil and Rock Construction Materials (First ed.). NewYork: Routledge.
Mohammed, M. S., Salim, Z., & Said, B. (2010). Effect of content and particle size distribution of coarse
aggregate on the compressive strength of concrete. Construction and Building Materials, 24, 505-512.
Stensatter, G. A. (1963). Influence of aggregate particle shape upon concrete strength. Bozeman, Montana:
Montana State College.
6
Volume of Loose Materials and the Analysis of Possibility of

Blocking and Dam Break Triggered by Debris Flows in
Zhamunong Gully
Jun Li1, Yuandi Zhao2, and Weiyu Wang3
Abstract
In the Zhamunong gully area, the famous Yi Gong landslide triggered debris flow occurred in April 9,
2000. The rocks in the Zhamunong gully area are affected by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Therefore,
it is of great scientific and engineering significance to study the volume of loose materials and the
possibility of blocking dam break caused by the debris flow of Zhamunong gully landslide. First of all,
the total amount of debris flow we obtained is based on engineering geological analysis and field
investigation. Secondly, the range and depth of debris flow in the future are estimated by
three-dimensional numerical simulation. Finally, through the analysis of debris flow deposition and
dam material composition in 2000, the possibility of debris flow blocking rivers and dam break is
obtained. The following conclusions are drawn from the study：1) The total volume of loose debris is
2.37×108m3. 2) Under the conditions of earthquakes (intensity of earthquakes VIII) and extreme
climate, landslide and debris flow personnel similar to the events in 2000 are liable to cause debris
flow blockage. 3) The risk of dam break increases with the increase of start-up volume.
Keywords: Debris flow mobilization from landslides; Source materials; Numerical simulation of blockage
model; Zhamunong gully in Tibet Plateau
1. Introduction
The landslide triggered debris flow refers to the high-place landslide, at the source of the debris flow
basin, losing its stability and then forming high-speed landslide under the water hammer mechanism
(Xing et al., 2012; Hu et al., 2015; Kang et al., 2017; Pei et al., 2018; Dong et al., 2018; Scaringi et al.,
2018). Affected by strong rainfall and deep V valley, the high-speed landslide is converted to
high-speed movement debris flow after moving a distance of 1-2 kilometers. In April 9th, 2000, a large
amount of loose solid material transported by landslide triggered by debris flow in Yigong
Zhamunong gully landslide blocked Yigongzangbu and formed a barrier dam. In June 10th, the barrier
dam broken and its maximum breach flow of was 12.4×104 m3/s. The burst flood destroyed the 318
National Road Tongmai Bridge, the Motuo Jiefang Bridge and the highways, etc. which was
infrastructures along the river of Yimuzangbu-Palongzangbu, and the G318 national highway was
interrupted for 76 days. Thus, it can be seen that in 2000, the landslide triggered by debris flow of
Zhamunong landslides, dammed lake and break flood disaster caused great damage to the
infrastructure of the sides along Yigong Zangbu.
At present, some studies have been made on the material source in Yigong Township, Bomi
County,Tibet, and the possibility of the reoccurrence of a super-large landslide triggered by debris
flow analogous to that in 2000, but there are still the following problems: according to the current
research, the rock mass at the source of the watershed has been broken, avalanche and landslide are
developing, and there are still many loose solids of landslide in the watershed, (Shang et al., 2003;
Evans et al., 2011; Zhou et al., 2015) however, there is a lack of quantitative research on the material
source of debris flow in this basin; Delaney simulated the sedimentation range and depth of landslide
triggered by debris flow blocking river in 2000 by numerical model (Delaney K B et al., 2015), but
there is still less numerical simulation study of blocking river analogous to that in 2000; although
there are many studies on the material composition of the barrier dam in 2000 (Li et al.,2017), the
1 School of Civil Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong, China, lijunxiaoyouxiang@163.com
2 School of Civil Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong, China, 2855051321@qq.com
3 School of Civil Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong, China, 1146508373@qq.com
7
study on the causes of the dam break is rarely reported. Loose solid material is abundant in the
Zhamunnong Valley, and the foundation and motivation conditions still exist, with a risk of landslide
and debris flow disasters in the future, the study shows. Therefore, it is of great meaning for the
protection of the infrastructure and auxiliary project of the Tongmai section of the Sichuan Tibet
railway to determine quantitatively the possibility of the material source quantity and the possibility
of the reoccurrence of blocking the dam triggered by a super-large landslide triggered by debris flow.
This paper describes the range of potential landslide of BH01 and BH02 from the geology angle, the
calculation of potential slumped-mass’s volume of BH01 and BH02 in Zhamunong gully by the Fast
Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) numerical simulation method (Prassetyo et al., 2018), and
the volume of other material source in Zhamunong gully is determined based on the actual
investigation and the calculation model of material source (Guzzetti F et al., 2002; Guzzetti F et al.,
2009). Then, the motion parameters of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000 are estimated based
on the deep numerical integral model of landslide movement (Ouyang et al., 2013), moreover, the
parameters of motion of the landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000 and the volume of BH01,
BH02 potential landslide are used as the calculation parameters of the numerical model. This model is
used to simulate the earthquake (earthquake intensity VIII) and the accumulation range and depth of
the super-large landslide triggered by debris flow analogous to that in 2000 under extreme climate
situations（adverse combination）, to analyze the possibility of landslide triggered by debris flow
blocking the river. This paper attempts to provide a theoretical evidence for further study on the
influence of the super-large landslide triggered by debris flow, dammed lakes and outburst flood on
the Sichuan-Tibet railway.
2. Geological Background of Zhamunong Gully
Fig. 1 Geographic location and terrain of Zanunong gully

Yigong Township, Zhamunong gully is located on the northwest of the South Pangkwa peak and the
left bank of Yigongzangbu (Fig.1), whose topography is high in the West and low in the East with
alpine landform. Its drainage area is 29.4 km2, and the highest altitude is 5616.00 m, the lowest
altitude is 2185.72 m, and the relative height discrepancy is 3430.28 m. The area of altitude 5200 m
above of Zhamunong gully is the alpine frost and mountain snow belt developed by glacial landforms,
while the area of altitude from 4500 to 5200 m is a cold weathering zone developed by the modern
periglacial landforms, whose bedrock is exposed and the rock is suffering from freezing thawing
damage, and the area of altitude from 4000 to 4500 m is a shrub meadow zone, the area of altitude
8
from 3500 to 4000 m is the coniferous forest belt, the area of altitude from 2198 to 3500 m is the
coniferous broad-leaved mixed forest belt. The Zhamunong gully is a River Valley shaped "V", which
is narrow gully in the area of 2660 m-5616 m above and, with an average width of 7 m below,
heading for S42W, and a longitudinal gradient of 27.7% (Fig.1).
3. Material Source Quantity

There are many types of loose material sources in Zhamunong gully’s landslide, referring to
landslides, avalanche, the material gully banks’ landslide and debris deposits, whose quantity is huge.
The material source of Zhamunong gully adds up to 2.37×108 m3. The main sources of the
Zhamunong gully are from BH01 and BH02 potential landslide, whose volume adds up to 1.86×108
m3, accounting for 68% of the total volume of the material source.
3.1 The volume of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide
From BH01-BH02’s topography, geological structure, rock weathering degree and surface water
supply situation, these two locations are all potential landslide. BH01 is located on the right side of
the source of the Zhamunong gully, whose terrain is of high-altitude discrepancy with a angular
mountain of 38 degrees on average (Fig.2). Influenced by the Dade - Aniza fault (F22) and the Danen –
Zepu (F3) fault, the structure of BH01 rock mass is very broken, whose joints and cracks are
developing. Distant from 4 km of the mountain area, the Zongben-Zepu (F18) is an active fault zone.
Affected by this, BH01 will be affected continuously by the earthquake and tend to be unstable. There
are abundant rainfall, good supply conditions of surface water and strong seasonal freezing and
thawing cycle. Long - term freezing and thawing cycle will further reduce the mechanical properties
of BH01 structure and further tilt the BH01 Mountain to the direction of the surface. BH02 is located
on the left side of the source of Zhamunong gully. In 2000, a massive avalanche occurred in the peak
of the BH02 Mountain, which triggered steeper terrain, with an average gradient of 41 degrees and a
maximum slope of 60 degrees (Fig.2). Danen-Zepu Fault （F3）passes through the mountain, and the
F22 is also passing through the bottom of that (Fig. 3), With the influence of these two faults, the joints
of the mountain are very developed, which mainly develop the joints in the south direction. The
attitude of rock in the fault surface is mainly 203º∠34º, 94 º∠57 º,211 º∠86º. Distant from 4km of the
mountain area, the Zongben-Zepu（F18）Fault is an active fault zone. Affected by this, BH02 will be
affected continuously by the earthquake and tend to be unstable. There are abundant rainfall, good
supply conditions of surface water and strong seasonal freezing and thawing cycle. Long - term freeze
and thaw weathering effect will further reduce the mechanical properties of BH02 structure, and
promote the BH02 mountain to be further inclined to the facing surface. In addition, both BH01 and
BH02 are potential landslide, the results of analogy method in natural slope engineering in the vicinity
of Zhamunong gully shows.
Fig. 2. Photo of the BH01 and BH02 potential landslide
9
Fig.3. The location among the BH01 and BH02 landslide, fault F3 and F22 on Remote sensing image
3.1.1 FLAC numerical simulation method and model calculation parameter

The Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) numerical simulation method is used to estimate
the landslide longitudinal area of the two potential landslide under earthquake situations（adverse
combination）, based on the slope characteristics of the potential landslide, and the width of potential
landslide is determined according to the slope shape of landslide in 2000, then its volume is estimated.
The FLAC numerical simulation method is finite element method based on the strength reduction
concept, or the fast Lagrange method. The actual calculation process of the safety coefficient Fs in the
FLAC numerical simulation method is in the FLAC calculation process under the constant shear
strength reduction condition, which is shown as Formula (1).
c' = c RF ， f ' = arctan(f RF ) (1)
c' and f ' is the strength parameters after reduction, c and f is the strength parameters
before reduction, and RF is the strength reduction factor. When a strength reduction factor makes the
slip surface plastic zone completely connected, the strength reduction factor RF is the safety factor Fs
value.
The calculated profile position of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide in Zhamunong gully is
shown in Fig. 4. Two section lines along granite joints were selected in the range of possible landslide
of BH01 and BH02 respectively. The granite joint tendency of BH01 potential landslide is 211
degrees, and that of BH02 potential landslide is 163 degrees. Then, the calculation section is cut
according to the section line, and the possible landslide depth of BH01 and BH02 is obtained by using
FLAC numerical simulation method.
Fig. 4 The model profiles of BH01 and BH02 potential landslides
The strength parameters and other parameters of BH01 and BH02 granitic rock mass under
10
saturated condition are obtained through MTS815 rock mechanical test. The strength parameters and
other parameters of rock mass can be used as the calculation parameters of the potential landslide of
BH01 and BH02 in Zhamunong gully, as shown in Table 1. According to Table 1, the strength
parameters and density of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide are consistent, whose main differences
are in the values of elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio and compressive strength. The main reasons why
the values of elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio and compressive strength of the potential avalanche of
BH01 and BH02 are different are that the F3 fault directly passes through the BH02 potential landslide
and the rock jointing and fault are more developed in the landslide.
Table 1. Calculation parameters of BH01 and BH02 granites under water saturation condition
Cohesive Internal
Modulus of Poisson Tensile
Name Density/kg/m3 strength friction angle
elasticity/GPa ratio strength/MPa
C/MPa φ/°
BH01 2630 20 0.2 9.69 58.27 6
BH02 2630 3.0 0.31 9.69 58.27 3.5
3.1.2 Volume calculation results of potential landslide
The landslide depth of BH01 and BH02 calculated by FLAC numerical simulation is shown in Figure
5. The blue block in Figure 5 is a plastic rock mass that may collapse and slide, while the white block
in Figure 5 is a stable rock mass. The possible collapse area of the two landslide bodies on the
computed profile is shown in the red line shown in Fig. 5. The area and depth of BH01 and BH02
potential landslide are calculated in Fig. 5, respectively.
The average area, average width and volume of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide are calculated
in Table 2. As shown in Table 2, the volume of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide is respectively
0.94×108m3 and 0.92×108m3 respectively, with a total volume of 1.86×108m3.
3.2 Other material sources in Zhamunong gully
Other material sources include landslides, avalanche, bank materials and gully deposits. According to the
calculation, the material source square of the landslide is 3292.46×104m3, the material source square of the
avalanche is 1620.94×104m3, the material source square of the bank materials is 155.74×104m3, and the
material source square of the gully deposits is 80.4×104m3.
Fig. 5. The landslide stability simulation of BH01 and BH02
11
Table 2. Total volume of potential landslides in BH01 and BH02

Name Width Average area/m2 Volume/×108
BH01 935.30 100314.00 0.94
BH02 822.07 111879.50 0.92
Total 1.86
4 Possibility Analysis of Landslide Triggered by Debris Flow Blocking

River in 2000
4.1 Numerical simulation method
According to the document, the movement process and movement mechanism of super-large landslide
triggered by debris flow in 2000 are very complicated (Yin et al.,2000; Xu et al., 2012), which cannot
be well simulated through ordinary CFD computational fluid software. The MacCormack-TVD finite
difference numerical method based on the depth integration of debris flow movement is used to
simulate the possible movement process of the landslide in Zhamunong Gully landslide triggered by
debris flow in the future, whose specific introduction to the numerical method is presented in
document [14]. In the future, a numerical simulation method , which about the happening again of the
landslide triggered by debris flow blocking rivers analogous to that in 2000 is as follows: First, based
on the accumulation area and accumulation depth of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000 as the
checking standard, the motion parameters of the numerical model based on the depth integration of
debris flow are adjusted, including the coefficient of movement friction and the scale amplification
factor of the debris flow, which makes the accumulation depth and accumulation range of the debris
flow calculated by the model consistent with those of the landslide triggered by debris flow of
Zhamunong gully in 2000. Secondly, the motion parameters of landslide triggered by debris flow in
2000 and volumes of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide volume reckoned as calculation parameters,
4 situations（adverse combination） are considered, and the accumulation range and depth of the
landslide triggered by debris flow analogous to that in 2000 under different situations（adverse
combination）are simulated and obtained, based on the numerical model of the mudflow motion depth
integrations.
4.2 Estimation results of motion parameters of landslide triggered by debris flow in

2000
The accumulation results of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000, which are simulated through
the three-dimensional numerical value, shows that the maximum accumulation depth of accumulation
in gully is 76m, while the depth of accumulation at this location is 72~80m according to document of
Wang et al., 2008, and the maximum depth and location of the accumulation in gully, which are
simulated through the three-dimensional numerical value, have little difference with the actual results.
It is verified that the accumulation volume of the debris flow simulated has little difference with that
of the landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000 determined by investigation in the document (Wang
et al.,2008), which shows that the three-dimensional numerical model based on the depth integral of
debris flow can simulate more accurately the movement process and accumulation process of the
landslide triggered by debris flow in Zhamunong gully, as well as those process of landslide triggered
by debris flow analogous to that in 2000.
Table 4 shows the calculation parameter of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000. The starting
volume of the debris flow is 0.91×108 m3, the friction coefficient between the debris flow and the
trench bed is 0.23, and the internal friction angle is 25 degrees. The friction coefficient and internal
friction angle of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000 are used as the motion parameters of
landslide triggered by debris flow analogous to that in 2000.
12
Table 4. Motion parameters of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000

Specific
Model parameter Range of value Reference
value
Starting volume of Starting volume of landslide type debris
0.91 Delaney et al., 2015
LandslideV0/×108m3 flow in 2000
Friction coefficient 0.23 0.1~0.3
Internal friction angle
25 20~30
Internal friction angle /°
4.3 Three-dimensional numerical simulation results of accumulation form of landslide

triggered by debris flow analogous to that in 2000
The landslide volume of BH01 and BH02 is 0.94×108m3 and 0.92×108m3， respectively. The square
of the potential landslide volume of BH01 and BH02 can be used as starting parameters in model
parameters. The first situation（adverse combination） is that BH01 and BH02 potential landslides in
the case of earthquake (seismic intensity VIII) and extreme climate conditions slightly and partially,
whose starting volume is 0.20 ×108m3. The second situation（adverse combination） is that BH01 and
BH02 potential landslides in the case of earthquake (seismic intensity VIII) and extreme climate
conditions partially, whose starting volume is 0.50×108m3. The potential landslide of BH02 is more
dangerous because of the F3 fault in the Zhamunong gully passing through the BH02 potential
landslide directly. The third situation（adverse combination）is that all of the BH02 potential landslide
forms the landslide triggered by debris flow in the case of earthquake (seismic intensity VIII) and
extreme conditions, whose starting volume is 0.92×108m3. The fourth situation（adverse combination）
is that all of BH01 and BH02 potential landslides in the case of earthquake (seismic intensity VIII)
and extreme climate conditions, whose starting volume is 1.86×108m3. The depth and extent of
landslide triggered by debris flow deposits under 4 seismic and extreme climate situations（adverse
combination）, which are simulated through the three-dimensional numerical value, are shown in Fig.
6.
Fig. 6. Accumulation depth under four situations
From Fig. 7, we can see that all of the loose solid material transported by landslide triggered by
debris flow under 4 situations（adverse combination） blocks up Yigongzangbu river and form loose
13
barrier dam. In order to further analyze the possibility of barrier dam breaking under these 4 situations
(adverse combination）, we analyzed the material composition of the barrier dam in 2000. In 2000, the
material of the barrier dam was loose, loose in structure, with a lot of coarse solids, which mainly
included granite and secondary in marble, limestone, gneiss and schist. The grinding roundness of the
deposits is mostly angled and sub angled. The material of the barrier dam is continuous in curve, no
grain size is missing, and the content of clay particles is high, which is a typical wide gradation soil
with high clay content. This material composition determined that the structural strength of the barrier
dam was larger in the early formation in 2000, but with the increase of the infiltration surface, the
structural strength of the barrier dam with high content of clay (3%-6%) greatly reduced, which can
overtop and break easily.
Fig. 7. Accumulation area of landslide triggered debris flow under various situations
According to the material composition of the barrier dam in 2000, it is speculated that the barrier
dam, formed in the landslide triggered by debris flow analogous to that in 2000, will not burst at the
beginning, and the structural strength of the barrier dam with high content of clay decreases greatly
with the increase of the infiltration surface (the water level of the weir lake). When the structural
strength decreases to a certain value, the barrier dam will break up. This shows that the structural
strength of the barrier dam greatly reduces when the water level of the weir lake rises rapidly.
Moreover, with the increase of the barrier dam size, the risk of the barrier dam breaking may increase
gradually (Luo et al., 2012).
5. Conclusions
Through the research above, the three following conclusions are drawn as follows.
(1) The material source of the debris flow in Zhamunong gully, Yigong is 2.37×108 m3, of which the
material source square of landslide is 0.33×108 m3, the material source square of the avalanche is
2.02×108 m3, the material source square of the bank materials is 155.74×104 m3, and the material
source square of the gully deposits is 80.40×104 m3. The potential landslide of BH01 and BH02 in
Zhamunong gully is the main material source of the super-large landslide triggered by debris flow
in the future, with a square volume of 0.94×108 m3 and 0.92×108 m3 respectively.
(2) In the case of earthquake (seismic intensity VIII) and extreme climate conditions, the landslide
triggered by debris flow analogous to that in 2000 may block river in the future.
(3) When the water level of the weir lake rises rapidly, the structural strength of the barrier dam
greatly reduces, and the risk of the barrier dam breaking may increase gradually with the increase
of the starting square of the landslide.
14
Reference
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outburst flood: review, remote sensing analysis, and process modelling. Geomorphology, 246, 377-393.
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15
Study of Non-Linear in-Plane Behavior of Traditional Masonry

Wall of Nepal Using the Simplified Micro Modeling Technique
Angela Tamrakar1 and Shiming Chen2
Abstract
Masonry structures are the most commonly used structural system for buildings in Nepal. The recent
Gorkha earthquake in 2015 caused large scale of damage to the masonry buildings in Nepal. It has
highlighted the fact that the research on the study of the seismic behaviour of the traditional structures
is necessary in order to reduce the damages in future earthquakes. In order to study the behaviour of
masonry, a numerical model of a masonry wall is developed using simplified micro modelling
technique. The bricks are expanded in both the directions to incorporate the thickness of the mortar.
The expanded bricks are defined using the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model. The joint is
simulated as a surface contact having cohesive and friction behaviour. The cohesive contact initially
follows the linear traction separation law, which is followed by the damage initiation and damage
evolution. And, the friction in the joints is modelled using suitable friction coefficient. The modelling
technique is validated against the experimental results. An in-plane lateral displacement was applied on
the top of the wall. The lateral load carrying capacity of the wall was evaluated. The performance of the
wall at varying drift ratios, and the damage pattern developed in the masonry wall due to the in-plane
lateral loading were studied. The growth of the tensile damage at corresponding drift ratios was also
analysed. It was found that the damage initiates in the corners and then spread through the wall,
however, mostly concentrates along the diagonals.
Keywords: Earthquake; Lateral strength; Damage patterns; Numerical modeling of masonry; Static non-linear
analysis
1. Introduction
Masonry is a non-homogeneous material made up of blocks and mortar. The blocks can be of materials
like mud, stone, fire clay and adobe and the mortar can be made of the material like clay, bitumen,
chalk, and lime-cement based paste. In masonry structures, mortar forms layers between blocks and
allows a uniform transmission of the internal forces (Abdelmegeed, 2015). As masonry is a
heterogeneous material, the mechanical properties of masonry do not depend completely on the
mechanical properties of the constitutive materials or the arrangement of the blocks in masonry
structures. The behavior of the masonry can be governed by the geometry, nature, and arrangement of
units, as well as the characteristics of mortars, which make masonry a complex design material
(Lourenço, 1998). Masonry buildings can be found in many earthquake-prone regions and countries
including Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, and Asia.
The study of the seismic behavior of the existing masonry buildings of Nepal and their strengthening
methods is highly significant for Nepal, both academically and practically. Very few researches can be
found in the literature and thus, the study of masonry through the numerical simulation of the structure
will help to understand the behavior and eventually can help to improve the design methods currently
being used. Numerical simulation modeling of masonry is done in order to evaluate the seismic behavior
of masonry in this research.
In this paper, a static non-linear analysis using the simplified micro modeling strategy was performed
on the numerical model of an unreinforced masonry wall.
1 Research Institute of Structural Engineering and Disaster Reduction, Tongji University, Shanghai, China,
angela@tongji.edu.cn
2 Research Institute of Structural Engineering and Disaster Reduction, Tongji University, Shanghai, China,
chensm@tongji.edu.cn
16
2. Modeling Strategy
Finite element analysis is a method to model the structural system by using a set of finite elements
interconnected at the nodes. The finite element modeling of masonry is a challenging topic as the precise
representation of masonry is difficult due to its complex geometry like the dimension of the block, joint
width etc., material behavior, quality of workmanship, the degree of curing and complex boundary
conditions between the structural components. (Asteris et al., 2014; Atamturktur & Laman, 2012)
Generally, three principle modeling strategies can be found in the literature based on different scales
of complexities (Asteris & Tzamtzis, 2003; Eslami et al., 2012; Lourenço, 2002; Lourenço et al., 2007).
The first is macro modeling where masonry is presented as a composite material. The macro-modeling
approach considers the brick, stone, and joints together as a homogeneous, isotropic or anisotropic
continuum. Although all the failure modes cannot be properly described using a macro model, it is
preferred when a compromise between accuracy, efficiency, and the cost has to be made. The more
accurate response of a masonry assembly can be deducted by using detailed micro-modeling techniques.
In this method, the units and the mortar and unit/mortar interface are represented by continuum and
discontinuous elements, respectively. Different properties for both units and mortar can be separately
applied, and this leads to a realistic response of a masonry assembly with the more accurate prediction
of its local behavior. Despite these advantages, this approach is uneconomic and inefficient in terms of
computational time. To overcome this problem, simplified micro-modeling can be used and, it can give
accurate results with a simple modeling procedure. In this type of modeling, the mortar joints are
clamped into the unit/mortar interface as a discontinuous element. Expanded units up to half of the
mortar thickness in horizontal and vertical directions were simulated to continuum elements. This
procedure can successfully predict the shear behavior and crack pattern.
In this paper, the simplified micro modeling strategy suggested by Lourenco et al (Lourenco, 1996)
is adopted to simulate the masonry wall, where, the brick units are expanded in both directions to include
the thickness of mortar.
3. Material Property
The nonlinear material model for the masonry is simulated using the Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP)
model. The model assumes that the uniaxial tensile and compressive response of concrete is
characterized by damaged plasticity, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.
Fig. 1. Response of concrete to uniaxial Fig. 2. Response of concrete to uniaxial

compression(ABAQUS, 2013) tension(ABAQUS, 2013)
The compressive and tensile constitutive stress-strain relation is obtained from the Eq. (1)-(3). The
compressive stress-strain relation is obtained for the masonry assemblage (Yang, 2008) and the tensile
stress-strain relation is modified for concrete and verified to be suitable for masonry (Zhang et al.,
2017). Due to unavailability of the experimental data, the yield stress in tension for both masonry block,
brick unit, and mortar is taken as 10% of the compressive stress
𝜎 ℎ 𝜀 (1)
= 𝜀
𝑓#$ 1 + (ℎ − 1)( -/(-/0) 𝜀#$
𝜀 ) #$
17
𝜎 𝜀 𝜀 (2)
= , ≤1
𝑓1$ 𝜀1$ 𝜀1$
𝜀 (3)
𝜎 𝜀1$ 𝜀
= 𝜀 𝜀 , >1
𝑓1$ 2( − 1)0.6 + 𝜀1$
𝜀1$ 𝜀1$
Where 𝑓#$ and 𝑓1$ are the compressive and tensile strength of masonry respectively, 𝜀#$ and 𝜀1$ are
the corresponding strains, h= compression factor=1.633.
The concrete compression damage and concrete tension damage option is used to define compression
damage or tension damage properties respectively (or stiffness degradation) for the concrete damaged
plasticity material model. The damage parameter is calculated using the energy equivalence principle
and is calculated using the Eq. (4) (Zhang et al., 2017). The value of the damage parameter 𝑑 starts at
a value of 0 and reaches a maximum value of 1.
σ (4)
𝑑 = 1−:
𝐸= 𝜀
Where d is the damage parameter, 𝜎 is the stress and 𝐸= is the initial stiffness.
The property of the joint is defined by a total of four contact properties, namely, tangential behavior,
normal behavior, cohesive behavior, and damage.
The tangential behavior is defined by friction. The coefficient of friction μ defines the interaction
between the interacting surfaces. Contact assumed to be of zero thickness, therefore hard contact was
assigned for normal behavior of contact. It is supposed that “Hard” contact allows no penetration of the
surfaces in the model.
Surface-based cohesive behavior is used to model the interface between the brick and the mortar.
Surface-based cohesive behavior provides a simplified way to model cohesive connections with
negligibly small interface thicknesses using the traction-separation constitutive model. Cohesive
surface behavior is defined as a surface interaction property. The formulae and laws that govern surface-
based cohesive behavior are linear elastic traction-separation, damage initiation criteria, and damage
evolution laws. The traction-separation constitutive models can be used when the mortar is very thin
and for the practical purpose may be considered as a zero-thickness material. It can be applied to
elements in situations where cracks are expected to propagate. In this model, cracks are restricted to
develop in the joints. Prior to damage, the cohesive behavior follows a linear traction-separation law
and progressive degradation of the bond stiffness leads to the bond failure. A typical traction-separation
response is presented in Fig. 3. The traction-separation is linearly elastic until damage initiation takes
place. In the elastic part, the traction stress vector (𝑡) consists of the normal stress vector 𝑡? and two
shear traction stress vectors 𝑡@ and 𝑡1 .These components represent mode I, II and III of fracture modes.
The mode II is mentioned as Shear I and mode III is mentioned as Shear II in ABAQUS software. The
behavior of the interface surface, which is initially elastic, which is represented by the Eq. (5).
Fig. 3. Typical traction separation behaviour
∆𝑡 = 𝑘∆𝑢 (5)
18
Where t is the traction vector which is represented by Eq. (6). The compressive traction is assumed to
remain elastic throughout the numerical analysis, while the tensile traction, the same as other two shear
tractions, is initially defined with linear elastic behavior, followed by damage evolution behavior after
damage initiation(Zhang et al., 2017) and k is the elastic stiffness of the joints and is calculated using
the properties of both the brick and mortar utilizing the Eq. (7)-(9).
𝑡? (6)
𝑡 = F 𝑡@ G
𝑡1
𝑘?? 0 0 (7)
𝑘 = H 0 𝑘@@ 0J
0 0 𝑘11
Where 𝑘?? is the normal stiffness of the interface element and 𝑘@@ and 𝑘11 are the transverse stiffness
in the x and y directions respectively.
To determine the normal and shear stiffness, the brick and mortar are assumed to be elastic springs
connected in series. The stiffness is calculated using the following formula as suggested by Lourenco
et al (Lourenco, 1996).
1 𝐸$ 𝐸K (8)
𝑘?? =
ℎ$ 𝐸K − 𝐸$
1 𝐺$ 𝐺K (9)
𝑘@@ =
ℎ$ 𝐺K − 𝐺$
Where E is the elastic modulus, G is the shear modulus and ℎ$ is the thickness of the mortar. the suffix
b and m represent brick and mortar respectively.
The deformation vector is defined by 𝑢M,where according to Eq. (10)
𝑣? (10)
𝑢 = F 𝑣@ G
𝑣1
Where 𝑣? represents the normal deformation of the interface element and 𝑣@ , 𝑣1 are the transverse
deformations in the x and y directions respectively. The change in the stress or displacement in each
increment is defined by ∆.
The second part of traction-separation response shows the damage propagation of bond which can
be determined in different ways. Once a damage initiation in the interface surface is met, the damage
will take place based on the user defined damage factor. The damage initiates when the maximum stress
(to) is reached and is followed by damage evolution. Damage evolution specified either by using the
total fracture energy or the post-damage initiation effective separation at failure. In this paper, the
damage evolution is expressed by fracture energy with linear softening. A mixed mode behavior,
defined by Benzeggagh and Kenane (BK) criteria, is adopted in ABAQUS. The mode mix is defined in
terms of a ratio of fracture energy in the different modes. Based on the paper by HR Lofti et al (Lotfi &
Shing, 1994), the fracture energy for mode I and mode II are given by Eq. (11)-(13). Mode III represents
the out-of-plane behavior of masonry and is out of the scope of this paper and thus the fracture energy
for the third mode is set equal to the fracture energy of the second mode.
P
𝐺OP = 5𝐺O,$R? (11)
𝐺OPP = 10𝐺OP (12)
P 𝑠T (13)
𝐺O,$R? =
2𝐾??
P
Where 𝐺OP is the normal fracture energy (mode I), 𝐺OPP is the shear fracture energy (mode II); 𝐺O,$R? is the
minimum value of normal fracture energy, s is the tensile resistance of the mortar.
19
4. Validation of the Modelling Strategy

The finite element based numerical simulation strategy is first verified using the test results available
in the literature. The test results reported by Raijmakers et al (Raijmakers & Vermeltfoort, 1992) are
used for the validation process of numerical modeling.
5. Simplification for the Simulation of Multi-leafed masonry

To study the seismic behavior of masonry wall of the traditional masonry building of Nepal, a typical
wall section has been chosen from the building.. The wall has a thickness of 0.45 m, is 3.25 m×2 m in
dimension and is multi leafed. The layout of the wall is shown in Fig. 4. To model this wall, the
simplified micro modeling strategy would prove to be time-consuming and uneconomical as the
modeling of the wall consists of using expanded bricks units along with the cohesive surface to define
the joint between the mortar and bricks. As this study is mostly focused on the in-plane performance of
the wall, it is proposed to merge the brick elements along the thickness of the wall.
To validate the simplification of the analytical model, two masonry walls, W1 and W2, with a
dimension of 550×553×210 mm3 were considered. The two walls were exactly the same in terms of
size, material property, loading and boundary conditions. The only difference was that the wall W1 had
two layers of bricks along its thickness, whereas, in the wall W2, the bricks were merged along the
thickness such that the wall has only one brick along the thickness. The modeling simplification process
is shown in Fig. 4. Comparison of the behavior of the two walls is done in terms of the force-
displacement curves shown in Fig. 5, which shows that both the models peaked at 105 kN. Although
the maximum load occurred at a difference of 1 mm displacement, the overall behavior is quite similar.
Both the structures have a comparable stiffness. As the in-plane behaviors of both walls were similar,
the simplified method is to be used to simulate the masonry wall of Nepalese traditional masonry
building.
Fig. 4. Simplification process for the simulation of multi-leaf masonry
Fig. 5 Comparison of the force versus displacement graph between walls W1 and W2
20
6. Finite Element Modelling of Brick Masonry in Mud Mortar

The traditional brick masonry structures of Nepal usually have masonry walls as the main load bearing
members. To simulate the masonry wall in the ABAQUS software, a wall, 3.25 m in length, 2 m in
height and 0.45 m in thickness is considered. The dimensions of the wall represent the general size of
the walls found in the traditional masonry buildings of Nepal. Each brick possesses the dimension of
the size 230 mm×100 mm×60 mm. The mud mortar is 10 mm in thickness. For the simplification of the
simulation, the wall is integrated along the thickness and thus, a full-sized brick is 230 mm×450 mm×60
mm and a half brick 115 mm×450 mm×60 mm in dimension. The general layout of the wall is shown
in Fig. 6. In ABAQUS, the brick is expanded in all directions to include the thickness of the mortar.
Thus, the size of the brick used in the simulation is larger than the original brick size. A full-sized brick
is 240 mm×450 mm×70 mm in dimension in the numerical model.
Fig. 6 Loading condition for the simulation of the wall: (a) vertical loading, (b) lateral loading
The mechanical properties of the brick and mortar are taken from the paper by Parajuli H.R (Parajuli,
2012) . The properties are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Mechanical properties of the brick Parajuli H.R(Parajuli, 2012)
Parameter Brick Mortar
Density (kg/m3) 1768 1705
Modulus of Elasticity (MPa) 3874 509
Poisson’s ratio 0.11 0.25
Compressive Strength (MPa) 11.03 1.82
The constitutive model for the stress-strain relation of expanded brick units in compression and
tension is expressed using the Eq. (1)~(3).
The joints are simulated using the cohesive surface and the cohesive behavior of the joints in the
masonry with mud mortar is presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Cohesive behavior of the joints
Tangential Behavior Coefficient of friction 0.78
Normal Behavior Contact type Hard contact
Normal only (N/m2) 0.16
Damage Shear1 (N/m2) 0.16
initiation
Shear 2 (N/m2) 0.16
Damage
Normal fracture energy (J.m2) 1.065
Damage
evolution 1st shear fracture energy (J/m2) 10.65
2nd shear fracture energy (J/m2) 10.65
knn(N/m3) 5.86E+10
Cohesive Behavior kss (N/m3) 2.30E+10
ktt (N/m3) 2.30E+10
21
The expanded brick units are simulated using the C3D8R element. It is a solid, three dimensional, 8
noded, reduced integration element.
First, a vertical load of 250 kN (76.92 kN/m length) is applied to the top of the wall. The vertical
load is calculated as the sum of the weight of the upper stories which includes the weight of the wall
and the floor. After the application of the vertical load, the lateral load is applied in the form of the
displacement. The lateral load is applied after the wall is constrained on the top against vertical
movement. The loads are applied through a smooth loading algorithm. A total of 3% drift is applied to
the wall. The fixed boundary was applied to the base of the masonry wall. The loading and boundary
condition can be seen in Fig. 6.
The brick of 240 mm×450 mm×70 mm is meshed into 24 linear hexahedral. The entire wall has a
total of 9738 linear hexahedral elements of type C3D8R.
7. Outputs
The force versus displacement curve of the unreinforced masonry wall of Nepal is shown in Fig. 7. The
maximum lateral load capacity of the wall is around 805 kN.
Fig. 8 shows the force versus drift curve, which is marked with alphabets A, B, C, D, and E, which
represent the forces on the wall at various drift. The point A is the position where the tensile damage in
the wall is initiated at the bottom corner of the wall. The point B locates the point where the damage at
the top corner of the wall is initiated. The point C represents the position of maximum force in the curve
whereas point D represents the position of the ultimate load (85% of maximum load) and the point E
shows the results at the end of the loading.
The tensile damage variable DAMAGET, which shows the tensile damage in the bricks, is presented
in Fig. 9 at positions A, B, C, D, and E. the value of the damage variable ranges from 0, shown by the
color blue and the highest value of 0.961 represented by the color red. The value of DAMAGET greater
than 0 represents the tensile damage in the wall. The higher value of the damage variable DAMAGET
can be understood as higher tensile damage on the wall. It is seen that the tensile damage originates at
the corners and is propagated along the diagonal of the wall. It is seen that the tensile damage is
concentrated along the diagonal of the wall at the end of the loading. Similarly, the Fig. 10shows the
compressive damage of the wall at the end of the loading. The compression damage to the wall is also
concentrated in the diagonal and the corner of the wall.
Table 3 summaries the state of the damage and the lateral loading at the various drift ratios. At
0.065% drift ratio, initiation of the crack at the bottom right corner of the wall occurred. When the drift
ratio reached 0.15%, initiation of the crack at the top left corner of the wall was observed. The maximum
lateral load was recorded at 1.33% drift ratio. During this drift ratio, the tensile damage of the wall
along the diagonal was seen and the crushing of the masonry in the corner of the wall and also slightly
along the diagonal was observed. Ultimate lateral loading occurred at a drift ratio of 2.3%. Tensile
damage of the wall along the diagonal was observed at this point. High tensile and compressive damage
to the wall, especially along the diagonal area was observed at the end of the loading.
Fig. 7. Force vs displacement curve for the Fig. 8. Force vs drift ratio curve for the numerical
numerical simulation of brick masonry in mud simulation of brick masonry in mud mortar
mortar.
22
From these output variables, it can be concluded that the damage to the unreinforced masonry wall
due to the lateral in-plane horizontal loading initiates at the corners of the wall and eventually the
cracking and crushing of masonry occurs along is along its diagonal.
Fig. 9. The tensile damage developed in the brick masonry in mud mortar at conditions: a) 0.065% drift ratio, b)
0.15% drift ratio, c) 1.33% drift ratio, d) 2.3% drift ratio., and e) 3% drift ratio
Fig. 10. The compressive damage developed in the brick masonry in mud mortar. at a lateral displacement
of 60mm
23
Table 3. Peak lateral load, the state of damage and corresponding drift ratios
Lateral load
Position Drift ratio (%) Description of damage
(kN)
A 0.065 288 Initiation of the crack at the bottom right corner of the wall
B 0.15 408 Initiation of the crack at the top left corner of the wall
Tensile damage of the wall along the diagonal; crushing of
C 1.33 805 the masonry in the corner of the wall and also slightly along
the diagonal
Ultimate lateral loading; Tensile damage of the wall along
D 2.3 683
the diagonal
High tensile and compressive damage to the wall, especially
E 3 633
along the diagonal area
8. Conclusion
From the static non-linear analysis of the unreinforced masonry wall, the maximum lateral strength of
the wall was determined. Also, the damage pattern developed at various drift ratios were studied. The
development of the tensile damage at corresponding drift ratios was also studied. It was found that he
damages initiates through the corner of the openings and then spread through the wall, mostly
concentrated along the diagonals.
References
ABAQUS. (2013). Abaqus analysis user’s manual. Retrieved from USA:
Abdelmegeed, M. (2015). Damage assessment and rehabilitation of historic traditional masonry structures. (Phd
Dissertation), National Technical University of Athens.
Asteris, P. G., Chronopoulos, M. P., Chrysostomou, C. Z., Varum, H., Plevris, V., Kyriakides, N., & Silva, V.
(2014). Seismic vulnerability assessment of historical masonry structural systems. Engineering Structures, 62-
63, 118-134. doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2014.01.031
Asteris, P. G., & Tzamtzis, A. D. (2003). On the use of a regular yield surface for the analysis of unreinforced
masonry walls. Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering, 3, 23-42.
Atamturktur, S., & Laman, J. A. (2012). Finite element model correlation and calibration of historic masonry
monuments: Review. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, 21(2), 96-113. doi:10.1002/tal.577
Eslami, A., Ronagh, H. R., Mahini, S. S., & Morshed, R. (2012). Experimental investigation and nonlinear fe
analysis of historical masonry buildings – a case study. Construction and Building Materials, 35, 251-260.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.04.002
Lotfi, H. R., & Shing, P. B. (1994). Interface model applied to fracture of masonry structures. Journal of Structural
Engineering, 120(1), 63-80.
Lourenco, P. B. (1996). Computational strategies for masonry structures. Civil Engineering & Geosciences.
Lourenço, P. B. (1998). Experimental and numerical issues in the modelling of the mechanical behaviour of
masonry. Theory & Engineering Applications of Computational Methods, 57-91.
Lourenço, P. B. (2002). Computations on historic masonry structures. Progress in Structural Engineering and
Materials, 4(3), 301-319. doi:10.1002/pse.120
Lourenço, P. B., Milani, G., Tralli, A., & Zucchini, A. (2007). Analysis of masonry structures: Review of and
recent trends in homogenization techniquesthis article is one of a selection of papers published in this special
issue on masonry. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 34(11), 1443-1457. doi:10.1139/l07-097
Parajuli, H. R. (2012). Determination of mechanical properties of the kathmandu world heritage brick masonry
buildings. Paper presented at the 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Lisboa.
Raijmakers, T. M. J., & Vermeltfoort, A. T. (1992). Deformation controlled tests in masonry shear walls (in
dutch). Retrieved from Delft, The Netherlands.:
Yang, W. (2008). Constitutive relationship model for masonry materials in compression. Building Structure,
38(10), 80-82.
Zhang, S., Yang, D., Sheng, Y., Garrity, S. W., & Xu, L. (2017). Numerical modelling of frp-reinforced masonry
walls under in-plane seismic loading. Construction & Building Materials, 134.
24
Analysis of Abutment Foundation Using Conventional Method

and FEM Model
Biswa Balla1 and Shakil Manandhar2
Abstract
Bridge abutment foundation are designed as rigid structure, which results in a conservative design.
The bridge abutment foundation was analyzed as framed structure model using FEM software,
SAP2000 v20. Height of the bridge abutment stem, excluding backwall height, was 8.0 m. The length
and thickness of abutment stem were 7.2 m and 2.0 m respectively. The superstructure is 45.0 m
prestressed box girder with 6.0 m carriageway width and 0.6 m footpath (including railings) on both
sides. The superstructure dead load and IRC Class A loading were applied at the abutment cap level.
Size of footing are 10.0 m in longitudinal direction and 10.0 m in lateral direction with thickness of
2.0 m. A model with frame elements were prepared for both abutment stem and foundation in
SAP2000. Two extreme values of subgrade spring constant were assigned on closely spaced joints of
the foundation frame element. The springs were assigned at each 0.1 m interval in foundation with
modulus of subgrade reactions 7,500 kN/m2/m and 24,000 kN/m2/m. The modulus of reaction
corresponds to the safe bearing capacity of 300 kN/m2 and 600 kN/m2 with permissible settlement of
40 mm and 25 mm respectively. The analysis results showed conclusively that the model is sensitive
to the value of modulus of subgrade reaction or spring constant in the total settlement only. The
calculated maximum bearing pressure is lower and minimum bearing pressure is higher in SAP2000
model. The bending moment and shear force at foundation (heel slab and toe slab) using SAP2000
model is significantly less compared to the conventional method.
Keywords: Bridge; Abutment; Foundation; Modulus of subgrade reaction; FEM; SAP2000
1. Introduction
Conventionally the reinforced concrete abutment foundation is analyzed by assuming the foundation
to be rigid (Rao, 2010). Although the assumption simplifies the design, it is not accurate
representation of the subgrade soil (Jardine, 1986). Another approach is to model the foundation as
flexible along its length and model the subgrade soil by closely spaced discrete springs (Winkler,
1867) which led to the concept of modulus of subgrade reaction (ks). Although using ks value has its
limitations especially over heterogeneous soil and large foundations (Tjie Liong, 2001; Elsamee,
2013), the model can still give us an idea of using elastic foundation concept over a rigid foundation
design. In case of static loads and elastic soil behavior, the output of SAP2000 is very close to
Geotechnical software like Plaxis (Argyroudis, 2013).
The different soil conditions (soft soil, hard soil etc.) results in varying safe bearing capacity of
soil. The modulus of subgrade reaction value can be obtained from safe bearing capacity and
allowable settlement of soil.
2. Material and Methods

The superstructure is 45.0 m prestressed box girder with 6.0 m carriageway width and 0.6 m footpath
(including railings) on both sides. The general arrangement of the bridge is shown in Fig. 1. A model
with frame elements were prepared for both abutment stem and foundation in SAP2000. Abutment
stem height 8.0 m in z-direction excluding backwall height which is 3.0 m. The length and thickness
of abutment stem were 7.2 m and 2.0 m respectively. The size of foundation is 10.0 m in longitudinal
direction (x-x) and 10.0 m in lateral direction (y-y) with thickness of 2.0 m. The foundation length in
1 Local Roads Bridge Support Unit, Lalitpur, Nepal, biswaballa@gmail.com
2 Local Roads Bridge Support Unit, Lalitpur, Nepal, shakil.manandhar@lrbpnepal.org
25
x-direction is 10.0 m was divided into 100 line segments. The foundation is width is 10.0 m and its
thickness 2.0 m. Vertical and horizontal springs were assigned to all of 100 foundation joints at the
spacing of 0.1 m. The stiffness of vertical spring used to represent different ks (modulus of subgrade
reaction) values of soil are 7,500 kN/m2/m and 24,000 kN/m2/m. The modulus of subgrade reaction
corresponds to the safe bearing capacity of 300 kN/m2 and 600 kN/m2 with permissible settlement of
40 mm and 25 mm respectively. The sketch of the model prepared in SAP2000 is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1. General arrangement of the bridge
Fig. 2. Elevation of the abutment
Fig. 3. Abutment stem and foundation frame model supported on closely spaced springs
Loads and loads combination were applied to the structure, as per the codal provisions (IRC 6,
2017). Forces and moments due to superstructure and backwall shown in Table 1 are applied at the
top of abutment stem, i.e. abutment cap level. Load combinations used in analysis are presented in
26
Table 2. The Active Earth pressure due to backfill on the backwall and the abutment stem; it varies
linearly from top of backwall to the base of abutment as shown in Fig. 4 for both non-seismic and
seismic cases. The horizontal active earth pressure coefficient, Ka was calculated as per cl. 214.1.1
IRC:6-2017 for non-seismic case and coefficient of dynamic active earth pressure, Ca was calculated
as per cl. 214.1.2 IRC:6-2017. The superstructure dead load and IRC Class A loading were applied at
the abutment cap level.
Table 1. Details of loads and bending moment applied at the top of the abutment stem.
Vertical Load Horizontal Load Bending Moment,
SN Particulars Remarks
(kN) (kN) Myy (kNm)
A Working Loads (without partial safety factor) to calculate soil bearing pressure
A.1 Case 1: Non-seismic 5044.9 416.6 963.2
A.2 Case 2: Seismic 4825.0 1275.3 2514.4 Ah = 0.12
B Ultimate Limit State (with partial safety factor as per Table B.2 IRC:6-2017)
B.1 Case 1: Non-seismic 6966.6 624.9 1444.8
B.2 Case 2: Seismic 5614.7 2039.0 3947.6 Ah = 0.12
Table 2. Load combinations.

Working Stress (as per Limit State (as per Table B.2
SN Particulars Table 1 IRC:6-2017) IRC:6-2017) Remarks
Non-Seismic Seismic Non-Seismic Seismic
1 Dead Load 1.0 1.0 1.35 1.35
2 Superstructure Dead Load 1.0 1.0 1.35 1.35
3 IRC Class A Loading 1.0 0.2 1.5 0.2
4 Braking Load 1.0 0.2 1.5 0.2
Ka = 0.26
5 Earth Pressure 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.0
Ca = 0.38
6 Surcharge Load 1.0 0 1.5 0
7 Backfill 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.0
8 Seismic Load 0 1.0 0 1.5 Ah = 0.12
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Active earth pressure distribution (a) Case 1: Non-seismic; (b) Case 2: Seismic
27
3. Results and Discussion

The difference in the bending moment, shear force and bearing pressure are negligible with variation
of spring stiffness, i.e. modulus of subgrade reaction in both seismic and non-seismic case as shown in
Table 3. The change in spring stiffness, however, is directly proportional to the settlement of
foundation (Fig. 5). The analysis of foundation settlement is not within the scope of this paper, the
effect of variation in spring stiffness is not analyzed further. The responses with ks = 24,000 kN/m/m
is used henceforth.
Table 3. Responses (Bearing Pressure and Settlement) from SAP2000 model.

Non-seismic case Seismic case
SN Particulars Remarks
ks = 7,500 ks = 24,000 ks = 7,500 ks = 24,000
Maximum Bearing Pressure, at working
3 210.37 207.67 281.08 280.06
kN/m2 loads
Minimum Bearing Pressure, at working
4 171.86 170.35 85.93 86.77
kN/m2 loads
at working
5 Maximum Settlement, mm 28.0 8.7 37.5 11.7
loads
Settlement of Foundation, ks = 24,000 Settlement of Foundation, ks =

kNm/m 7,500 kNm/m
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
0 0
-5
-10
-5 -15
-20
-10 -25
-30
-35
-15 -40
Non-Seismic Seismic Non-Seismic Seismic
(a) Modulus of subgrade reaction, ks = 24,000 kNm/m (b) Modulus of subgrade reaction, ks = 7,500 kNm/m
Fig. 5. Settlement of Foundation for different modulus of subgrade reaction for non-seismic and seismic case
(a) Non-seismic case (b) Seismic case

Fig. 6. Bending Moment distribution in abutment stem and foundation.
28
(a) Non-seismic case (b) Seismic case

Fig. 7. Shear Force distribution in Abutment Stem and Foundation (Heel Slab and Toe Slab)
The bending moment distribution and shear force distribution are shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. To
compare the bearing pressure from unfactored loads calculated from conventional method and
obtained SAP model; the bearing pressure for non-seismic load combination case and seismic load
combination case were plotted on excel chart and presented in Fig. 8. The maximum bearing pressure
in both non-seismic and seismic is lower in SAP2000 model than conventional model. Similarly, the
minimum bearing pressure in both non-seismic and seismic is higher in SAP2000 model than
conventional model.
Fig. 8. Bearing Pressure Distribution under non-seismic and seismic load combinations
The ultimate design Bending Moments, Mu and Shear Forces, Vu for non-seismic case is presented
in Table 4 and for seismic case is presented in Table 5. It is observed that the seismic load
combination is governing for the design of foundation. Furthermore, there is significant increase in Vu
for Toe Slab and significantly decrease in the case of Toe Slab, and, Mu and Vu in heel slab as per
SAP2000 model output.
Table 4. Comparison of ultimate design bending moment, shear force. Non-seismic case:
Conventional %
SN Particulars SAP2000 Remarks
method Difference
Design Bending Moment (Toe At 1.0 m right of
1 1017.64 1029.02 +1.1%
Slab), kNm/m the joint
Design Shear Force (Toe Slab), At 2.9 m right of
2 253.42 248.80 +5.1%
kN/m the joint
3 Design Bending Moment (Heel At 1.0 m left of
224.69 39.21 -82.6%
Slab), kNm/m the joint
4 Design Shear Force (Heel Slab), At 1.0 m left of
50.58 18.01 -64.9%
kN/m the joint
29
Table 5. Comparison of ultimate design bending moment, shear force. seismic case:
Conventional %
SN Particulars SAP2000 Remarks
method Difference
1 Design BM (Toe Slab), kNm/m 1580.29 1286.68 -18.6% At 1.0 m right of the joint
2 Design SF (Toe Slab), kN/m 407.84 322.86 -20.8% At 2.9 m right of the joint
3 Design BM (Heel Slab), kNm/m 1796.01 849.42 -52.7% At 1.0 m left of the joint
4 Design SF (Heel Slab), kN/m 538.8 235.00 -56.4% At 1.0 m left of the joint
4. Conclusion
The abutment foundation analysis using the models with springs is more realistic than the
conventional analysis method. This paper presents the FEM model for homogeneous soil with
uniform modulus of subgrade reaction and linear spring constant. The results from the FEM model
were compared with conventional analysis method. The conventional method gives conservative
values for bearing pressure than the FEM model. Furthermore, the design internal forces (design
bending moment and shear force) are governed for seismic case. The internal forces are significantly
less in FEM model than the conventional method. Hence, the abutment foundation design using this
FEM model will be more economical than the conventional method.
However, the FEM model should be independently verified and approved before applying to actual
abutment foundation analysis and design. To get more accurate representation and analysis of the
foundation, non-linear springs should be used additionally to represent damping characteristics during
seismic loading dash-pot should be used. Furthermore, non-linear behavior of the abutment stem and
the foundation slab joint should be modeled using link elements.
References
Argyroudis, S., Mitoulis, S., & Pitilakis, K. (2013). Seismic response of bridge abutments on surface foundation
subjected to collision forces. In: Proceedings of 4th international conference on computational methods in
structural dynamics and earthquake engineering (COMPDYN), Kos Island, Greece (pp. 12-14).
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30
Contraflow Evacuation Planning Problems for Disaster

Management
Phanindra Prasad Bhandari1 and Shree Ram Khadka2
Abstract
An evacuation planning problem gives a plan on existing road network that sends as many evacuees
as possible from the dangerous place to the safer place in minimum time period efficiently during
disasters. The problems with different road network attributes have been studied and solutions have
been proposed. Evacuation planning problems with network contraflow approach, reversing the
direction of lanes, have also been extensively studied. In this paper, we study the contraflow
problems, namely, maximum dynamic contraflow problems and earliest arrival contraflow problems
without necessarily equal transit times on two oppositely oriented arcs joining the same two different
nodes and propose efficient solutions to them when arc reversal capability is allowed only once at
time zero.
Keywords: Network Flow; Contraflow; TTSP Network; Evacuation Planning Problem; Disaster Management.
1. Introduction
An evacuation planning problem, important notion during the response phase of the disaster
management, attempts to find an optimal evacuation plan with a realistic flow model where each
evacuee is supposed to be evacuated in a minimal time period from a dangerous site (source) to a safe
site (sink). An efficient evacuation plan minimizes the human casualties and their property during
natural and human-created disasters and helps in mitigation of rush hour traffic in the crowded urban
area.
Maximum dynamic flow problem that sends the maximum amount of flow from the source to the
sink within the given time horizon was due to Ford and Fulkerson (1958, 1962) and has been
extensively studied with various applications. The earliest arrival flow problems that ask to maximize
flow into the sink at each time step within the time horizon have also been considered widely in the
literature; Gale (1959), Minieka (1973), Wilkinson (1971), Hoppe (1995), Hoppe & Tardos (1994),
Baumann (2007), Steiner (2009), and Ruzika et al. (2011).
Consideration of contraflow approach in evacuation planning problem could be a potential remedy
during disasters due to its lane direction reversal property, see, Dhamala (2015). The contraflow
approach reconfigures the network identifying the ideal direction and reallocating the available
capacity for each arc to minimize the evacuation time from source to sink. Two heuristic solutions to
the problem are proposed in Kim et al. (2008). There exists an analytical solution also for the problem
which sends a maximum flow from a source to a sink in the two terminal case, see Rebennack et al.
(2010). The solution with polynomial time complexity has been investigated on both static and
dynamic networks where the arc reversal ability has been adapted only once at very beginning of the
time horizon for later type of networks. Earliest arrival contraflow problem on two terminal series
parallel network has been considered in Dhamala & Pyakurel (2013).
The dynamic network flow problems in continuous time setting can be found in Philpott (1982),
Anderson et al. (1982), Philpott (1990), Anderson and Philpott (1994), Fleischer & Tardos (1998),
Koch et al. (2011) and Hashemi & Nasrabadi (2012). The dynamic network contraflow problem in
continuous time setting has been introduced in Khadka & Bhandari (2017), and Pyakurel & Dhamala
(2017). Continuous time model naturally better reflects the real-world evacuation scenario.
The remaining part of the paper is organized as follows. Basic mathematical denotations related to
the problems have been described in Section 2. Section 3 contains formulation of the maximum
dynamic contraflow problem with discrete time setting and continuous time setting in Subsection 3.1
1 Science and Humanities Department, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, phanindra.maths@gmail.com
2 Central Department of Mathematics, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
31
and Subsection 3.2 respectively. Their solution techniques and that of earliest arrival contraflow
problem is described in Subsection 3.3. The last section concludes the paper.
2. Preliminaries
Consider an evacuation network 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑇) where 𝑉 is the set of nodes 𝑣, the crossing of
routes from dangerous place, source 𝑠, to safer place, sink 𝑑 and 𝐸 is the set of route segments, arc
𝑒 = (𝑣, 𝑤) joining any two different nodes 𝑣, 𝑤 ∈ 𝑉. Let 𝑐: 𝐸 → 𝑍 67 be a capacity function denoting
the upper bound for flow units to pass the arc at a time slot and 𝜏: 𝐸 → 𝑍 87 be the transit time
function denoting the time required for a flow unit to travel the arc. The capacities and transit times on
the arcs joining the same two different nodes with different orientations could be unequal. That is, c:;⃑
may or may not be equal to c:⃐; and τ;:⃑ may or may not be equal to τ⃐:; where e;⃑ and e⃐; denotes the arc
𝑒 = (𝑣, 𝑤) ∈ 𝐸 with forward direction and backward direction respectively. The total evacuation time
period is denoted by T. An evacuation network has been depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. An evacuation network 𝑁. Line with arrow joining any two ovals (the node) is an arc representing the
road with direction of the flow, the movement of evacuees. Node 𝑠 is the dangerous place (source) that contains
evacuees, 𝑑 is the safe place (sink) and the remaining nodes are the intermediate (transshipment) nodes. The
first and the second numbers next to each arc are the arc capacity and the transit times respectively.
The flow of evacuees 𝑓 on 𝑁 defined as 𝑓: 𝐸 × [0, 𝑇) → 𝑅^(≥ 0) satisfies the following

conditions:
The flow units cannot exceed the arc capacity 𝑐( for any time within the time horizon. That is,
0 ≤ 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃) ≤ 𝑐( ∀ 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸
and
∀ 𝜃 ∈ [0, 𝑇) . (1)
The flow units that enters into node 𝑣 for all 𝑣 ∈ 𝑉 − {𝑠, 𝑑 } must exit from it. That is,
P P
∑(∈Q R(S) ∫7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃 − 𝜏( )𝑑𝜃 = ∑(∈Q T(S) ∫7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃)𝑑𝜃 (2)
where 𝛿 V (𝑣) and 𝑒 ∈ 𝛿 W (𝑣) denote for the set of arcs entering into the node 𝑣 and leaving from it,
respectively.
An 𝑠 − 𝑑 flow in which the flow function 𝑓 satisfies constraints (1) and (2) for all arcs at time 𝜃 ∈
[0, 𝑇) is a feasible 𝑠 − 𝑑 flow. For a dynamic network 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇), the maximum
dynamic 𝑠 − 𝑑 flow problem finds the optimal feasible flow from 𝑠 to 𝑑 within the given time horizon
𝑇.
If one wishes to send packets of flow units at discrete time points into the arcs instead of sending
flow at continuous flow rates, the time horizon T is to be discretized into the time steps {0,1, … , 𝑇}. In
this model, the flow units sent into an arc 𝑒 = (𝑣, 𝑤) at a time 𝜃 totally reach the target node 𝑤 at
32
time 𝜃 + 𝜏( . In discrete time setting, the flow function 𝑓 defined as 𝑓: 𝐸 × {0, 1, … , 𝑇} → 𝑅67
satisfies the capacity constraint in the form:
0 ≤ 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃) ≤ 𝑐( ∀ 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸
and
∀ 𝜃 ∈× {0,1, … , 𝑇} (3)
and the flow conservation constraint in the form:
∑(∈Q R(S) ∑P[\7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃 − 𝜏( ) = ∑(∈Q T(S) ∑P[\7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃) (4)
An 𝑠 − 𝑑 flow 𝑓 satisfying capacity constraints (3) and flow conservation constraints (4) for all
arcs at every time steps 𝜃 ∈ {0,1, … , 𝑇} is a feasible 𝑠 − 𝑑 flow for discrete time setting.
Obviously, the flow value before and after the time horizon 𝑇 is zero and all flow units leave the
network within it.
3. Contraflow Problems
The problem of finding the arcs to reverse its direction so that the maximum flow on network from
the source to the sink could be increased and time required to attain this flow could be decreased is a
network contraflow problem. Rebennack et al. (2010) studied the maximum dynamic contraflow
problem with equal transit times on two oppositely oriented arcs joining the same two different nodes.
Their model is with discrete time setting and arc reversal capability has been allowed only once at
time zero.
In this section, we define a maximum dynamic contraflow problem with unequal transit times on
the arcs with discrete as well as continuous time settings in which arc reversal capability is allowed
only once at time zero.
3.1. Maximum Dynamic Contraflow with Discrete Time Setting

Let 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇) be the network with single source 𝑠 and single sink 𝑑 and transit
time 𝜏( for each arc 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸 with 𝜏(],^) not necessarily equal to 𝜏(^,]) if (𝑣, 𝑤), (𝑤, 𝑣) ∈ 𝐸. The
maximum dynamic network flow problem with discrete time setting on 𝑁, if the direction of the arcs
is allowed to reverse, maximizes the net flow 𝑓_ from 𝑠 to 𝑑 given by
P P
𝑓_ = ` ` 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃) − ` ` 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃)
[\7 [\7
(∈Q T(a) (∈Q R(a)
= ∑(∈Q R(b) ∑P[\7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃) − ∑(∈Q T(b) ∑P[\7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃) (5)
where the flow 𝑓 satisfies the capacity constraints (1) and the flow conservation constraints (2).
The solution to the problem is based on the network transformation. In contrast to the case of equal
transit times on the arcs, addition of capacities of oppositely directed arcs joining two nodes, while
constructing the auxiliary network, is no longer possible in the case of unequal transit times. We
propose an alternative, more general, way of constructing the auxiliary network for the latter case.
Network 𝑁 with unequal transit times and capacities on the arcs is transformed into new network by
introducing an artificial node for each arc that separates it into two different arcs. Each arc on 𝑁 is
splitted into two arcs; real arc and artificial arc; in the auxiliary network 𝑁 W . Artificial arcs have
infinite capacities and zero transit times whereas the real arcs have the original arc capacities and
transit times. Moreover, corresponding to each arc 𝑒 W ∈ 𝑁 W , an oppositely directed artificial arc with
zero capacity and transit time equal to 𝜏( T is inserted, see Fig. 2.
33
Fig. 2. A part of the transformed network 𝑁 W of the network 𝑁 depicted in Fig. 1.
Now we propose an efficient (having polynomial time complexity) solution procedure, say
Discrete Time Maximum Dynamic Contraflow Algorithm (MDCF-DT), which solves the maximum
dynamic contraflow problem with discrete time setting, if the direction of the arcs is allowed to
reverse only once at time zero. The procedure resembles with algorithm designed for the discrete
model with equal transit times in Rebennack et al. (2010).
Algorithm 1: MDCF-DT
1. Given network 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇) with transit time 𝜏( for each arc 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸 with
𝜏(],^) not necessarily equal to 𝜏(^,]) if (𝑣, 𝑤), (𝑤, 𝑣) ∈ 𝐸.
2. Transform network 𝑁 into 𝑁 W .
3. Apply the algorithm of Rebennack et al. (2010) on 𝑁 W .
4. Get the maximum dynamic contraflow with discrete time setting on 𝑁 for time horizon 𝑇.
Applying Algorithm 1 for the evacuation network 𝑁 given in Fig 1 with time horizon 𝑇 = 10, the
maximum dynamic contraflow with discrete time setting is of value 52 whereas the maximum
dynamic flow without contraflow is of value 30.
3.2. Maximum Dynamic Contraflow with Continuous Time Setting

Let 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇)be the network with single source 𝑠 and single sink 𝑑 and transit time 𝜏(
for each arc 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸 with 𝜏(],^) not necessarily equal to 𝜏(^,]) if (𝑣, 𝑤), (𝑤, 𝑣) ∈ 𝐸. The maximum
dynamic flow problem with continuous time setting on 𝑁 if the direction of the arcs is allowed to
reverse, maximizes the net flow flow 𝑓c from 𝑠 to 𝑑 given by
P P
𝑓c = ` d 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃)𝑑𝜃 − ` d 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃)𝑑𝜃

(∈Q T(a) 7 (∈Q R(a) 7
P P
= ∑(∈Q R(b) ∫7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃)𝑑𝜃 − ∑(∈Q T(b) ∫7 𝑓(𝑒, 𝜃)𝑑𝜃 (6)
where the flow 𝑓 satisfies the capacity constraints (3) and the flow conservation constraints (4).
Flow value derived with discrete time setting can be used to find the flow with continuous time
setting using the notion of natural transformation of flow discussed by Fleischer and Tardos (1998)
which states that the amount of flow that arrives at the node v through the arc e;⃑ at time step θ in the
discrete approach is equal to the amount of flow arriving at w through the arc e;⃑ during the unit
interval of time at the beginning of time step 𝜃 i.e. 𝑓_ (𝑒, 𝜃) = 𝑓c (𝑒, [𝜃, 𝜃 + 1)) for all 𝜃 ∈
{0, 1, . . . , 𝑇 − 1}. The notion can also be used to transform the time-expanded network constructed
with discrete time setting into the time-expanded network with continuous time setting.
Now we propose an efficient (having polynomial time complexity) solution procedure, say
Continuous Time Maximum Dynamic Contraflow Algorithm (MDCF-CT), which solves the
maximum dynamic contraflow problem with continuous time setting, if the direction of the arcs is
allowed to reverse only once at time zero.
34
Algorithm 2: MDCF-CT
1. Given network 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇) with transit time 𝜏( for each arc 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸 with
2. Transform network 𝑁 into 𝑁 W .
3. Apply the algorithm of Khadka and Bhandari (2017) on 𝑁 W .
4. Get the maximum dynamic contraflow with continuous time setting on 𝑁 for time horizon 𝑇.
Applying Algorithm 2 for the evacuation network 𝑁 given in Fig 1 with time horizon 𝑇 = 10, the
maximum dynamic contraflow with continuous time setting is of value 45 whereas the maximum
dynamic flow without contraflow is of value 26.
3.3. Earliest Arrival Contraflow on TTSP Network

Let 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇)be the network with single source 𝑠 and single sink 𝑑 and transit time 𝜏(
for each arc 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸 with 𝜏(],^) not necessarily equal to 𝜏(^,]) if (𝑣, 𝑤), (𝑤, 𝑣) ∈ 𝐸. The earliest arrival
contraflow (EACF) problem with discrete time setting, if the direction of the arcs is allowed to
reverse, maximizes the feasible net flow from 𝑠 to 𝑑 at all time steps θ ∈ {0, 1, . . . , T}. We consider a
special class of network known as two terminal series-parallel (TTSP) network 𝑁 here. A two-
terminal series-parallel network 𝑁 is a directed network with a single source 𝑠 and a single sink 𝑑
which has a single arc (𝑠, 𝑑) together with source 𝑠 and sink 𝑑 or is obtained from two series parallel
networks 𝑁i and 𝑁j by one of the following two operations:
(I) Parallel Composition: Merge source nodes 𝑠i of 𝑁i and 𝑠j of 𝑁j to form the source 𝑠 of 𝑁 and
merge sink nodes 𝑑 of 𝑁i and 𝑑j of 𝑁j to form the sink 𝑑 of 𝑁.
(II) Series Composition: Merge the sink node 𝑑i of 𝑁i with the source node 𝑠j of 𝑁j .
Now we present an efficient (having polynomial time complexity) solution procedure, say Discrete
Time Earliest Arrival Contraflow Algorithm (EACF-DT), that is based on the algorithm of Ruzika et
al. (2011) for minimum cost flows on TTSP networks. The algorithm solves the maximum dynamic
flow problem using a temporally repeated flow over the time horizon 𝑇. In fact, this maximum
dynamic flow has the earliest arrival property. We claim that the two terminal series parallel network
𝑁, after transforming into its auxilary network 𝑁 W , remains two terminal series parallel network. That
is, the following algorithm, Algorithm 3, solves the earliest arrival contraflow problem with discrete
time setting, if the direction of the arcs are allowed to reverse only once at time zero.
Algorithm 3: EACF-DT
1. Given a TTSP network 𝑁 = (𝑉, 𝐸, 𝑐( , 𝜏( , 𝑠, 𝑑, 𝑇) with transit time 𝜏( for each arc 𝑒 ∈ 𝐸 with
2. Find auxiliary network 𝑁 W .
3. Solve earliest arrival flow problem on 𝑁 W by using the algorithm of Ruzika et al. (2011).
4. Arc 𝑒⃐ is reversed if and only if the flow along arc 𝑒⃑ is greater than 𝑐( or if there is non-
negative flow along arc 𝑒 ∉ 𝐸.
5. Get the earliest arrival contraflow with discrete time setting on 𝑁 for time horizon 𝑇.
Together with the notion of natural transformation, the Algorithm 3 (EACF-DT) solves the earliest
arrival contraflow problem with continuous time setting on 𝑁 when the arc reversal capability is
allowed only once at time zero. And, of course, the solution to the problem is optimal and can be
found in strongly polynomial time.
35
4. Conclusion
The importance and applicability of the idea of network contraflow especially in evacuation planning
problem has been increasing due to its lane direction reversal capability. The model of the problem
without necessarily equal transit times on two oppositely oriented arcs joining the same two different
nodes and its solution approaches based on continuous time setting better reflects the real-world
situation. In this paper, we studied the maximum dynamic contraflow problem and earliest arrival
contraflow problem with strongly polynomial time algorithms as solution procedures if the arcs are
flipped only once at time zero in discrete as well as continuous time setting. Implementation of the
model to the real data set would be the immediate future research work.
Acknowledgement
The first author would like to thank the University Grants Commission, Nepal for providing partial financial
support (PhD Fellowship 2016) to conduct this research.
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36
Preliminary Results of Skew-Log-Logistic Distribution,

Properties and Applications
Arjun Kumar Gaire1, Gyan Bahadur Thapa2 and Samir K.C.3
Abstract
The Log-Logistic Distribution (LLD) is a continuous probability distribution function for a non-
negative random variable. In this paper, our major goal is to develop and study new distribution called
Skew-Log-Logistic Distribution. We further derive the structural properties of the distribution
including, cumulative distribution function, reliability function and hazard rate function. Furthermore,
age specific fertility rate of Nepal is used to illustrate the usefulness and application of the proposed
distribution. It would be applicable in various real world situations where the data are of right skewed
nature, for instance modeling the wealth and income distribution in economics, modeling stream flow
data to estimate the flood frequency in hydrology, modeling water demand in a big city, modeling to
estimate the Seismic risk and earthquake occurrence probabilities and modeling lifetime of an
organism like the ‘time following a heart transplantation’ in biostatistics.
Keywords: Log-logistic distribution; Skew-log-logistic distribution; Reliability function; Hazard rate function;
Age specific fertility rates.
1. Introduction
The Log-Logistic Distribution (LLD) is a continuous probability distribution function for a non-
negative random variable. The distribution has been widely applied for positive data and in the case of
uni-model failure rate. It is an alternative probability distribution to the Log-normal distribution due to
right tailed failure rate. The distribution, known as Fisk-distribution (Fisk,1961) in Economics, is
applicable in various real world situations like modeling the wealth and income distribution (Kleiber
and Kotz, 2003), modeling stream flow data in hydrology (Ashkar and Mahdi, 2006), estimating and
forecasting daily consumption of water in big cities e.g. Surendran Seevali (2015) modeled the daily
water consumption data obtained from a water company in UK for a duration of four years and used
Anderson-Darling normality as a tool of model validation, and modeling the ‘time following a heart
transplantation’ in biostatistics (Collet, 2015). It has been used in actuarial science (Kleiber and Kotz,
2003), reliability analysis and life-testing experiments (Tahir et al., 2014), and the field of earthquake
engineering to approximate the observed cumulative distribution of earthquakes (Maslov and
Anokhin, 2012). Yilmaz et al. (2011) used to estimate the Seismic risk and earthquake occurrence
probabilities in the North Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey.
Rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces the Log-logistic distribution (LLD)
with its properties. Section 3 focuses on the proposed new distribution called here after Skew-Log-
Logistic Distribution (SLLD) and elaborates the structural properties of the distribution including
cumulative distribution function, reliability function and hazard rate function. Section 4 illustrates the
application and validity of model by using the real data set of age specific fertility rates (ASFRs) of
Nepal and finally, Section 5 concludes the paper.
1 Department of Sciences and Humanities, Khwopa Engineering College, Purbanchal University, Nepal.
arjun.gaire@gmail.com
2 Department of Applied Sciences, Pulchwok Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuwan University, Nepal.
thapagbt@ioe.edu.np
3 Institute for Asian Demographic Research, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China. kcsamir@gmail.com
37
2 n d I nt er n ati o n al C o nf er e n c e o n E art h q u a k e E n gi n e eri n g a n d P ost Dis aste r R e c o nstr u cti o n Pl a n ni n g
2 5 – 2 7 A pril, 2 0 1 9, B h a kt a p ur, N e p al
2. L o g -L o gisti c Dist ri b uti o n

F or m o d eli n g a s er vi c e ti m e, lif eti m e distri b uti o n of a n o bj e ct or a n or g a nis m L L D h a d b e e n a p pli e d
b y diff er e nt r es e ar c h ers . T h e pr o b a bilit y d e nsit y f u n cti o n ( p df) a n d t h e c u m ul ati v e distri b uti o n
f u n cti o n ( c df) of t his distri b uti o n wit h t hr e e p ar a m et ers 𝛼 , 𝛽 a n d 𝛾 is gi v e n as
) -. / ) . 1
, 0
* *
𝑔 (𝑥 ) = 6 , f o r 𝑥 > 𝛾 ( 1)
-. / )
23 4 , 0 5
*
-. / )
, 0
*
𝐺 ( 𝑥 ) = -. / )
,f o r 𝑥 > 𝛾 ( 2)
23 4 , 0 5
*
w h er e 𝛼 > 0 is s h a p e p ar a m et er, 𝛽 > 0 is s c al e p ar a m et er, a n d 𝛾 is t hr es h ol d or l o c ati o n p ar a m et er.

W h e n t h e s h a p e p ar a m et er 𝛼 is gr e at er t h a n o n e L L D h as u ni -m o d el i n n at ur e. Kl ei b er a n d K ot z
( 2 0 0 3), L a wl ess ( 2 0 0 3) a n d As h k ar a n d M a h di ( 2 0 0 6) st u di e d t h e b asis pr o p erti es of L L D. T h e kt h
or d er m o m e nts of L L D ar e d eri v e d b y T a di k a m all a ( 1 9 8 0) f or k < , a n d by c o nsi d er t hir d
p ar a m et er 𝛾 = 0 , t h e m o m e nt h a d b e e n e x pr ess e d as
A A
𝐸 ?𝑋 A B = 𝛽 A 𝐵 ,1 + ,1 − 0 ( 3)
F F
3
H er e, B ( a, b) is a B et a f u n cti o n d efi n e d b y 𝐵 ( 𝑎 ,𝑏 ) = ∫ O 𝑥 K L 3 ( 1 − 𝑥 ) M L 3 𝑑 𝑥 f or t w o c o nst a nts
P (K )P (M )
𝑎 > 0 a n d 𝑏 > 0 a n d b y usi n g t h e r el ati o ns hi ps 𝐵 ( 𝑎 ,𝑏 ) = P (K 4 M )
and
S
𝛤 (𝑚 )𝛤 (1 − 𝑚 ) = TU V W S
f or 0 < 𝑚 < 1 t h e m o m e nt b e c o m es
Z Z
Y ,3 4 0Y ,3 L 0 A S \ Z
A A
𝐸 ?𝑋 B = 𝛽 ) )
= Z ` ( 4)
Y ([ ) F ]^ _
)
I n p arti c ul ar t h e m e a n a n d v ari a n c e of L LD ar e e x pr ess e d as ,

S\
𝐸 (𝑋 ) = ` f o r 𝛼 > 1 a n d
F ]^ _ )
[
[S \ 6 S\
V ari a n c e = 6` − 2 ` 5 f o r 𝛼 > 2 ( 5)
F ]^ _ F ]^ _ )
)
3. S k e w L o g -L o gisti c Dist ri b uti o n

A z z ali ni ( 1 9 8 5, 2 0 0 5) i ntr o d u c e d t h e S k e w-N or m al distri b uti o n. T h e a ut h or e xt e n d e d N or m al
distri b uti o n b y a d di n g a n a d diti o n al as y m m etr y p ar a m et er 𝜆 > 0 a n d pr o b a bilit y d e nsit y f u n cti o n of
n e w S k e w -N or m al distri b uti o n is pr o p os e d a n d st u di e d b y usi n g t h e r el ati o n as
𝑓 ( 𝑥 ) = 2 𝑔 ( 𝑥 ) G ( 𝜆 𝑥 ) , f or all 𝑥 a n d 𝜆 i n r e al li n e R. ( 6)
w h er e, 𝑔 ( 𝑥 ) a n d 𝐺 ( 𝑥 ) ar e t h e p df a n d c df of St a n d ar d N or m al distri b uti o n. B y c o nsi d eri n g t h e

as y m m etr y p ar a m et er 𝜆 = 1 , H u a n g a n d C h e n ( 2 0 0 7) pr es e nt e d t h e g e n er al f or m ul a f or c o nstr u cti o n
of a S k e w -S y m m etri c al distri b uti o n f or m a s y m m etr y as
38
𝑓(𝑥) = 2 𝑔(𝑥)G(𝑥), for all 𝑥 in real line 𝑅 (7)
Chakraborty et al. (2012, 2014) introduced and studied new Skew-Logistic, Skew-Laplace and
Skew-Normal distributions. All the distributions studied by them are symmetrical distribution about
the point 𝑥 = 0 but LLD is not symmetrical distribution. Here, we choose LLD which is already
positive skewed. Our motivation is to construct distribution with heavy tailed, which produce different
types of Skewness, and to provide better fit than other distributions.
3.1. Probability density function of SLLD
Let 𝑋 is a random variable following LLD with pdf g(x) and cdf 𝐺(𝑥) then from equation (1) and (2)
equation (7) gives the probability density function of proposed SLLD as
-./ 6).1
[F , * 0
𝑓(𝑥) = f , for 𝛼 > 0, 𝛽 > 0 and 𝑥 > 𝛾 (8)
\ -./ )
234, 0 5
*
0.16
alpha =1, beta=2 and gamma = 0

0.14
0.12
Probability density funcion of SLLD
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
x
Fig. 1. Plots of probability density of SLLD for different value of 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾
0.03
Log logistic distribuiotn for alpha = 2, beta = 23, gamma = 0
Skew Log logistic distribuiotn for alpha = 2, beta = 23, gamma = 0
0.025
0.02
Probability density function
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
x
Fig. 2. Comparative graph of LLD and SLLD for same parametric values 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾
39
3.2. Cumulative distribution function of SLLD
The cumulative distribution function of proposed SLLD is formulated as

k [ 3
𝐹(𝑥) = ∫l 𝑓(𝑥)𝑑𝑥 = 1 − -./ )
+ 6 (9)
34, 0 -./ )
* 234, * 0 5
1
Probability distribution function
0.9
0.8
0.7
a =3
0.6 b = 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22
0.5 g = 15
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
15 19 23 27 31 35 39 43 47 51 55 59 63 67 71 75 79 83 87 91 95 99
X
Fig. 3. Graph of cumulative distribution of SLLD for different value of 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾
3.3. Reliability function of SLLD
The reliability function is the characteristics of an explanatory variable that maps a set of events. It is
the probability that the system will survive beyond a specified time. The reliability function 𝑅(𝑥),
which is the probability of an item not failing prior to some-time x, is defined by 𝑅(𝑥) = 1 – 𝐹(𝑥).
The reliability function of a SLLD also known as survival function is derived as
[ 3
𝑅(𝑥) = -./ )
− 6 , for x >g (10)
34, 0 -./ )
* 234, 0 5
*
1
0.9
a =3
0.8 b = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
0.7 g = 15
0.6
Reliabiltiy Function
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71
X
Fig. 4. The plot of reliability function of SLLD with different value of 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾
40
3.4. Hazard rate function of SLLD
The other characteristic of interest of a random variable 𝑥 is the hazard rate function defined as
o(k)
ℎ(𝑥) = 3 – p(k) (11)
Thus, the hazard rate function for the SLLD, which is the conditional probability of failure, given
that it has survived up to the time, 𝑥 is derived and given as
-./ 6).1
[F , 0
ℎ(𝑥) = *
-./ ) -./ )
, for x >g (12)
\ 234, 0 5234 [ , 0 5
* *
0.18
0.16
0.14 a = 3,
Hazard Rate Function
b = 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

0.12 g = 15
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
15
19
23
27
31
35
39
43
47
51
55
59
63
67
71
75
79
83
87
91
95
99
X
Fig. 5. Plot of hazard rate function h(x) for different value of 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾
Here, Fig. 1 presents the plot of graph of probability density of proposed new distribution called
SLLD for different value of three parameters 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾. Fig. 2 depicts the comparative graph of LLD
and SLLD. Similarly, Fig. 3 gives the graph of cumulative distribution of SLLD, Fig. 4 presents the
reliability or survival function of SLLD and Fig. 5 presents the hazard rate function of SLLD for
different value of parameter 𝛼, 𝛽 and 𝛾.
4. Application to Age Specific Fertility Rates of Nepal

Asili et al. (2011) used Skew-logistic probability to fit specific fertility rates (ASFRs) of Italy. Gaire
and Aryal (2015) proposed another non-symmetrical model, Inverse Gaussian probability distribution
function, to fit the ASFRs of Nepal and used chi-square test and coefficient of determination to test
the validity of model. Here, we applied both LLD and SLLDs to the ASFRs of Nepal obtained from
Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 2016). Table-1 presents the observed value of chi
square test statistics and the coefficient of determination for LL and SLLD applied ASFRs data of
Nepal.
Table-1. Calculated value of chi-square and coefficient of determination for ASFRs of Nepal by using LLD and
SLLD
Test-Statistics Log-logistic Skew Log-logistic
c2 68.223 3.8489
R2 0.855 0.988
41
Fig. 6 present the observed ASFRs of Nepal and fitted ASFRs by both models LLD and SLLD.
The observed value of chi-square test statistics, the coefficient of determination and Fig.6 clearly
depict that the SLLD fits good for the ASFRs data of Nepal.
200
Observed ASFRs of Nepal
180
Age Specific Fertility Rates
160 Fitted by Log-logistic distribution
140 Fitted by Skew log-logistic distribution

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49
Age of Mother at The Birth of Child
Fig. 6. Observed, Log-logistic and Skew Log-logistic fit of ASFRs (2016) of Nepal
5. Conclusions
A new probability distribution model is proposed. The statistical properties are derived. The
proposed model is found to be good fit to ASFRs data of Nepal. The chi-square test statistics and the
coefficient of determination and Fig. 6 show that the proposed SLLD model is more flexible than the
LLD model. So, SLLD model may be application to fit any positive right tailed date, For example, to
estimate and forecast the peak flow and flood analysis in different river of Nepal. Also, the model is
useful to estimate the water demand in a big city. This model would be applicable in Actuarial
Science, reliability/survival analysis, Bio-statistics, Economics and different field of earthquake
engineering to approximate the observed cumulative distribution of earthquakes and to estimate the
Seismic risk and earthquake occurrence probabilities. The application, validity and suitability of
model to peak flow of flood analysis and estimation of recurrence period and probability of
occurrence of earthquake is due work.
References
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43
After the M 6.9 2011 Sikkim Earthquake the Retrofitting Policy

and Measures for the Historic Monasteries in Sikkim, India.
Sutapa Joti1, and Keya Mitra2.
Abstract
Himalaya is one of the most seismically vulnerable and tectonically active zones in the world.
Sikkim, the second smallest state in India, is situated in the highly tectonically active Himalayan
Arc. The entire state of Sikkim lies in Zone IV with maximum expected shaking intensities of
VIII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale. In the Sikkim Himalayas area, there are
several parallel fault systems like Himalayan Frontal Fault (HFF), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT),
Main Central Thrust (MCT), the Trans Himalayan Fault and the Indus-Tsangpo Suture. Underneath
Sikkim the MBT and MCT are not parallel and for this reason Sikkim experiences several major to
minor earthquakes (De & Kayal, 2003).
Sikkim, a state in North-East India, has many historical religious structures comprising mainly
of numerous old Buddhist monasteries which constitute the rich cultural heritage of the state.
After an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on 18 September 2011 at 18:11 hrs IST in Sikkim-Nepal
Border region many areas in Sikkim sustained various degrees of damages. The monasteries were
impacted highlighting the urgent need for intervention.
Literature review pointed out that little research for vulnerability of historical structures in Sikkim had
been done. Therefore, there is an urgent need for research in the sector of Risk Assessment and
Management for earthquake disaster risk reduction.
For future sustainability of the vulnerable monasteries some strong recommendations are of
dire necessity. Some guidelines, action plans and retrofitting policies are pointed out for further
considerations.
The retrofitting should be done in such a manner so that the pristine culture of the heritage is
maintained as far as possible.
Keywords: Buddhist Monasteries; Seismic retrofitting strategy; Retrofitting policies; Retrofitting measures.
1. Introduction
Sikkim, a state in north-eastern India is located between 27-28oN latitude and 88-89oE longitude, in
the Himalayan arc, between the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT), in
one of the world’s most earthquake prone areas. India’s topography, tectonic setting, geo-climatic
conditions, coupled with high population densities, a lack of disaster resistant construction practices,
and a less than stringent enforcement regime, have all contributed to making the country highly
disaster prone. In the last century, India experienced a significant number of earthquakes. Its severity
can be gauged by the fact that four earthquakes of M of 8 or more have occurred in a time period of
53 years (1897–1950), while more than 700 earthquakes of M≥5 have been recorded until 2002. The
Himalayan belt is one of the world’s most tectonically active belts.
The state divided into four districts—East, West, North, and South, inhabited mostly by Buddhists
in all districts for many centuries, is dotted with numerous monasteries dating back to 17th century.
The monasteries have faced a number of damaging earthquakes and have sustained varying levels of
damage ranging from slight to total collapse, necessitating rebuilding. For example, in the 18
September 2011 earthquake, (M 6.9 Sikkim Earthquake with epicentre located 68 km North West of
Gangtok) monasteries were among the most heavily damaged institutions with the scale of damage
ranging from hairline cracks to near total collapse.
1 Department of Architecture, Town and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and
Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, India, e-mail: arsutapa.joti@gmail.com
2 Department of Architecture, Town and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and
Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, India, e-mail: keyamitra@arch.iiests.ac.in
44
The Buddhist monasteries are places of worship for Buddhist communities and theological training
of Buddhist monks and are the key components of the cultural heritage of Sikkim. In the year 2016
Khangchendzonga National Park located in North Sikkim was Inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage
Site. This heritage site has several monasteries which are intact sites for practicing religious rituals of
Tibetan Buddhism. So, understanding the structural property, system of construction typologies are
the foremost criteria to evaluate the risk and reduce the risk using appropriate methodology.
2. Typology of the Monasteries

The state has about 250 monasteries, the oldest dating back to the seventeenth century. The early
monasteries in Sikkim were small, and built with locally available materials like mud, thatch and
bamboo, and this gave way to the use of more permanent materials such as locally available stone,
and in more recent times, even, brick and RCC structure. The single storey mud huts have evolved
into two to three storied buildings and even monasteries going to five storeys, with large precincts
accommodating several buildings to accommodate a host of activities. (Fig. 1, Fig. 2).
Fig. 1. Typical monastery Fig. 2. Elevation of a monastery
According to the structural typology the monasteries are categorized under three typologies.
i. Load bearing Structure (LBS) with stone or brick masonry-unreinforced masonry bearing wall
buildings (Fig. 3).
ii. R.C. moment resistant frame structure with brick or stone masonry infill-RCC structures with
unreinforced brick or stone masonry infill walls (Fig. 4).
iii. Timber Structures, Light wood frame single- or multiple-family dwellings of one or more stories
in height (Fig. 5).
Fig. 3. Load bearing monastery - Fig. 5. Wooden monastery - Deojung

Fig. 4. R.C.C. monastery -
Labrang “Palden Phuntshog Kartuk Monastery Mindoling Monastery
Phodrang’’ monastery
Monastery configurations used one to three storey structures with simple symmetrical geometrical
plans (square or rectangular) with a receding plan footprint in the upper stories.
45
The exterior walls are built in random rubble stone masonry, while the floors and double pitched
roofs are of timber construction, using the single post beam system. The timber frames inside are
delicately carved and the interior walls, along with timber posts, beams and openings are decorated
with religious paintings. The main floor comprises a hall for assembly, prayer and study and a front
verandah made entirely of timber or of a combination of timber frame and stone masonry. As a
general practice, the statues for worship are kept on the altar at the rear portion of the hall and this
does not allow any window openings to be made on the rear wall. Windows are placed symmetrically
on two opposite walls within the hall. Timber posts placed at the centre of the hall create a designated
central area, above which richly carved and painted timber beams are placed along one orthogonal
direction only. Wooden staircases are positioned either in the front verandah or inside the hall. Roofs
are always sloped with wooden rafters. (Fig. 6, Fig. 7).
Fig. 6. Plan of a single storeyed monastery Fig. 7. Typical grid plan of a monastery
Most of the monasteries studied were constructed without incorporating earthquake resistant
features and without complying with any codes. As a whole these monasteries have been marked as
‘Non-Standard (‘Non-Engineered’ load bearing and RCC buildings).
3. Action Plan
Properly formulated policies lead to action plan and that action plan becomes viable when those
formulated policies are practicable in different prevailing conditions.
It is imperative that the action plan should incorporate some procedures to keep the originalities of
the structures without interfering with the salient features.
It has been noticed that in most of the monasteries the main building is used for multiple activities.
It is used for prayers assembly and then as study places for students. Part of the building (usually the
upper stories) is utilized as the residence for monks. This multiple use may increase the level of
calamities.
To keep the monastery building in good condition and thus less vulnerable the simplest solution
will be to dissipate the various activities to other places. As for example, some precinct building can
be used for study purposes, some may be restructured a little for accommodation and living. Toilet
complex, kitchen and dining areas should always be located away from these precincts. During the
festival when mask dance etc are performed, the activities must be organized in the open courtyard in
46
a disciplinary way. In the sites where precincts do not exist the open areas around the monasteries can
be used to build structures using vernacular materials in engineered way.
Operational activities, effectiveness and efficiency of action plan can be improved by
1. Restricted entry – limited entry may be improvised.

2. Time split by restricted regulations.
a. Controlling the entry of number of devotees at a time.
b. The monasteries having single entry during peak hour or festival season entry and exist
should be controlled.
3. Division in activity area like prayer, schooling
4. Improving organizational resilience.
5. Preparation of all-time effective emergency evacuation.
6. Restriction or controlled movement in the vulnerable areas.
7. Community awareness and preparedness.
8. Technical education.
To make the action plan effective and viable and also to increase the stability of the structures
retrofitting is the prime operation to be undertaken.
4. Policy Guidelines
The seismic risk reduction management technology for the monasteries in pre-disaster phase should
be prepared considering various aspects. The Australia/New Zealand Risk Management Standard
(Australia and New Zealand Standards Associations, 1995, p. 360) states that “risk management is a
framework for the systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the
tasks of identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating and monitoring risk.”
Though technological aspects are of prime consideration other factors both some external and
internal related to the policy making strategies are to be considered. These factors may be (1) Social
(2) cultural (3) political (4) legal (5) regulatory (6) economical (7) financial and (8) natural; the issues
may be international, national, regional or local. Policy should include (a) plans (b) accountability, (c)
resources, (d) processes and activities. Operational policy guidelines should cover all these factors.
5. Retrofitting Philosophy
The considerations for undertaking the retrofitting are listed here. (Raghunath and Jagadish, 2018).
• To permit the structure to bend under deformation without brittle failure or loss of life during
earthquake.
• To limit the damage to minor repairable cracks when the structure is subjected to maximum
considered earthquake.
• The method of retrofitting followed should be such as not to alter or mar the architectural features
of the heritage structure
6. Retrofitting Policy
To keep the pristine identity of the historic monasteries is quite complex. The religious value must be
honoured while implying the mediatory measures. The process of mitigation should not ignore the
aesthetic value which makes it a very complex and complicated and thus special attention should be
focused on this aspect of action.
Monasteries which have been found to be unsafe from various analyses should be under main
focus in retrofitting.
47
7. Seismic Retrofitting Measures

There are many approaches and possibilities for the seismic retrofit of the monastery buildings,
but the appropriate retrofitting techniques should be used economically, using locally available
materials with suitable modifications. The retrofitting measures to be undertaken are building
specific. Before undertaking the retrofitting process the week parts as well as the parts which
have become week have to be identified. Accordingly strengthening measures have to be applied
to the weak members and also to the old structures. Inspections and supervisions should be
carried out by earthquake experts.
• The structural integrity and horizontal bending strength of the monasteries can be improved by
providing horizontal seismic bands on the interior and exterior wall surfaces, in different levels like
lintel, sill etc. It may be of reinforced concrete for R.C. monasteries, reinforced brick or wooden
runner for load bearing monasteries. The runner beams should be fitted horizontally in the walls to
tie orthogonal walls together. İn some cases these seismic bands may be made of high strength
glass-fibre reinforced plastic—GFRP (Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer).
• Strengthening of short masonry piers between window openings at the, springing level of the
opening, mid-height level and at the sill level have to be done by the introduction of further GFRP
bands. This may be suggested to prevent crushing of masonry due to rocking action. Strengthening
of wall junctions and wall corners have to be done to protect the corners from local failures by
introducing vertical reinforcement at wall corners with externally bonded GFRP sheets and
covering the corners by rich cement mortar or micro concrete. For the proper distribution of the
seismic forces, the wall-floor connections are improved by providing MS angle brackets with an
arm length 0.25m at every 2.0m interval (Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10).
Fig. 8. Strengthening of masonry piers Fig. 9. Retrofitting on wall
Fig. 10. Strengthening of wall junctions and wall corner

• In some cases, a cast-in-place ferro-cement plates are used as a seismic belt instead of seismic band
in masonry walls (specified in IS 4326 and IS 13828). Sometimes steel stirrup or steel angles are
strapped with the old R.C.C. columns. The strapping is covered by concreting. (Fig. 11).
48
Fig. 11. Seismic belt
• Cracks in the structures are indicative of the extent of damages. During the inspections of various
monasteries various cracks are noticed, of which two common type of cracks are predominant.
These are (i) live cracks (ii) dead cracks. The live cracks are those which get expanded slowly with
time whereas dead cracks do not expand. Nature of the cracks as well as their size, spread etc have
to be identified for repairing and retrofitting.
• Cracks are one of the damage indications of the structures. Various types of cracks have been
found on the monastery walls of which two types – dead and live cracks are predominant. The live
cracks are those which will expand slowly with time and the cracks which are not getting expanded
are called as dead crack. At first nature of the cracks should be identified account to their size,
spread etc.
For reasonably small cracks (width = 0.75mm or less) to restore the original strength and to stop
further expansion. ‘Pressure Injection of Epoxy resin ‘or ‘Grouting’ technique are generally followed
(Fig. 12).
Fig. 12. Pressure Injections Epoxy resin or grouting technique
In the case of larger cracks special type of strong mortar is used to fill up the gaps. Mortars are of
different types – (i) expansive cement mortar (ii) quick setting cement mortal (iii) gypsum cement
mortar. According to the condition and position of the crack steel mesh can be used. Steel mesh can
be fixed up over the cracks with bolts or nails on either one or both the surfaces of the wall or floor
diaphragms (Fig. 13). Wire mesh with width > 400 mm can be used in appropriate areas.
Fig. 13. Wire Mesh on both sides of wall cracks
49
• For restoring the strength ‘Patching’ and ‘Stitching’ are two different types of seismic repair to the
cracks. İn ‘Stitching’ reinforced bar of 8 or 10 mm diameter are provided across the cracks at a
distance equal to the width of wall (Fig. 14). İn ‘Patching’ method some additional structural
elements are introduced. In both cases the repaired surface is replasterd with cement or micro
concrete.
Fig. 14. ‘Stitching’ on diagonal crack
• All the monasteries inspected have sloped roof with G.I sheet cover. As flexible diaphragms are
prone to detachment during shaking, fixing up the roof truss and the wall below is necessary to
avoid detachment. Proper bracing, welding, clamping has to be done between the roof diaphragm
and walls. To reduce the torsional effects suitable bracings between diaphragms and walls have to
be incorporated. For reinforcement both the vertical and horizontal planes are secured with
diagonal bracings.
• ‘Jacketing’ is another form of seismic strengthening of old structural parts of the structures. In the
R.C.C. monasteries old damaged columns and in in few cases R.C.C. beams are losing their
strength. In that case old columns or beams are required to be wrapped up with extra
reinforcement. This method is called ‘Jacketing’ (Fig. 15). After ‘Jacketing’ the repaired element
is covered up with cement concrete. Jacketing of RC columns in the open ground story is most
essential.
Fig. 15. Jacketing
• Introduction of shear walls is very effective to resist lateral force in its own plane. In few cases
shear walls can be constructed with subtlety without hampering the historic and religious
significance of the original structures. For example, in most of the monasteries the deities are
placed at the back, so the back-side walls have no window and these backside walls may be
converted to shear walls.
Apart from these general measures mentioned above there are many other possible and suitable
ways and means to improve the strength, effectiveness and capacities of building components. Many
possibilities will come out from the studies of the future researchers which will help to improve the
method of strengthening techniques to the age-old monasteries in much better ways.
50
8. Stakeholders
The refitting policies may be handled by the monastery authorities but pre and post disaster policy
should be taken care of by all the stake holders involved in safeguarding the historic religious
structures. The value to the community of heritage buildings and character areas must be appreciated
by all the stakeholders. The following tentative participation entities play significant roles. Strategic
involvements in participatory planning by stakeholders can make the work more considerable and
successful. The participating stakeholders may be the followings –
a) Sikkim State Disaster Management Group

b) Ecclesiastical department of Sikkim
c) Crisis Management Committee
d) State Relief Commissioner through office of Department of Relief
e) Governments Departments – PWD, NDMA
f) District Administration, headed by the District Magistrate
g) Local Authorities, including Municipal Corporation, Zilla Parishad, Block
h) Panchayat Samity, Gram Panchayat, Gram Sansad
i) Voluntary agencies including NGOs
j) Public sector; Private sector & Community
9. Conclusion
For the protection of the vulnerable monasteries several systematic steps have to be undertaken. From
this study on the earthquake vulnerability assessment of Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim, it was
concluded that the following are the key issues in ensuring the preservation of these structures,
already weakened by past earthquakes. These are, (1) improving structural integrity, (2) applying
engineered retrofitting interventions incorporating earthquake resistant features, (3) ensuring regular
maintenance (4) conducting awareness and sensitization programmes for monastery administrators,
(5) providing regular technical capacity building for masons in a sustained manner to ensure
continuity in the delivery of technical services.
The September 2011 Sikkim earthquake has brought the focus on the earthquake vulnerability of
the historical structures—mainly the monasteries—and the need for structured risk reduction
interventions. These monasteries are much more than places of worship. They are the repositories of
history and culture, and the genius loci for the local communities. Every effort must be made to
improve the resilience of these structures before the next earthquake strikes.
References
Australia and New Zealand Standards Associations. (1995). The Australia/New Zealand Risk Management
Standard. Australia and New Zealand Standard #4360, Sydney and Auckland.
Bhattacharya, S. P. & Sarkar, S. (2006). Post-earthquake assessment, repair and retrofitting of damaged
components. National workshop on earthquake resistant design for the built environment, Jan 6-7, 2006.
http://www.sikkimeccl.gov.in (Last accessed on 09/09/2018).
IS 13828 : 1993. Indian Standard Improving Earthquake Resistance of Low Strength Masonry Buildings —
Guidelines. Bureau of Indian Standards. New Delhi.
IS 13935 : 2009. Indian Standard Seismic Evaluation, Repair and Strengthening of Masonry Buildings —
Guidelines. Bureau of Indian Standards. New Delhi.
IS 4326 : 1993. Indian Standard Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction of Buildings — Code of
Practice. Bureau of Indian Standards. New Delhi.
IS 456: 2000. Indian Standard Plain and Reinforced Concrete -Code of Practice. Bureau of Indian Standards.
New Delhi.
Raghunath, S., &Jagadish, K. S. (2018). Dynamic Modelling of Ujjayanta Palace—A Heritage Load-Bearing
Masonry Building. In: Recent Advances in Structural Engineering, 2, 25-37.
Seeber, L., Armbruster, J. G., & Quittmeyer, R. C. (1981). Seismicity and continental subduction in the
Himalayan arc. Zagros Hindu Kush Himalaya Geodynamic Evolution, 215-242.
51
Estimation of VS30 by the HVSR Method at a Site in the

Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Rama M Pokhrel1, Charlotte E L Gilder2, Paul J Vardanega3, Flavia De Luca4,
Maximilian J Werner5 and Prem N Maskey6
Abstract
The SAFER (Seismic Safety and Resilience of Schools in Nepal) project work package “New
generation seismic hazard for Nepal” aims to produce relevant outcomes for earthquake engineers
working in Nepal. In order to improve disaster risk management, enhanced seismic hazard assessment
is needed. Previous studies show there is insufficient geotechnical data in Kathmandu Valley to
prepare a realistic hazard map. The SAFER project aims in part to collect and obtain new geotechnical
data to assist with this aim. This paper presents data from a recent seismic microtremor test
undertaken in the Kathmandu Valley.
Keywords: HVSR; Kathmandu Valley; VS30
1. Introduction
The capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu was seriously damaged by the Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake in
2015 (Goda et al. 2015). The Kathmandu Valley is within a seismic prone region in Central Nepal and
has been severely damaged in the past (e.g. Rana, 1935; Pandey & Molnar, 1988). The geotechnical
and geophysical information available for seismic hazard assessment in Nepal is scarce (e.g. JICA,
2002). The SAFER (Seismic Safety and Resilience of Schools in Nepal) project commissioned two
new boreholes in the Kathmandu Valley: for further details see Gilder et al. (2019). This paper
presents results of a microtremor study at one of the SAFER borehole locations, in the Kathmandu
Valley.
2. Geology of the Kathmandu Valley

As described by Sakai (2001) “The Kathmandu Basin is an intermontane basin located in the Central
Himalaya and surrounded by mountains of 2,500 to 3,000 m above sea level”. The basin originated by
tectonic collision between the Indian and Eurasian plate, creating a complex thrust system which
produced the Shivapuri mountain range to the north and Chandragiri and Phulchauki mountain ranges
to the southwest and south respectively (Stӧcklin, 1980). The geology of the Kathmandu Valley (for
the purposes of seismic hazard assessment) can be considered to be in two main parts. First, are the
metamorphic rocks (referred to as the ‘basement’) underlying the valley at depth, second is the
overlying younger fluvio-deltaic, lacustrine and recent valley sediments. The distribution of these
sediments is shown on the geological map presented in Fig. 1 which is based on the Department of
Mines and Geology – Engineering and Environmental Geological Map of the Kathmandu Valley
(Shrestha et al. 1998). At some localities the basement rocks within the valley floor protrude above
the sediments.
The basement rocks are part of the Kathmandu Complex and form a synclinorium bounded by the
Mahabharat Thrust (Stӧcklin, 1980; Gehrels et al. 2006). Knowledge of the basement topography in
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, r.pokhrel@bristol.ac.uk

2 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, charlotte.gilder@bristol.ac.uk
3 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, p.j.vardanega@bristol.ac.uk
4 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK flavia.deluca@bristol.ac.uk
5 School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, max.werner@bristol.ac.uk
6 Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, pnmaskey@live.com
52
the Valley is important as it contributes to the unusual amplification effects seen within the Valley: a
common phenomenon known to occur in basins (Asimaki et al. 2017). The depth of the basement has
been estimated using gravity measurements to be at its deepest approximately 650 m beneath
Baneswor (positioned centrally within the Valley) and reduces in thickness towards the Valley edges
and outcropping bedrock (Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980). The thick semi-consolidated sediments are
derived from the surrounding mountain ranges and are divided into seven main stratigraphic units (see
Sakai et al. 2008 for overview of stratigraphic age relationships). The seven units categorised by Sakai
et al. (2008) are the Dharmasthali, Kalimati, Gorkarna, Thimi, Tokha, and Patan Formations
representing the northern part of the Valley, including again both the Patan and Kalimati, with
additionally the Bagmati Formation for the central part of the Valley. Other stratigraphic units are
described in the literature, including alternative ways of characterising the sediments such as Yoshida
& Gautam (1988), and Sakai (2001), but perhaps represent an outdated perspective. Shrestha et al.
(1998) present material units based on an engineering perspective, which remains a commonly used
resource, as the distribution according to Shrestha et al. (1998) is presented on the engineering
geology map (as in Fig. 1). However, the distribution of these sediments beneath the valley is
uncertain as they consist of stratified and interfingering layers of sand, silts, clays and gravel with
some carbonaceous mud, clay, and lithified organic matter (Sakai et al. 2008).
The Gokarna Formation is a fluvio-deltaic deposit only distributed in the northern part of the
valley; around Gokarna, the Bishnumati river section, and north of Bhaktapur (Yoshida & Igarashi,
1984) comprising sand, silty clay and grey to dark brown peat (Yoshida & Igarashi, 1984). The Patan
Formation is distributed mainly around Patan and Kathmandu city with isolated outcrops along
Bagmati and Manohara rivers. This is considered to be a distal portion of the fluvio-deltaic
depositional system, comprising laminated silt, clay, and peat layers with lesser amounts of sand. A
deep borehole drilled for palaeo-climatic purposes reveals a sequence of black organic mud known as
the Kalimati Clay which underlies the Valley at depth, outcropping centrally and within the southern
portion of the Valley (Fujii & Sakai, 2002).
3. Geophysical Methods
3.1 Shear wave velocity in earthquake engineering
In design codes such as Eurocode 8 (CEN, 2004) the local soil conditions are classified by defining
the average shear-wave velocity from the surface to 30m depth (VS30). Shear-wave velocity can be
measured using down-hole seismic, cross-hole seismic, and up-hole seismic methods (e.g., Luna &
Jadi, 2000), Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) (e.g., Park et al. 1999); or microtremor
measurement techniques (e.g., Tallett-Williams et al. 2016). Shear-wave velocity can also be
estimated via correlations with parameters such as the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) N value (e.g.,
Ohta & Goto, 1978; Jafari et al. 2002; Dikmen, 2009; Gautam, 2017). Kriging analysis can mitigate
the lack of data to some extent (e.g., Stein, 2012; Pokhrel et al. 2013). The major barrier to accurately
preparing seismic hazard maps of the Kathmandu Valley is insufficient geotechnical data (e.g., Gilder
et al. 2018). Analysis of the ground using non-invasive, passive techniques such as microtremor, is
useful in the context of developing countries, where intrusive methods cannot be easily employed
(Bard, 1999).
3.2 HVSR technique
The Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) is a technique that can be used for the study of site
response (Nakamura, 1989; Mucciarelli & Gallipoli, 2004; Mahajan et al. 2012; Flores et al. 2013).
The HVSR technique records three components, two horizontal (perpendicular to each other) and one
vertical, to measure the ambient seismic vibrations from the earth surface. Microtremors are made up
of both natural and anthropogenic noise. The latter could be due to traffic, industrial vibrations etc.
“The surface waves are assumed to be predominantly elliptical Rayleigh waves which are frequency
dependant in a non-homogenous layered medium (Kramer 1996)” (Tallett-Williams et al. 2016). The
main assumption associated with the method is that “a sharp peak (can be observed) at the
fundamental frequency of the sediments, when there is a high impedance contrast between the
sediments and underlying bedrock” (Gosar, 2017). While the method does have limitations, in a data
53
scarce region, it provides quick assessment of the shear wave velocity at a specific location for use in
seismic hazard assessment. The method has been used in the Kathmandu Valley in previous studies
by Paudyal et al. (2012, 2013) and Tallett-Williams et al. (2016) who also used microtremor
techniques in different locations in the Kathmandu Valley after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake.
Fig. 1. Engineering and environmental geological map of Kathmandu Valley (modified from Shrestha et al.
(1998) and location of SAFER boreholes BH-1 and BH-2.
4. Present Study
The SAFER project commissioned two boreholes (BH-1 and BH-2) and the locations are shown on
Fig. 1 (Gilder et al. 2019). Analysis of the distribution of previously measured seismic shear wave
velocity data assisted in the selection of the locations of the two SAFER boreholes, but also by
identifying the optimal trade-off between geological and geotechnical interest of the area and
vulnerability from earthquake hazard (e.g., vicinity to school buildings) (see Gilder et al. 2018 for
further details). BH-1 is located in the school premises of the Padma Kanya School, Dillibazar [Fig.
2(a)] and BH-2 is located at Bijeshwori near Gita Mata School [Fig. 2(b)]. At BH-1, down-hole
seismic testing was carried out and the results are reported in Gilder et al. (2019). The purpose of this
paper is to present the results of the microtremor testing that was undertaken at the location of BH-2.
54
It was the intention of the authors to undertake downhole testing at both locations, however, during
the period between boring and testing at BH-2 the borehole collapsed. The details of the borehole logs
and geotechnical testing undertaken for both the boreholes are reported in a forthcoming paper (Gilder
et al. 2019).
Fig. 2. Photos taken at (a) Kanya School Dillibazar (BH-1) and (b) Bijeshowri (BH-2)
(Photos: R. M. Pokhrel)
4.1 Microtremor data and HVSR analysis
The field measurement of seismic ambient vibrations was undertaken using a Tromino® acquisition
system. Fig. 3(a) shows the data collected with the system operating over a 20-minute period. Fig.
3(b) shows the azimuth of the recorded components.
Fig. 3. Showing the time and directional history of the microtremor record (a) frequency-time history and (b)
frequency-azimuth data. The colour scales indicate the relative amount of data acquired at each frequency
interval (the images were taken as a screen shot during analysis by the software).
The analysis of the recording has been carried out in the software Grilla which accompanies the
Tromino® portable instrument. This is undertaken by dividing the signal into windows of length (time
in seconds). The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is then computed for each window (e.g., Kearey &
Brooks, 1984). In this study a 20 second window was selected. Fig. 4(a) shows the three components,
N-S, E-W and Up-Down. These spectra have been obtained using a triangular smoothing function
with a width equal to 10%. The final average HVSR function is then computed within the software,
obtained by averaging the HVSR at each window: shown as a red line in Fig. 4(b).
55
Fig. 4. (a) Converted recordings to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), note the clear
gap between horizontal and vertical components between 0.6 to 10 Hz. (b) H/V spectral ratios obtained at the
site. The red line is the average H/V and black lines are the 95% confidence intervals. (c) Synthetic H/V spectra
for Vs estimation from constrained H/V fitting (plots were digitised from output screenshots from the software).
In Fig. 4(a) there is a clear gap between the horizontal components (N-S and E-W lines) and the
vertical component (U-D) from frequency 0.6 to 10, indicating the position in the spectra where
frequencies are being amplified, due to a number of multi-reflections occurring at this interval (e.g.,
SESAME, 2004; Tallett-Williams et al. 2016). Fig. 4(b) shows the spectral ratio between horizontal
and vertical ambient vibrations is shown in two clear peaks at points corresponding with overlap of N-
S and E-W components of Fig. 4(a). The number of peaks depends on the number of stratigraphically
contrasting layers. During the analysis the third peak seen in Fig. 4(b) did not meet the criteria of a
clear H/V peak according to SESAME guidelines (SESAME, 2004). As the thickness of the surface
layer is known from the borehole log to be about 11m, and the first peak is at a frequency of 5 Hz
[depicted by the synthetic model shown in Fig. 4(c)] the velocity of the first layer is calculated by
equation 1 (cf. Kramer 1996):
f0 = Vs / (4T) (1)
where f0 is frequency, Vs is shear wave velocity and T is the thickness of each individual layer (cf.
Kramer, 1996). The remaining shear wave velocities are then calculated using an iterative process
within the software until a profile of site response is obtained. Although this method is not intended
for use for identification of small-scale variation of shear wave velocity, the results from the
microtremor technique can be used to indicate any large-scale velocity differences in the underlying
sequence. The results indicate there are three layers with distinct shear wave velocities. This profile of
shear wave velocity with predicted depth is presented in Fig. 5. Further details of this geophysical
profile, including the depth, thickness, and velocities are presented in Table 1. It should be noted that
56
the results presented in this paper are based on a single measurement i.e. an array pattern was not
used.
The microtremor technique shows an upper layer exists from the ground surface to a depth of
11.5m below ground level (bgl), indicative of loose or soft soil with a predicted shear wave velocity
of 220 m/s. Secondly, a middle layer of denser material with an estimated thickness of approximately
90m has a shear wave velocity of 470 m/s. Below 101.5 m depth the shear wave velocity is estimated
to be approximately 900 m/s.
By way of comparison with design codes, VS30 values with velocities of above 800 m/s (CEN,
2004) or 760 m/s (ASCE, 2010) are attributed to be consistent with rock. Additionally, mean VS30
values of geological units in California indicate varying velocity with rock type, with sandstones,
volcanic and metamorphic units ranging from 515 m/s to 782 m/s (see Table 1 in Wills & Clahan,
2006). The material types presented in Fig. 5 for Kathmandu are by geophysical interpretation.
Similar past research (Paudyal et al. 2012 and 2013) show depths to velocities consistent with rock of
approximately 96m bgl at the BH-2 location: this HSVR study indicates that velocities consistent with
rock are present from 101.5m below ground level.
Fig. 5. The synthetically modelled Vs profile (data shown was digitised from the screenshots outputted by
the analysis software)
Table 1: Results obtained from HVSR technique at BH-2
Depth at the bottom of the layer [m] Thickness [m] Vs [m/s]

1.5 11.5 220
101.5 90.0 470
Unproven (presumed bedrock) not known 900
4.2 Comparison of microtremor data with the borehole records
For comparison with the microtremor data, the borehole log of the soil profile obtained at BH-2 is
presented in Fig. 6. The log shows there below an initial layer of Made Ground there are soft (SPT-N
values between 2 and 8) organic clayey silts extending from 1.90m to 10.85 m bgl. Below 10.85 m, a
horizon of sandstone was encountered. This sandstone is shown in the photograph presented in Fig.
6(c). Interpretation of this layer is difficult due to the poor recovery and there is a lack of information
regarding the fracture spacing and the orientation of these discontinuities. However, the layer can be
assumed to be indicative of either an in situ highly weathered/fractured rock or alternatively a
transported boulder of at least 9.25 m thick (proven to 20 m depth). In any case, the microtremor
result indicates at this depth a layer of a lower shear wave velocity than would be expected for this
57
type of deposit. An additional consideration is that the position of BH-2 is in an urban area of the
valley, but also very near to the Swayambhu stupa, a hillock with bedrock exposure. Due to its
location, just downhill of this outcrop, it is possible that the BH-2 site is at a marginal part of the
valley, and the microtremor survey is underestimating the shear wave velocity at depth at this
location.
Looking at the closest previous measurement of shear wave velocity at a location presented by
JICA (2002), at the Fire Brigade Compound on New Road, in similar clayey silt materials of the
Kalimati Formation, shear wave velocities of 118 m/s at 20 m depth and 220 m/s at 22 m depth were
recorded. This is comparable to the values for the same materials presented in this study, even though
the deposits are encountered at a shallower depth. The VS30 calculated for this location is 327 m/s.
Fig. 6. (a) Record of the geotechnical borehole log at BH-2 (b) at the investigation site (BH-2) showing a
photograph of a sample of the organic clay encountered between 1.70 m and 10.85 m in BH-2 (c) and core
samples of bluish grey sandstone encountered between 10.85 m to 20.0 m depth (recovery representative of
9.15m of drilling) Photos: R. M. Pokhrel, 2018.
5. Conclusion
This paper presents the results of a microtremor investigation at the Bijeshwori site in the Kathmandu
Valley. The microtremor data indicates that two intervals of high acoustic impedance exist: at around
11.0m and approximately 100 m below BH-2. At BH-2, the average shear wave velocity for the first
30m depth has been estimated at 327 m/s. The VS30 measured at this site is higher than the previously
measured data available for the Kathmandu Valley. At this location it is suggested that the effect of
the seismic response due to the site location on the edge of the basin is driving the amplification
observed by the in the damage patterns exhibited in this part of the city and this may be outweighing
the amplification effects due to soft sediments.
Further work is required to ascertain whether the sandstone encountered in BH-2 represents a
boulder or fractured bedrock. If the subsurface is intact rock, presumably the value of VS30 would be
even higher at this location if downhole shear wave measurements were taken. Given the uncertainties
relating to the microtremor method, it is the view of the authors that the current depth to basement
topography may currently be over-estimated using the microtremor technique, particularly in areas
adjacent to the basement outcrops distributed throughout the valley.
58
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council
(EPSRC) for the project “Seismic Safety and Resilience of Schools in Nepal” SAFER (EP/P028926/1). The
second author acknowledges the support of EPSRC (EP/R51245X/1). Members of the consulting company
Earth Investigation and Solution Nepal Pvt. Ltd, in particular, Surendra Shrestha, Dambar Shrestha, Raju Joshi
are acknowledged for assisting with the drilling works and SPT testing carried out for the two new boreholes as
part of the SAFER project. The authors thank geophysicist, Surendra Pant for performing the seismic survey.
The digitised data used to reproduce Fig. 4 and 5 are available to bona fide researchers upon request.
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60
Effect of Setback on Fundamental Period of RCC Framed

Structure
Satish Paudel1, Aayusha Pradhananga2, Anushuya Khadka3, Manjila Shrestha4
and Rabina Bista5
Abstract
To characterize the ground motion and structural behavior, design codes provide a Response spectrum
which describes the peak responses of structure as a function of natural vibration period. Therefore it
is necessary to study of natural vibration period of building to understand the seismic response of
building. The behavior of a multi-storey framed building during earthquake motions depends on the
distribution of mass, stiffness, and strength in both the horizontal and vertical planes of the building.
Period of setback buildings are found to be less than that of similar regular building. Fundamental
period of a framed building without infill stiffness depends not only on the height of the building but
also on the bay width, irregularity and other structural and geometric parameters. It is not proper to
relate the fundamental period of a framed building to height only as given in design code. Setback
building show decrease in time period. Higher mode effect also increases as setback level is increased
which is contrary to regular buildings in which first mode always dominates the response. Increase in
displacement occurs for increase in setback level. Inter-storey drift are seen to decrease in storey
lower to setback level and increase in storey above set back level.
From the analysis, it has been seen that the fundamental period of a setback building changes when
the configuration of the building changes, even if the overall height remains the same. This study
shows that it is difficult to quantify the irregularity in a setback building with any single parameter.
Also, this study indicates that there is very poor correlation between fundamental periods of three
dimensional buildings with any of the parameters used to define the setback irregularity by the
previous researchers or design codes.
Keywords: Geometric Irregularity; Setback Building; Fundamental Period
1. Introduction
A major earthquake struck on 25th April 2015 (2072 Baishakh, 12) of Magnitude 7.8 and about 9,000
people were killed, many thousands more were injured, and more than 600,000 structures in
Kathmandu and other nearby towns were either damaged/destroyed, Shrestha (2015). Still our country
is prone to greater earthquakes, so it is of paramount importance to construct buildings that are
earthquake resistance to reduce the loss of life and properties. So, the building is analysed for
Earthquake as lateral load.
During an earthquake, failure of structure starts at points of weakness. Generally weakness is due
to geometry, mass discontinuity and stiffness of structure. The structures having this discontinuity are
termed as irregular structures. These structures contain a large portion of urban infrastructure. Hence
structures fail during earthquakes due to vertical irregularity.
A setback is one of the most common types of vertical irregularity in the modern buildings which
introduces staggered abrupt reductions in floor area along the height of the building. The functional
and aesthetic requirements are the main reasons for preference of these structures. These buildings are
very useful in urban areas, where the buildings are closely spaced. In such areas, these buildings
provide the adequate sunlight and ventilation for the bottom storeys, in addition; it approves with the
1 Civil Engineering and Technology , Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology,Thailand satish@nce.edu.np

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Himalayan WhiteHouse International College, Latitpur, Nepal. aayusha.me@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Himalayan WhiteHouse International College, Latitpur, Nepal. anushuyasuyasha@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Himalayan WhiteHouse International College`, Latitpur, Nepal. stha.manjila@gmail.com
5 Department of Civil Engineering, Himalayan WhiteHouse International College`, Latitpur, Nepal. rabinabista20@gmail.com
61
building bye law restrictions of 'Floor area ratio'. The setback affects the mass, strength, stiffness,
centre of mass and centre of stiffness of setback building.
Dynamic characteristics of such buildings differ from the regular building due to changes in
geometrical and structural property. Design codes are not clear about the definition of building height
for computation of fundamental period. The bay wise variation of height in setback building makes it
difficult to compute natural period of such buildings.
Fig. 1. Classification of types of irregularity in building
The salient objectives of the present study is to perform a parametric study of the fundamental
period of different types of reinforced concrete moment resisting frames (MRF) with varying number
of stories, number of bays, configuration, and types of irregularity and to compare the fundamental
periods of each structure calculated using code empirical equations and Rayleigh methods with
fundamental period based on modal analysis. Further, the seismic response of building structures
having setback and its comparison with reference to regular building have been performed and the
seismic responses are compared in terms of Modal Characteristics, Lateral Displacements and Inter-
storey Drifts.
The structures having discontinuity are generally termed as irregular structures. The classification
of types of irregularity in building is presented in Fig.1.
2. Literature Review
The research works regarding setback irregularity started in early 1970s, Humar (1977), who
conducted analytical studies on buildings with a setback, and observed higher drift demand at the
upper portion of the setback. Moelhe (1984), conducted both experimental and analytical study on
R.C. frames with setbacks. Based on results of his analytical studies, it was observed that damage
concentration was greater near vicinity of the setback, Aranda (1984), also observed greater ductility
demand at the tower portion of the setback, as compared to the base portion. Shahrooz &Moehle
(1990), studied the effect of setback on the earthquake response of multi-storey building. However,
Wood (1992), observed similar seismic behaviour of building frames, with and without setbacks.
Karavallis et al. (2008), conducted parametric study on the multi-story steel frames with setback
irregularity. These frames were designed in accordance with EC 8 seismic code provisions. The time
history analysis method was employed to create a seismic response databank consisting of parameters
like number of stories, irregularity index, and beam to column strength ratio. Results of analytical
study suggested that the Inter-storey Drift Ratio (IDR) increased with increase in storey height and
tower portion of setback experienced maximum deformation as compared to the base portion.
Sarkar et al. (2010), proposed a new method of quantifying irregularity in stepped building frames,
which accounts for dynamic characteristics i.e. mass and stiffness. This paper discusses some of the
key issues regarding analysis and design of stepped buildings. They concluded that regularity index
increases with increase in number of storey’s, and the rate of increase being stiffer when the number
62
of storey’s per step increases. Also, the concluded that, for any given number of storey, the regularity
index is least when the number of stores per step is largest. Thus the proposed irregularity index is
able to capture effectively the irregularity caused due to the various geometrical stepped
configurations.
Young (2011), presented a study in the determination of the fundamental period of vibration of
structures with geometric irregularities. This study investigated the fundamental periods of three
different types of steel earthquake-resistant building structures: moment resisting frames (MRF),
concentrically braced frames (CBF), and eccentrically braced frames (EBF) with varying geometric
H D
irregularities. They proposed two factors as Hav and Dav , and performed a regression along with overall
Hav
building height to compute the fundamental period of the building. They defined H
as the ratio of
Dav
weighted average height of building to the overall height of the building and as the ratio of
D
weighted average width of building to the overall width of the building. They proposed an equation
for the calculation of fundamental period the irregular steel MRF building of the form as shown
below:
/01 *.3, 401 *.5*
𝑇 = 0.071(𝐻*.+, ) . /
2 . 4
2 (1)
Through statistical comparison, it was found that a 3-variable power model which is able to
account for irregularities resulted in a better fit to the Rayleigh data than equations which were
dependent on height only. The proposed equations were validated through a comparison of available
measured period data. For braced frames, the proposed equations were also compared with a database
of examples from literature.
Murty (2012), gives the concepts in behaviour of buildings during earthquake. It talks about
natural period, mode shape, and ground motion characteristics, earthquake capacity of building. This
study explains about the natural period and buildings behaviour.
As per IS 1893:2002 buildings having simpler regular geometry and uniformly distributed mass
and stiffness in plan as well as in elevation, suffer much less damage then buildings with irregular
configurations. Design code recommends dynamic analysis to obtain the design seismic force for all
irregular buildings. ASCE 7:2010 and Euro Code 8 specify similar guidelines. This chapter discusses
about the analysis and design considerations of setback buildings only.
All design code recommends performing dynamic analysis on setback buildings to obtain design
seismic forces, and its distribution to different levels along the height of the building. Codes
recommend modifying the response quantities (such as base shear) to be scaled up to a factor if the
response from dynamic analysis is less than the response calculated using the empirical equation of
fundamental time period. The response quantity is to be scaled up by a factor which is the ratio of
base shear using empirical equations to the base shear using dynamic analysis. Hence the use and
adaptability of empirical equations of fundamental time period recommended in codes are discussed
for irregular building frames in this study.
The fundamental time period of a building depends on building material, building type and overall
dimension of the building. The fundamental period of building should be known to the designer
before designing, so as to compute the design seismic base shear. The fundamental period for a
building that is yet to be designed cannot be computed, so the design codes recommend certain
empirical equations for determination of fundamental time period.
The fundamental natural period of vibration, Ta (in seconds), of a RC moment resisting frame of
overall height h (in meter) without brick infill, as per IS 1893:2002 is given by
𝑇6 = 0.075(ℎ)*.+, (2)
For the determination of fundamental natural period of vibration, T (in seconds), of a RC moment
resisting frame of overall height hn (in meter) Uniform Building Code 94 recommends the formula as
shown:
𝑇6 = 0.0731(ℎ: )*.+, (3)
In a similar way as per ASCE 7:2010, the approximate fundamental period Ta (in second) of a
structure with over all height hn (in meter) for a RC moment resisting frame building is given by:
63
𝑇6 = 0.0466(ℎ: )*.= (4)
ASCE 7:2010 permits to determine fundamental period Ta (in second) of RC buildings from the
following equation for structures not exceeding 12 stories in height provided storey height to be at
least 3 m. The equation is of the following form where, N is the number of stories:
𝑇6 = 0.1𝑁 (5)
The code specifies that the fundamental period may be determined through an alternative
substantiated analysis such as normal mode analysis or Rayleigh’s method, both of which require the
use of a computer program, making these theory-based methods of determining the fundamental
period cumbersome for most practicing engineers. The Rayleigh equation is based on structural
properties and deformational characteristics. Rayleigh’s formula for the computation of fundamental
period T (in second) is given by:
∑G (CD ED )F
𝑇6 = 2𝜋AJ DHI
∑G
(6)
DHI(KD ED )
where,
wi = the portion of the total seismic dead load located at or assigned to level i;
δi = the horizontal displacement at level i relative to the base due to applied lateral forces;
g = acceleration due to gravity; and fi = the lateral force at level i.
Rayleigh’s formula is recommended in New Zealand code of practice and ASCE 7:2010 also
recommends use of Rayleigh formula limiting the variation in results from Equation 6 to be not more
than 30 percent. All the above empirical equations of fundamental period mentioned in codes are
function of overall building height and does not account for the stepped variations in height,
applicable for setback buildings. However, Rayleigh’s formula is based on the structural properties
and deformational characteristics of the resisting elements and is a more rational approach. It is seen
from analysis that the fundamental period of a stepped building changes when the nature of stepped
configuration changes even although the height remains unchanged.
Generally, the time period decreases with increased irregularity due to stepping. In many cases,
this can lead to significant under-estimation of base shear particularly for tall buildings whose
fundamental time period falls in the ‘constant velocity’ region of the response spectrum.
Rao (2011), The empirical formula given by IS 1893 (Part 1): 2002 gives the same time period
values for the buildings with different shapes. After modelling those buildings in STAAD and the
time periods thus obtained shows different time period values. This is because of the buildings are
having different shapes and different stiffness characteristics. The values which are obtained by using
the suggested formula, when compared show a very less variation. According to code IS 1893 (Part-
1): 2002 the time period is calculated by using the formula given below.
*.*=L
𝑇6 = (7)
√N
For the same buildings, if the time period is calculated by using STAAD software then a variation
in the values of time period is observed. This variation in the value of time period is because of the
difference in the shape of the buildings. Because of this irregularity the structure has become flexible
and the time period has been increased. Consider the following buildings,
If d1=d2=d
*.*=L
𝑇6 = (8)
√N
If d1≠d2 then
*.*=L
𝑇6 = (9)
ONP
d1 ´ d 2
where, d e =
d1 ´ d 2
64
d1 d2 d1
d2
Fig. 2. Time period for irregular plan
3. Analysis Methodology
For the analysis of the structure various methods are developed till date which includes Linear static
(Seismic Coefficient), Linear Dynamic (Response Spectrum), Non-Linear static (Push-over Analysis)
and Non-Linear Dynamic (Time History Analysis). Among the various methods Time History
Analysis is the most accurate method but the time and memory allocated is quite high so to make the
exact analysis of the structure for performance evaluation Push-over Analysis method is widely used.
In our study seismic coefficient method and response spectrum method is used.
The major objective of this research is to investigate the seismic performance of RC Building with
various levels of setback.
There are many analysis methods that are applicable for the analysis of the structure. Following are
the major analysis methods we used:
3.1 Seismic coefficient method:
Indian Standard IS 1893 contains provisions for both static analysis and dynamic analysis of
buildings. Static analysis using equivalent lateral force procedure is restricted to regular buildings
having height less than 40 m and irregular buildings having height less than 12 m in seismic Zone V.
For static analysis, the static forces in the structure are derived from the design seismic base shear (Vb)
given by:
𝑉R = 𝐴L (10)
where, W is the seismic weight of the building equal to full dead load plus fraction of live load,
and Ah, is the design horizontal acceleration spectrum value as per 6.4.2 (IS 1893:2002 Part I), using
the fundamental natural period Ta in the considered direction of vibration.
3.2 Response spectrum method:
In dynamic analysis using response spectrum, contributions from higher modes of vibration are taken
into account by combining peak response quantities (member forces, displacements, story forces, and
story shears and base reactions) from each mode of vibration. Number of modes to be used in the
analysis is determined by the requirement that the sum total of modal masses of all modes considered
is at least 90 percent of the total seismic mass.
Response spectrum analysis is characterized mainly by four parameters: modal mass, modal
participation factors, mode shape coefficient and modal natural period. Modal mass is a part of total
seismic mass of the structure that is effective in mode k of vibration, while modal participation factor
of mode k of vibration is the amount by which mode k contributes to the overall vibration of the
structure. Similarly, mode shape coefficient is the ratio of the amplitude of mass i to the amplitude of
one of the masses of the system when vibrating in normal mode k, and the modal natural period is the
time period of vibration in mode k.
65
4. Structural Modelling and Analysis
The study in this project is based on analysis of structural models representing vertically irregular
multi-storeyed setback buildings. It contains various loads and its intensity on the components of the
building. Later on this chapter presents brief description of the building’s design in software.
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
1 2 3 4 5 6
3962.4 3962.4 4446.82 3962.4 3962.4

R1 D D
4419.6
R2 C C
3962.4
A A
R3 B B
3962.4
R4 A A
1 2 3 4 5 6
Typical Floor Plan

Fig. 3. General layout of the building
The various models and analysis output from the SAP are shown in Fig. 4 to 9. Time period of the
structures depends on its mass and stiffness properties. For setback 1, setback 2 and setback 3, mass
and stiffness reduces in comparison to regular building due to presence of setback. This reduction of
mass and stiffness resulted in decrease in time period of building with setback.
But by comparison of mass participating ratios shows that there is decrease in mass participating
ratios for first 3, setbacks 1, setback 2 and setback 3 than that of the regular structure. Modal
participating ratios for first 3 modes in mode along X and Y direction this ratio is greater in regular
building than comparison to other models showing that first mode dominates the response. However,
this ratio decreases by small amount in setback 1, decreases little by high amount in setback 2 and
decreases little more in setback 3. This ratio is somewhat similar in higher modes, i.e. in 2nd mode for
X and Y direction in regular building, setback 1, setback 2 but increases setback 3.
Regular Setback-1
66
Setback-2 Setback-3
Fig. 4. Skeleton view of regular, Setback-1, 2, and 3 Building
Through difference in values of mass participating ratios are low, conclusion can be drawn from
the comparison that for regular structures 1st mode dominates the response and as the setback level is
increased, higher modes can also be dominant feature. Hence for highly irregular buildings
contribution of higher modes can also be significant.
0.9
Regular
0.8
Setback 1
0.7
0.6
Setback 2
TimePeriod
0.5 Setback 3
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Mode Number
Fig. 5. Comparison of time period of building
5. Displacement and Inter-storey Drift

Further, the Displacement and Inter-storey Drift are calculated for the various setbacks. The analysis
result obtained from linear static method and response spectrum methods are shown in Fig. 6 to 9. In
Fig. 6 to 9 shows the peak displacements in different storey for four types of modal buildings
analysed as per Seismic Coefficient Method and Response Spectrum Analysis due to load in X-
direction, it is seen that peak displacements due to load in X-direction is more for setback 3 than other
two setbacks. Displacement is least in setback 1. When earthquake load is along X-direction, no
torsional response occurs. This is due to symmetry of buildings along X-direction. There is no much
variation in peak displacements. However, displacements are seen decreased at lower storeys. This
67
may be due to less distribution of lateral forces on diaphragms due to decrease in base shear than
regular building. But in upper storey displacements are seen almost equal to that of regular building.
Setback buildings have decreased stiffness along X-direction at upper storey resulting in more
flexibility as compared to regular buildings which resulted in increased displacements at upper
portions. Displacements are very large due to Seismic Coefficient Method than due to Response
Spectrum Analysis. Displacements due to Seismic Coefficients Method are about 21.42% large than
Response Spectrum Analysis when compared to roof displacements.
When earthquake force is along Y-direction, peak displacements increases as setback level is
increased at all storeys. This is because setback buildings have reduced stiffness than regular building.
The increase in displacements is also caused due to torsional response of building because of
asymmetry along Y-direction. Torsional response is more pronounced as setback level increases.
Comparison to displacements in different storey due to both methods of analysis, load in Y-direction
causes amplification of displacements in setback buildings when compared to regular building than
load in X-direction. This may be due to reason that stiffness is decreased more along Y-direction as
compared to decrease in stiffness along X-direction. These comparison shows that setback structure
have amplification in displacements as compared to regular structures. Fig 7 and Fig. 9 shows inter-
storey drift in different storey for four types of model buildings analysed as per seismic coefficient
method and response spectrum analysis due to load in X-direction reaches maximum in second storey
for setback 2 and setback 3 in both seismic coefficient method and response spectrum analysis but in
case of setback 1 this value reaches peak in first storey in both seismic coefficient method and
response spectrum analysis. Inter-storey drift due to seismic coefficient method is high than those
obtained in response spectrum analysis. However, it is seen in Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 that in both cases of
analysis inter-storey drift decreases in setback 2 and setback 3 in comparison to setback.
Despite of not much difference in peak displacements when earthquake load is along X-direction,
inter-storey drift as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 shows considerable change. It shows that inter-storey
drift increases in setback buildings at upper storey and decrease in lower storey when compared to
regular building. When setback level is increased, the upper portion becomes more flexible due to
reduced stiffness and mass in comparison to lower stiff portion. Due to this variation in stiffness,
difference in displacements between storey above and below is increased in setback buildings than
regular building resulting in more inter-storey drift on upper storeys. All inter-storey drift are
increased at all storey levels setback level is increased. The inter-storey drift between regular and
setback building increases. This may be due to more reduction in stiffness along Y-direction than in
X-direction which caused amplification in displacements as shown in Fig 6 and Fig 8.
A) By Seismic Coefficient Method
0.030 0.030
Displacement
Displacement
0.020 0.020
regular
regular setback 1
0.010 setback 1 0.010
setback 2
setback 2
setback 3 setback 3
0.000 0.000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 2 4 6
No. of Storey No.of Storey
Fig. 6. Displacement in X, Y- Axes
68
0.300 0.300
regular regular
Inter-storey Drift
Inter-storey Drift
setback 1
0.200 setback 0.200 setback 2
1 setback 3
0.100 0.100
0.000
0.000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
No. of Storey No. of Storey
Fig. 7. Inter-story Drift in X, Y Axes
B) By Response Spectrum Method
0.020 0.020
0.015 0.015
Displacement
Displacement
0.010 regular 0.010

setback 1 regular
0.005 setback 2 0.005 setback 1
setback 3 setback 2
0.000 0.000 setback 3
0 2 4 6 0 1 2 No.3of Storey
4 5 6
No. of Storey
Fig. 8. Displacement in X, Y- Axes
0.150 0.200
regular regular
setback 1 setback 1
Inter-storey Drift
setback 2 0.150 setback 2

0.100 setback 3 setback 3
Inter-storey Drift
0.100
0.050
0.050
0.000 0.000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
No. of Storey No. of Storey
Fig. 9. Inter-story Drift in X, Y-Axes
6. Conclusion
Fundamental period of all the selected building models were estimated as per modal analysis and
empirical equations given in the design codes. The results were critically analysed and presented in
this chapter. This study shows that it is difficult to quantify the irregularity in a setback building with
any single parameter. This study indicates that there is very poor correlation between fundamental
periods with any of the parameters used to define the setback by the previous researchers or design
codes. However, it requires further investigation to arrive at single or multiple parameters to
accurately define the irregularity in a three dimensional setback buildings. Based on the work
presented in this project following point-wise conclusions can be drawn. When mass participating
ratios are compared for different buildings, regular buildings has highest value in first mode. As
setback level increases this value in first mode decreases and increases in higher modes. This shows
as setback level increases in buildings only first mode contribution may not be sufficient. Period of
setback buildings are found to be always less than that of similar regular building. Fundamental
period of setback buildings are found to be varying with irregularity even if the height remain
constant. The change in period due to the setback irregularity is not consistent with any of these
69
parameters used in literature or design codes to define irregularity. The buildings with same maximum
height and same maximum width may have different period depending on the amount of irregularity
present in the setback buildings.
Comparison of displacements among buildings shows increased displacements for building with
setback than that of regular building. Inter-storey drift among buildings show decrease in inter-storey
drift in lower storey below setback level and increase in inter-storey drift in upper storeys when
compared to regular buildings. Seismic Coefficient Method gives larger value of response quantities
than Response Spectrum Analysis.
The code (IS 1893:2002) empirical formula gives the lower-bound of the fundamental periods
obtained from Modal Analysis. Therefore, it can be concluded that the code (IS 1893:2002) always
gives conservative estimates of the fundamental periods of setback buildings.
It is found that the fundamental period in a framed building is not a function of building height
only. This study shows that buildings with same overall height may have different fundamental
periods with a considerable variation which is not addressed in the code empirical equations.
In the empirical equation of fundamental period, the height of the building is not defined in the
design code adequately. For a regular building there is no ambiguity as the height of the building is
same throughout both the horizontal directions. However, this is not the case for setback buildings
where building height may change from one end to other.
Acknowledgement
We are immensely grateful to our supervisor Er. Satish Paudel for his continuous support and guidance
throughout this paper. His persistent encouragement and intellect supervision has made us complete this paper.
We wish to express our gratitude to the respected expertise for their valuable suggestions and support in
different stages of this paper. We would like to thank all the teachers and staff of Asian Institute of Technology
and Management. Our sincere thanks also goes to all those who helped and gave valuable suggestions to us
during the course of this paper.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge our friends for their support and our family for their love and support
which helped us in each steps of completion of this paper.
References
Aranda, G. R. (1984). Ductility demands for RC frames irregular in elevation. Conference Proceeding of the
Eighth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. San Francisco: pp. 559-566.
ASCE 7 (2010). Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures.
Humar, J. I., & Wright, E.W., (1977). Earthquake building with setbacks .
IS 1893 (part 1): 2002., (2002), Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Karavallis, T. L., Banzeos, N., & Beskos, D. E., (2008). Seismic response of plane steel MRF with setbacks:
Estimation of inelastic deformation demands.
Moelhe, J. P., (1984). Seismic response of vertically irregular structure.
Murty, C. V. R., (2012). Some concept in earthquake behaviour of buildings, Gujarat:
Rao, A. B., (2011). Evaluation of time period for structures with different shapes. Journal of Problems &
Applications in Engineering Research.
SAP-2000., (2016). CSI analysis reference manual, Berkeley, California, USA.
Sarkar, P., Prasad, A. M., & Menon, D., (2010). Vertical geometric irregularity in stepped building frames
Shahrooz, B. M., & Moehle, J. P., (1990). Seismic response and design of setback buildings. Journel of
Structural Engineering: pp. 1423-1439.
Shrestha, B., (2015). Reconnaissance investigation on the damages of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal.
Wood, S. L., (1992). Seismic response of RC frames with irregular profile, Journel of Structural Engineering.-
pp. 545-566.
Young, K. C., (2011). An investigation of the fundamental period of vibration of struture. The Ohio State
University.
70
Comparative Study of Physical and Mechanical Properties of

Traditional and Modern Brick
Shova Shrestha1, Saroj Phaiju2 and Manish Sakhakarmy3
Abstract
This research article aimed to recognize the properties of traditional and modern brick. Brick samples
taken from traditional buildings and brick factories were tested to assess their crushing strength,
density, specific gravity, efflorescence, porosity, water absorption. Brick, as a building material, has
been used widely overall the world since very ancient time. Brick with the combination of mortar
form a brick masonry structures and it has been used in construction since many years. The behavior
of masonry structure depends on the properties of brick units and mortar, separately and together.
Availability of bricks from various locally and accordingly varies largely in properties. For this
purpose, a large sample of clay brick specimens from 15 numbers of local brick factories in
Bhaktapur, were collected and were characterized physically, and mechanically. Properties of bricks;
water absorption varies from 18.95% to 23.15%, porosity varies from 25.07% to 37.71%, specific
gravity varies from 2.18 to 2.64, density varies from 1510 kg/m3 to 1665kg/m3, and crushing strength
varies from 10.98 to 24 MPa. The results were compared with the traditional bricks. But the new
bricks manufactured at present are found to be commercialized and poor as compared to the old
bricks. With respect to mechanical properties, the range of values found in old bricks was rather high.
Keywords: Brick; Mechanical properties; Water absorption, Porosity, Crushing strength.
1. Introduction
In Civil Engineering construction works, brick is the main key of building, and bricks have standard
size and weight. Brick is a solid unit of building having standard size and weight. Since the burnt
bricks are strong, hard, durable, resistive to abrasion and fire, therefore, they are used as a structural
material in different structures. Production of brick massively increasing as per their highly demand
for construction. For the reason of fast construction and economy, bricks are increasingly preferred as
building material.
Bricks are building block of the building. If the quality of brick used in the structure is not good,
then it can lead to serious damages to the structure. Therefore, it is necessary to check the quality of
brick before using it in any construction activities.
Bhaktapur city is rich in masonry buildings; Residential building and Historical -Monumental
buildings. In last Gorkha earthquake, almost all the destructed buildings were masonry buildings. But,
hardly were they rebuilt as masonry building, except historical-monumental buildings, they were
constructed as RCC building. One of the main reasons that the people are not interested in masonry
building is the quality of bricks. Bricks produced and available in market are much inferior to the
traditional bricks used in masonry. Therefore, the study is concentrated to the quality of those
traditional bricks and currently available bricks in market on the aspect of physical and mechanical
properties. The need for reconstruction or alteration of specific purpose of brick structures imposed
the requirement to test their properties.
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
2
3
71
2. Methodology
Under the present research, testing of old and new brick material was carried out in the laboratories.
Brick samples from 15 factories from Changu, Jhaukhel, Sudal and Tathali area of Bhaktapur district
had been collected for laboratory test. Physical and mechanical tests are done for the determination of
these properties according to different standard codes. Using IS 1528 (part 15): 2007, ISO 5017:1998,
density, apparent porosity were determined. Using IS 3495 (Parts 1 to 4):1992 crushing strength,
water absorption and efflorescence of different bricks were determined.
2.1. Crushing Strength

The crushing strength of brick elements has been tested by gradual increase of the compressive force
up to the failure of sample, according to the procedure described in IS 3495 (Parts 1 to 4):1992. The
laboratory procedure is shown in Fig. 1 and the test result is shown in Table. 1. Each sample contains
the five numbers of bricks and accordingly the average value is obtained.
Fig. 1. Crushing test of brick at laboratory
Table 1. Crushing strength of traditional brick samples
S.N Traditional brick Sample (T) Average. Crushing Strength(N/mm2) Remarks

1 T1 24.00
2 T2 24.01 Each sample contains 5 nos. of bricks
3 T3 22.60
Mean Crushing Strength 23.54
Three samples were collected for the traditional bricks as shown in Table 1 and their physical
properties are shown in Table 3. Sample T1 and T2 have slightly higher strength than sample T3 as
they have lesser thickness than sample T3. Mean crushing strength of traditional bricks is 23.54
N/mm2.
Similarly, twelve numbers of samples were collected for the modern bricks as shown in Table 2
and their physical properties are shown in Table 4. The crushing strength of brick range from 10.98 to
20.03 N/mm2 and mean strength is 15.97 N/mm2. These values show the wide range of variation in
the strength of modern bricks available in market.
Table 2. Crushing strength of modern brick samples
S.N Modern brick sample (B) Average Crushing Strength (N/mm2) Remarks
1 B1 16.27
2 B2 12.77
3 B3 17.39
4 B4 13.24 Each sample
contains 5 nos.
5 B5 18.92
of bricks
6 B6 16.44
7 B7 16.82
8 B8 20.03
72
S.N Modern brick sample (B) Average Crushing Strength (N/mm2) Remarks
9 B9 15.23
10 B10 18.18
11 B11 15.40
12 B12 10.98
Mean crushing strength 15.97
2.2. Water Absorption

The water absorption is determined by the procedure prescribed by IS 3495 (Parts 1 to 4): 1992. This
test was conducted by weighing the brick in dry condition and then immersing the whole brick into
water up to full saturation. The quantity of water absorbed by the brick within 24 hours is measured.
The test results are shown in Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 3. Physical properties of traditional brick samples
Traditional brick Water Absorption, Specific

S.N Porosity, % Density, kg/m3 Remarks
sample(T) % Gravity
1 T1 21.59 32.32 2.24 1510.50 Each sample
2 T2 17.35 25.07 2.18 1587.62 contains 5 nos. of
3 T3 18.34 30.28 2.39 1665.15 brick
Mean value 19.09 29.22 2.27 1587.76
Table 4. Physical properties of modern brick samples
Modern brick Water Absorption,

S.N Porosity, % Specific Gravity Density, kg/m3 Remarks
sample (B) %
1 B1 21.16 32.97 2.34 1568.85
2 B2 20.03 31.24 2.27 1559.89
3 B3 20.13 31.59 2.29 1569.56
4 B4 19.47 31.87 2.40 1637.48
5 B5 21.72 33.59 2.33 1546.44
Each sample
6 B6 19.25 31.69 2.41 1646.13
contains 5 nos.
7 B7 18.95 30.17 2.28 1591.67
of bricks
8 B8 19.10 31.23 2.38 1634.81
9 B9 20.45 32.53 2.36 1593.88
10 B10 18.96 30.47 2.32 1612.91
11 B11 20.20 32.97 2.43 1631.87
12 B12 23.15 37.71 2.64 1635.14
Mean value 20.22 32.33 2.37 1602.39
Mean value of water absorption is 19.09% for traditional bricks and for modern bricks it is
20.22%. Water absorption is slightly lesser than that of modern bricks. This may be due to use of clay
soil in traditional brick. While in modern brick higher water absorption may be due to insufficient
compaction and silty clayey soils.
2.3. Apparent Porosity

The apparent porosity is determined by the procedure prescribed by IS 1528(part 15):2007, ISO 5017:
1998. This test is conducted by weighing the brick in dry condition and then submerged in water for
24 hours. Then suspended weight is determined along with saturated weight. Apparent porosity does
not include the volume of sealed pores. Porosity can be controlled by controlling the texture of the
brick, by controlling the firing temperature. Higher the porosity, lower will be the strength of the
brick. Brick with lower porosity will have higher resistance to attack from slag.
73
Fig. 2. Test of brick for apparent porosity at laboratory
Mean value of porosity is 29.22% for traditional bricks and for modern bricks it is 32.33%.
Porosity is slightly lesser than that of modern bricks. This may be due to use of clayey soil in
traditional brick. While in modern brick higher water absorption may be due to insufficient
compaction and silt-clay mix soils. Also, it may be due to the use of higher amount of water in soil
during preparation of soil.
2.4. Density
Density is an important parameter. It defines the weight of the brick. The density is determined by the
procedure prescribed by IS 1528 (part 15):2007, ISO 5017:1998. The test results are shown in Table 3
and Table 4. Compressive properties, durability, porosity and other properties will be affected by the
density of brick. Higher density relate with the better strength of the brick.
Mean value of density is 1587.76 kg/m3 for traditional bricks and for modern bricks it is 1602.39
kg/m3. Density of modern brick is higher than that of traditional bricks. This may be due to use of
clayey soil in traditional brick. While in modern brick higher water absorption may be due to
insufficient compaction and silt-clay mix soils. Also, it may be due to the use of higher amount of
water in soil during preparation of soil.
2.5. Efflorescence
Using IS 3495 (Part 3):1992, efflorescence of given sample is determined. The liability of
efflorescence shall be reported as ‘nil’, ‘moderate’, ‘heavy’, or ‘serious’.From experimental work,
moderate efflorescence of most of the samples is obtained.
2.6. Apparent specific gravity

The Apparent specific gravity is determined by the procedure prescribed by IS 1528(part 15):2007,
ISO 5017: 1998. Test results are shown in Table 3 and Table 4.
2.7. Bricks dimensions

The dimensions of bricks have been determined by measurement of length, width and height of brick.
Mean values of measurement are shown in table 5 and table 6. Dimensions of these bricks do not
satisfy with the standard value as per NBC 109:1994.
Dimension of traditional and modern bricks available in Bhaktapur does not match with standard
dimension L=240 mm, B=115 mm and H=57 mm provided in NBC 109:1994. Length and height of
dimension of tradition brick is lesser, while length and width of modern brick is lesser than
dimensions provided in NBC 109:1994. This difference in physical dimension affects in quantity
calculation of brick units in masonry.
74
Table 5. Dimension of new brick samples
S.N. Sample Length, mm Width, mm Thickness, mm Remarks

1 B1 218.8 100.9 53.42
2 B2 226.1 103.8 52.76
3 B3 227.5 105 52.30
4 B4 217 102 50.00
5 B5 228.5 104.5 51.00
NBC 109-1994
6 B6 225 102 48.80
L=240mm,
7 B7 224.5 102 53.50
B=115mm
8 B8 219 106.5 50.30 H=57mm
9 B9 216.5 102.3 54.34
10 B10 219.4 102.2 53.16
11 B11 215 99 50.00
12 B12 226.5 101.8 54.50
Mean dimension 221.98 102.67 52.01
Table 6. Dimension of traditional brick samples
S.N. Sample Length, mm Width, mm Thickness, mm Remarks

1 T1 206.6 136.4 39.80
NBC 109-1994
2 T2 203.6 129 47.20
L=240mm, B=115mm H=57mm
3 T3 195.8 118.2 50.60
Mean dimension 202.00 127.87 45.87
3. Conclusions
From the laboratory work, the mean dimension of the brick samples; length 221.98 mm, width
102.67 mm and height 52.01mm are comparatively less than the standard dimension provided in
NBC 109-1994. The brick shall not absorbed 15% of its weight after 24 hour of soaking in water at
normal temperature as in NBC 109:1994. But, the water absorption capacity of traditional is 19.09
and that of modern brick is 20.22 which are higher than specified. The bricks are categorized under
second class brick. The minimum crushing strength of the brick should not be less than 3.5 N/mm2 as
in NBC 205: 1994, while crushing strength of traditional and modern bricks are 23.54 MPa and 15.97
MPa respectively. Porosity, specific gravity and density of traditional are 29.22%, 2.27 and 1587.76
kg/m3 and that of modern bricks are 32.33%, 2.37 and 1602.39 kg/m3 respectively.
Reference
IS 1077:1992. Common Burnt Clay Building Bricks –Specification. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
IS 1528(Part 15):2007. Method of sampling and physical tests for refractory materials. Bureau of Indian
Standards, New Delhi.
IS 3495:1992 . Methods of tests of burnt clay building bricks. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
NBC 109:1994. Nepal National Building Code. Department of Urban Development and Building
Construction, Kathmandu.
75
2nd International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disastor Reconstruction Planning
Site Specific Ground Response Analysis of Bhaktapur City

Chandra Kiran Kawan1, Prem Nath Maskey2 and Gokarna Motra3
Abstract
Bhaktapur city, the constituent ancient city of the Kathmandu Valley, has unconsolidated and deep
soil sediment. The past historical large earthquakes in Nepal, irrespective of the proximity of
epicenter, always resulted in substantial damages in Bhaktapur city due to local soil amplification
effect. This paper presents the results of the study undertaken to determine the local soil amplification
effect on the free field ground motion during earthquakes. One dimensional wave propagation
analysis is carried out at eleven historically important sites surrounding the core area of the Bhaktapur
city. The soil column and data of different soil layers of the selected locations were obtained in the
form of deep borehole data from different organizations, and for four locations inside the core areas,
the soil profile was worked out with the 3D subsurface geological model. The earthquake ground
motion time histories recorded during the historical earthquakes of Gujarat (2001), Northridge (1994),
Kobe (1995), Imperial Valley El Centro (1940) and Gorkha Earthquake (2015) and one synthetic
ground motion Lalitpura developed for a specific location in Kathmandu Valley were selected for the
analysis. Linear as well as nonlinear behavior of the soils were considered in the site response
analysis. The earthquake ground motions at the free field at all the eleven locations of the Bhaktapur
city were obtained with soil amplification factors considering the linear and nonlinear behavior of
soils. The result of the study indicates that the maximum amplification factor of 2.75 at BH2 due to
the Gujarat earthquake for linear analysis and 2.64 at BH8 due to Gorkha earthquake for non-linear
analysis. For the input peak ground accelerations (0.156g to 1.779g), the peak ground acceleration for
linear soil condition range from 0.27g to 3.91g and for non-linear soil condition range from 0.203g to
0.601g at the free field. The influence of the frequency content in the PGA amplification factor is
assessed by obtaining Fourier amplification factor in each case. It is found that the ground motion
with a higher value of Fourier amplitude has low amplification of peak ground acceleration. The soil
sediment conditions highly influences the frequency content of the earthquake ground motion. The
frequency content at the free field from linear and non-linear analysis ranges from 0.25g-sec to
3.615g-sec and 0.3g-sec to 1.35g-sec respectively. The bedrock motion with a narrow band spectrum
is converted into a free-field ground motion with broad band spectrum, in both linear and non-linear
cases for all the input forces except for Gujarat earthquakes in non-linear condition. The soil sediment
effect is hardly evident in the bracketed duration of the ground motion at the free field.
Keywords: 3D geological model; Rockwork2014; Response analysis; Ground motion parameters
1. Introduction
The soil sediment deposit plays a vital role for any level of destruction during an earthquake. The
incoming seismic wave that hit any locality may have a chance of amplification and de-amplification,
depending upon the sediment deposit. Mexico (1985) earthquake and Loma Prieta (1989) earthquake
have disseminated much information regarding the local site effects. The recording performed in
many sites of Mexico City and San Francisco has given many evidences of dependency of damages
due to the local site characteristics. Particular talking about Mexico City, seismic damage was serious
in the central district and almost non-existent in the outskirts. The seismologists (Singh et al., 1988;
Campillo et al., 1989) proposed that the predominant periods of soft soil sites in the central area of the
Mexico City was 2s, causing heavy damage in the central part. This dissemination has brought the
importance of the ground response analysis worldwide. The soft clay layers in the lake zone of
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, kawan.chandra1@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal,pnmaskey@live.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal, gmotra@ioe.edu.np
76
Mexico have shown the amplification factor reach up to 50 in the frequency band of 0.3-0.7 Hz
(Singh et al., 1988) and all the damage was observed in the lake zone (Chavez-Garcia & Cuenca,
1996). This indicates the need for carefulness while encountering the site effects of the Kathmandu
valley lake deposit. A wide range of ground response analysis has been done by different researchers
in Kathmandu valley. Researchers (JICA & MoHA 2002; Piya B.K., 2004; Maskey & Datta, 2005;
Paudyal et al., 2012; Bhandary et al., 2014; Chamlagain & Gautam, 2015; Gautam et al., 2016) have
disseminated the wide range of the site amplification within Kathmandu valley. In this study, the site-
specific site response analysis of Bhaktapur city is carried out.
For the seismic site characterization, geological and geotechnical parameters are essential. One of
the main sources for geological and geotechnical information for site response analysis is obtained
from borehole log. But the status of borehole number distributed is in low-density within the study
area, leading to a lack of soil profile in specific interested sites. It is not possible to the increased
number of planned borehole explorations as well as to adopt heavily expensive geophysical
exploration techniques in the study area due to massive cost expenses. Therefore, the state -of- the art
of computer software is used for exploration of geological subsurface, which was previously limited
in two dimensional (2-D) specialized map, cross-sections, and fence diagrams. Currently, with the
advances in computer technologies, it is possible to construct three dimensions (3-D) geological
subsurface models easily using 3-D Geo-scientific information systems (3-D GSIS) which have
efficient data-management capabilities (Rahman, 2007).
In this study, a 3-D geological model was generated for the Bhaktapur city using available
borehole log data. Borehole data is collected from various organizations; Department of water supply
and sewage, Bhaktapur municipality, private companies, and previous published and non-published
research papers. The 3-D geological model is generated using GSIS software-Rockwork2014 version
16. The obtained 3D geological subsurface model is inspected by generating the 3D fence
stratigraphic diagram. The 3-D model was further slice in order to understand the variation of soil
deposits in the study area. The lithological profile at the interested sites (four historically important
places) is also obtained from the presented 3-D database. Lastly, ground motion parameters of the
selected sites were analyzed using one-dimensional site response analysis by a linear and non-linear
method using various professional and open source software like DEEPSOIL and Seismo Signal.
2. Geological Setting
The Bhaktapur Municipality with an area of 6.88 sq.km is located in the Bhaktapur district, Bagmati,
central development region, Nepal. It lies a 13 km east of Kathmandu, between 27°36' to 27°44' N
latitude and 85°21' to 85°31'E longitudes, with an elevation of 1401 m above sea level. The
geographical boundary of the study area is delimited by Suryabinayak Municipality in the south,
Thimi Municipality in west and Changunarayan Municipality in the north. It consists of ten wards.
The Bhaktapur Municipality is located in the weak geological structure having a number of fault
lines, with low bearing capacity and loose soil structure as physical limitations (Shrestha et al., 1999;
Chapagain et al., 2010). The thimi formation exposed at Phaidhoka, Bhaktapur shows that the
sediments are relatively finer, indicating the deposition might have occurred from suspension settling
and the thin, parallel laminations of alternating silt, silty clay indicate widespread deposition from
suspension over the sand beds (Paudayal, 2015). The basement of the district is formed by
Precambrian to Devonian rocks, which are intensely folded, faulted and fractured igneous and meta-
sedimentary rocks, and overlain by Quaternary fluvio-lacustrine deposit with the thickness of 550–
600 m (Chapagain et al., 2010). The Kalimati clay is rich in organic matter, plant fossils, diatoms, and
natural gases (Fujii & Sakai, 2001; JICA 1990).
The Kalimati formation with the clay layer of a minimum thickness of (<10 m) having low bearing
capacity covers the area (JICA 1990). Fault lines are spread around the municipality that possesses
limitation for construction, making most of the settlement area vulnerable (Shrestha et al., 1999). In
the study area, sticky clay constitutes topsoil along with fine and coarse sand followed by clay with
pebbles, cobbles, and boulders over consolidated hard rocks of quartzite, basalt, granite, etc. (BDC,
2011). The grain size of the core sample ranges from sticky clay (0–5 m), cobbles and boulders (100
m) to the consolidated hard rocks of quartzite, basalt, and granite up to a depth of 300 m (Thakur et
al., 2015). The geological map prepared by the department of mines and geology of the Kathmandu
valley is as shown in Fig.1 in which the study area has Kalimati formation.
77
Fig. 1. Geological map and location of the study area (source: DMG, 1998)
3. Material and Method

3.1 3D geological subsurface modeling
RockWorks 2014 is software for creating boring logs, cross sections, fence diagram, solid models and
stratigraphic layer models etc. It is a broad, integrated geological data management, analysis, and
visualization tool. It contains a borehole data manager for easy entry of downhole data and hence can
be easily analyzed using 2D and 3D visualization tools. For the 3-D subsurface modeling, the whole
process can be divided into (1) Data preparation and data entry, (2) Stratigraphic soil classification,
(3) 3-D model preparation and (4) Export of result (Rahman, 2007). Most of the drilling of the
borehole in Bhaktapur is done for drinking water supply purposes and very few drillings of the
borehole is done for a geotechnical purpose. Out of 68 boreholes collected, 33 boreholes are deep
borehole with a depth greater than 150 m. Among these boreholes, 13 boreholes reached up to
bedrock level. The collected boreholes data are reviewed minutely and entered in excel sheet. The
excel sheet contains information such as UTM coordinates, the surface elevation, the down-hole
depth, the address and borehole IDs. This data is plotted in the digitized map using ArcView GIS 3.2
(Fig. 2). The information of the boreholes prepared in the excel sheet, with the standard template of
Rockwork2014 software, is imported in the Rockwork2014 software and save as a point map. With
the confirmation of the point map in the Rockwork2014, the lithological and stratigraphic information
is directly entered in the rockwork software. In this study, the Classification of soils was done based
on the unified soil Classification system (USCS) (ASTM, 1996) for stratigraphic modeling. Using this
soil classification system, the soil is classified into clay and silt, sand, gravel, and rock. This
interpreted stratigraphic information was stored in the stratigraphy tab of the borehole manager in
RockWorks 2014 and generate a 3D stratigraphic and lithological model, which is discussed in detail
in section 4.1.
78
Fig.2. Borehole locations
3.2 Site response analysis
One dimensional site response analysis was done using DEEPSOIL program to estimate free-field
ground motion parameters. DEEPSOIL is a widely used program for 1D site response analysis for all
the three modes of analysis - linear, equivalent linear and non-linear analysis. In this study, linear and
non-linear analysis was done.
3.2.1 Site selections
The specific locations where site response analysis was carried out is shown in Fig.2. Eleven specific
locations were selected- four boreholes (BH1, BH2, BH3, and BH4) within the core area of Bhaktapur
municipality and remaining seven boreholes (BH5, BH6, BH7, BH8, BH9, BH10, and BH11) are
surrounding the core area of Bhaktapur municipality (Fig.2). Four boreholes (BH1, BH2, BH3, and
BH4) of the core area of Bhaktapur municipality is obtained from the generated 3-D geological
subsurface database and the remaining seven boreholes data are obtained from different organizations.
3.2.2 Input earthquake motions
Selection of ground motions is a crucial part for any research because the ground motions selected are
used as incident bedrock motions at the base of soil deposits to perform seismic site response analysis
and to predict ground motions at the soil surface. Appropriate ground motions could represent
characteristics of seismic sources around the site of interest and lead to the reliable and realistic
prediction of site responses. In the study area, there is no recorded seismological data. In this study,
input motions are selected from Pacific Earthquake Research center (PEER) database in such a way
that their peak ground acceleration, frequency amplitude, and duration of motion is different from
each other. Along with these strong ground motions from PEER database, one synthetic time history
was also used which was generated for Kathmandu basin (Lalitpura earthquake). The selected ground
motions are listed in Table 1.
79
Table 1. Selected strong ground motions
S.N Name of earthquake PGA (g) Freq. amplitude (g-sec) Bracketed duration (sec)
1 Northridge(1994) 1.779 0.947 27.340
2 Gujarat (2001) 1.040 0.989 74
3 Kobe(1995) 0.821 0.255 21.420
4 El Centro (1940) 0.348 0.297 22.218
5 Lalitpura 0.436 0.671 29.320
6 Gorkha (2015) 0.156 0.143 27.140
3.2.3 Dynamic soil properties
To perform one-dimensional site response analysis, along with shear wave profile, the density of the
soils and the soil’s nonlinear stress-strain (Shear modulus reduction and damping ratio versus cyclic
strain curves) behavior are required. The representative values of density of the soils of Kathmandu
valley are presented in the report of JICA (2002). These values of soil density, as tabulated in Table 2,
is used for one-dimensional analysis. Further, due to the absence of shear wave velocity in the study
area, the empirical relationship purposed by Ohta Y. and Goto N. (1978) was used to calculate the
shear wave velocity as given by equation (1).
Vs’=78.98*H.312*C (1)
where Vs’ is the shear velocity, H is the depth of the solid and C is the constant value which depends
upon the types of soil- C=1.00 for Clay, C= 1.260 for fine sand, C=1.28 for medium sand, C= 1.422
for coarse sand, C=1.641 for sand and gravel and C=2.255 for gravel. The shear modulus reduction
curve and damping ratio curve for soil column analysis is shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
Table 2. Density of materials
Category Shear wave velocity Density(g/cm3)
Vs<175 1.5
1 Clay to Clayey silt 175≤ Vs<300 1.6
300≤ Vs 1.7
Vs<200 1.6
2 Silt to fine sand 200≤ Vs<350 1.7
350≤ Vs 1.8
Vs<200 1.7
3 Medium to coarse sand 200≤ Vs<350 1.8
350≤ Vs 1.9
Vs<200 1.9
4 Sand and gravel
350≤ Vs 2.0
Fig. 3. Shear Modulus Reduction curve Fig. 4. Damping Ratio Curve
80

4.1. 3D geological subsurface model
After the generation of the 3-D geological solid subsurface model (Fig. 5a), the 3-D fence diagram
(lithological and stratigraphy fence) is obtained (Fig. 5b). Observing the 3-D fence diagrams, it can be
seen that the north-west corner is dominantly rich in sand overlain by the shallow depth of soft soil.
Further, observing the northern part (Changunarayan area) and the southern part (Suryabinayak area),
it shows the outcrop of the rock. In these parts, observing the borehole log, the rock strata is found at
the depth that varies from 15m to 50m with overlain by coarse sediments. Besides these parts, the soil
sediment deposit is dominant. To understand the detail spatial geological condition in the core city
area, the 3-D model is sliced for detail analyses. Typical vertical sliced, stratigraphic sectional
diagrams, obtained from the 3-D stratigraphic solid model is shown in Fig. 5c. To understand the
vertical and lateral variation of coarse sediment (sand and gravel) and fine sediment (silt and clay),
this 2-D sectional diagram is very useful.
From the lithological and stratigraphic 3D subsurface geological model, we can also determine the
soil profile (lithological and stratigraphic) at any particular point of interest. For obtaining it, borehole
manager tab of Rockwork2014 is used under which the lithological profile at any particular section
can be obtained. With the sectional profile, the borehole at any particular point can be obtained by
visual interpretation. In this study, four lithological soil profile (Fig.6) were obtained from 3-D
subsurface model to carry out site response analysis- Bhaktapur Durbar Square (BH1), Dattatriya
(BH2), Taumadhi (BH3) and Suryamadhi (BH4). These are historically very important places of the
Bhaktapur for tangible as well as intangible indigenous activities and most of them are also listed in
UNESCO world heritage site.
(a) (b)
(c)
Fig.5. 3D subsurface model: (a) 3D lithological model, (b) 3D Stratigraphic fence diagram; (c) 2D stratigraphic
fence diagram.
81
Fig. 6. Lithological profile generated from 3D lithological model
4.2 Ground motion parameters
4.2.1 Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA)
Fig. 7 shows PGA and PGA amplification factors due to linear and non-linear analysis. Fig. 7a shows
that the maximum PGA at the surface is obtained from the Northridge earthquake and minimum from
the Gorkha earthquake, values varying from 0.27g to 3.91g. Fig.7b shows that BH1, BH2, BH6, and
BH10 have maximum amplification from Gujarat earthquake; BH7, BH8, BH9, BH11 have maximum
amplification from Lalitpura earthquake; BH3 has maximum amplification factor from Gorkha
earthquake and BH4, BH5 have maximum amplification from Kobe earthquake. The amplification
factor range from 1.254 (BH4) to 2.753 (BH2). The minimum amplification is obtained from the
Northridge earthquake for all the boreholes surface. Fig. 7c shows that with greater PGA input at
bedrock gives greater PGA at the free field, except for the synthetic Lalitpura motion. The PGA vary
from 0.203g to 0.601g. Fig. 7d shows the PGA amplification factor from the non-linear analysis,
which is totally different from linear analysis. Fig.7d also shows that the amplification is highest for
Gorkha earthquake and lowest for the Northridge earthquake. The variation of the PGA amplification
shows that there is a significant decrement in PGA amplification for higher input PGA value. For the
input PGA value (0.156g to 0.437g), amplification is observed in all the soil profile except for BH1,
BH4and BH6. For all other input PGA values (0.821g to 1.779g), de-amplification is observed. This
result is as anticipated because in the higher value of PGA excitation, nonlinear behavior of soil
become more effective and as a result more dissipation of energy within the soil mass take place.
Fig.8 shows the variation of PGA with depth for all the boreholes. In Fig. 8, the discontinuous lines
represent the variation of PGA with depth due to non-linear analysis and continuous lines represent
the variation of PGA with depth due to linear analysis. In linear analysis, PGA at soil layers
approximately 20-30m below the surface shows a more significant amplification effect in all the
boreholes, although notable amplification is observed from 150-200m below the surface. This
amplification represents the effect of linear soil condition. In the case of non-linear analysis, depth
below 150m, there is significant de-amplification whereas there is slight amplification at 50m below
the surface (Fig. 8). This indicates that more energy is dissipated at the bottom of the soil profile
during non-linear analysis for higher PGA earthquake.
82
(a) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha (c) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
4 0.7
3.5 0.6
Peak ground acceleration (g)
Peak ground acceleration(g)

3
0.5
2.5
2 0.4
1.5
0.3
1
0.5 0.2
0 0.1
BH1 BH2 BH3 BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7 BH8 BH9 BH10 BH11 BH1 BH2 BH3 BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7 BH8 BH9 BH10 BH11
Borehole Borehole
(b) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha (c) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
2.8
PGA amplification factor

2.6 2.5
PGA amplification factor
2.4
2
2.2
2 1.5
1.8
1
1.6
1.4 0.5
1.2 0
Borehole Borehole
Fig. 7. PGA and PGA amplification factor at different borehole surfaces for different seismic bedrock motion:
(a) PGA due to linear analysis; (b) PGA amplification due to linear analysis ;(c) PGA due to non-linear analysis;
(d) PGA amplification due to non-linear analysis
(a) PGA (g) (b) PGA (g)

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
0 0
BH1 BH2
BH1 BH2
50 BH3 BH4 50
BH3 BH4
BH5 BH6
BH5 BH6
100 BH7 BH8 100
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
BH7 BH8
BH9 BH10
BH9 BH10
150 BH11 BH1 150

BH11 BH1
BH2 BH3 BH2 BH3
200 BH4 BH5 200

BH4 BH5
BH6 BH7 BH6 BH7
250 BH8 BH9 250 BH8 BH9
BH10 BH11 BH10 BH11
300 300
(c) PGA (g) (d) PGA (g)
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
0 0
50 50
BH1 BH2
BH1 BH2
BH3 BH4 BH3 BH4
BH5 BH6 100 BH5 BH6

100
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
BH7 BH8 BH7 BH8

BH9 BH10 BH9 BH10
150 BH11 BH1 150
BH11 BH1
BH2 BH3
BH2 BH3
BH4 BH5
200 BH4 BH5
200 BH6 BH7
BH8 BH9 BH6 BH7
BH10 BH11 BH8 BH9

250 250
BH10 BH11
300 300
83
(e) PGA (g)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 (f) PGA (g)
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
0 0
50 50
100 BH1 BH2 100

Depth (m)
BH1 BH2
Depth (m)
BH3 BH4 BH3 BH4
BH5 BH6 BH5 BH6
150 BH7 BH8 150 BH7 BH8
BH9 BH10 BH9 BH10
BH11 BH1 BH11 BH1
200 200
BH2 BH3 BH2 BH3
BH4 BH5 BH4 BH5
BH6 BH7
250 250
BH6 BH7
BH8 BH9 BH8 BH9
BH10 BH11 BH10 BH11
300 300
Fig. 8. PGA variation throughout the depth of borehole surface : (a) Northridge earthquake; (b) Gujarat
earthquake; (c) Kobe earthquake; (d) Lalitpura earthquake; (e) El Centro earthquake; (f) Gorkha earthquake
4.2.2 Fourier Spectra
Fig. 9 shows the free field Fourier amplitude and Fourier amplitude factors for all the boreholes. Fig.
9a-b is the Fourier amplitude and amplitude factors obtained from the linear analysis. Fig.9a shows
that Gujarat earthquake gives the maximum Fourier amplitude for all the locations except BH1
whereas Gorkha earthquake gives minimum Fourier amplitude for all the locations. The Fourier
amplitude ranges from 0.259g-sec to 3.615g-sec. Fig. 9b shows that the maximum Fourier
amplification factor obtained at different borehole surface is the result of different input motions. Fig
9b also shows that at BH1, BH2, BH4, BH8, BH9, BH10, and BH11 maximum Fourier amplitude is
obtained by Gujarat, at BH3 and BH5 by Kobe, and at BH7 by Lalitpura. In the case of BH6, Fourier
amplitude factor closely concentrates at 2.5 for all input motions. Fig.9c-d is the Fourier amplitude
and amplification factor obtained from the non-linear analysis. Fig.9c shows that the maximum
Fourier amplitudes for all the borehole surface are obtained by Lalitpura earthquake which is followed
by Gujarat, Northridge, Kobe, El Centro and Gorkha earthquake sequentially. The Fourier amplitude
range from 0.3g-sec to 1.35g-sec. Fig.9d shows that the maximum Fourier amplification factor for all
the borehole surface is obtained from Gorkha earthquake which is followed by Lalitpura, and El
Centro earthquake, except BH2 where maximum Fourier amplification factor is obtained from
Lalitpura earthquake. Fig.9d also shows that de-amplification occur for Kobe, Gujarat, and Northridge
earthquakes. The Fourier amplification factor obtained from the non-linear analysis range from 1.1 to
2.7.
The Fourier amplitude spectrum obtained from linear analysis at the free field for all the
considered earthquakes are shown in Fig.10. The Fourier amplitude spectrum obtained at ground
surface from Northridge, Gujarat, Kobe, El Centro, and Gorkha earthquakes are concentrated between
1.7 Hz to 3.3 Hz, 0.4Hz to 2 Hz, 1Hz to 2Hz, 1 to 2.2Hz and 0.5Hz to 4Hz respectively but in case of
Lalitpura earthquake three distinct peaks at 0.63Hz, 1.56Hz and 2.72Hz are obtained. Fig.10 also
shows that the narrow banded Fourier spectrum are converted to broad-banded Fourier spectrum. This
shows that linear effect of soil subject more seismic energy to structure with a period that ranges
within the frequency concentration of Fourier amplitude spectrum. Fig.11 shows the Fourier
amplitude spectrum obtained from non-linear analysis at the free field for all the considered
earthquakes. Fig.11 shows that the Fourier amplitude spectrum obtained at ground surface from
Northridge, Gujarat, Kobe, El Centro, and Gorkha earthquakes are concentrated between 0.8 Hz to 3.2
Hz, 0.8Hz to 1.2 Hz, 0.5Hz to 1.5Hz, 0.3Hz to 2Hz and 0.2 to 5Hz respectively. The Fourier spectrum
obtained for the Lalitpura earthquake shows a distinct peak at 0.642Hz and 1.43Hz. From Fig.11a-c,
we see that Northridge amplify below 1.6Hz, Gujarat amplify below 1.3Hz and Kobe amplify below
0.8Hz whereas Fig.11d-f shows that Fourier amplification occurs throughout the frequency range.
Fig.11 also shows that the narrow banded Fourier spectrum is converted to broad-banded Fourier
spectrum for all the input motions except Gujarat earthquake, which is converted to narrow banded
Fourier spectrum. This indicates that the frequency content at the ground surface varies with the input
motions. Non-linear effect of soil subject more seismic energy to structure with a period that ranges
84
within the frequency concentration. This result shows that higher PGA amplitude is obtained for the
earthquake motions which have low Fourier amplitude. This indicates that PGA amplification is
affected by the frequency content of motion.
(a) Northridge Bhuj Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha (b) Northridge Bhuj Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
4.5
4
Fourier amlification factor

3.5 4
3 3.5
Fourier amplitude
2.5 3
2
2.5
1.5
1 2
0.5 1.5
0 1
BH1 BH2 BH3 BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7 BH8 BH9 BH10 BH11
Borehole Borehole
(c) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha (d) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
1.4
3
1.2
Fourier amplitude amplification

2.5
1
2
Fourier Amplitude
0.8
1.5
0.6
1
0.4
0.5
0.2
0
0 BH1 BH2 BH3 BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7 BH8 BH9 BH10 BH11
Borehole Borehole
Fig. 9. Fourier amplitude and Fourier amplification factor at different borehole surface; (a) Fourier
amplitude due to linear analysis, (b) Fourier amplification factor due to linear analysis, (c) Fourier
amplitude due to non-linear analysis, (d) Fourier amplification factor due to non-linear analysis.
(a) 3
input BH1 (b) 4
BH2 BH3 Input BH1
2.5 BH4 BH5 3.5 BH2 BH3
BH4 BH5
BH6 BH7 3
Fourier Amplitude(g-sec)
2 BH6 BH7
Fourier amplitude(g-sec)
BH8 BH9
2.5 BH8 BH9
BH10 BH11
1.5 BH10 BH11
2
1 1.5
1
0.5
0.5
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Frequency(Hz) Frequency(Hz)
(c) 2.5 (d) 3

input BH1 input BH1
BH2 BH3 BH2 BH3
2.5 BH4 BH5
2 BH4 BH5
BH6 BH7 BH6 BH7

BH8 BH9 2 BH8 BH9

1.5 BH10 BH11 BH10 BH11
1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
85
(e) 1.2 Input BH1 (f) 0.4 input BH1

BH2 BH3 BH2 BH3
BH4 BH5 0.35
1 BH4 BH5
BH6 BH7
Fourier Amplitude (g-sec)

0.3 BH6 BH7
BH8 BH9 BH8 BH9
0.8 BH10 BH11 0.25 BH10 BH11
0.6 0.2
0.15
0.4
0.1
0.2
0.05
0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Fig. 10. Fourier Spectra at different borehole surface obtain from the linear analysis: (a) Northridge earthquake;
(b) Gujarat earthquake; (c) Kobe earthquake; (d) Lalitpura earthquake; (e) El Centro earthquake; (f) Gorkha
earthquake
(a) 1 (b) 1.4

input BH1 input BH1
BH2 BH3
BH2 BH3 1.2 BH4 BH5
0.8
BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7
1 BH8 BH9
BH6 BH7
BH10 BH11
0.6 BH8 BH9 0.8
BH10 BH11
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 3 4 5
(c) 0.7 (d) 1.6

input BH1 input BH1
0.6 BH2 BH3 1.4 BH2 BH3
BH4 BH5 BH4 BH5
0.5 BH6 BH7 1.2 BH6 BH7

BH8 BH9 BH8 BH9
BH10 BH11 1
0.4 BH10 BH11
0.8
0.3
0.6
0.2
0.4
0.1
0.2
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
(e) 0.7 (f) 0.45 input BH1
input BH1 BH2 BH3
BH2 BH3 0.4 BH4 BH5
0.6 BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7
BH6 BH7 0.35 BH8 BH9

0.5 BH8 BH9 BH10 BH11
BH10 BH11 0.3

0.4 0.25
0.3 0.2
0.15
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.05
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Frequency (Hz) Frequency(Hz)
Fig. 11. Fourier Spectra at different borehole surface obtain from the non-linear analysis: (a) Northridge
earthquake; (b) Gujarat earthquake; (c) Kobe earthquake; (d) Lalitpura earthquake; (e) El Centro
earthquake; (f) Gorkha earthquake
4.2.3 Bracketed duration
The duration of strong earthquake ground motion is one of the main parameters characterizing
earthquake natural hazard and is important because the amount of cumulative damage incurred by the
structures increases with a number of cycles of loading. Duration of strong motion is usually defined
in relation to the time required for the release of accumulated strain energy by rupture along the fault.
A typical example of selecting bracketed duration, the time between the first and the last exceedance
of acceleration as 0.05g at the ground surface of Bhaktapur durbar square is shown in figure 12. The
bracketed duration and increment in duration at the ground surface is shown in Fig.13. Fig.13a shows
the duration at the free field observed from the linear analysis. Fig.13a shows that the maximum
duration is obtained from the Gujarat earthquake followed by Gorkha, El Centro, Kobe, Northridge,
and Lalitpura earthquake respectively. Fig.13a shows that duration observed at the free field range
86
from 25sec to 80 sec and almost consistent duration is observed by input motions at different borehole
surface, except the Gorkha earthquake. Fig.13b shows that the significant increment in duration is
observed due to Kobe and Gorkha earthquake. Almost consistent increment of bracketed duration at
all the eleven boreholes is observed from Kobe (16.120sec), Northridge (6.9sec) and Lalitpura
(4.1sec) earthquake. In BH2 significant increment in duration is observed due to Gorkha earthquake.
Fig 13c shows the duration at the free field observed from the non-linear analysis. Fig.13c shows that
the maximum duration is obtained from the Gujarat earthquake followed by Gorkha, El Centro, Kobe,
Northridge, and Lalitpura earthquake respectively. Fig.13d shows the duration increment at free field
due to non-linear analysis. From Fig.13d, we can see that the maximum increment in duration is
observed due to the Gorkha earthquake and minimum increment in duration is observed due to the
Gujarat earthquake. The increment in duration ranges from 1.3sec to 51.45sec at the free field. The
maximum duration is observed at BH8 followed by BH9 whereas minimum value is obtained by
Gujarat for all eleven sites. Fig. 13d also shows that for the high PGA earthquake source, the
bracketed duration at the ground surface is low. This indicates that the decrease or increase of bracket
duration is directly related to the PGA of ground motions.
0.5 0.5
(b)
(a)
First First
First
exceedance(0.05
exceedance(0.05g) exceedance(0.05
exceedance(0.05g)
exceedance(0.05g)
Last exceedance (0.05g) g)
g) Last exceedance (0.05g)
Acceleration(g)
Acceleration(g)
0 0
-0.5
-0.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (sec) Time (sec)
Fig. 12. Duration at the free field of Durbar Square: (a) Linear analysis; (b) Non-linear analysis
(a) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha (b)

30
Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
80
Duriation increment
Duration at free field
25
60
20
40 15
10
20
5
0 0
Borehole Borehole
(c) Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
(d) 60 Northridge Bhuj_2001 Kobe Lalitpura El centro Gorkha
80
50
Duration at free field
Duration increasement
60
40
40 30
20
20
10
0 0
Borehole Borehole
Fig. 13. Duration at different borehole surface; (a) Duration due to linear analysis, (b) Duration increment
due to linear analysis, (c) Duration due to non-linear analysis, (d) Duration increment due to non-linear
analysis.
5. Conclusion
Local site effects play an important role in deciding the level of ground shaking. Present work is an
attempt where the dependency of the soil response on the input motion is assessed. Sets of globally
recorded ground motions are selected covering a wide range of ground motion parameters for the site
response. Eleven historically important sites of Bhaktapur Municipality are taken for site analysis.
The borehole data for these are collected from different sources and some of the borehole data, mainly
87
for core city area, is obtained by 3D geological subsurface data. The require soil properties are
obtained from JICA 2002 report for Kathmandu valley and empirical equation given by Ohta et al.
(1978) was used to calculate shear wave velocity. Among many available site response analysis tools,
DEEPSOIL is used to calculate linear and nonlinear analysis. Some of the major conclusions of this
study are listed below:
1. The output ground motion parameters obtained for each specific site are different for each
considered input motions, both in linear and non-linear analysis.
2. In the linear analysis, the PGA amplification obtained from Gujarat earthquake, followed by
Lalitpura earthquake, is highest among other input motions almost in all sites whereas, in non-
linear analysis, the PGA amplification obtained from Gorkha earthquake is highest.
3. The PGA amplification at the free field, obtained from non-linear analysis, seems to be decreasing
with increase in input PGA value.
4. For the non-linear soil condition, the PGA amplification is much less compared to the linear soil
condition and further for the higher input PGA values even de-amplification occur.
5. PGA at soil layers shows that approximately 20-30m below the surface have a more significant
amplification effect in all the boreholes in linear analysis whereas in case of non-linear analysis,
depth below 150m, there is significant de-amplification.
6. In linear analysis, the maximum Fourier amplification is obtained from the Gujarat earthquake
almost in all sites whereas in non-linear analysis maximum Fourier amplification is obtained from
Gorkha earthquake.
7. Similar to PGA amplification, Fourier amplification decreases with increase in input Fourier
amplitude.
8. PGA amplification is affected by the frequency content of motion. The motion having a higher
value of Fourier amplitude has low amplification of peak ground acceleration.
9. The soil condition greatly influences the frequency content of the earthquake motion. The narrow
banded spectrum is converted to broad-banded spectrum in both linear and non-linear analysis
except for Gujarat earthquake in non-linear analysis.
10. The variation of bracketed duration observed at ground surface from the both linear and non-
linear analysis for individual input earthquake source is almost same for all borehole except for El
Centro and Gorkha earthquake.
Reference
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Documentation Centre (DIDC), Bhaktapur Development Committee (BDC)
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ground vibration survey in earthquake disaster risk study- A case of Kathmandu Valley, Journal of civil
engineering research, 4(3A):20-30.
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groundwater quality in Kathmandu Valley using multivariate statistical techniques. Journal of water, Air &
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Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 15(1996):141-146.
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Kathmandu Valley, Kingdom of Nepal.
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of Kathmandu Valley, 13WCEE, Vancouver, B.C, Canada, Paper no.3124.
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Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 6:167-187.
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89
Behaviour of Waste Concrete Debris in Concrete

Suraj Shah1, Saurav Shrestha2, Sujan Maharjan 3 and Nishma Karki4
Abstract
Modern world in the name of urbanization is carrying many drawbacks. Among them, concrete debris
settlement is a major issue. Despite of self-destruction of modern structure, earthquakes are causing
devastation resulting in large amount of concrete debris, which is hard to decompose in soil. This
paper focuses on the reuse of solid waste for betterment of environment and as a post-earthquake
hazard management and in such cases, reuse of concrete waste would be better choice. This paper
focuses on the reuse of construction debris in concrete as a fine as well as coarse aggregate in
proportion in the concrete and study of different index properties like compressive strength, tensile
strength, ductility, flexural strength. Comparative study with ordinary concrete reveals that earlier
mentioned properties gets improve within certain limit of debris replacement. Therefore, using debris
is an ultimate way of reducing the effects of non-degradable waste product on the environment.
Keywords: Earthquake; Debris; Aggregate; Recycled aggregate; Index properties
1. Introduction
Modernization has replaced mud mortar with the cement mortar and concrete works, but the disasters
have brought destruction to these structures over time, disaster such as earthquake. Recent earthquake
of 2015 has made destruction of over six lakh houses in Nepal, (as per codeofnepal.org). Among
them, most of the houses were concrete structures. With the destruction, they produce large quantities
of solid waste named concrete debris, which is very hard to decompose, and can’t be reused in
structure directly so this is the one of the toughest managements after earthquake which is further
worsened by shortage of dumping sites in the developing countries. Increasing cost of transportation
forbids the disposal of waste to the farther sites.
Over the years, continuous extraction of natural aggregates from riverbeds, lakes and other water
bodies have resulted in huge environmental problems. In addition, there is a need to preserve the
natural resources for sustainable development and environmental pollution. Scientists and researchers
are in quest for developing alternate construction material that are environment friendly and
contribute towards development.
These wastes are increasing every year predominantly. Hence, to prevent pollution, authorities are
imposing more and more stringent restrictions on the extraction of natural aggregates and its crushing
(P. Asutkar et al., 2017). The best way to overcome this problem is to find alternate aggregates for
construction in place of conventional natural aggregates.
The quantity of natural aggregates used in concrete will be less with the use of recycled aggregates
in the form of partial replacement material (P. Asutkar et al., 2017).
A number of research activities has been conducted for reuse of recycled aggregate in fine and
coarse form in foreign countries. The recycled aggregates are either fine recycled or coarse recycled
studies, increase in percentage of recycled aggregate increased the strength of concrete to some extent
and then decreased on further increase. While in others, it was found that the increase in recycled
concrete resulted in a fraction decreased in the strength of concrete (Mohd Monish, 2014). As per the
study of numerous papers and journals, the end results varied on different papers due to various
reasons including the age of concrete (older demolished buildings produced lesser strengths
1 Department of civil engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, shahsanap89@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa college of Engineering, Bhaktapur,Nepal, sauravshrestha00001@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa college of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, sujanmahrjan@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineerig CE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, nish.karki001@gmail.com
90
comparatively), grade of concrete used, region of construction ,rate of water absorption, self-healing
properties, etc.( X.-P.Li,2007). Numerous studies like Li, (2008); Marzouk and Azab, (2014); Vieira
and Pereira, (2015) have recognized several benefits of recycling and reusing concrete waste.
In this research, some portion of fine aggregate was made replace by crushed debris obtained from
a demolished house powdered to fit the necessary criteria of fine aggregate in various percentage to
observe how different volumes of debris impacts the strength of concrete. The focus of this paper is
to carry out exhaustive, systematic study and compare the mechanical and durability properties of
recycled aggregate concrete for different amount of recycled coarse aggregate to concrete with natural
aggregates. Paper suggests the optimum ratio for the maximum increment of compressive strength
and various other index properties .In addition, paper presents the affected properties of recycled
aggregate
2. Methodology
• First, the construction debris was collected from a recent demolition site nearby. The recycled
aggregates were crushed and turned into fine aggregates (<4.75 mm) as shown in Fig.1.
• The specific gravity for fine, coarse and recycled aggregate was calculated.
• Mix design was done and Mix proportions were obtained using IS method of mix design.
• Cubes were made of size 15mm*15mm*15mm for different proportions of recycled aggregate
with respect to fine aggregate.
• After proper curing, testing was done after 28 days.
• The variations were studied and documented.
2.1 Materials used
As per IS 383-1970 the following materials were used. Concrete Debris was collected from thirty-five
years old Building. Cement of 53 grade was used and aggregate of following features.
Table 1. Material specification

Material type Size (mm) Specific gravity
Fine aggregate <4.75 2.61
Coarse aggregate <20 and > 4.75 2.76
Cement - 3.10
Debris (35 years old) <4.75 2.48
Fig. 1. Raw construction debris collected from site.
91
2.2 Mix proportions
Target mean strength (tms)

Statistical constant k = 1.65, Standard deviation S = 4.0, TMS=fck+k*s
Thus, TMS = 26.6 N/mm2
Selection of w/c ratio
a) as required for TMS = 0.5, b) as required for ‘Moderate’ Exposure = 0.55
Assume W/c ratio of 0.5, Determination of water & sand content for W/C = 0.6, C.F. = 0.85,
Max. Agg. Size = 20 mm, a) Water content = 186 Kg/cum, b) Sand as percentage of total aggregate
by absolute volume = 35 %
Thus,
Net water content = 180.42 Kg/cum
Net sand percentage = 33 %
Table 2. Adjustment of W/C

Adjustment (in %) required in
S.N. Change in condition Water content Sand content
Rate W Rate P
i) Sand conforming to zone -II 0 0 0 0
ii) Decrease in CF by 0.1 -3 -3 0 0
Each 0.05 decrease in W/C ratio
iii) Required w/c=0.5 0 0 -1 -2
Decrease =0.6-0.5=0.1
iv) For round aggregate 0 0 0 0
TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS -3 -2
Determination of cement content for W/c ratio = 0.5, Water content = 180.42 Kg/cum,
Thus, Cement content = 360.84 Kg/cum ,
Adequate for moderate exposure Say 360 Kg/cum, Determination of coarse and fine aggregate
content
Assume entrapped air as 2 %,
Thus,
0.98 cum = [180.42+360/3.10 + {1/0.33} *{fa/2.61}]/1000,
& 0.98 cum = [180.42+360/3.10 + {1/0.67} *{Ca/2.76}]/1000,
Hence, fa = 594.60 Kg/cum, Ca = 1263.83 Kg/cum,
The final mix proportions of M-20 grade of concrete becomes,
Table 3. Calculation of concrete components

Water Cement FA CA
In kg/cu.m 180.42 360.84 594.60 1263.83
In Proportion 0.50 1.00 1.65 3.50
Sample calculation for weight:

IS Standard Concrete mix (0%)
Assuming 25% wastage,
Volume=1.25*0.153*3(where 3 is the number of cubes) =0.01265 m3,
Cement=360.84*0.01265=4.56 kg, FA=594.60*0.01265=7.52 kg, CA=1263.83*0.01265=15.98 kg,
Water=0.5*4.56=2.28 L, Mix with 5% recycled aggregate, Cement=360.84*0.01265=4.56 kg,
FA=0.95*594.60*0.01265=7.14 kg, Substituted FA (Debris) =0.05*594.60*0.01265=0.37kg,
CA=1263.83*0.01265=15.98 kg, Water=0.5*4.56=2.28 L
92
Fig. 2. Cube samples prepared with percentage of respective recycled aggregate content
2.3 Compression test
The specimen were cast as shown in Fig.2. Compression test was conducted on the 28th day over
150*150*150 mm cubes in UTM. The strength is computed using Fc =P/A where P is the maximum
load and A- cross sectional area.
Theoretically, Fck=20MPa, Fm=26.6MPa

Measured compressive strength of standard samples=24.63MPa
Percentage error= {(26.6-24.63)/26.6} *100=7.39%
Fig. 3. Compressive Strength test in UTM.

We can find the optimum value of debris replacement comparing the variation in Compressive
Strength, Flexural strength and Tensile Strength.
3.1 Compressive strength
Here, Table 4. and Fig.4. shows that compressive strength of modified mix increases with increase in
percentage of debris as fine aggregate in concrete from zero to 15% (reaches maximum strength of
27.55 MPa with increase of 11.85% with respect to standard concrete mix) and then decreases to 50%.
Increase in debris amount by 5% increases the compressive strength by one Mpa up to 15%.
93
Table 4. Compressive Strength

Measured Compressive Variation With
% recycled Weight Mean ultimate
ultimate load strength respect to standard
aggregate (kg) load (KN)
(KN) (N/mm2) mix
8.32 543.6
0 (standard
8.58 556.6
concrete mix) 554.32 24.63 0%
8.64 562.4
8.52 570.8
8.36 581.2
5 575.96 25.59 3.89% (+)
8.52 576.0
8.36 608.5
8.26 643.3
15 619.92 27.55 11.85% (+)
8.32 608.2
8.48 532.5
8.42 521.1
25 531.14 23.60 4.18% (-)
8.34 539.9
8.08 500.0
8.26 533.2
35 517.98 23.02 6.53% (-)
8.16 520.4
8.14 501.0
8.30 511.2
50 497.14 22.09 10.31% (-)
8.12 478.9
Fig. 4. Compressive strength vs percentage of aggregate replacement.
3.2 Flexural strength
Fig. 5. Flexural strength and percentage of debris replacement
Flexural strength is calculated referring relevant clause fcr = 0.7 (fc) ^0.5) from 6.2.2: IS 456 –
2000 and minute changes are there in flexural strength as shown in Fig.5 ,there is gradual rise in
flexural strength from zero to 10% of replacement and reduction.
94
Fig. 6. Tensile strength vs. percentage of replacement

Tensile strength is calculated from an expression ft = 0.12 (fc) ^0.7 used in British Code of
practice BS 8007:1987 as shown in Fig.6 and minute changes are there in Tensile strength .there is
gradual rise about 10% over standard concrete in tensile strength when debris is in zero to 10% of
replacement and reduction.
5. Conclusion
The waste construction debris resulting from demolition of buildings due to any cause (earthquake or
ageing) can be considered as an excellent replacement for fine aggregate in the concrete mix with
positive results. The optimum amount of replacement in percentage is 15%, which have made about
10% of increment in above-mentioned strength. We have conducted macro level test by replacement
of fine aggregate only, it can be more accurate if we are able to test the concrete by varying grain size,
varying water cement ratio, and modifying properties of waste concrete. One of the most important
recommendation will be that chemical analysis of concrete debris and concrete should be done so as if
there is any chemical, which would increase bonding between them so more strength can be benefited.
References
Seeni, A., Selvamony, C., Kannan, S.U & Ravikumar, M.S. (2012) .Experimental study of partial replacement
of fine aggregate with waste material from china clay industries. International journal of computational
Engg. Research, 2(8), 167-171.
Al-Jaberi, L. (2018). Effect of Grinded of Debris of Concrete on the Compressive Strength of Reactive Powder
Concrete. Journal of University of Babylon for Engineering Sciences, 26(8), 218 - 227. Retrieved from
https://www.journalofbabylon.com/index.php/JUBES/article/view/1612 26
. Poovendiran, K., Mariappan, P., Thivya, J., & Jayganesh, D. (2015). Recovery and reuse of fine aggregate
from debris of building demolition. International Journal of Engineering and Technology (IJET), 7(1), 222-
233.
Li, X. (2008). Recycling and reuse of waste concrete in China: Part I. Material behavior of recycled aggregate
concrete .Resource Conservation Recycle, 53(3), 36–44.
Mahzuz, H.M.A., Ahmed A.A.M., & Yusuf M.A. (2011). Use of stone powder in concrete and mortar as an
alternative of sand, African journal of Environmental Science and Tech,5(5), 381-388.
Miguel Blanco-Carrasco, F. H. N. O. (2010), Qatar: Green Concrete Technologies-Towards a Sustainable
Concrete Industry in Qatar
Asutkar, P., Shinde, S., & Patel, R. (2016). Study on the Behaviour of rubber aggregates concrete beams using
analytical approach. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal.20.
10.1016/j.jestch.2016.07.007.
Wu, B., Yong, Y., &Zongping, C. (2018). Compressive Behaviors of Prisms Made of Demolished Concrete
Lumps and Fresh Concrete. Applied science, 8(5), 1-21.
95
Corrosion of Rebar and Earthquake Vulnerability

Suraj Shah1, Suraj Gaudel2, Rajan Pandit3 and Dibyaraj Adhakari4
Abstract
Reinforced concrete is dominating over every structure as they are constructed in a rapid way due to
its availability and ease of construction. Although a high alkaline environment of the concrete protects
the rebar from corrosion, but corrosion does occur, and it is currently one of the primary durability
concerns for RC structures. The corrosion of RC is a complex chemical process, and its occurrence is
continuously increasing in aging infrastructure. Reinforced concrete design is based on the
assumption that the concrete and the rebar combine to create a new, composite material. Generally,
the concrete is designed to carry the compressive loads while the rebar is designed to carry the tensile
loads and provide ductile strength. The bond between reinforcement and concrete is very important,
as it enables the reinforced concrete member to carry compressive and tensile loads. However,
corrosion weakens this bond and thus results in a weakening of the RC member and performance is
poor in earthquake which results in vulnerable in earthquake resistant. The main objective of the
research is to identify the effects of corrosion on earthquake vulnerability by keeping bond strength.
Repair of different diameter and of different corrosion rate was used by assuming as unit model as in
a real structure.
Keywords: RCC; rebar, Corrosion; Bond strength; Earthquake vulnerability.
1. Introduction
Corrosion of reinforcing steel and other embedded metals is the leading cause of deterioration in
concrete (Yüksel, 2015). When steel corrodes, the resulting rust occupies a greater volume than the
steel. This expansion creates tensile stresses in the concrete, which can eventually cause cracking,
delamination, and spalling (PCA, 2018). Rebar corrosion is one of the most important key aspects
affecting durability, structural behavior, and costs for repair of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures.
Therefore, structural performance and serviceability assessment of RC structures should account for
the time-dependent variation of the structural response (Wenjun, et al., 2010). Rebar corrosion
adversely affects the structural performance of all structural members and the entire system. As a
result of these corrosion scenarios losses in cross-sectional area, loss of mechanical properties of the
reinforcement bars, loss in bond strength, loss in concrete strength, and changes in elastic moduli of
concrete is considered (Fang, 2004 and Kearsley, 2014). Expected damage in existing RC structures
due to reinforcement corrosion is primarily dependent on the threshold levels on corrosion rate,
corrosion amount, corrosion location and loss in cross sectional area of reinforcement bars. With
numerous earthquakes occurring across the globe, seismic performance evaluation of existing
Reinforced Concrete (RC) stress of utmost significance. Over the past few decades, corrosion of steel
reinforcement is identified as one of the major causes contributing to the inadequate seismic
performance of existing RC structures. Corrosion of reinforcement of RC structures may be caused by
carbonization, chloride ions, oxygen penetration, insufficient cover, etc.
Seismic vulnerability assessment of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures is traditionally conducted
assuming that the structures are optimally maintained during their lifetime neglecting time dependent
deterioration mechanisms adversely affecting their performance (PCA, 2018). Corrosion is a time-
dependent phenomenon and thus, traditional seismic analysis is not applicable to seismic fragility
evaluation of corroded RC structures.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, shahsanap89@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, gaudelhimal2015@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, rajanpandit1996@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, rajdibya1122@gmail.com
96
2. Methodology
2.1 Specimen
Fig.1. Specimen
Four wooden box moulds of dimensions 140mm x 140mm x 148mm, 140mm x 140mm x 140mm
were prepared in this project. Holes in the wooden mould were made according to the diameter of
rebar of 2D, 3D from bottom of mould.
2.2 Rebar preparation
Grade 60 reinforced steel was brought with stipulation that the rebar be as free from corrosion. The
cleanest surface was selected for use in testing. Corrosion present at the rebar was cleaned by 10%
Diammonium hydrogen citrate solution. Care was taken to minimize the loss of metal mass from
rebar. The mass of the bar was recorded before concrete was cast.
2.3 Design of specimen
The design of the specimen conformed to Standard Methods for Testing of Concrete Structures. The
reinforcement had a diameter of 10mm and 12mm and a length of 400 mm. For those specimens with
stirrups, round steel with a diameter of 6 mm was selected for rectangular closed stirrups with a
spacing of 40 mm. To avoid corrosion of the stirrups, they were isolated from the main bar. The bars
were descaled and cleaned before casting into the concrete specimens. The embedded length chosen
was four times the bar diameter. This short-embedded length was selected to avoid yielding of the
steel bar under pullout load. To debond the remaining 100-mm length of reinforcement, 50-mm-long
PVC conduits that were about the same in diameter as the main reinforcement were used on both ends
of the specimen (Fang, 2004). This arrangement ensured a bar embedded length of 80 mm in contact
with the concrete. These debonded zones were also used to protect the reinforcement from the
confining pressure of concrete at the supports the M20 concrete is prepared with quantity as shown in
Table 1
Table 1. Proportion of aggregate
SN Ingredients Amounts
1 Coarse aggregate 14.62kg
2 Fine aggregate 7.31kg
3 Cement 4.678kg
4 Water 1.8712 (lit)
The above amount was for four cube specimens. All ingredients were mixed in a concrete mixer
for about 20 min. The concrete mix was then poured into wooden moulds. A steel reinforcement bar
97
was positioned horizontally at the center of the mould and 2D, 3D from the bottom of specimen
(Fang, 2004). Holes were made in both ends of the mould so that the steel bar could protrude through
the specimen for convenience of installation in the testing machine and measurement of free-end slip.
The moulds containing the concrete mix were then placed on a vibrator for casting. After casting, the
concrete specimens were kept in the moulds and covered with damp polythene at 20℃ for 3 days.
They were then demolded and kept in a standard curing room for 28 days. After 28 days two
specimens were taken for a bond strength test and remaining 6 specimens were left for different
corrosion rate.
3. Accelerated Corrosion
Corrosion takes a long time to occur naturally for noticeable range. To accelerate reinforcement
corrosion electrolytic corrosion method is used, direct electric current was impressed on the
specimens using constant electric current supply for specified periods. The specimen was soaked in
4% NaCl solution to stimulate the amount of chlorine available in the marine environment for
saturation of chloride ions to accelerate the corrosion process 3 days before the direct current was
applied (PCA, 2018). The current was adjusted so that the reinforcement embedded in the specimens
served as the anode and a stainless-steel plate act as a cathode.
Fig.2 shows a schematic diagram of corrosion tank. The corrosion tank is made of plastic, 4%
NaCl solution is used as the electrolyte. To impress the electric current wire was soldered in the
reinforcement, such that electrons flow from the anode to cathode.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of corrosion tank
.
Fig.3. Diagram of corrosion tank before corrosion
The power supply is used as a source of current, the positive terminal of the power supply is
connected to the reinforcement and the negative is connected to the stainless-steel plate. 1.7Amp
current is applied in these experiments. Faraday’s law was used to determine metal loss. The
percentage of corrosion was determined by the formula given by
98
!×##$%×&×'
(1)
(
where 𝑖 is in amp/cm2, 𝑇 is in years and 𝐷 is in cm (Wenjun, et.al, 2010).

Using a constant current density and measured value of time, % of corrosion can be determined
using the above equation. In this experiment Time required to operate the circuit was determined first
by the required % of corrosion and constant current density.
Fig. 4. During corrosion in corrosion tank
Fig. 5. Corrosion in the rebar
4. Bond strength test

Eight cubes were made for bond strength test. Among them two cubes were tested in 28 days before
the corrosion start for the stander value of bond strength. Six cubes were tested at a different corrosion
level. The bond strength test was done in simple method. A Rebar of 20mm was welded to the rebar
of specimen with a sufficient strength for wielding. So, that specimen cannot fail from the wielding
part. Free end of the rebar was inserted through the hole of lower part and gripped at centre of upper
part of the Universal Testing machine. The load displacement rate was 1.4mm/min. The load for
deflection of 0.001-0.002 is recommended for computation of bond strength τ. The value of the load
for 0.0015mm was used in this work. The bond strength was computed using formula τ = P/ (Πdl),
where P is load [N], L embedded length [m] and d diameter [m] of the bar.
5. Results
Bond strength is defined by the measure of the effectiveness of the grip between concrete and steel
which varies from diameter and corrosion amount.
99
Table 2. Relation between percentage (%) of corrosion and bond strength
Diameter (mm) of rod % of corrosion Bond strength (Mpa)

0 8.86
3 7.72
10
5.5 4.54
20 1.59
0 6.85
2 6
12
4 3.32
12 0.81
Re lationship between bond strength and % of corrosion

10
9
8
Bond strength(MPa)
7
6
5 For 10 mm Rod
4 For 12mm Rod

3
2
1
0
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
% of corrosion
Fig. 6. Graph between percent of corrosion and bond strength of different diameter
The position of rebar or cover provided to rebar plays major role in corrosion percentage and bond
strength as explicated in chart.
Effe ct of position of re bar and le ve l of corrosion

9
8
7
Bond strength (MPa)
6
5 2D from
4 bottom
3 3D from
bottom
2
1
0
0-3% 3-5% 5-20%
% of Corrosion
Fig. 7. Relation between effect of position of bar and level of corrosion
6. Discussion and Conclusion

Bond strength of rebar and concrete decreases with the increase in corrosion percentage [Fig. 6] and
another thing to notice is that bond strength is decreased with the increase in diameter of rebar but
increase in value of bond strength with the increase in cover or distance from edge, Fig.5-7. Based on
the detailed experimental investigations, we can conclude that reinforcement corrosion leads to the
decline of bond strength. For every percentage increase in corrosion level, there is about 16 %
100
decrease in bond strength. Post-earthquake reconnaissance survey has revealed the inadequate seismic
performance of existing corrosion-damaged RC structures. This research paper synthesizes existing
research on failure mechanism, experimental and analytical investigation, retrofit strategy,
vulnerability assessment and time-dependent seismic fragility evaluation of corroded RC structures.
Carbonization, chloride ions, oxygen penetration, insufficient cover, etc. are potential reasons of
corrosion in reinforcement of RC structures. However, the extent of damage due to reinforcement
corrosion is solely reliant on the corrosion rate, corrosion amount, corrosion location, corrosion in
longitudinal or shear reinforcement, loss in cross sectional area of reinforcement bars, etc.
Consequently, corroded RC structures when subjected to strong ground motions exhibit inadequate
seismic resistance culminating in total or partial progressive collapse. So that other factors like
flexural bond strength, tensile strength and serviceability of structure should be correlated and non-
destructive test should be done. So that it suggests that proper diameter with adequate cover should be
kept in order to prevent corrosion and method of real field data should be studied using different non-
destructive test (NDT) and chemical analysis should be done to measure true interaction between
corrosion and concrete which will measure true effect of corrosion on RCC structure neither it is very
vulnerable to seismic hazard as earthquake demands strength and ductility is provided by rebar.
References
Fang, C., Lundgren, K., Chen, L. & Chaoyin, L. (2004). Corrosion influence on bond in reinforced concrete.
Shanghai: Cement and Concrete Research.
Kearsley, E. J. (2014). Effect of corrosion products on bond strength and flexural behavior of reinforced
concrete slabs. South African Institution of Civil Engineers.
Lewis, J. (2012, December). The Effect of Corrosion on Reinforced Concrete with Fiber Addition (Master’s
thesis.) Retrieved from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/akro.
PCA (2002). Types and causes of Concrete Deterioration. Skokie, Illinois: Portland Cement Association.
PCA (2018). Corrosion of Embedded Metals. Skokie, Illinois : Portland Cement Association.
Wenjun, Q., Wang, K., Xiong, Y. (2010). A study on the bond strength between rebar and concrete after
electrochemical realkalisation treatment for carbonated concrete. Switzerland: Trans Tech.
Yüksel, İ. (2015). Impacts of rebar corrosion on structural behavior of reinforced concrete buildings. Eighth
National Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Istanbul: Researchgate.
101
Estimation of a 3-D Velocity Model of the Kathmandu Basin for

Ground Motion Simulation
Subeg Bijukchhen1, Nobuo Takai2, Michiko Shigefuji3, Masayoshi Ichiyanagi 4, Tsutomu
Sasatani, and Yokito Sugimura
Abstract
The Kathmandu Basin has suffered times and again due to damaging earthquakes in the past including
the largest 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake and the latest 2015 Gorkha earthquake. The thick sediments
of the Kathmandu Basin amplify the seismic waves causing damage to infrastructures. The location in
one of the seismically active regions, wave amplification due to thick soft sediments, rapid and
haphazard urbanization, and a probable earthquake in the 'seismic gap' of west Nepal all make the
Kathmandu Basin seismically vulnerable. This necessitates a thorough understanding of seismic
response of the basin sediment to properly designate seismically susceptible areas of the basin.
Previous studies have shown undulated and highly uneven basement topography of the Kathmandu
Basin. The sediment distribution in the basin is not uniform and it results in a complex basin response
during an earthquake making the generalization of seismic response difficult. But there are very few
study and data regarding the underground structure of the basin. The results of these studies are not
adequate for computation and simulation to explain the seismic characteristics of the basin. Hence,
we've constructed a 3-D velocity model of the Kathmandu Basin to carry out ground motion
simulation to explain the basin response to seismic waves.
We compiled gravity anomaly data, geological maps, geological cross-sections, 1-D velocity
structures, and groundwater well logs to construct the 3-D velocity model. A number of points in the
cross-sections considered to represent the changes in sediment distribution and thickness in 2-D were
interpolated into surface maps of individual layers. The 3-D model has five sediment layers and a
weathered-rock layer superseding the basement rocks. The sediment thickness is 612 m at the deepest
part at the centre. The undulation of the basement topography and heterogeneous sediment
distribution is represented in the mode along with a number of small sub-basins created by hillocks of
bedrock exposures breaching through the basin sediments to form surface exposures.
We carried out ground motion simulation by finite difference method on this 3-D velocity model.
The largest aftershock (Mw7.3) of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake was used for the simulation. The
eastern and southern part of Kathmandu near the edges and at the sub-basins showed larger
amplification and prolonged seismic wave activity. These areas were hit hard during the 1934 Nepal-
Bihar earthquake as well, which also had epicentre east of the Kathmandu Basin.
This 3-D velocity structure of the Kathmandu Basin, constructed by present study, can be used to
simulate the probable scenario earthquakes in the 'seismic gap' and demarcate the vulnerable areas of
Kathmandu. This will also facilitate the update of building codes and to carry out the disaster
mitigation research.
Keywords: Kathmandu Basin; 3-D velocity model; Seismic waves; Ground Motion simulation
1. Background
The active seismicity in the Himalayan Region is due to the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate
into the Eurasian plate. The subduction is not intermittent but interrupted by asperities which results
in accumulation of stress that gets released periodically in form of small and large tremors. More than
twenty damaging earthquakes have occurred in Nepal after the thirteenth century (Dixit et al., 2013)
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Nepal, subegbij@khec.edu.np

2 Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, tki@eng.hokudai.ac.jp
3 Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, shigefuji@arch.kyushu-u.ac.jp
4 Institute of Seismology and Volcanology, Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo, Japan, ichimasa@mail.sci.hokudai.ac.jp
102
namely in 1833, 1934, 1980, 1988, and 2015. The 2015 Gorkha earthquake claimed life of more than
9000 people and caused huge damage in eastern and central Nepal. The interest in study of tectonics
and seismicity of the region has increased significantly after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake.
The study site of the present work is Kathmandu Basin in central Nepal (Fig. 1). The bowl-shaped
tectonic basin also referred to as the ‘Kathmandu Valley’ formed as a result of Himalayan orogeny
and used to be a lake (Sakai, 2001). After eventual breaching and drying of the lake, the basin was left
with fluvio-lacustrine sediments with thickness of ~600 m at the centre (Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980)
surrounded by hills of basement rocks on all sides. The seismic waves passing through thick soft
sediments get amplified when reaching the surface and can cause more damage to infrastructures. But
the sediment type and thickness of the Kathmandu Basin is not evenly distributed resulting in seismic
responses that vary from place to place.
Fig. 1. The Kathmandu Basin, also shown are the locations of seismometers used in the present study.
The seismic response study of the Kathmandu Basin is important as it is the political, cultural, and
economic capital as well as the largest urban agglomerate of the country with more than 2.5 million
residents (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2012). It has been pointed that the region of west Nepal has not
seen a large earthquake in more than 300 years and this ‘seismic gap’ has potential of a large
earthquake in the future (Bilham & Wallace, 2005) due to stress accumulation for such a long time.
An earthquake disaster in Kathmandu may not only cause significant damage to life and infrastructure
but it can bring the country to a halt as a result of infrastructure damage. The recent rise of haphazard
construction practice in Kathmandu can cause hinderance in rescue and increase the time required to
return to normalcy.
A proper understanding of underground structure of the Kathmandu Basin is necessary to study the
seismic response of the sediments so that the information could be used in drafting the building codes
which helps in construction of resilient structures to minimise the damage and number of casualties in
event of an earthquake. The characterization of subsurface velocity structure is a necessary
precondition to prepare safe and up-to-date building codes that help prevent loss of life and property
during seismic hazard. There are few previous studies regarding the subsurface structure of the
Kathmandu Basin. Nonetheless, the lack of detailed study, P-S logging data, and borehole logs
regarding the basin sediments make preparation of subsurface velocity structure difficult.
This work focusses on construction of a 3-D velocity structure of the Kathmandu Basin using
available geological, geophysical, borehole data and earthquake records. The seismic response of the
3-D velocity structure is then studied by using the simulated ground motion of Mw 7.3 earthquake
(the largest aftershock of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake sequence).
103
2. Geological Setting of the Kathmandu Basin

The tectonic collision in the Himalaya region not only results in crustal shortening and active orogeny
but also the formation of tectonic basins like Kathmandu. The rapid uplift of the mountain range south
of the present-day Kathmandu dammed the proto-Bagmati River (Sakai et al., 2002) to form a lake
(Hagen, 1969) surrounded by mountains on all sides. The tectonic origin of the basin by crustal
shortening rather than subsidence caused the basin floor to be quite undulated. The eventual drying
out of the lake around 10 ka (Sakai, 2001) left a sediment filled basin. The origin of these sediments
are the basement rocks of the surrounding mountains. The undulation of the basement topography has
resulted in bedrock exposures that breach through the sediments in many parts of the basin. The
presence of a number of faults in the basin (Dhital, 2015; Sugimura, 2012) may also have caused
these bedrock exposures.
Essentially the geology of the Kathmandu Basin can be described as the Basement rocks and the
Basin-fill sediments.
2.1 Basement rocks
The basement rocks around and under the basin-fill sediments belong to the Lesser Himalaya.
Geologically, these rocks are classified under the Bhimphedi Group and the Phulchauki Group in the
Kathmandu Complex (Stocklin & Bhattarai, 1977).
2.1.1 Bhimphedi Group
This group consists of hard metamorphic rocks like schist, quartzite, and marble and are attributed to
be of Pre-Cambrian origin. Though there are six formations in this group, only two of them; the
Kulikhani Formation and the Markhu Formation, are found in the mountains surrounding the
Kathmandu Basin.
2.1.2 Phulchauki Group
The rocks of this group, overlying the Bhimpedi Group consists of meta-sedimentary rocks like
limestone, dolomite, slate, and phyllite. These rocks bound the basin from south and west. The age of
this rocks are considered to be Cambrian to Devonian. There are five formations in this group: the
Tistung Formation, Sopyang Formation, Chandragiri Formation, Chitlang Formation, and Godavari
Limestone. The intrusive body of gneiss in the northern part of the basin forming the Shivapuri
mountain range is named as Sheopuri Injection Complex or Sheopuri Gneiss.
The rocks of Bhimphedi Group lie outside the watershed of the Bagmati River, so almost all the
sediments of the Kathmandu Basin come from the rocks of the Phulchauki Group and the Sheopuri
Gneiss.
2.2 Basin-fill sediments
The basin-fill sediments of Kathmandu have fluvio, fluvio-lacustrine, and fluvio-deltaic origin
(Dhital, 2015). The gravimetric survey (Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980) showed the depth of sediment
to be about 600 m at the centre of the basin and a borehole encountered the basement rock at 550 m
near the centre of the basin (JICA, 2002).
The geological classification of the basin-fill sediments of Kathmandu vary depending on the
researchers(Dongol, 1985; Sakai, 2001; Sakai et al., 2002; Shrestha et al., 1998; Yoshida & Igarashi,
1984). We can describe the sediments as three different types in general depending on their
depositional environment. The coarse-grained sand, pebble of the bottom are the older river deposits
before the formation of the lake. A thin lignite layer separates this layer with younger lake deposit.
The lake deposit consists of thick predominant clay and sand layers. The sand layers are dominant in
the northern part of the basin (Fig. 2) (Sakai et al., 2002). The top part of the basin is the recent river
sediment of the Bagmati River system deposited after drying up of the lake.
104
Fig. 2. Simplified geological cross section of the Kathmandu Basin (Sakai, 2001)
3. 3-D Velocity Structure of the Kathmandu Basin

Basically, a 3-D velocity structure is constructed based on the information obtained by geophysical
explorations, micro-tremor arrays, gravity surveys and direct methods like deep boreholes. There has
been few previous studies regarding the subsurface structure of the Kathmandu Basin (JICA, 2002;
Kubo et al., 2016; Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980; Pandey, 2000; Paudyal et al., 2012; Piya, 2004;
Sugimura, 2012). Nevertheless, there is a lack of detailed study including deep boreholes and P-S
logging that can assist in the construction of a 3-D velocity model.
As an initial step for construction of a 3-D velocity model of the basin, 1-D velocity models
beneath eight seismic stations (Fig. 1) were estimated (Bijukchhen et al., 2017) using geological
information, geophysical data, and earthquake records. The seismic stations were installed as a
collaborative work between Hokkaido University, Japan and Tribhuvan University, Nepal for strong
ground motion characteristics study of the Kathmandu Basin sediments. Four of these stations, KTP,
TVU, PTN, and THM are in operation from 2011 whereas four stations, BKT, RNB, PPR, and KPN
were installed temporarily after the mainshock of 2015 Gorkha Earthquake for three months. The
station KTP is installed over a rock site whereas other stations were installed over sediment sites.
Fig. 3. Depth distribution map of bedrock (Vs== 3.2 km/s and cross-section of the Kathmandu Basin. The black
triangles are the seismic stations.
Available geological map (Shrestha et al., 1998; Sugimura, 2012), gravity anomaly data
(Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980), and borehole logs (JICA, 2002; Piya, 2004) were consulted to prepare
initial 1-D structures of the stations. Most of the borehole logs lacked a clear description and details as
most of the boreholes were dug for the groundwater prospecting. The earthquake records from the
stations were then used to tune the 1-D velocity structures by using Propagator Matrix method (Aki &
Richards, 2000), and S-wave H/V spectral ratio method (HVSR)(Kawase et al., 2011; Nagashima et
al., 2014).
105
Table 1. Layers of the 3-D velocity model

Layer Vs (m/s) Basic lithology Max. dep (m)
Layer 1 200 Clay, fine sand 50
Layer 2 300 Black clay, silt 330
Layer 3 350 Sand, coarse sand 330
Layer 4 400 Gravel, lignite 369
Layer 5 500 Boulder bed 612
Layer 6 700 Weathered bedrock 632
Since, the basin topography of the Kathmandu Basin is not even but undulated general
interpolation of few points cannot give an ideal representation of the basin structure. The 3-D velocity
structure of the basin was constructed based on the previous geological and geophysical data,
hydrogeological cross-sections (Sugimura, 2012), borehole logs as well as the 1-D structures. The
different geological units were grouped into 5 layers of sediments based on their lithotype. The depth
to the bedrock was based on the results of gravity anomaly study (Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980). The
data on thickness of different layers were based on the hydrogeological cross-sections, 1-D velocity
models and the boreholes. The surface map for individual layer were then constructed by method of
Kriging with a grid of 100 m x 100 m. The 3-D velocity structure was truncated above elevation of
1320 m to make a planar top so that it can be used in ground motion simulation by Finite Difference
Method (FDM). Similarly, the river terraces and low grounds were also filled by the topmost layer to
make a planar top. The shear wave velocity (Vs) of the layers were based on the previous study on
earthquake disaster management in the Kathmandu Basin (JICA, 2002).
The 3-D velocity structure (Fig. 3) shows the undulation of the basement topography and the
difference of sediment thickness. The velocity structure shows 5 sediment layers and a weathered
bedrock layer at the bottom (Table 1). The centre part of the basin has the deepest part where the
bedrock is reached at 612 m from the surface. A number of small ‘sub-basins’ can be clearly seen in
the cross-sections which is a significant property of the Kathmandu Basin as a result of its uneven
basin topography.
4. Ground Motion Simulation

The ground motion simulation of the largest aftershock (Mw 7.3) of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake was
carried out in the 3-D velocity structure by Ground Motion Simulation (GMS) developed by NIED
(Aoi & Fujiwara, 1999) based on FDM. Since, the mainshock records of the Gorkha Earthquake
shows strong nonlinearity (Dhakal et al., 2016; Rajaure et al., 2017) and smaller earthquake records
have low signal-to-noise ratio, Mw 7.3 earthquake was deemed large enough with no nonlinearity.
The pulse width (7.1 s) of the triangle source function for simulation was taken as the reciprocal of
corner frequency fc (0.14 Hz) of observed displacement spectra of rock site KTP record. The physical
properties of the layers; shear wave velocity, density, and quality factor (Q) were based on the
previous studies (Borah et al., 2015; Grandin et al., 2015; JICA, 2002; Monsalve et al., 2006; Olsen et
al., 2000; Satoh, 2004; Takai et al., 2015). The grid-size was fixed at 50 m and maximum allowable
frequency was kept at 0.8 Hz (fmax).
The edge of basin and the areas near the sub-basin show a maximum amplitude in the result of
simulation (Fig. 4). The places like Bhaktapur and Sankhu in east side of the basin show high
amplification due to the basin edge effect. These areas suffered heavy damage during 1934 Nepal-
Bihar Eearthquake as well. The comparison of intensity (MMI) map of the 1934 Nepal Bihar
Earthquake (M 8.2) (Rana, 1935) and the result of the simulation (Fig. 5) reveal that the areas
suffering heavy damage during the 1934 earthquake (MMI X and IX) also show high seismic wave
amplification in the present simulation. The eastern and southern part of the basin seems to be more
susceptible to strong shaking during the earthquake. Simulation of the 1934 Earthquake using the 3-D
velocity model will shed more light into this.
106
Fig. 4. Comparison of earthquake intensity of 1934 earthquake with PGV distribution result of Mw 7.3
simulation
5. Conclusion
The Kathmandu Basin is a tectonic basin filled with sediments on an uneven basement topography
and is seismically vulnerable. Past earthquakes have resulted in lot of damage to life and property
inside the basin. The present study focuses on the construction of 3-D velocity using available gravity
anomaly data, geological data, and borehole logs for seismic response study. The 1-D velocity
structure beneath eight seismic stations were prepared by using seismic records from the stations. The
3-D velocity models were constructed using geological maps, cross-sections, and borehole logs along
with the 1-D velocity models. The depth to bedrock was based on the gravity anomaly data. The
thickness and distribution of sediment layers were noted along geological cross-sections, in vicinity of
boreholes and seismic stations for the purpose. Five sedimentary layers and a weathered rock layer at
the bottom were considered for the model.
Ground motion simulation of Mw 7.3 aftershock was carried out in the model. The edges of the
basin, in eastern and northern part as well as the areas in sub-basins showed high amplification of the
seismic waves in the simulation indicating a vulnerability during an earthquake. This model can be
used for simulation of probable scenario earthquake for disaster mitigation and engineering studies of
the Kathmandu Basin.
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108
Importance of Orientation of Structure in Seismic Performance

Bibek Sahi1, Anita Rimal2, Dipesh Bhattrai3, Pramit Rajkarnikar4, Rabina Deuja5 and
Rameswor Shrestha6
Abstract
Many buildings within the seismic zone have different orientation by direction, which provide
comfortable living space from all environmental calamities. The objective of paper is to obtain the
seismic performance of structure at different orientation at severe earthquake zone (A1.0) of Nepal
with a case study of Pakuney Paati village of Bhaktapur, Nepal. During earthquake, orientation can
cause the destruction of building regardless of other parameters of the building such as bearing
capacity of soil being safe. In order to identify the most vulnerable building, five building are
modeled at 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° angles and examined the performance of structure in terms of
displacement, bending moment and shear force. Models are based on the types and components of
structures (height, width, length, types of mortar used) found in Pakuney Paati village. The paper
showed the orientation of structure is important from environment as well as design point of view.
Keywords: Orientation; Pakuney Paati village; Bhaktapur; Seismic performance; Bearing capacity
1. Introduction
Building orientation is an important description of building characteristics and shows non-negligence
effect on seismic behavior and is a significant design consideration with regard to solar radiation and
wind (M.Al-Tamimi et al., 2011).Orientation of a building refers to the way of a building situated on
a site and the positioning of windows, rooflines and other features. Building orientation can also be
defined as the practice of facing building to maximize certain aspects of its surroundings, such as
street appeal, drainage consideration (Green Building Manual).
Building orientation can be used to take advantage of pleasant winds and to avoid solar radiation in
hot and to keep protected from unpleasant wind and to take advantage of solar radiation in cold season
(Falakian & Falakian, 2013). The layout of the building in Kathmandu valley is recommended as
orientation in north-south (long axis east-west) (Upadhyay et al., 2006). The polar plots of PGA and
spectral accelerations at 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 s indicate that the spectral acceleration at 0.5 s (i.e., large
response spectral peak in the short-vibration period range) is highly polarized, that is placement of the
length or breadth of wall in polar direction is very crucial (Pokhrel et al., 2015). The available local
mechanisms indicate that the north-south thrusting is predominant (Gupta & Singh, 1980).
2. Review
Maximum bending moment is observed at the structure oriented by 90◦.Maximum shear force is
observed at the structure oriented by 0◦. Maximum story drift is observedat the structure oriented by
0◦(Kulkarni & Kandolkar, 2018).
The orientation of the building helps to determine the stability of in plane wall and out of plane
wall. To analyze the different seismic behavior (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.) on differently orientated building,
case study on Pakuney Paati, Bhaktapur was done. Orientation of building which are partially
destructed (PD), Full destructed (FD) all houses that are in Pakuney Paati during major earthquake
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, thakuribibek0@gmail.com
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
ennitarimal@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, bhattaraidipesh10@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, pramitrajkarnikar4@gmail.com
5 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, deujarabina98@gmail.com
6 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, rameswor.sth@gmail.com
109
(12 May 2015) was done. The software analysis (SAP 2000) of a representative building was
performed along with field study include bearing capacity of soil and orientation data study.
Fig 1: Polar plots of the PGA and Spectral Fig 2: 5% damped spectral accelerations
Accelerations at 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 s of the of the recorded accelerograms at KATNP
rotated accelerogram at KATNP for for the Mw 7.8 mainshock and the Mw7.3
the Mw 7.8 main shock aftershock. (Source: Goda et al., 2015.)
3. Methodology
Orientation of the structure (building) makes difference in how the earthquake (seismic) loads impact
on the structure. If the foundation is stable, then due to the orientation of the building, earthquake load
makes severe impact and can be one of the causes for failure of the building. For this the orientation
of the building was collected and bearing capacity of soil was determined. Buildings were modeled in
different orientation (Fig. 3.) with typical floor plan (Fig. 4. and 5.) of that village. North-South was
taken as 0 degree.
The site visit helped to observe the destruction due to 2015 earthquake and resettlement. Almost
200 households were surveyed to generate the required data (orientation, size, no of floors, destruction
pattern, mortar and units). Those households were classified according to orientation, no. of floors,
destruction pattern and mortars used (mud mortar or cement mortar). The orientation in which
maximum buildings were destructed was determined. Comparison of maximum destruction according
to types of mortar used was also done. With the representative size and number of floors, the
structural analysis (time history analysis) of the representative building was done using SAP 2000
V19. The parameters used for the analysis is shown in Table 1. The load pattern is according to
IS:1893-2000. The maximum bending moment and maximum shear was observed and storey drift of
the top corner was determined. The bearing capacity of the soil was also determined in lab using
uniaxial compressive strength test.
Fig. 3. Plan of building in different orientation. Fig. 4. Column plan of the representive building
110
Fig. 5. Floor plan of representative building
Table 1. General description of representative building used for analysis

Width of building 6m
Length of Building 9m
Geometry
Storey height 1.9812 m
Total Storey 2
Unit Bricks
Mortar Cement
Material
Grade of Concrete M20,M25
Grade of reinforcement HYSD415
Dead load 2 KN/m²
Live Load 3 KN/m²
Wall Load 9 KN/m
Load Details
Floor Finish 2 KN/m²
Total Representative Building Load 21.58 KPa
FOS 1.5
Seismic Zone A 1.0
Seismic Parameter Types of Soil (PakuneyPati Village) Silty Clay Loam
Strength of Soil (PakuneyPati Village) 30.6 KPa

Following results were obtained from the analysis of case study of Pakuney Pati Village and from the
analysis of representative building.
The storey drift and nodal displacement of building was less which was oriented in 0º (Table 2.
and Table 3.). The bending moment and shear force in the buildings which were oriented toward 0º
had lesser in values (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7.).
Table 2.Storey drift of representative building

Orientation (Drift)
Storey Height (m)
90º (m) 60º (m) 45º (m) 30º (m) 0º (m)
0 0 0 0 0 0
1.9812 0.00014 0.00014 0.00012 8E-05 2.8E-06
3.9624 0.00015 0.00014 0.00012 7.9E-05 6.3E-06
Table 3. Maximum nodal displacement of representative building

S.N. Model Orientation Max X (mm) Max Y (mm) Max Z (mm)
1 90 0.578 0.015 -0.081
2 60 0.563 0.368 -0.085
3 45 0.462 0.518 -0.086
4 30 0.314 0.619 -0.085
5 0 0.018 0.691 -0.082
111
15 14.02 13.94 13.21 12.628 21

19.96 19.9
Shear Force (kN)

Bending Moment 10.702 20 19.45
10 18.95
19
(kN.m)
18 17.57
5
17
0 16
90 60 45 30 0 90 60 45 30 0
Orientation Orientation
Fig 6. Maximum bending moment Fig. 7. Maximum shear force
4.1 Time history analysis of representative building
Time history Analysis of 30º oriented Time history Analysis of 45º oriented
Building Building
0.2 0.4
Acceleration (m/s2 )
0.1 0.2
0 0
-3 2 7 12 -3 2 7 12
-0.1 -0.2
-0.2 -0.4
Time Time
(a) (b)
Building Building
0.3 0.3
0.2
Acceleration (m/s2)
0.2
0.1 0.1
0 0
-3 -0.1 2 7 12
-3 -0.1 2 7 12 -0.2
-0.2 -0.3
-0.3 -0.4
Time Time
(c) (d)
Time history Analysis of 0° oriented Building
0.100
Acceleration (m/s2)
0.050
0.000
-3 2 7 12
-0.050
-0.100
Time
(e)
Fig.8. Time history (Elcentro) analysis of buildings in different orientation
112
Building Building
60
80
Acceleration(cm/ss)
40
60
Acceleration(cm/ss)
20 40
0 20
-20 0 50 100 0
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100
-40 -40
-60 -60
Time -80
Time
(a) (b)
Building Building
80 100
60 80
Acceleration(cm/ss)
Acceleration(cm/ss)
40 60
20 40
0 20
-20 0 0
50 100 -20
-40 -40 0 50 100
-60 -60
-80 -80
-100 -100
Time Time
(c) (d)
Time history Analysis of 0º oriented Building

15
Acceleration(cm/ss)
10
5
0
-5 0 50 100
-10
Time
(e)
Fig 9. Time history (Gorkha Earthquake) analysis of buildings in different orientation
The time history analysis for the buildings in Elcentro time history and Gorkha Earthquake time
history in different orientation showed that the acceleration increases with the increase in the
orientation angle from 0º North-South to 90 º East-West (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9.).
The analysis of destruction of structures according to orientation shows that the percentage of non-
destructed structures is more towards 0°(N-S) and destruction increases with increase in orientation
angle (i.e. 30°, 45° and 60°) as shown in Fig. 10. Among the houses of 90° orientation in the village, a
large number of houses are constructed with cement mortar. The analysis shows that the percentage of
non-destructed structure is more towards 0° and destruction increment with change in orientation as
shown in Fig. 11. Hence, the destruction is more towards 90° (E-W) and is less towards 0° (N-S).
Also, the total representative building load was 21.58 kPa and allowable bearing pressure of soils
was 30.6 kPa (Pakuney Pati village soil). So, it is safe in bearing capacity but there was destruction
due to effect of orientation of building.
113
Destruction of structure of Cement Destruction Pattern

mortar 60
120 50
% destruction
100 FD
% destruction
40
80
ND 30 FD
60
20 PD
40 PD
10
20
0 ND
0
0˚ 30˚ 45˚ 60˚ 90˚
0˚ 30˚ 45˚ 60˚ 90˚
Orientation Orientation
Fig. 11. Destruction pattern of structure of cement
Fig. 10. Destruction pattern of buildings of mortar structures of Pakuney Pati village
Pakuney Pati village
4 Conclusion
In the paper the influence of the orientation of the building in its seismic performance has been
studied and investigated. The comparative study of the results produced by the analysis of the
modular building in SAP 2000 v19 and field study leads to following conclusions:
• The result of both software analysis and field study leads to the conclusion that 0° (N-S)
orientated building has minimum damage compared to 90° (E-W) orientated building.
• The acceleration of the building is highly polarized that is acceleration is higher for the building
with orientation towards E-W.
• The influence of orientation of the building after the application of load combination is directly
seen in floor drift, nodal displacement, bending moment, shear force of the members of the
building and these parameters are found maximum in buildings with orientation towards E-W.
• Orientation solely can be the cause for the destruction of building regardless of other parameters
of the building such as bearing capacity of soil being safe.
References
Agrawal, P., & Shrikhande, M. (2014). Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures (12th ed.).
Falakian, N., & Falakian, A. (2013). The Study of the Building Orientation Priorities with Regard to Solar
Radiation and Wind ( A Case Study of Ramsar ). International Research Journal of Applied and Basic
Sciences, 4(9), 2564–2567.
Gupta, H. K., & Singh, D. D. (1980). Spectral analysis of body waves for earthquakes in Nepal Himalaya and
vicinity: Their focal parameters and tectonic implications. Tectonophysics, 62(1–2), 53–66.
Harshitha D, Krishna Singh D, Suhruth S, & Dr. H S Prasanna. (2017). Correlation of Compaction
Characteristics of Fine-Grained Soils using Atterberg Limits. International Journal of Engineering Research
And, V6(06), 23–30.
IS:1893. (2002). Indian Standard Criteria for Earthquake Resistance Design of Structures, Bureau of Indian
Standards. Is, 1893(1).
IS 875 (Part 2). (2008). IS 875 (Part 2) (1987, Reaffirmed 2008): Code of Practice for Design Loads (Other
Than Earthquake) For Buildings and Structures. Part 2: Imposed Loads.
Kostinakis, K. G., Athanatopoulou, A. M., & Avramidis, I. E. (2012). Orientation effects of horizontal seismic
components on longitudinal reinforcement in R/C frame elements. Natural Hazards and Earth System
Science, 12(1), 1–10.
Kulkarni, R. S., & Kandolkar, S. S. (2018). Analysis of Seismic Effect on Different Orientatioins of G+11
Multistorey Building. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 4–5.
M. Al-Tamimi, N. A., Syed Fadzil, S. F., & Wan Harun, W. M. (2011). The Effects of Orientation, Ventilation,
and Varied WWR on the Thermal Performance of Residential Rooms in the Tropics. Journal of Sustainable
Development, 4(2), 142–149.
Manual, G. B. (2011). New Jersey Green Building Manual.
Pokhrel, R. M., Katagiri, T., Chiaro, G., Goda, K., Kiyota, T., Sharma, K., & Wilkinson, S. (2015). The 2015
Gorkha Nepal Earthquake: Insights from Earthquake Damage Survey. Frontiers in Built Environment,
1(June).
114
Tsegaye, T., Fikre, H., & Abebe, T. (2017). Correlation Between Compaction Characteristics and Atterberg
Limits of Fine Grained Soil found in Addis Ababa. International Journal of Science & Engineering
Research., 8(6), 357–364.
Upadhyay, A. K., Yoshida, H., & Rijal, H. B. (2006). Climate Responsive Building Design in the Kathmandu
Valley. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 5(1), 169–176.
Youssef, M. S., El Ramli, A. H., & El Demery, M. (1965). Relationships Between Shear Strength,
Consolidation, Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit for Remoulded Clays. Proc of the 6th Int Conf on Soil Mech
and Found Eng, 126–129.
115
Numerical Investigation of the Sliding Response of Flexible

Structures Founded on a Deformable Granular Layer
Anastasios Tsiavos1, Nicholas Alexander2 and Anastasios Sextos3
Abstract
This study focuses on the numerical investigation of the sliding response of flexible structures,
simulating school buildings located in Nepal. A deformable granular layer is proposed for the seismic
isolation of these structures, aiming at the reduction of their seismic damage. The displacement and
acceleration response of the isolated structure is investigated for a wide range of analytical pulse
ground motion excitations and one recorded ground motion excitation. The seismic behaviour of the
deformable granular layer is compared to the behaviour of a rigid-plastic sliding layer of the same
strength. The increased energy dissipation of the deformable sliding layer that emerges from its
oscillation before sliding can lead to a significant reduction of the acceleration of the isolated
structure.
Keywords: Seismic isolation; Granular materials; Sliding displacement
1. Introduction
The sliding response of structures has been widely used in the past as a response modification strategy
aiming at the reduction of seismic damage of these structures due to strong earthquake ground motion
excitation. However, the effect of the flexibility of the isolated structure and the deformability of the
sliding layer on the sliding response of these structures is less well understood. The goal of this study
is to quantify the influence of the vibration characteristics of the structure and the granular sliding
layer on the sliding response of these structures.
Numerous researchers have investigated the sliding response of a rigid block under harmonic and
earthquake ground motion excitation. The response of a sliding block subjected to harmonic
excitation has been studied by Westermo & Udwadia (1983) and Mostaghel et al. (1983a). Mostaghel
et al. (1983b) extended this investigation for structures subjected to earthquake ground motion
excitation. Castaldo & Ripani (2016) presented an optimization of the design friction of a sliding
seismic isolation strategy for different soil conditions.
Kulkarni & Jangid (2003) accounted for the flexibility of the isolated structure and concluded that
the difference between the acceleration of a rigid and a flexible isolated structure increases for high
values of friction of the seismic isolation system. Vassiliou et al. (2013), Tsiavos et al. (2017, 2018)
and Yaghmaei-Sabegh et al. (2018) concluded that designing typical base-isolated superstructures to
behave elastically is a necessity that emerges from the dynamics of such structures.
The influence of the elastic stiffness of the sliding interface before sliding commences has been
incorporated by Nagarajaiah et al. (1991). Nevertheless, this study is mainly focused on Teflon sliding
bearing elements, which manifest a significantly stiffer elastic behavior range than the one observed
in deformable granular sliding layers. The term granular refers to systems involving a large group of
solid particles such as soil, sand, powder, minerals, grains, beads or rocks (Hill & Zeng, 1996).
Anthony & Marone (2005) showed that particle characteristics (such as size, shape, and roughness)
have a remarkable effect on the elastic stiffness, the strength and the particle reorganization within
granular materials subjected to sliding deformation.
The combined effect of the elastic stiffness of a granular deformable layer and the flexibility of the
isolated structure on the sliding response of structures will be presented in this paper, thus laying the
foundation for the design of seismically isolated structures using granular deformable materials. These
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, a.tsiavos@bristol.ac.uk

2 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, Nick.Alexander@bristol.ac.uk
3 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, a.sextos@bristol.ac.uk
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granular materials could be locally accessible in countries like Nepal, in which the modern, expensive
seismic isolation strategies cannot be easily implemented.
2. Dynamic Modelling of School Buildings in Nepal (SAFER Project)

The sliding response of a flexible structure resembling the dynamic behavior of a low-rise school
building founded on a deformable granular layer is simulated using the two-degree-of-freedom model
(2 DOF model) shown in Fig. 1.
x1
m, c, k
x0
αm
xg
Sliding surface friction
Granular deformable layer coefficient 𝜇
Fig. 1. Modelling of a flexible structure founded on a deformable granular layer.
As shown in Fig. 1, x1 represents the relative displacement of the structure with primary modal mass
m and elastic stiffness k with respect to the ground and x0 denotes the relative displacement of the
rigid base with mass αm with respect to the ground. The horizontal ground displacement is given by
xg. The
viscous modal damping coefficient of the structure is denoted as c. The dynamic equilibrium of
motion for this system gives:
m ( !! xg ) + c ( x!1 - x!0 ) + Fs = 0
x1 + !! (1)
a m ( !! xg ) - c ( x!1 - x!0 ) - Fs + Fb = 0
x0 + !! (2)
Fs and Fb represent the elastic restoring force of the isolated structure and the frictional force of the
sliding interface, respectively. The following system parameters are introduced:
k 2p c (3)
w2 = , T= , 2zw =
m w m
where k is the elastic stiffness of the structure, ω and T are the fixed-base cyclic frequency and
vibration period of the structure, respectively and ζ is the viscous damping ratio of the structure.
The elastic restoring force in the isolated structure is:
Fs = k ( x1 - x0 ) (4)
The frictional strength of the sliding interface with friction coefficient µ is:
Fb,max = (1 + a ) µ mg (5)
The inelastic behavior of the sliding layer is simulated using a Bouc-Wen model (1973). The frictional
behavior of a rigid-plastic (Coulomb, 1785) and a deformable granular sliding layer of the same
frictional strength Fb,max is presented in Fig. 2. The yield displacement of the deformable layer is
uy,b=1cm.
The isolated structure is assumed to maintain its response in the elastic range. Two different types
of
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structures that are located in Nepal and could be seismically retrofitted using the presented seismic
isolation strategy are presented in Fig. 3, 4: One steel- and one masonry one-story school are
illustrated.
Force F Force F
a b
Fb, max Fb, max
Displacement x0 uy,b Displacement x0

Fig. 2. Modelling of the frictional behaviour of a) a rigid sliding layer; b) a deformable granular sliding layer.
Fig. 3. Picture of a steel school building in Nepal, Copyright: Amar Khamcha, Submitted to the SAFER Project
Mobile App.
Fig. 4. Picture of a masonry school building in Nepal, Copyright: Kapil Khatri, Submitted to the SAFER
Project Mobile App.
The seismic safety of both types of schools could be substantially improved if they are designed to
slide when they are subjected to a strong earthquake ground motion excitation, similar to the
destructive ground motions observed during the Gorkha earthquake in 2015. The increase of the
safety and resilience of schools in Nepal is the main goal of the SAFER (Seismic Safety and
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Resilience of Schools in Nepal) Project. This project focuses on the seismic hazard assessment, pre-
and post-earthquake structural inspection and seismic retrofitting of school buildings in Nepal. An
expert system Mobile App is developed to facilitate the structural inspection of the school buildings
and the prioritization of the seismic retrofitting at a community level. An innovative seismic isolation
strategy will be proposed for the reduction of seismic damage of the school building inventory.
3. Numerical Investigation
The structural system presented in Fig. 1 with vibration period T=0.1s, mass m=25t (α=0.1) and
friction coefficient µ=0.4 is excited by a symmetric Ricker (1943) pulse, defined by Eq. 6 and shown
in Fig. 5 as the ground motion acceleration üg(t) with amplitude αp=0.6g and period Tp=1s. The
viscous damping ratio of the structure is 0.05. Two different types of sliding layers are investigated, as
shown in Fig. 2: First, a rigid sliding layer (Fig. 2a); second, a deformable granular sliding layer with
uy,b=1cm (Fig. 2b).
æ 2π 2 (t - 2)2 ö æ 1 2π 2 (t - 2)2 ö
u!!g (t ) = a p ç1 - ÷÷ exp çç - ÷÷ (6)
ç Tp2 Tp2
è ø è 2 ø
Fig. 5. Acceleration time history response of the structure subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground motion
excitation for two different sliding layer types: a) A rigid sliding layer; b) A deformable sliding layer.
As shown in Fig. 5, the friction of both types of sliding layers was exceeded almost
simultaneously, thus facilitating sliding of both structural systems for the selected ground motion
excitation. However, the sliding displacement of the deformable layer was significantly higher than
the corresponding displacement of the rigid sliding layer, as presented in the hysteretic force-
displacement loops and displacement time history responses of both sliding layer types (Fig. 6, 7).
Fig. 8 and 9 illustrate the velocity time history response of the sliding layer and the displacement time
history response of the structure, respectively, thus presenting a complete quantification of the
dynamics of the system subjected to the selected ground motion excitation.
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Fig. 6. Hysteretic force-displacement loop of the sliding layer subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground
motion excitation for two different sliding layer types a) A rigid sliding layer b) A deformable sliding layer.
Fig. 7. Displacement time history response of the sliding layer subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground
motion excitation for two different sliding layer types: a) A rigid sliding layer b) A deformable sliding layer.
Fig. 8. Velocity time history response of the sliding layer subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground motion
excitation for two different sliding layer types: a) A rigid sliding layer b) A deformable sliding layer.
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Fig. 9. Displacement time history response of the structure subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground motion
for two different sliding layer types: a) A rigid sliding layer b) A deformable sliding layer.
The main difference in the sliding response of the two different sliding layers is observed in Fig. 8:
The deformable sliding layer does acquire a remarkable velocity before sliding due to its flexibility,
thus leading to an increased sliding displacement response compared to the rigid sliding layer (Fig. 6,
7), which does not deform before sliding. The increased sliding displacement of the deformable layer
has a favourable effect on the response of the isolated structure: The structure that is founded on the
deformable sliding layer is subjected to lower acceleration (Fig. 5) and displacement values (Fig. 9).
Notably, the energy dissipation that is associated with the increased activation of the deformable
sliding layer reduces the deformation of the isolated structure, thus protecting it from seismic damage.
The quantification of this seismic damage cannot be performed with the present model which
considers the structure to maintain its response in the elastic range and is beyond the scope of this
paper.
Fig. 10 illustrates the beneficial role of a deformable sliding layer towards reducing the
acceleration of the superstructure for varying Ricker ground motion amplitudes ap and varying
vibration period ratios T/Tp compared to the rigid sliding layer case, presented in Fig. 11.
Fig. 10. Maximum acceleration values of the structure (in g) subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground motion
with varying ap (g) and for different vibration period ratios T/Tp for a deformable granular sliding layer.
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Fig. 11. Maximum acceleration values of the structure (in g) subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground motion
with varying ap (g) and for different vibration period ratios T/Tp for a rigid sliding layer.
As shown in the figures presented above, the maximum acceleration observed for the rigid sliding
layer case is higher than the one corresponding to the deformable layer case for high amplitude values
ap>0.4g and in the low vibration period range (T/Tp<0.5), representing stiff structures excited by long-
period ground motion excitation. In this period range, the deformable sliding layer is characterized by
higher velocity before sliding, thus leading to higher sliding displacement values, shown in Fig. 12,
13. On the contrary, the sliding displacement response of both sliding layer types is substantially
decreased for higher vibration ratios T/Tp. In this vibration period range, the lower acceleration (Fig.
8, 9) and the force transmitted to the sliding layer from the flexible superstructure inhibits the
exceedance of the friction of the sliding layer and the manifestation of sliding response. The direct
outcome of this reduced seismic energy dissipation on the sliding layer in this vibration period range
is the increased deformation of the isolated structure for both sliding layer types shown in Fig. 14 and
15, which is usually associated with seismic damage. For low amplitude values ap<0.4g, the friction
of the sliding layer is not exceeded and the maximum acceleration response is observed as expected
for the case of resonance between the period of the excitation and the vibration period of the
superstructure (T/Tp=1).
Fig. 12. Maximum displacement values of the sliding layer (in mm) subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground
motion with varying ap (g) and for different vibration period ratios T/Tp for a deformable granular sliding layer.
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Fig. 13. Maximum displacement values of the sliding layer (in mm) subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground
motion with varying ap (g) and for different vibration period ratios T/Tp for a rigid sliding layer.
Fig. 14. Maximum displacement values of the structure (in mm) subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground
motion with varying ap (g) and for different vibration period ratios T/Tp for a deformable granular sliding layer.
Fig. 15. Maximum displacement values of the structure (in mm) subjected to analytical Ricker pulse ground
motion with varying ap (g) and for different vibration period ratios T/Tp for a rigid sliding layer.
123
The favourable role of the deformable granular sliding layer towards the reduction of the
acceleration response of the seismically isolated structure is shown in Fig. 16: The seismically
isolated structure is excited by the 1976 Gazli KAR000 ground motion record, obtained from the
PEER ground motion database (2014). As shown in the figure, the decrease of the maximum
acceleration due to the action of the deformable layer approaches 30%, while the maximum sliding
displacement of the layer is kept within reasonable limits (Fig. 17).
Fig. 16. Acceleration time history response of the structure subjected to the 1976 Gazli ground motion
excitation for the case of a deformable sliding layer.
Fig. 17. Displacement time history response of the sliding layer subjected to the 1976 Gazli ground motion
excitation for the case of a deformable sliding layer.
4. Conclusion
This study investigates the effect of the use of a deformable granular sliding layer on the seismic
response of an isolated structure compared to a rigid sliding layer, which does not deform before
sliding. The main reason behind this investigation is the potential design of seismically isolated
structures using granular deformable materials, aligned with the goals of the SAFER Project presented
in Section 2.
A two-degree-of-freedom model of an isolated structure was subjected to an analytical Ricker
pulse ground motion excitation with amplitude ap=0.6g and period Tp=1s. The sliding response of the
deformable sliding layer subjected to this ground motion excitation was substantially higher than the
124
one corresponding to the rigid sliding layer due to the obtained velocity during the oscillation phase of
the deformable sliding layer before the initiation of sliding. The increased energy dissipation of the
deformable sliding layer that emerged from its sliding response lead to a significant reduction of the
acceleration of the isolated structure.
The trends obtained for the aforementioned ground motion excitation were generalized for a wide
range of Ricker pulse ground motion amplitudes ap and ratios T/Tp representing the normalized fixed-
base period of the isolated structure to the period of the Ricker pulse ground motion excitation. The
beneficial role of the use of a deformable sliding layer for ground motion amplitudes higher than the
friction coefficient of the sliding layer and low ratios T/Tp was illustrated: Stiff, seismically isolated
structures excited by long-period ground motion excitation are expected to be subjected to lower
acceleration values and thus lower seismic forces if the chosen sliding layer manifests deformability
before sliding. The design implication of this conclusion is the potential reduction of seismic damage
of structures seismically isolated using a deformable sliding granular material. However, the
quantification of the seismic damage associated with this response cannot be performed with the
model presented in this paper, which considers the structure to remain elastic for the selected ground
motion excitation ensemble.
References
Castaldo, P. & Ripani, M., (2016). Optimal design of friction pendulum system properties for isolated structures
considering different soil conditions. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 90, 74–87.
Coulomb, C., (1785). Theorie des machines simples, en ayant egard au frottement de leurs parties. Mem Differ
Equ Math Phys, 161–342.
Hill, J. M., & Zheng, X. M., (1996). Dilatant double shearing theory applied to granular chute flow. Acta
Mechanica, 118, 97-108.
Kulkarni, J. A., & Jangid, R. S., (2003). Effects of superstructure flexibility on the response of base-isolated
structures. Shock and Vibration, 26, 1–13.
Mostaghel, N., Hejazi, M., & Tanbakuchi, J., (1983a). Response of sliding structures to harmonic support
motion. Earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, 11(3), 355-366.
Mostaghel, N., & Tanbakuchi, J., (1983b). Response of Sliding Structures to Earthquake Support Motion.
Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 729-748.
Nagarajaiah, S., Reinhorn, A. M., & Constantinou, M. C., (1991). Nonlinear dynamic analysis of 3-D-Base-
Isolated stuctures. Journal of Structural Engineering, 14, 543-557.
PEER NGA Strong Motion Database, (2014). Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of
California, Berkeley.
Ricker N., (1943). Further developments in the wavelet theory of seismogram structure. Bulletin of the
Seismological Society of America, 33, 197-228.
Tsiavos, A., Mackie, K. R., Vassiliou, M., & Stojadinovic B., (2017). Dynamics of inelastic base-isolated
structures subjected to recorded ground motions. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 15(4), 1807-1830.
Tsiavos, A., & Stojadinović, B., (2018). Constant yield displacement procedure for seismic evaluation of
existing structures. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-018-00532-w
Vassiliou, M. F., Tsiavos, A., & Stojadinovic, B., (2013). Dynamics of inelastic base isolated structures
subjected to analytical pulse ground motions. Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 42(14),
2043–2060.
Yaghmaei-Sabegh, S., Safari, S. & Ghayouri, K. A., (2018). Estimation of inelastic displacement ratio for base-
isolated structures. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 47(3), 634– 659.
Wen, Y. K., (1975). Approximate method for nonlinear random vibration. Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Division (ASCE), 101(4), 389–401.
Westermo, B., & Udwadia, F., (1983). Periodic response of a sliding oscillator system to harmonic excitation.
Earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, 11, 135-146.
125
Condition Assessment of Bhairavnath Temple After 2015 Gorkha

(Nepal) Earthquake
Rabina Shilpakar1, Amit Prajapati2, Manjip Shakya3 and Chandra Kiran Kawan4
Abstract
Bhairavnath temple is an important temple established before 1375 AD and still standing in
Taumadhi square of Bhaktapur city. The temple had undergone many changes from the structure itself
from a single storey rest house of Akas Bhairav to a seven-storied, three-tiered temple and many
architectural features. Today’s still standing structure is one of the partially damaged temples in the
recent 2015 Gorkha Earthquake5. The main objective of the paper is to carry out the condition
assessment of the temple based on the visual damage inspection and details of the damages and cracks
in the temple. A set of architectural and structural drawings are prepared along with the Finite
Element modeling by using the structural analysis and design software SAP. The temple is built with
traditional Newar construction technology with load bearing brick walls, mud mortar and framed by
timber members. This paper focuses on the visual damage survey and the detailed study of the cracks
shows cracks of vertical, shear or bending nature, found in different parts of the walls and openings.
The dampness and lack of proper air circulations in the rooms majorly in the rooms of the ground
floor have also contributed to the degradation of the walls. Likewise, the insufficient chukuls also
contribute to the damages caused.
Keywords: Earthquake; Bhaktapur; Newar Construction Technology
1. Introduction
Nepal was struck by a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake on April 25, 2015 with the epicenter in
Gorkha district at 80 km northwest of Kathmandu and south of the China border, with a focal depth of
15 km. MOHA declared 57 districts were majorly affected with 14 districts severely affected in
Gorkha earthquake. The earthquake has caused extensive damages in houses, temples, palaces, and
other monuments. Many monuments including Vatshala temple, Nyatapola temple, Kedarnath
temple, Siddhi Laxmi temple, Tri Bikram Narayan temple, Fasi degah and other monuments have
been partially or completely damaged. Bhairavnath temple is a temple situated at the east of
Taumadhi Square of Bhaktapur. It has been partially damaged in the Gorkha earthquake. The temple
is located in a seismic vulnerable area as seen in the damages in the previous earthquakes. It was
totally collapsed in the 1934 earthquake and damage in the roof was seen in the earthquake of 2035
and also in the recent Gorkha earthquake.
The objective of the study was to carry out the condition assessment of the temple to study the
level of damages caused in the temple and to provide recommendations for the renovation. Study of
the available documents and literature reviews, data collection through interviews with different
historians Dr. Purushottam Lochan Shrestha and Mr. Om Dhaubhadel, Mr. Krishna Bhakta Chhukan
(the priest of Bhairavnath temple), photographs, field study and visual inspections for the historical
and cultural aspects of the temple and premises. Data analysis is done for the condition assessment
and preparation of architectural and structural drawings and details and conclusion and
recommendations as per the type of damage are the common methodologies adopted in the study. The
need of the assessment is required in the present context is essential to study the cause and damage
level and minimize the damages in the future.
1 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa Engineering College, Nepal, rabina066@gmail.com

2 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa College of Engineering,, amit070khwopa@gmail.com
3 Department of Earthquake Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Nepal, maanzeep@gmail.com
4 Research and Development Unit, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, kawan.chandra1@gmail.com
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2. History and Socio-cultural Aspects

2.1 History
The area where the Bhairavnath temple is situated dates back to more than 1343 years ago according
to the inscriptions found in different periods. A Lichhchavi inscription is also found in the temple
premises which stated that in 31 AD on the day of Poush Shukla Trtiya, a Tamrakalash6 was offered
in the name of Lalitmaheshwor (Raj, 2004 AD). The inscriptions and their details are published in
different issues of a monthly magazine – Pasuka. This shows the temple may have existed from the
lichchhavi period. The origin of the temple is not clearly known but some available inscriptions
mentioned about the later addition and reconstruction and renovation work.
Gopal Rajbansabali in pp. 158 folios 56, para 4 states there was a rest house in the name of Akas
Bhairav in this area in 1375 AD. A Bintipatra also cited that a person named Jibraj during the regime
of King Bishwo Malla constructed Bhairavnath temple in 1547 AD (Dhaubhadel, 2016 AD). Then
after during 1717 -1718 AD in the Malla period, Bhairavnath god was regarded as the powerful deity.
King Bhupatindra Malla forcefully constructed extra two roofs on the existing one roofed temple of
family diety of Mulepati in 1717 AD. (Raj, 2004 AD). The temple was constructed in a larger size
with 7 stories high with 3 tiered roofs, the top roof of gold coated and 7 nos. of gajurs as we see the
temple structure today. Carved struts of different deities, torans in the windows, the wind ringing
bells (phegan) were added in the temple. These building elements were given together by King
Bhupatindra Malla and his son Ranjit Malla. The 7 gajurs in the top roof marks the newly built
temple while 3 gajurs in the lower roof probably indicates the earlier temple with three storied. The
Nyatapola is believed to be constructed in 1645 AD only with an objective of calming the aggressive
Bhairavnath. The beautification of the temple by the addition of the elements was done later in
different periods.
2.2 Socio-cultural aspects
The god Bhairav is regarded as a powerful deity in Hindu society. The Bhairavnath god is
worshipped in different names or represented such as Kashi Bishwonath, Akas Bhairav, Swatunga
Bhairav, Walandyo Bhairav, and Nityanath. There are altogether 46 pujas that take place yearly in
Bhairavnath temple. Nityapuja and nitya snan of the shrine are carried out daily in the course of
worshipping. Thursday and Saturday of every month as well as on full moon day, the shrine is
worshipped as Kashi Bishwonath, an incarnation of Lord Shiva by panchamrit7only. In other days, the
shrine worshipped as Nrityanath and Bhairavnath keeping the main shrine in the left of the aasan (the
double bayed shrine in the shape of a two-tiered temple) with the sacrifice of chaupaya8and dopaya9
animals. There is 2 homa done yearly to the southern room of the first floor. Similarly, it is
worshipped as Akas Bhairav during Bisket Jatra (Chhukan, 2017 AD); (Dhaubhadel, 2017 AD).
King Girwan Yudda Bir BIkram Shah Dev established Walandyo Bhairav (Bhairav god wet by rain
water) and every year on the following day of Gaijatra, a small chariot with the idol of Bhairav is
taken out around the city core area of Bhaktapur by guthi members associated with it, which is also
popularly known as Girwan jatra. (Chhukan, 2017 AD). The Bhairav is also worshipped on the day
of Gaijatra and Indrajatra. During the evening of Gaijatra, the gai (the cow made of bamboo and
straw) as a representation of Bhairav is taken around in three different squares of Bhaktapur-
Taumadhi Square, Durbar Square and Dattatraya Square thrice starting from Taumadhi Square and
ending in the same place. Similarly, during Indrajatra, the painting of Bhairav god drawn on a
rectangularly shaped nanglo10 is worshipped and roamed around Bhaktapur city. Likewise one of the
main jatra is Bisket Jatra of Bhaktapur. Bisket Jatra has many stories as indicated in the history of
Bhaktapur. The three-tiered chariot of Bhairav with the shrine of Bhairav kept inside the chariot and
his bahan11Betal is kept in the front of the chariot. The chariot is pulled to the upper and lower part of
6 Tamrakalash- A kalashmade up of copper

7 Panchamrit – five pure elements
8 chaupaya- four legged animal
9 dopaya- two legged animal
10 Nanglo- winnowing tray made of of hay
11 bahan- vehicle of deity
127
towns of Bhaktapur groups of the upper and lower towns of Bhaktapur popularly known as Thane12
and Kone13 in their side, four days before the end of Nepali year. The group who wins will take the
chariot to their side. Pulling off the chariot worshipping the Bhairav indicates the formal start of the
Bisket Jatra.
2.3 Past earthquake scenarios
Bhairavanath temple was completely damaged in the 1934 earthquake. The condition of the temple
after the earthquake is shown in Fig.1. Hari Sardar Mathema and his descendants contributed for the
reconstruction of the temple after the devastating earthquake and completed in 1934 AD (Gutschow,
2011 AD).
(Gutschow, 2011) (Anon., 1998 AD)

Fig. 1. Bhairavnath temple collapsed in 1990 BS earthquake Fig. 2. Renovation of Bhairavnath
temple in 2035 AD
In 1988 earthquake, the uppermost roof, wooden members were damaged. Figure 2 shows the
renovation of the temple after the earthquake of 1988. The reconstruction of the damaged parts started
in 1995 and completed in 1996 with additional strengthening by adding vertical posts on the sixth
floor running up to the top floor. All roof slopes were renovated and the jhingati of three sides were
also replaced by the brass sheets during the renovation of the temple. The damaged roofs, wooden
members, torans were repaired and replaced where needed.
3. Structural Characteristics of the Temple

Bhairavnath temple is a rectangularly shaped temple located in a plain land. It is 23 m high with
three-tiered roofs. The wall thickness varies from 1.18 m in the ground floor to 1.78 m in the top
floor.
3.1 Foundation
The foundation is not exposed in the Bhairavnath temple. The foundation of the temple may have a
stepped footing according to the literature review and study of similar temples. But temple has a
plinth to the east.
3.2 Masonry Wall
The detail cross section (Refer Fig. 3 and 4) shows the external brick wall is exposed of dachiapa of
115 mm thick to all facade sides, ordinary brick masonry of 660 mm thick in the middle and 210 mm
thick sundried brick masonry work to the inside of all rooms. However the middle portion of the wall
is not visible, it might be filled with brick masonry works in different bonds.
12 thane- upper part of Bhaktapur town towards east

13 kone- lower parts of Bhaktapur town towards west
128
Fig. 3. Connection of wall and floor Fig. 4. Types of bricks used in the wall
3.3 Floor
The floors are constructed with mud using wooden battens laid on wooden planks and two layers of
flat brick (like flat brick soling). The floor finishing is of 25 mm (about) thick mud. Additional
bracings are provided to tie the horizontal and vertical members by using wooden chukul (wedges) for
strengthening. The wedges are fixed along the walls in the perimeter and the joists connect inside and
outside throughout the building. The typical floor view is shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. View of floor
3.4 Cornice
Wooden cornice is put as a band along with all facades of Bhairavnath temple. The cornice band
consists of different layers of Chuwah, Dhalimvah, Khicha wan, Nagah, Paleha, Khwasinghwah,
Jhallar and Libi as shown in figures below. The ground floor cornice of pig heads has Dhalingwah
(See Fig. 6) and the upper floors of lion heads (See Fig. 7) along with all facades of the temple. The
section of the cornice is shown in Fig. 8.
Fig. 6. Cornice details of ground Fig. 7. Cornice details of first Fig. 8. Section of cornice
floor floor
129
3.5 Roofs
The roofing in the temple is of jhingati (roof tile) in the lower roof slopes and gilded brass roof on the
top most roof. The jhingati roofing is done in different layers (refer to Fig. 9). Wood planking of 25
mm thick is placed above the rafters. Tarfelt sheets are laid above the wooden planking to protect
from water seepage. The jhingati are laid on the mud (a 100 mm thick). The sloped roofs are
supported by the fan rafters and it is laid on the purlin and wall plate of the horizontal beam which
comes from the core. The overhang of the roof is supported by the struts. A typical section of a tiled
roof is shown in Fig. 9. The topmost roof is mounted by gilded brass sheets as shown in the sections
in Fig. 10.
Fig. 9. Roof section Fig. 10. Section of the topmost roof
4. Results of the Condition Assessment

4.1 Timber
The ground floor of the temple lacks proper cross ventilation and the problem of dampness is a major
factor that has fostered wooden posts, joists and beams in the floor in a degraded condition. The
vertical posts of the western wall of the temple are decayed up to 700 and 780 mm as shown in Fig.
11. The old struts are used as joists in the eastern rooms of the ground floor in the reconstruction of
2035. Most of the wooden members including the wall plate are decayed and rotten (See Fig. 12).
Fig. 11: Decay of Fig. 12: Decay of wall plate Fig. 13: Wooden members affected by
wood open drainage
In addition, there is a lack of proper drainage system. The water, blood from sacrifice from the
cella of the first floor flows from a hole to the ground floor as shown in Fig. 13. The exposed flow of
water has helped to degrade the walls and decay of joists and wooden members that are in contact
with it.
130
Lack of proper connection ties and lintel bands is also seen in the temple. Wooden pegs are seen in
minimum number that connect the floors and the joists. The top floor is mostly affected in the Gorkha
earthquake. Joints of columns, beams, joists are displaced from its original position. The beam is
uplifted 2.63 mm, joists lifted 40 mm upward in the northern frame. The joists are lifted 18 mm
upward in the western frame and the joints are displaced in the western frame and eastern frame also.
The upright posts are in a tilted position in the upper floor. Fig. 14, 15 and 16 show the displacement
of joints, beams, and columns in the top floor.
4
34 2.6
0 3 8
7
Fig. 14. Displaced joint in the top Fig. 15. Beams uplifted Fig. 16. Columns in tilted
floor condition
4.2 Masonry walls
The major types of damages seen is masonry walls are the shear cracks, compression cracks, vertical
cracks, corner separations, delamination, short lintel band and cracks in the arches. The crack patterns
were compared with the crack pattern of the EMS-98.
4.2.1 Shear cracks
Shear cracks in the temple are developed when the acting shear on the masonry wall exceeds the
resisting shear capacity. Due to seismic behavior of Gorkha earthquake, shear cracks on the surface of
the masonry wall of Bhairavnath temple were observed in different walls of each floor. Maximum
shear cracks develop in the wall is 1080 mm length and 10 mm wide at inner northern wall of the first
floor at shown in the Fig. 17.
a b c
Fig. 17. Fig a, b and c are the shear cracks found in different wall
4.2.2 Short lintel band
At the opening of each masonry wall, there is a wooden lintel band kept throughout the opening. The
bands distribute the stress concentration on the opening to the walls. Due to the short lintel band,
surface cracks from the toe of the bands during seismic activity is observed. Major damages were
also observed at the north side of the main wall of the first floor due to the inadequate band at the
opening. The cracks due to short lintel band is shown in Fig.18.
131
a b c
Fig. 18. Fig a, b and c are the cracks observed due to short lintel bands.
5. Retrofitting and Repairing Strategy

Due to the seismic activities during Gorkha earthquake, there have been some serious damages seen
on the Bhairavnath temple. The top floor of the temple was critically damaged and in the verge of
reconstruction whereas other floors have minor damages that cannot be repaired. Shear cracks, wall
plate crushed, compression cracks, short lintel bands, wall separation etc. are some of the structural
damages observed in the wall of the temple. Besides these, dampness, rotten timber, termites etc. are
some other nonstructural damages.
Walls of the top floor are totally collapsed and the timber columns are tilted at certain degrees.
Most of the struts and the wooden windows are fallen down. So, the top floor of the temple is
recommended for the reconstruction. Other structural and nonstructural damages are recommended to
repair. Crushed wall plates and rotten timber are to be removed and replaced by the new ones. At the
opening, lintel band has to be replaced by the longer bands and a crack formed by the short bands has
to be repaired. For those walls where shear cracks are observed grouting has to be done. Other non-
structural damages in the temple such as de-lamination of the wall, broken bricks, rotten timber in
wooden frames, dampness in the ground floor, etc. are to be managed and recommended to repair
soon.
6. Conclusion
This paper is focused on the condition and vulnerability assessment through the damage assessment
and visual inspection respectively. From the view of condition assessment, various local damages -
timber decay, shear crack, wall plate crushing, wall bulging, total roof collapse, etc. were observed in
the temple. Similarly, vulnerability assessment shows the inadequate vertical and horizontal bands;
opening confinement, irregular wall system, loose timber connections, etc. in the Bhairavnath temple.
As per the assessment, various recommendations are proposed such as local strengthening and
reconstruction of the top floor. Further, this study also emphasizes the need for regular monitoring and
maintenance works to be carried out for better seismic performance of the temple structure.
Acknowledgment
Authors would like to express their gratitude to historians and culture experts Prof. Dr. Purushottam Lochan
Shrestha and, Mr. Om Dhaubhadel, Mr. Krishna Bhakta Chhukan (the priest of Bhairavnath temple) for their
valuable information regarding the historical evidences & chronological development of temple, socio-cultural
& religious aspects of the temple premises and its ambiences. We would also like to thank all individuals who
have directly or indirectly supported and assisted the committee for providing necessary information and
documents regarding the Bhairavnath temple.
132
Reference
Anon., (2052 BS). Bhairav Mandir Jirnodwar. Bhaktapur Masik, Magh, pp. 60-61.
Anon., (2055 BS). Bhairavnath mandir jirnodwar. Bhaktapur Masik, Magh.
Chhukan, K. B., (2074 BS). [Interview] 2074 BS.
Dhaubhadel, O., (2073 BS). Bhairavnath ko Itibriti. Bhaktapur Masik, Bhadra, Issue 233, pp. 8-10.
Dhaubhadel, O., (2073 BS). Bhairavnathko Itibrit. Bhaktapur Masik, Bhadra, pp. 8-10.
Dhaubhadel, O., (2074 BS). [Interview] 2074 BS.
G, G., (1998 AD). European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98), Europe: Working group Macroseismic scales.
Gutschow, N., (2011 AD). Architecture of Newars - A History of Building Typology and Details in Nepal.
Chicago, IL 606610 USA: Serindia Publications, Inc..
Gutschow, N., (2011 AD). Architecture of The Newars. Chicago, IL 606610 USA: Serindia Publications, Inc..
Munankarmi, L. B., (2052 BS). Shree Bhairavnath ra Bisket Jatra. Bhaktapur Masik, Magh, pp. 62-67.
Raj, Y., (2061 BS). Bhaktapur Ta: Marihsthit Bhairavnath Mandirko Aitihasikta Bare Thap Jankari. Second ed.
Bhaktapur: Suntha Computers.
Shrestha, P. L., (2058 BS). Bhaktapur ka Asurakchit Abhilekh haru. In: Ancient Nepal. Kathmandu: s.n., pp. 24-
40.
Vajracharya, D., (1985 AD). The Gopalarajvamsavali. 1985 ed. Kathmandu: Nepal Research Centre
Publications.
133
Physical and Mechanical Properties of Bamboo Species in Nepal

Om Kumar Sah1, Prem Nath Maskey2
Abstract
The research focused on the study of mechanical and physical properties of common bamboo species.
Three species of Bamboo: B. nutans (capulata), B. taru and D. hamiltonii were considered. Twelve
numbers of culms of each species from different locality and region were taken. Moisture Content,
Mass per unit Volume (Density), Shrinkage, Modulus of Elasticity , strength in compression, bending
and tension tests for bamboo specimens were conducted on U.T.M and C.T.M the relevant graphs
were drawn. Specimens for Moisture Content and Shrinkage were prepared immediately after each
mechanical test (Compressive test and tensile test).
As compared to ASTM A36 steel (mild steel) results shows ultimate tensile strength is 50% and
density is 8%. The ratio of ultimate tensile strength to density of bamboo is 6 times higher than
ASTM A36 steel (mild steel). Modulus of Elasticity (E) is found about 10% of ASTM A36 steel (mild
steel).
Overall result shows that tensile and compressive strength is maximum at middle part of the culm.
Similarly, the mechanical strength increases with decrease in moisture content and increase in density.
Density and Strength parameters are minimum for D. hamiltonii and maximum for B. nutans
(capulata). For each species of bamboo, the mechanical and physical properties are significantly
affected by age of the culm, location, moisture content, section of the culm within the bamboo and
other environmental conditions.
In this investigation, all tests were conducted as per guidelines of ISO 22157-1 Part-1
Requirements and ISO/TR 22152-2, Part-2 Laboratory Manual.
Keywords: Bamboo; Species; Physical and Mechanical Properties
1. Introduction
Bamboo (Bambuseae) is a tribe of flowering perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae,
subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae, Kingdom: Plantae, Order Poales. although, the forestry
services and departments of many countries where bamboo is utilized as a building material consider
bamboo to be a forestry product. (Botany; Wilson et al. )
Bamboos are some of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Certain species of bamboo can grow
35 inches within a 24-hour period, at a rate of 3 cm/h (a growth of approximately 1 millimeter (or
0.02 inches) every 2 minutes), (Anon., 2014). Mainly due to fast growing and its low cost, it can be
used for many purposes and helps to develop developing countries. It is also known as "poor man's
timber"(Anon., 2010).
Due to lack of time, cost, geographical variations and material availability, in many cases it is
important to use local materials such as Bamboo as alternative construction materials, In this context
the necessity to research on Structural aspect of Bamboo is important as limited research has been
conducted in this field.
2. Methodology
The research work is site and laboratory based. All tests are done as per guidelines of ISO 22157-1
(2004) and ISO/TR 22152-2 (2004), Following methods were followed:
1Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal, sah.omkumar@gmail.com

2Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal, pnmaskey@live.com
134
2.1. Data Collection (Bamboo Species available in Nepal)

2.2. Literature review
2.3. Sampling
Three species of Bamboo: B. nutans (capulata), B. taru and D. hamiltonii were considered.
Twelve numbers of culms of each species from different locality and region were taken.
2.4. Selection
Bamboos culms were selected from various clumps in standing condition, with identification of
different species, inspection was done before felling. For research purpose, the culms selected for
testing was sound and free from any defects and was representative of average dominant bamboo
culms of the locality. Broken, damaged and discolored samples were discarded. The required
numbers of culms were randomly selected from different clumps, blocks and compartments.
2.5. Felling, marking and conversion
2.6. Receipt and storage of the bamboo culms
2.7. Marking and conversion into test specimens
2.8. Lab Test
3. Result
3.1 Moisture content
Specimens were prepared immediately after mechanical test. Test result gave minimum, maximum
and mean the value of MC of B. nutans as 9.56%, 13.71% and 11.12% similarly B. tulda 12.53%,
28.59 19.62 and D Himoltonii 10.12%, 14.56% and 12.58%.
3.2 Mass per unit volume (Density)
Specimens were made from each culm of species oven-dry mass and green volume was used. For
bamboo species, B. nutans, the density varies in the range of 635- 915 Kg/m³ and mean value is 787
Kg/m³. Similarly, for B. tulda density varies in the range of 676- 872 Kg/m³ and mean value is 734
Kg/m³ and for D. himoltonii density varies in the range of 366- 748 Kg/m³ and mean value is 523
Kg/m³. Minimum density is for Dendrocalamus hamiltoni.
3.3 Shrinkage
Specimens were prepared from full bamboo culms, internode sections, with a height of 100 mm. They
were taken as near to the place of failure in bending test. For bamboo species B. nutans tested, the
shrinkage varies in the range of 0.5 - 5.3 % and mean value is 2.33%. Similarly, for B. tulda shrinkage
varies in the range of 0.78- 4.79 % and mean value is 2.84% and for D. himoltonii density varies in
the range of 1.06- 3.38 % and mean value is 2.04%. Minimum shrinkage is for Dendrocalamus
hamiltoni.
3.4 Bending strength
For bamboo species B. nutans tested, the bending strength varies in the range of 102.91 – 191.87 MPa
and mean value is 148.15 MPa. Similarly for B. tulda varies in the range of 76.42-175.73 MPa and
mean value is 120.69 MPa and for D. himoltonii varies in the range of 74.05-111.51 GPa and mean
value is 91.30 MPa. Minimum Bending strength is for Dendrocalamus hamiltoni.
135
Load vs Deflection
9,000 M1
8,000 M2
M3
7,000
M4
6,000 M5
Load in N
5,000 M6
4,000 M7
M8
3,000
M9
2,000 M10
1,000 M11
0 M12
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100
Deflection in mm
Fig. 1. Load Deflection Curve of B. nutans
Load vs Deflection
7000 T1
6000 T2
T3
5000
T4
Load in N
4000
T5
3000 T6
2000 T7
T8
1000
T9
0
T10
0 20 40 60 80 100
Deflection in mm T11
Fig. 2. Load Deflection curve of B. tulda (Taru bans)
136
Load vs Deflection
7000
t1
6000 t2
5000 t3
t4
Load in N
4000
t5
3000 t6
t7
2000
t8
1000
t9
0 t10
0 50 100 150 t11
Deflection in mm
Fig. 3. Load Deflection curve of D. hamiltonii (Tama bans)
3.5 Modulus of Elasticity
For bamboo species B. nutans tested, the modulus of elasticity varies in the range of 19.81 – 31.86
GPa and mean value is 25.84 GPa. Similarly, for B. tulda varies in the range of 8.24-31.40 GPa and
mean value is 20.65 GPa and for D. himoltonii varies in the range of 11.67-23.97 GPa and mean value
is 18.51 GPa. Minimum Modulus of Elasticity is for Dendrocalamus hamiltoni and maximum is for
B. nutans.
3.6 Tensile strength
Tensile Strength parallel to the grain for the bamboo species B. nutans, bottom, varies in the range of
102.62 MPa – 211 MPa and mean value is 164.80 MPa, middle varies in the range of 147.41 MPa –
290.44 MPa and mean value is 228.69 MPa top varies in the range of 136.00 MPa – 240.57 MPa and
mean value is 190.65 MPa
Similarly for B. tulda tensile strength bottom, varies in the range of 87.19 MPa – 262.43 MPa and
mean value is 195.96 MPa, middle varies in the range of 136.39 MPa – 258.47 MPa and mean value
is 191.14 MPa top varies in the range of 132.20 MPa – 231.51 MPa and mean value is 207.08 MPa
For Dendrocalamus hamiltoni bottom varies in the range of 95.73 – 189.97 MPa and mean value
is 143.28 MPa, middle varies in the range of 148.04 MPa – 242.67 MPa and mean value is 183.95
MPa top varies in the range of 89.56 MPa – 298.33 MPa and mean value is 189.83 MPa .
Minimum Tensile strength is for Dendrocalamus hamiltoni and maximum is for B. Nutans.
3.7 Compressive strength
Compressive strength for bamboo species B. nutans of bottom is varies in the range of 70.20 – 99.53
MPa and mean value is 82.95 MPa, middle varies in the range of 68.55 MPa – 146.35 MPa and mean
value is 101.10 MPa top varies in the range of 58.44 MPa – 112.60 MPa and mean value is 99.32
MPa.
Compressive strength for bamboo species B. tulda of bottom is varies in the range of 50.76 –
122.11 MPa and mean value is 74.69 MPa, middle varies in the range of 52.99 MPa – 96.28 MPa and
mean value is 75.41 MPa top varies in the range of 55.97 MPa – 123.32 MPa and mean value is 89.19
MPa . Compressive strength for bamboo species D. homiltonii (Tama bans) at bottom is varies in the
range of 36.02 – 87.83 MPa and mean value is 61.51 MPa, middle varies in the range of 66.43 MPa
137
– 89.33 MPa and mean value is 77.81 MPa and at top varies in the range of 55.81 MPa – 82.93 MPa
and mean value is 71.46 MPa
4. Discussion
If compare the results of specimens from bottom, middle and top part of the culm, it shows variation
among species. In the case of B. nutans (capulata) results shows tensile strength at middle part is
maximum and bottom part is minimum where as in B tulda and D homiltonii it is different.
During tensile test three patterns of failure observed node failure, split failure and combine
failure. Overall result showed Compressive strength at middle part is maximum. Pure compression
failure occurred during compression test, shown below .
Fig. 4. Pure compression failure
For air dried bamboos, which were tested showed the minimum bending strength is for
Dendrocalamus hamiltoni (Taru Bans) whereas the maximum strength is for Bambusa nutans. For all
the bamboo species tested together, the bending and tensile strength varies in the range of 58.15 –
191.87 MPa and 87.19 - 290.20 MPa. Whereas as reported by Thwe, 2003, bending and tensile
strength values is in the range of 39-246 MPa,93 -288 MPa.
During bending test different pattern of failure has seen shown in photographs below;
Fig. 5. Failure at point of loading
138
Fig. 6. Failure at mid of the culm
Fig.7. Failure near the node
Result showed maximum tensile strength at middle part of the culm. Within each species of
bamboos also, the variation in mechanical and physical properties significantly affected by possible
different years of growth location of the culm, moisture content, section of the culm within the
bamboo and other environmental conditions.
5. Conclusion
Bamboo has variability in mechanical properties in three directions: longitudinal, radial and tangential
strength due to orthotropic nature. The nodes possess brittle behavior and the inter-nodal regions
possess ductile behavior. The mechanical and physical properties are significantly affected by
possible different years of growth location of the culm, moisture content, section of the culm within
the bamboo and other environmental conditions.
5.1 Major conclusions of current research
• Test results showed moisture content is maximum at mid of the bamboo culm as compare to
bottom and top.
• Density is maximum for B. nutans (787 Kg/m³) and minimum for D. hamiltonii (523 Kg/m³)
• Shrinkage is varied from 0.5% to 4.79%
• Bending Strength is maximum for B. nutans (capulata) (148.15 MPa) and minimum for D.
hamiltonii (91.30 MPa)
139
• The bending strength varies in the range of 58.15 – 191.87 MPa whereas as reported by Thwe,
2003, bending strength values is in the range of 39-246 MPa
• Modulus of Elasticity is maximum for B. nutans (capulata) (25.85 GPa) and minimum for D.
hamiltonii (18.51 GPa)
• Tensile Strength is randomly varied based on specimens position and species In the case of B.
nutans (capulata) results shows tensile strength at middle part is maximum and bottom part is
minimum where as in B. tulda and D. homiltonii it is different.
• Bamboo showed its tensile strength to density ratio six times more than that of mild steel.
• The tensile strength varies in the range of 87.19 - 290.20 MPa. Whereas reported by Thwe, 2003
tensile strength values is in the range of and 93 -288 MPa.
• Overall result showed tensile and compressive strength is maximum at middle part of the culm.
Similarly, the mechanical strength increase with decrease in moisture content and increase in
density.
References
Botany; Wilson,C.L., Loomis,W.E. , n.d. the bamboo tree would help the people with the sickness.
Anon., 2014. Fastest growing plant, s.l.: Guinness.
Anon., 2010. Market Opportunities and Constraints for Bamboo and Rattan Products in Nepal, s.l.: MDBRPP,
Department of Forest Research and Survey, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of
Nepal.
Thwe, M. A. K. L., 2003. Durability of bamboo-glass fiber reinforced polymer matrix hybrid composites.
63(375-387).
140
Strategy of Cumulative Absolute Velocity for Earthquake Risk

Assessment of Concrete Gravity Dam
Tahmina Tasnim Nahar1, Md Motiur Rahman2, Anh-Tuan Cao3, and Dookie Kim4
Abstract
Concrete gravity dam is one of the most important infrastructures for a country. The failure of dam
structure due to earthquake affects seriously the surrounding environment, especially in human life.
Therefore, the risk assessment of these dams is very important to understand the operant condition of
the structure. During the entire service time of structure, some degradation may be occurred as results
of operating conditions, environmental forces, and deterioration in materials and especially from
dynamic loads. For analysing the seismic hazard of structures, Cumulative Absolute Velocity (CAV)
acts as an important ground motion parameter. In this study, the limitation of CAV is calculated for
Bohyeonsan Dam in South Korea. The fragility curve of this dam have been developed from 12
Earthquakes data analysis. In this curve, design value of High Confidence Low Probability of Failure
(HCPLF) denotes 95% confidence level with 5% damage probability. The corresponding PGA value
is taken as the threshold acceleration of the dam, which is used for calculating the limitation of the
CAV value. A comparison between this CAVlimit and the CAV values from free-field data make a
criterion for operational condition of Bohyeonsan Dam. For system identification to find out the
parameters of this dam, a 2D finite element model is selected for seismic analysing using ABAQUS.
Firstly, in order to ensure the model reliability, the Dam’s parameters are randomized by using
Minitab tool based on the method of Central Composite Design (CCD). Then Response Surface
Methodology (RSM) is used for updating model. Finally, the results obtained by solving the
numerical model are compared to the recorded sensor’s data of the dam for identifying the physical
condition of the structure.
Keywords: Cumulative absolute velocity; fragility curve; response surface methodology; system
identification; risk analysis.
1. Introduction
All over the world, the concrete gravity dam acts as an essential civil engineering part because of its
characteristic being different from other structures. In South Korea, there are several dams designed in
seismic prone areas to resist the unpredictable earthquakes and their design life is more than fifty
years. Although the dams are designed with the seismic consideration, the deterioration in a concrete
gravity dam usually occurred due to the consequences of operating conditions as well as the
degradation in concrete materials from natural causes.
This study presents a criterion for seismic analysis of the Bohyeonsan Multipurpose Concrete Dam in
South Korea and to implement the criteria the CAV is used. CAV gives the decision whether a dam
should be shut down after an earthquake or not. Campbell & Bozorgnia (2011) presented that, the
CAV is the integral of the absolute value of an acceleration time series, which is represented
mathematically by the following equation:
t max
CAV = ò a (t ) dt
0
(1)
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, South Korea, tasnim30.ce@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, South Korea, motiur.ce@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, South Korea, anhtuan.hcmut@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, South Korea, kim2kie@kusan.ac.kr
141
()
where a t is acceleration value, t is time, and t max is the total duration of the time series. The
CAV value includes total effects of the entire ground motion, and EPRI (1988) detected that it is the
best ground motion parameter. The small-amplitude accelerations usually do not cause significant
consequences on structural damages, so several versions of CAV are suggested to reject these small-
amplitude accelerations. EPRI (1991) proposed standardized CAV method (CAVSTD), which only
consider the 1-sec time interval range having at least one peak acceleration value, which is greater
than the threshold value of 0.025g. By predicting CAV standard, Du and Wang (2013) developed a
model using Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) strong database, where the proposed model employs
only four parameters and has a simple functional form. Kramer and Mitchell (2006) mentioned
another CAV variant namely CAV5, including the acceleration values, which are greater than the
threshold value of 5 cm/sec2. However, the rejection of low-amplitude acceleration, especially values
approximately threshold from contributing to CAV leading to decrease the stability in predicting,
which is presented by (Campbell and Bozorgnia 2010). Cooperate with these reasons, because most of
the acceleration values of Pohang earthquake are smaller than the acceleration threshold, which is
0.025g, therefore, the only CAV method is used in this paper. In addition, Wang et al., (2018) carried
out a research about the site effects in the Taipei areas of Taiwan based on CAV amplification, where
more than 1200 strong-motion data were gathered from the database. Moreover, for a nuclear power
plant, Reed and Kassawara (1990) provided a criterion, which requires exceedance of both response
spectrum parameter and second damage parameter, referred to the CAV. However, there is no strategy
so far studied on CAV limitation for concrete gravity dam.
CCD which is a part of RSM is used for the system identification of the Bohyeonsan concrete dam.
Kartal et al. (2011) used the RSM for selecting the parameters and representative finite element model
of dam body to obtain the optimum approximately model. For reducing the uncertainties in dam body
such as the mechanical properties of materials, geometric properties, load magnitude and distribution,
etc. Abu-Odeh & Jones (1998), Valencia et al. (2007) and Lee & Lin (2003) mentioned that the RSM
is very useful tool.
Ghanaat et al. (2015) presented the lognormal distribution methodology to develop the seismic
fragility curves for gravity dams based on the base sliding and pier collapse. Lagaros & Fragiadakis
(2007) used the Neural Networks (NN) for making the fragility curve for the moment-resisting steel
frames taking into account uncretainties on both structural capacity and seismic demand with reduced
computational cost. In another study, Lin & Adams (2008) conducted the seismic vulnerability
screening analysis for 133 dams in Canada, different fragility curves were made for different type of
dams to find out the damage potential. In addition, Bernier et al. (2016) developed the fragility curves
for case study of concrete gravity dam by using nonlinear time-history analysis and included the
spatial variation of the angle of friction through the random fields modeling. Kim et al. (2011)
conducted the uncertainty analysis for the system fragility, which is estimated by determining
HCLPF. In a risk assessment for an NPP, which is characterized by HCLPF. Huang et al. (2008) and
Borgonovo et al. (2013) described that the HCLPF is used to resolve the seismic risk analysis for civil
engineers as a protective point estimation of components or structure’s capacity.
This research presents a method to assess the operant condition of Bohyeonsan dam after bearing
the Pohang earthquake. According to previous researches, Du & Wang (2013) mentioned that the
CAV has higher reliability than other intensity measures such as the PGA. In order to determine a
CAV limitation, a set of 12 earthquakes in South Korea is used to make the fragility curves based on
Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) method of Baker (2015). In order to simulate exactly,
ABAQUS software is a good option to make the 2D Finite Element Model (FEM) of concrete gravity
dam. Vaez & Arefzade (2017) used 4-node quadrilateral elements of plane stress with reduced
integration is denoted as CPS4R. The responses of Bohyeonsan Dam are evaluated based on the
dynamic analysis using Pohang earthquake free field data. The following Fig. 1 depicts the processes
of this study.
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Fig. 1. Flow chart of risk assessment methodology
2. Bohyeonsan Concrete Gravity Dam

Bohyeonsan Multipurpose Concrete Dam is located in the upper stream of Gohyeoncheon, which is
the second tributary of Kumho River and in the administrative area. Fig. 2 shows the locations of the
sensors to get measurement data. Considering the convenience of transportation and installation of
heavy equipment during the construction, the dam floor has two lanes for the vehicle traffic as the
access to the road and security. A gallery was installed inside the dam so that construction and
maintenance can be done after completion. The total dam crest length is 250 m, the maximum height
is 57 m and the selected overflow section of the Bohyeonsan Multipurpose Dam is determined as in
Fig. 3. The Table 1 presents the material properties of this dam.
Sensor 2
Sensor 1
Fig. 2. Sensors location in Bohyeonsan concrete dam
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Table 1. Materials properties of Bohyeonsan Dam
Material properties Inside the dam Outside the dam

Design criteria of compressive strength (MPa) 12 18
Young’s modulus (MPa) 13767 16861
The tensile strength (MPa) 1.3 1.6
Poisson’s ratio 0.18 0.18
Density (kg/m3) 2300 2300
3. Finite Element Analysis and System Identification

3.1 Finite Element Model
ABAQUS is used to simulate the 2D finite element model, and RSM is applied to find out the
parameters of the dam. According to the analysis of acceleration and stress, the critical section of the
dam has been chosen. Fig. 3 presents the cross-section with dimensions of the selected section and
Fig. 4 shows the geometry of Bohyeonsan Concrete Gravity Dam.
Fig. 3. Dimensions of the selected section Fig. 4. Geometry of the Bohyeonsan concrete dam
Two types of concrete with different modulus of elasticity have been used to build the dam. The
reservoir effect is considered along with the PohangEQ step as the equivalent water level is Hw=42 m
from the heel and the element type CPS4R which is 4-node bilinear plane stressed quadrilateral,
reduced integration and hourglass control. During optimization of the model, the elastic modulus,
density, Poisson’s ratio etc. are used as dam’s parameters and the free field data of Pohang earthquake
is considered as the input ground motion expressed by (Mridha and Maity 2014).
3.2 Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
For system identification of the structure many methods have been used widely in previous studies,
the Response Spectral (RS) reflect exactly the dynamic response of the structure, which is obtained
from accelerometers installed on the dam. To enhance the structural safety, multi-objective
optimization method relayed on RSM is applied in this study. Myers (1995) concluded that the
response surface methodology is the accumulation of mathematical models, which are helpful for
analysing and building an empirical model. Based on sets of tests, RSM defines the relationship
between several variables (u) and responses (r) of the structure.
r = f (u1 , u2 , …u
n ) +k (2)
(
where k describes the error observed in the response r and f u1 , u2 , …u )
n +k assign the response
of structure due to the sets of input variables. By using a suitable range of parameters, the optimal
144
response can be obtained from several independent variables. Two equations are commonly used for
RSM, which are as following Eqs. (3)-(4):
Linear equation:
n n
r = b0 + åbiui + å bij uiu j + k (3)
i =1 i , j =1
Polynomial equation:
n n n
r = b0 + åbiui + åbiui2 + å bij uiu j + k (4)
i =1 i =1 i , j =1
where r is the predicted response and b is the estimated partial regression coefficient, u i is the
( )
coded factor i , j = 1,2,3 …, n and k is the offset term. The polynomial Eq. (4) can be used with
greater orders, but commonly, for solving engineering issues second order is adequate. In this study,
the CCD method is used for identifying the structural parameters.
3.2.1 Central Composite Design (CCD)
Due to obtain the optimal responses, the CCD is a design experimental tool (Sadhukhan et al. 2016).
The CCD is productive to predict the output by using equation rely on central and axial points with
factorial design. The CCD method creates the total number of experiment, where it is calculated by
the following equation:
S = 2n + 2n + c p (5)
where n is the number of factor and c p is the number of center-point. In this study, two objects are
used such as the proportion of Young’s modulus and density. Here the acceleration at the top of the
dam under Pohang earthquake is counted as the structural response. As an objective function, the top
acceleration and frequency response value have been considered with explaining by following Eqs.
(6)-(7).
T1 = ( FAF ) (6)
T2 = ( PAF ) (7)
Where (PAF ) (F = 1, 2, …, m )is the peak value of acceleration on the frequency domain and
(FAF ) (F = 1, 2, …, m )is the value of frequency corresponding to the peak value. The method CCD
will create 9 experimental points, including 4 factorial points, 4 axial points and 1 center-point by
using Eq. (4), which are generated randomly from the suitable region of the proportion of Young’s
modulus (a) and density (r) (Hussan et al., 2018). The suitable region is shown in Table 2. The dam’s
parameters such as the acceleration amplitude and frequency values are chosen to minimize the
different response on the top and the optimization cases are validated by using Minitab (2018) tools.
Pohang earthquake is applied to the analysis numbers of the Bohyeonsan Dam, which is shown in
Table 3.
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Table 2. Experimental region of concrete parameters
Interest region
Factors
Low Center High
Proportion of Young’s modulus (a) 0.66364 1 1.33636
Density (tone/m3) 2.20000 2.325 2.45000
Table 3. The analysis cases and corresponding structural responses

Analysis case Structural responses
SL
E (a) ρ T1 T2
1 0.66364 2.32500 18.0 0.23795
2 1.00000 2.32500 14.5 0.18989
3 1.20000 2.45000 14.5 0.17441
4 0.80000 2.45000 18.0 0.20087
5 0.80000 2.20000 14.0 0.21748
6 1.00000 2.11478 14.5 0.21106
7 1.33636 2.32500 14.0 0.17920
8 1.00000 2.53522 14.0 0.17622
9 1.20000 2.20000 14.0 0.19784
The difference between the peak acceleration value and the corresponding frequency is decreased
after optimizing and Fig. 5 (a)-(b) show the response spectrum at the top of the dam before and after
optimizing.
(a) Before optimizing (b) After optimizing

Fig. 5. Comaparision of response spectrum on the top of the dam
From Fig. 5 (b), it is shown that the response of the dam after using RSM is not exactly matched
because of many uncertain factors. However, it matched more than 90 percent, so we can say that the
results are acceptable.
4. Determination of the Capacity of the Dam

The conditional probability of failure of a structure corresponding to the input motion parameter like
PGA can be expressed by the fragility curve. The fragility curve evaluates the seismic vulnerability of
civil engineering structures and it is one of the most popular methods. Vamvatsikos & Cornell (2002)
mentioned in their paper that the IDA can be used for expressing the fragility curve, which involves a
series of structural dynamic analyses under a set of ground motion records. In this method, each
146
record is scaled to several levels as long as the whole range of intensity measure can cover from
elastic to collapse of the structure.
Then the purpose of the analysis is to record the damage of the dam according to the limit state of
tensile strength, which is expressed by an engineering demand parameter. According to Ibarra and
Krawinkler (2005), fragility curve is calculated from data sets by taking logarithms of each ground
motion’s IM value corresponding to the onset of collapse and computing their mean and standard
deviation, which are shown by Eqs. (8)-(9).
n
1
nå
lnθ = lnIM i (8)
i =i
å( ( ))
1 2
(9)
β= ln IM i / q
n - 1 i =1
In order to find out the exceedance in the PGA and the probability of failure, different sets of
earthquakes in South Korea have been taken into account in this paper. Fig. 6 indicates that the failure
probability of 5% in the 95% confidence bound corresponding to PGA value is 0.31g and leads to
total collapse of the dam at more than PGA of 2.5g.
Fig. 6. Fragility curve with HCLPF value for Bohyeonsan Dam
A new process is proposed in this study to calculate the limitation of CAV, which is based on that
PGA value. According to Reed, J.W. and Kennedy, R.P. (1994), the HCLPF capacity is defined in
SPRA to be the 95% confidence of a 5% probability of exceedance. For all the civil engineering
structures, the 5% probability of failure is common to check the safety against earthquake by (Sen
2018). The major purpose of developing fragility curve for the structural model is to reflect the
important features of system behaviour.
5. Selection of CAV Limitation and Checking Free-field of Pohang

Earthquake
One of the best parameters for determining the damage threshold of earthquake’s impacts is CAV.
The results of CAV values corresponding with each of the earthquakes are listed in Table 4.
According to (Hardy et al. 2006), the CAV values are specified for each free-field record and selected
conservatively. The limitation of CAV is chosen as the lowest value from earthquake data sets. In this
147
study, Eq. (1) is used for each earthquake in data sets with the effective duration of the time interval
between 5% and 75% of arias intensity.
From the Table 4, we can say that in North direction, the minimum observed CAV value is 0.25g-
sec for earthquake 6DB and in East direction the minimum observed CAV value is 0.26g-sec for
earthquake 4CG. Therefore, the CAVlimit for this dam is 0.25g-sec and if any one of the two horizontal
components from the free-field ground motion is greater than this value then the Operating Basis
Earthquake (OBE) is exceeded and plant shutdown is required, which is explained by Campbell
(2010).
Table 4. Results of CAV from 12 earthquake data sets in South Korea
Earthquake 1AD 2BJ 3BS 4CG 5DA 6DB 7EP 8GC 9GN 10RD 11YD 12Y0
CAV-N
0.44 1.20 0.60 0.46 0.69 0.25 0.50 0.93 1.50 0.54 0.74 0.83
(g-sec)
CAV-E
0.64 0.69 0.79 0.26 0.61 0.33 0.63 1.05 1.30 0.47 0.88 0.46
(g-sec)
The cumulative absolute velocity check is implemented for the free field of Pohang earthquake
based on the CAVlimit value of Bohyeonsan Dam. To estimate the uncertainty in the seismic analysis
the high reliability of the CAV is used for checking. Moreover, in case of sophisticated model, which
have unknown or highly uncertain ground-motion parameters, this simple method would have a
significant advantage.
Fig. 7. CAV values of Pohang earthquake (N and E direction)
Fig.7. shows the CAV values for the Bohyeonsan Dam due to Pohang earthquake in two horizontal
components, where the maximum CAV value of 0.063g-sec is obtained from East direction. By
comparing with the 0.25g-sec of CAVlimit, it can be summarized that the operant condition of the dam
is not affected.
6. Conclusion
This study proposed new criteria for earthquake risk assessment of the concrete gravity dam, which is
a time-saving and cost-effective method. RSM plays an important role to optimize the response of the
dam based on top acceleration output data, which gives the more accuracy in model simulation. The
predicted values of the material’s parameters are density (t/m3) and Young’s modulus proportion. As
the consequence of the surrounding environmental impact, the Young’s modulus of elasticity is
decreased 21% whereas the density is increased 0.87% than the initial value of these two parameters.
This study suggests the procedure for determining the limitation of CAV to assess the operant
condition of Bohyeonsan Dam based on the fragility analysis. The HCLPF value with 95% confidence
148
rate and 5% failure probability of the fragility curve defined the maximum value of PGA value is
0.31g. After analysing 12 earthquakes in South Korea using the PGA of 0.31g, the obtained value of
CAVlimit is 0.25 g-sec. This value presents a very conservative result for assessing conditional
probability function because it is the lowest value, which includes all of the small-amplitude
acceleration values. From the CAVlimit and the CAV value of Pohang earthquake free-field data, this
study concludes that the operant condition of Bohyeonsan Dam needs not to stop under the given
earthquake.
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150
Risk Perception of People using Streets Occupied with

Buildings under Shoring
Bishesh Dhakal1, Sujan Maka2, Sunil Duwal3 and Roshan Prajapati4
Abstract
On 25th April 2015, Gorkha Earthquake is believed to have taken life of more than 9,000 people. A
number of houses in Bhaktapur as well as other parts of Nepal were either fully or partially destroyed.
A number of these houses are yet to be reconstructed or retrofitted. The partially damaged houses in
severely hit areas of Kathmandu valley have been supported with the help of temporary supports
called ‘shoring’. This research will aim to find the psychological perception of a probable disaster in
near future. Moreover, this research will also unlock measures to achieve resilience in a society and
the nation. The study is conducted near National Art Gallery, Nyatapola temple Khauma and other
places of Bhaktapur Municipality since these public places had buildings standing on shoring. 410
street dwellers, local as well as visitors of different population features were interviewed using mobile
application. The questionnaire was prepared from extensive literature review. A risk perception score
was prepared to determine vulnerability of the people and the study area. The risk perception of the
people using streets was quantified using statistical tools. Furthermore, structural data regarding
buildings under shoring will also be emphasized. The outcomes of this research will help policy
makers to minimize the effects of hazards in near future by considering the perception of risk of
different kinds of people.
Keywords: Gorkha Earthquake; Risk Perception; Bhaktapur.
1. Introduction
1.1 Concept and Background
A devastating 7.8 Mw earthquake occurred in Nepal on 25th April 2015. Because of this earthquake
8,962 people lost their life and 22,302 were injured (NRA, 2018). Similarly, 776,871 and 302,774
private as well as government houses were fully and partially destroyed, respectively in between 25th
April 2015 to 25th May 2015. (NDRR Portal, 2018). Some of these houses inside Kathmandu valley
are yet to be either retrofitted or demolished. Temporary supports which are also called shoring have
been used to support these buildings. However, the shoring applied are under designed and possess
threat to the residents living inside such houses as well as the people who use the nearby streets.
(Dhakal & Shrestha, 2018). Some of the buildings supported on shoring are located in world heritage
sites which attracts a number of local, national as well as international tourists and visitors. It is
important to know if the visitors who pass by such buildings feel safe or unsafe to use streets occupied
with such buildings. Thus, risk perception studies can be vital in this regard as it helps the policy
makers to understand the perception of visitors. (Dhakal, 2018)
1.2 Seismic Hazard Risk in Nepal
Nepal is located in seismically active zone (z=0.36) with various thrusts and faults. The youngest and
most active Himalayan range of Nepal extends from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, bishesh.dhakal11@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, sujanmaka@khec.edu.np
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, duwal.sunil@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, ronish097@gmail.com
151
Indian plate and Eurasian plate are two tectonic plates that lie beneath the Himalayas which has made
this region seismically active. Nepal is a land locked country with total land area of 1, 47,181 which
shares its borders with China in the north and India in the east, west and south. Kathmandu is the
capital of the country which is located in a valley collectively composed of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur
and Lalitpur districts. (Uprety & Paudel, 2012). Major earthquakes that shook the core of Kathmandu
valley include earthquakes in the years 1255, 1408, 1681, 1810, 1833, 1866, 1934, 1988 and 2015
AD. Earthquake in case of Nepal has caused a lot of damage of life and property. The then king
Abhaya Malla had also died in the 1255 Earthquake. Over 11,000 people were found to have lost their
lives in the last one century in four earthquakes. Earthquake resulting in a shaking of at least MMI-IX
has been occurring in nearly every 75 years (Dixit, Yatabe, Dahal, & Bhandary, 2013). The most
recent earthquake in Nepal is the Gorkha earthquake which left numerous houses either destroyed or
distorted (Dhakal & Shrestha, 2018). Not just the death of the people but also one-third of Nepal’s
economy was destroyed due to Gorkha Earthquake (NPC, 2015). Since, occurrence of earthquakes in
Kathmandu valley is inevitable advanced preparedness is a must to cope up with it. (Uprety & Paudel,
2012).
2.1 Housing reconstruction
Reconstruction is still in progress even after 4 years of the disastrous Gorkha Earthquake.
Reconstruction has been slow but steady. To facilitate the reconstruction ‘National Reconstruction
Authority’ (NRA) was established on 25th December, 2015. NRA coordinates with donor agencies
and four ministries: Ministry of Urban development (MoUD), ministry of federal affairs and local
development (MoFA-LD), ministry of education (MoE) and ministry of tourism and civil aviation
(MOT-CA) (NRA, 2018). Every country formulates a reconstruction strategy to ‘build back better’. In
case of Nepal, national planning commission (NPC) conducted various surveys and published a
detailed report on it. ‘House Owner drive approach’ was found to be the most appropriate model for
mass reconstruction in Nepal considering the socio-cultural, economic and political aspect of the
nation. Thus, this approach has been adopted for the construction of privately owned houses (Bothara
et al., 2016). A number of old masonry houses were either destroyed or distorted. Temporary supports
were applied to the vulnerable buildings instead of adopting reconstruction or retrofitting measures.
The risk in living inside these houses is high and can cost the lift of the pedestrians using streets
nearby these buildings (Dhakal & Shrestha, 2018).
2.2 Risk perception in disaster science
Perceived risk has become a subject of interest for a number of researchers as well policy makers for
past few decades and getting the prime focus in political agenda in western countries (Sjoberg, 2000).
Risk perception studies are carried out in judgement as well as decision making, mostly used by
psychologists (Slovic & Weber, 2013). Scholars argue that Risk perception is a phenomenon which is
difficult to understand and crosses the limit of science (Wildavsky & Dake, Fall, 1990).
Risk perception is actually a function of 3 terms which are risk, hazard and vulnerability. Risk is a
construct because of culture. It signifies how likely a hazardous event is to become a disaster. Risk
perception can be explained with respect to psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography and
sociology (Douglas & Wildavsky, 1982). Hazard is something which has got the potential to cause
harm to people’s life and property. (Schneiderbauer & Ehrlich, 2004). Meanwhile, vulnerability is
degree of threat of risk for a specific population and its capacity to deal with the hazardous
consequences which is called Resilience (WeADAPT, 2018). In 1995, ‘psychometric paradigm’ was
used to find out the influencing parameters of risk perception of people. Risk was liked with multiple
characteristics including the probability of causing harm to an individual. The approach was applied
on human health risk perception (McDaniels et al., 1995). A study in Bucharest, Romania found that
demographical characteristics like sex, education, age etc. and economic factors largely affect the
perception of seismic risk. The study also found that people are most likely to deny possible threat for
152
their own residential place which is at risk. (Armas I., 2006). Another study examined rural residents’
risk perception of Sichuan, Wolong. The authors found out that personal and household characteristics
affect risk perception and social channels in a community is very important for improving resilience
capacity of a society (Lo & O., 2015). Another study in Mulhouse found that sociological factors are
superior to spatial factors for analyzing seismic risk perception. (Glatron & Beck, 2008). Some of the
similar disaster studies have been carried out in Nepal too. A rapid assessment after Gorkha
Earthquake was carried out for 8 days in Bhaktapur region in which multiple socio-cultural and
psychological factors affecting preparedness, recovery and rebuilding was studied (Welton-Mitchell,
et al., 2015). Another study in Kathmandu presented the relationship among different independent
variables and earthquake preparedness which found that experience of earthquake and damage
concern for future directly influence the preparedness level. (Uprety & Anupama, 2012) Disaster
preparedness and risk perception share a direct relationship. Due to lack of disaster preparedness, loss
of property mainly take place in developed counties while loss of lives takes place in developing
countries (Ainuddin et al., 2013).
Risk perception studies has been found to be conducted at household level in literature. Such
studies for street dwellers passing nearby vulnerable buildings on shoring is a newer concept in risk
perception. Thus, risk perception study in Kathmandu valley is important as it helps policy makers to
formulate plans and policies in order to provide safer visiting environment for the national and
international tourists as the economy of such places is largely dependent on tourism.
Fig. 1. Shoring placed at different places of Bhaktapur Municipality
3. Research Methodology
3.1 Research design
As mentioned in the literature above, Kathmandu valley lies in a zone of high seismic risk. The old
masonry buildings on shoring that lie in the region is found to be vulnerable. Particularly, in case of
Bhaktapur, there are a number of such buildings which possess threat to the side walkers as well as
the people who live inside it (Dhakal & Shrestha, 2018). Thus, this research is focused on measuring
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the perception of risk of the street dwellers. Bhaktapur municipality was chosen as the study area
because it attracts the maximum number of tourists among all 3 durbar square visitors in the valley. In
2016/17, 181,350 foreign tourists visited Bhaktapur mainly because it has numerous gallies and
chowks with traditional masonry buildings (Shrestha, 2017). Thus, a set of questionnaire was
prepared and self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted. The method of survey was face-
to-face interview.
3.2 Questionnaire design
Glatron & Beck (2008) concluded that risk perception can be better explained by using sociological
factors than with respect to spatial relationship of visitors as the location of source is rather
inconsistent. Thus, socio demographical parameters, such as age, education and income has been
selected based on extensive literature review. In a risk perception study in Pakistan, authors have used
three major socio- demographical variables namely age, income, education for the analysis (Ainuddin
et al., 2013). Similarly, in a similar study in Kathmandu, authors have chosen three major parameters
for the analysis which include experience of earthquake, concern about earthquake damage and level
of preparedness. In addition to these parameters, ‘familiarity with visiting place’ has also been found
to be influencing parameter for risk perception study. Thus, seven independent variables had been
chosen for the preliminary analysis which consists of age, education, income, familiarity of place,
worry, preparedness and effect of previous earthquake along with ‘risk’ the only dependent variable.
3.3 Data collection and methods
The total number of visitors in Bhaktapur municipality is unsure. So, following formula for
calculation of minimum sample size was used. The minimum sample for 95% confidence level and
5% margin of error was calculated using the following formula. (Israel, 1992)
𝑝∗𝑞
𝑛 = 𝑍$ ∗ (1)
𝑒$
410 data sets were collected from 4 categorical places which include Durbar square: 110, Khauma
49, Nyatapola 164 and other local places 87. These places were chosen because respondents could be
visualized if they were asked relevant questions about risk perception questions related with nearby
buildings on shoring. The interviewers were given training on how to use the online data collection
application (ODK Toolkit) and also how to extract genuine answers through face-to-face interview.
The questionnaire was entered in Kobo toolbox and deployed through ODK toolkit. The data
collected was thus genuine and the authenticity was checked and verified with the help of the GPS
coordinates recorded.
Fig. 2. Interviewers collecting face to face interview data using mobile application
Furthermore, beside the variables presented in table, ‘risk’ variable was defined as the only
dependent variable on the basis of five point Likert scale questions. Weighted mean index (WMI) was
calculated based on this ‘risk’ variable to understand what difference in risk is observed between
154
different socio-demographic groups and on the basis of location. WMI can be calculated as suggested
by (Ainuddin et al., 2013) as follows:
WMI= (w1*f1 + w2* f2 +……wn * fn) / N (2)

4.1 Socio-demographic profile
410 respondents of age group ranging from 14 to 88 years old were interviewed. The mean age of
respondent was 38.04 with a standard deviation of 16.544. 50.7% respondents were male and 49.3%
respondents were female. Similarly, a majority of respondents practiced Hinduism which was 69%
followed by Buddhism 12.9% and Christianity 6.3%. There were 8.1% people who didn’t practice any
religion. Similarly, 58.8% people were married and remaining 41.2% respondents were unmarried.
Education, Income and Profession profile of respondents are shown in bar charts in figure.
4.2 Weighted mean index results
WMI score by visitor type

1
In above figure, foreigners
0.9 were found to score higher
W 0.8 WMI score. The
MI 0.7 national as well as local
0.6 level visitors were found to
sc 0.5 score almost similar WMI
0.4
or 0.3 score in every question.
0.2
0.1
0
Safe or unsafe Change routes Impact on Next significant
Feeling Buildings in next Earthquake
Earthquake
Foreigner Non Foreigner National Local
Fig. 3. WMI score for visitor type
WMI score by location

Similarly, in above figure,
0.8
respondents at Nyatapola
W 0.7
were mostly found to score
MI 0.6 higher WMI score in three out
0.5
sc 0.4 of four questions.
or 0.3 Respondents at durbar square
e 0.2 ranked second in this regards.
0.1 The score roughly matched
0
with the research done in
Safe or unsafe Change routes Impact on Next significant
Feeling Buildings in next Earthquake Quetta city of Pakistan.
Earthquake (Ainuddin et al., 2013)
Axis Title
Durbar sq Khauma Nyatapola Others
Fig. 4. WMI score for location of data collection
155
Weighted mean index was calculated for two major purposes. One purpose was to check the
relationship of the WMI score with the visitor type and the other purpose was to check its relationship
with the location of data collection. Both of these checks was done with regards to the questions.
Higher WMI score indicated higher exposure to vulnerability.
4.3 Multi-variate analysis
For quantitative analysis of data, multivariate essential is preferable. (Ainuddin et al., 2013). Three
different analysis was performed for checking what independent variable significantly influence the
outcome variable. At first, Pearson’s correlation was applied to check the relationship with predictor
and outcome variables.
Pearson’s correlation test revealed that the outcome variable is highly correlated with effect of
earthquake, preparedness, education, familiarity of place and income. Meanwhile, the variable
‘worry’ is also correlated significantly at the level of 0.01 with the outcome variable. However, age
variable wasn’t found to be the correlated predictor variable. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation test
also showed that there is significant correlated between the predictor variables with each other.
Therefore, logistic regression was applied to nullify this mutual correlation of predictor variables.
Fig. 5. Correlation matrix of outcome and predictor variables
Other six variables as showing in table below was applied binary logistic regression. It was found
that ‘worry’ and ‘preparedness’ were two significant variables influencing the outcome variable.
Table 1. Variables in the equation
B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B)

Effect of Earthquake -.107 .168 .404 1 0.525 .899
Worry .478 .230 4.304 1 0.038 1.612
Prepared .431 .256 2.840 1 0.092 1.538
Education -.037 .108 .114 1 0.735 .964
Income -.191 .186 1.045 1 0.307 .826
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Familiarity of place -.450 .273 2.724 1 0.099 .637

Constant .014 1.349 .000 1 0.992 1.014
Chi-square distribution was applied to check the findings of logistic regression for final validation.
The results were similar with that of Pearson’s correlation check. It was found that worry about the
earthquake influences the risk variable. Similarly, a person can be considered to be vulnerable if s/he
isn’t prepared which is shown by this research. The similar conclusion was also drawn by a similar
risk perception result in Kathmandu. However, the relation with ‘effect of earthquake’ was found to
be insignificant with the outcome variable ( Uprety & Anupama, 2012).
Table 2. Chi-Square Tests (worried versus risk)
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (1-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 3.955a 1 0.047

Continuity Correction
3.516 1 0.061
Likelihood Ratio 3.938 1 0.047

Fisher's Exact Test 0.054 0.031
Linear-by-Linear
3.943 1 0.047
Association
N of Valid Cases 343
a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 52.24.
b. Computed only for a 2x2 table
Table 3. Chi-Square Tests (Prepared versus Risk)
Asymp. Sig. Exact Sig. Exact Sig.

Value df
(2sided) (2sided) (1sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 16.522a 1 0.000

Continuity Correction 15.715 1 0.000
Likelihood Ratio 16.592 1 0.000
Fisher's Exact Test
0.000
0.000
Linear-by-Linear
Association 16.481 1 0.000
N of Valid Cases 410

a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 78.78.
b. Computed only for a 2x2 table
5. Conclusion
This research analyzed the risk perception of the street dwellers and examined what variables
influence the risk perception. If an individual is found to have feeling of preparedness and if that
individual is worried about a prospective earthquake the person is more likely to be less vulnerable
which is consistent with findings in other risk perception studies (Armas I. , 2006) (Lo & O., 2015)
(Uprety & Paudel, Earthquake Risk Perception among Citizens in Kathmandu, Nepal, 2012).
Research studies of risk perception enables policy makers to understand the perception of visitors who
157
contribute to the development and economy of such places and the nation overall. Ultimately, it helps
to achieve resilience by decreasing vulnerability of communities.
Acknowledgement
The authors are indebted towards Mr. Arjun Kumar Gaire who helped with the statistical analysis, guidance and
support. The authors also would like to acknowledge Er. Rameswor Shrestha for the frequent motivation to
complete this research. Meanwhile, the authors would also like to thank Er. Anjali Shilpakar and undergraduate
students of Khwopa College of students namely Akash Basu, Nilima Jayana, Nischal, Rupa Khanal, Nischal
Prajapati and Looza Sthapit without whose support the mammoth data collection would not be possible. At last,
the authors pay gratitude towards Er. Ramesh Bala, Head of Department of Civil Engineering and Er. Ratna
Shova Prajapati, Vice Principle of Khwopa College of Engineering. In the end, the authors heartily appreciate
Bhaktapur Municipality, Khwopa College of Engineering and Khwopa Engineering College for the support and
motivation to complete this research.
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management. Nat Hazards, 22-23.
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Environmental Engineering (CCEE’2014) Nov 18-19, 2014 Singapore.
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Gorkha Earthquake 2015, XLIII-EC301 1, 121-134, 2016.
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Dhakal, B., & Shrestha, R. (2018). Risk Assessment of Unreinforced brick masonry buildings under shoring at
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159
Physical Performance of Traditional Brick Mud Masonry

Muskan Sharma Kuinkel1, Sona Sukubhatu2 and Rameswor Shrestha3
Abstract
Nepal is an earthquake prone country and the risk it faces from the earthquake is very high. The recent
earthquake in 2072 B.S. (2015 A.D.) had caused tremendous amount of loss in lives and properties in
Nepal. The loss was caused by the physical constructions. So, in order to be safe from the hazards,
engineered design of all the structures has been necessary. The design and analysis should be checked
and revised time and often. However, it has been an interesting topic of study on the types of masonry
that had been used in the past days because there are still some structures built in the historic time that
have not failed due to the seismic activities. So, it is important to study the behaviour and properties
of these structures during seismic activities and the way they fail. This study focuses on determining
the strength of traditional masonry structures used in Nepal during the past days. A type of traditional
brick found around the area of Bhaktapur Durbar Square known as “Ma-appa” has been used to
perform this study. And masonry elements have been prepared with the mud mortar. In addition, the
mortar used in the test is prepared with the varying proportion of sand in order to study the effect of
sand content in the strength of masonry. The main objective of the research is to study the strength of
mud masonry and find out whether they are structurally suitable to be used as masonry element or not.
The masonry is analysed by determining the compressive strength parameter. The masonry elements
are subjected to compression and the test results are analysed to determine the performance of the
masonry. Furthermore, the stress-strain relationship of the masonry elements has also been studied
from the test.
Keywords: Mud masonry; Compressive strength, Masonry elements.
1. Introduction
Masonry structure are built from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by
mortar. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction (Henry, Sinha, & Davies, 2004;
Rashmi, Jagadish, & Nethravathi, 2014). Nepal has witnessed major earthquakes if to be looked back
at the history. The recent Earthquake that hit Nepal on 25th April, 2015 destroyed buildings,
architectures and many assests of the country. The reasons for this massive destruction of structures
are considered to be the lack of engineered design of structures, inappopriate use of construction
materials and inadequate knowledge of construction (Cross, 2015). But, besides the destruction, there
is a fascinating fact that many historical monuments and few masonry buildings are still surviving
without much damage. Hence, this has been a topic to study the properties of the masonry units that
had been used to build these structures. The properties of masonry structures differs as per resource,
construction materials like bricks, mortars and the technology avaibility whereas masonry structures
have strong behaviour in compression but are generally weak in tension, so the compressive strength
of masonry is a very important factor which should be considered in order to build a safe structure
(Thapa & Dhakal, 2015).
The study aims to find out whether mud masonry used in the early periods are strong enough to be
used for construction. For that, strength of brick, mud mortar and masonry elements were tested.
Compressive Strength is the bearing capacity of a material or structure to withstand the gradually
applied loads without rupture but tending to reduce the size of the structure or material (Thapa &
Dhakal, 2015).
Various studies regarding the masonry has been proposed by many reasearchers. According to
Sahlin (1971), the brick wall strength decreases about 25 to 50% of individual strength of brick and
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, muskansharmakuinkel@gmail.com
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, sonasukubhatu@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, rameswor.sth@gmail.com
160
the strength depends upon the mortar strength as well as the interficial bond strength between the
mortar and brick. Mud is a composition of soil particles of varying sizes, so the properties of mud
used in mortar is affected by clay content and Atterberg Limits. Sand content also affects the
compressive strength of mud mortar (Lekshmi, Vishnudas, & Nair, 2016). The presence of clay in
moderate amounts in a soil is desirable. Since clay has cohesive nature, it imparts plasticity to the soil
under moist conditions, however there are facts that clay has high affinity towards water hence clayey
soils swell in presence of water and shrinks in its absence (Rashmi, Jagadish, & Nethravathi, 2014).
Also, as per IS 13077-1991, the Clay content in the soil should be within the limit, clay content should
range between 18-22% by weight and a total content of clay and silt greater than 60% is considered
good for construction. Clay content effects on physical properties of soil which can also be
determined by Atterberg limit test. Atterberg limits are used extensively for determining the
properties of soil by determining the amount of water in the soil. The applicability of clay is however
dependent on an appreciable knowledge of its mineral content and chemical composition
(Evbuomwan, Ifebhor, & Atuka, 2013).
2. Materials and Methods

Bricks: As a traditional brick, we used special type of brick called ‘Ma-appa’ Fig. 1(a), which is
commonly found in the old and traditional monuments and houses of Kathmandu valley. Bricks were
collected from the renovating sites of Bhaktapur. The scaled down brick is shown in Fig. 1(b).
Mud: Mud used for the mortar was collected from Bhaktapur area. The mud was in the form of lumps
which were crushed and sieved through 4.75 mm sieve to control lump of soil and gravels. Additional
10%, 20% and 30% sand were used to prepare variety of mortars. Standard sand of particle size 0.09
mm, 0.5 mm and 2 mm were added at the ratio of 1:1.5:2.5 in the original soil. The sand used was
manufactured sand.
Test Machines: Universal Testing Machine (UTM) was used to perform the compression test of
bricks and brick masonry. To test mortars, Unconfined Compression Testing Machine, Fig. 3, was
used. For determining the Liquid Limit of soil, Casagandre’s Apparatus was used. All the tests were
done at the testing laboratory of Khwopa College of Engineering.
Table 1. Dimensions of the samples

Average Dimensions (mm)
S.N. Items
Length Breadth Thickness
1 Scaled Brick Size 50 51 48
2 Mortar Cube Size 70 70 70
3 Masonry Element 190 120 340
2.1 Brick compression test
Bricks were tested by scaling down the original brick to form cuboid as shown in Fig. 1(b).
Compressive strength of the brick was tested in saturated surface dry condition under the Universal
Testing Machine after brick was kept in water for 24 hours. Load was gradually applied and the
deformations for corresponding value of load was also noted down which helped in generating the
stress and displacement curve.
161
(a) (b)
Fig. 1. Bricks and brick cubes used for the test
2.2 Compressive strength test of masonry element
IS: 1905-1987, has specified that the masonry specimen to be tested shall have height to width ratio
between 2 and 5 which has been followed in the test. The compressive strength of masonry was tested
by preparing three stack bonded brick wall for each mortar type after cured for 45 days in UTM. The
displacement for respective application of load was also recorded. The test results are shown in Fig. 7
and Fig. 8.
(a) (b)
Fig. 2. Masonry element subjected to compression
2.3 Mud and mortar test
Mud Mortar varies based on composition viz; clay, sand and other minerals available in the soil.
Various properties of the mud such as Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, Grain Size Distribution were
obtained performing the respective tests in the laboratory. The tests were performed as stated in IS
2720-1985 Part 4 and Part 5.
Three Mortar cubes with dimensions as stated in Table 1, for each proportion of sand were
prepared along with cube without addition of sand. These samples were tested under unconfined
compression testing machine after curing for 45 days to obtain the cube strength. The test results for
each type of mortar is shown in Fig. 5.
162
Fig. 3. Unconfined Compressive Strength testing machine

3.1 Soil test
From the hydrometer analysis, clay content in the soil was found to be 20.95% which is within the
limit for soil to have a good consistency as stated by IS 13077-1991. The atterberg limits are shown in
Fig. 4. Comparing the obtained results with A- line classification chart (Arora, 2010), that sample is
above the A- line which means the soil is inorganic clay with intermediate plasticity. The workability
chart shows that the mud used has optimum moulding property (Bain & Highly, 1979).
40
30
20
10
0
Liquid Limit Plasticity Index Plastic Limit
Fig. 4. Bar Diagram representing the Atterberg Limits of the mud used in mortar.
3.2 Compressive strength of mortar
The compressive strength obtained for each kind of mortar type is shown in Fig.5 and Fig. 6 show the
stress-strain relation of each kind of mortar respectively. In the diagrams, it can be clearly seen that
considerable amount of sand did not highly affect the strength of mortar. However, it can also be seen
that mortar with high amount of sand obtained the least compressive strength. The stress-strain curve
shows that the failure pattern of all four mortar types were linear.
163
Fig. 5. Bar Diagram for compressive strength of mortar with respect to sand proportion
(a) (b)
(c) d)
Fig. 6. Stress-Strain diagram of motar for various compositiom of sand in mortar
3.3 Compressive Strength of brick and masonry
The traditional bricks and the mortar had been used to perform in the masonry with varying
composition of sand in mortar. From all the tests performed, various results were achieved regarding
the masonry and the masonry Units. The Average Compressive Strength of the brick cubes was 15.32
164
N/mm2. Similarly, the Compressive Strength of masonry element with different proportion of sand in
the mortar was found as given in Fig. 7. From the comparision between the original compressive
strength of individual brick to that of masonry it can be known that, the masonry after the construction
gains about 25% of the strength of brick.
Fig. 7. Bar diagram for compressive strength with respect to sand proportion
From the above result, it can be concluded that the masonry specimen with optimum quantity of
clay content in mortar provides higher strength. On the contrary that the proportion of sand increases,
the strength seems to be decreasing in linear way. The stress displacement curve for all the masonry
specimen obtained is shown in Fig. 8.
(a) (b)
165
(c) (d)
Fig. 8. Stress-displacement diagram of masonry for various compositiom of sand in mortar
4. Conclusion and Recommendation

This study revealed the physical properties of traditional masonry and masonry units that were used as
a construction material in the early period. Compressive Strength has only been used as a parameter to
study the strength of the masonry elements. From all the test results obtained, it can be concluded that
the traditional masonry is not weak and if constructed with proper design and skill, it can provide
adequate strength. It is also clear why most of the monuments and some structural buildings did not
collapse during the earthquake disaster. The compressive strength obtained is novel and can be used
for further analysis of the structure. Also, the mud that was used has required clay content but it
should have low plasticity. It can also be seen that both the mortar and masonry with no sand content
has the highest strength in comparison to other compositions. But, as seen in the masonry specimen,
the strength of mortar is not seen to be decreasing linearly. However, the strength of masonry doesn’t
totally depend upon the strength of mortar. Other factors such as workability, water content,
components of masonry structure, reinforcements also affect the overall strength of masonry structure.
However, other parameters such as shear strength, diagonal compressive strength also governs the
strength of masonry (Meli, June 1973). But in overall, it can be concluded that these units are suitable
for construction which should be constructed with skilled manpower and design.
References
Arora, D. K. (2010). Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. New Delhi: Lomus Offset Press.
Bain, J. A., & Highly, D. E. (1979). Regional appraisal of clay resources challenge to the clay mineralogist.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 437-446.
Cross, R. (2015). Nepal Earthquake: a disaster that shows quakes don't kill people, buildings do. The Guardian.
Evbuomwan, B., Ifebhor, I., & Atuka, M. (2013). Characterisation of Omoku and Ogoni Clay in Rivers State
Nigeria for use as industrial raw material. International Journal of Science and Engineering Investigations
,vol. 2, 72-76.
Henry, A., Sinha, B., & Davies, S. (2004). Design of Masonry Structures. UK: E & FN SPON .
Lekshmi, M., Vishnudas, S., & Nair, D. (2016, June). Experimental study on the physical properties of mud
mortar in comparison with the conventional mortar. Civil Engineering and Urban Planning: An
International Journal (CiVEJ), 127-135.
Meli, R. (June 1973). Behavior of masonry walls under lateral loads. Fifth world conference on earthquake
engineering.
Parajuli, H. R. ( 2012). Determination of mechanical properties of the Kathmandu World Heritage brick
masonry buildings.
Rashmi, S., Jagadish, K., & Nethravathi, S. (2014). Stabilized mud mortar. IJRET: International Journal of
Research in Engineering and Technology, 26-29.
Sahlin, S. (1971). Structural Masonry. New Jersey: Prentice hal.
Thapa, K., & Dhakal, B. (2015). Design of Masonry Structures. Kathmandu: National Book Center.
166
In Situ Compressive Stress Estimation Using Flatjack Technique:

Case study of Pujari Math, Dattatreya Square, Bhaktapur
Shankar Prajapati1, Manjip Shakya2 and Toshikazu Hanazato3
Abstract
Flat-jack testing is a versatile and powerful technique that provides significant information on the
mechanical properties of historical constructions. Engineers involved in structural analysis of existing
historical structures need information about the compressive stresses, the deformability properties and
the loads applied to the masonry. This knowledge is necessary for the evaluation of the current
condition of structures and can be also useful for stress control during repair operations. Flat-jack
testing is direct and in-situ non destructive testing method that requires only the removal of a portion
of mortar from the bed joints. It can be, therefore, considered non-destructive test (NDT) since the
damage is temporary and it can be easily repaired after testing. This paper presents the detail of the
studies carried out to evaluate the existing stress in traditional brick masonry with mud mortar using
ASTM standards.
Keywords: NDT, Flat-jack testing, In-situ stress, Traditional Masonry, Dattatreya Square
1. Introduction
1.1 Historical importance of Pujari Math:
Pujari Math (Fig.1), situated at Tachapal Tole of Bhaktapur was built as a residence-cum-office for
the priest or Mahanta of the famous Dattatreya temple. The Dattatreya temple was built during the
reign of King Yaksha Malla (1425-1482) A.D. but was opened to public around 1486 A.D., only after
his demise.
Pujari Math is one of the oldest Math in the valley. According to a traditional oral belief this math was
constructed by a Sanyasi, Gosain Gurubaksha who was a rich trader trading amongst Gosain
merchants, India, Nepal and Tibet. It is also said that while building the Dattratreya temple and Pujari
Math, King Yaksha Malla also spent a considerable amount of money. Due to its Tibetan connection
through the Gosain traders, the Math annually received one tola (about 11 g) offering of gold, one tola
silver, one horse, one woolen carpet, three hundred and sixty-five pieces of walnuts and two hundred
and sixteen rupees in cash from Tibetan Government. This practice continued till the Prime-
Ministership of Chandra Shamsher. Around 1904 A.D. the Lasha court terminated this practice in
anger after arrival of young husband’s mission to Tibet and Tibetans believed that the British
Government of India was aided by Nepal to make this mission successful.
Pujari Math is registered as Chhut-Guthi (semi-private trust). This means the landed property
under this trust can neither belong to the government nor to the Mahanta, but only to the temple and
the Math. Mahanta appointing practice was established for the management and implementation of
various religious and function, related to the Dattatreya temple. The first Mahanta was the founder
Gosain Gurubaksha Giri and next twenty three Mahantas have been recorded. The Mahanta is the
owner of considerable landed property and has considerable amount of income. The tillers of the land
have to pay annually a share to the temple and the Math, either in cash or crops. Although the tillers
are not the owners of the land, they can sell their tillers’ right to any Nepalese citizen. Pujari Math
owns sixteen hundred ropanis or about one hundred and fifteen bigahas of land in the Kathmandu
Valley. The Mahanta receives his share from the tillers. His share is about one hundred sixty two kilos
1 Post Graduate Department of Earthquake Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
prajapatishankar@hotmail.com
2 Post Graduate Department of Earthquake Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
maanzeep@gmail.com
3 Mie University, Japan, hanazato@arch.mie-u.ac.jp
167
of paddy, eighteen kilos of wheat and two rupees. In total, annually he receives about two hundred
tons of paddy, twenty-eight tons of wheat and thirdy two hundred rupees in cash from tillers.
Some of the annual functions to be performed by Mahanta are: on the day of Baisakh Purnima, a
goat is sacrificed at the shrine of Ganesh inside Pujari Math, on the day of Kumar Sasthi or Sithi
Nakha, all the mahantas of Dattatreya Akhada, numbering eleven Math in Bhaktapur District, have to
worship their family diety or Kuldevata. On the Dewali day all the Mahantas come to Pujari math to
worship the Kuldevi Durga. Khat Yatra is celebrated one day after Gaijatra. During the Dashain
festival, nine virgin girls, who have not yet attained puberty are worshipped and offered food as
Kumari and in the month of Falgun, the Math has to perform Gota Puja (worshiping a heap of ash)
which is kept in the throne room of Guru Dattreya at pujari Math. Besides these, every month of the
full moon a simple dinner of rice, pulse soup and vegetables to saints and the poor people. During
shivaratri, saints have to be feed by the Mahantas and should provide wood. (Amatya, S.)
Fig. 1. Pujari Math

The four storeyed Pujari Math also known as Dattatreya Math is rich in wooden carved art and
architecture. This is the eldest and most beautiful Math in the kingdom of Bhaktapur. But due to
Gorkha Earthquake of April, 2015, most of the inner walls get damaged and waiting for renovation.
1.2 Introduction to Flat-jack test:
Flat-jack testing originates from the field of rock mechanics. Italian researcher Paolo Rossi adapted
the method for use with masonry in the early 1980s and, since then, different researchers worldwide
focus on this technique, e.g. Abdunur carried out tests with very small semi-circular flat-jacks, and
conducted idealized photoelastic stress analyses on plastic models. Atkinson-Noland & Associates has
been engaged in the evaluation of flat-jack testing for use in the evaluation of existing old brick
masonry buildings in the United States. Qinglin and Xiuyi developed a thick flat-jack with large
displacement capabilities for use on very soft masonry materials typically found in China (Gregorczyk
et al., 2016). The standard for masonry evaluation with flat-jacks was developed by ASTM and
approved in 1991 as ASTM Standard Test Methods C1196-91, ASTM Standard Test Methods C1197-
91.
Flat jack testing can determine the engineering properties of existing structures for structural
evaluation. This method is also used to determine the in situ stress and compressive strength of
masonry structures. A flat jack is a hydraulic load cell manufactured to be very thin, for insertion into
a typical mortar joint into which a slot has been formed. When pressurized, the flat jack exerts stress
on the surrounding masonry and by measuring surface deformations; information on the existing state
of stress as well as the stiffness and strength of masonry can be obtained. This method directly
measures the actual state of compressive stress present within the masonry and is useful for
determining stress gradients present within a masonry wall or column. Prior to forming a flat jack slot,
the distance between gauge points on opposite sides of the slot location is measured. After the slot is
cut, compressive stress present within the structure forces the slot to close slightly. Flat jacks are then
placed in the slot and pressurized to restore the slot back to its original position. The pressure required
to restore the gauge points to their original position, modified by the flat jack calibration constant,
168
provides a measure of the state of compressive stress normal to the slot. The measurement consists of
two distinct phases (Parivallal et al., 2011):
Ø Cutting a slot
Ø Insertion of a flat jack into the slot and pressurization until compensation (re-establishing
the deformation stage prior to saw cutting)
The in-situ average compressive stress in masonry is evaluated using the following equation as per
ASTM Standard C 1196-91,
(1)
Where = the ratio of measured area of the flatjack to the average measured area of slot,
ρ = restoration pressure in flat jack at full compensation,
= flat jack calibration factor, reflecting the geometrical and stiffness properties
of flat jack
The reliable determination of the equilibrium pressure is a fundamental requirement for the test,
regardless the details of the type of application. Conflicting information, regarding the interpretation
of the effect of the concentration of stresses and/or of inelastic deformations or of very low stresses
(e.g. when surveying one or two floor buildings) usually requires significant amount of subjective
judgement, which may compromise the reliability of the entire procedure (Binda et al.,1999).
1.3 Calibration of flat-jack:
Flat-jacks are designed to have an output pressure (one that is applied to masonry) that is linearly
dependent on the internal hydraulic pressure. The coefficient that provides conversion (Km) is
determined during the calibration process. An example of a curve obtained during calibration is given
in Fig.2.
Fig. 2.Flat-jack calibration curve

Usually, for new flat-jacks, the calibration factor Km is supplied by the flat-jack manufacturer.
However, since flat-jacks softens with repeated use, they must be re-calibrated after 4 or 5 tests, or
sooner. If during test, flat-jacks develop excessive deformations it should be restored to the original
thickness following each test to ensure that the calibration factor remains unchanged.
1.4 Flat jack testing methodology:
1.4.1 Site selection and gauge length fixing
Since Pujari Math is one the historical monument containing some the precious wall paintings, site
selection is done sincerely, such a way that the testing procedure does not hamper the existing arts and
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monuments. The external wall was made of high quality face brick ‘Dachi Appa’, which had almost
no joint so internal wall was selected. The selected testing wall is made up of mud mortar. Initially,
the gauge length was fixed to be 300 mm (Fig. 3) as described in the manual of the instrument.
Fig. 3. Fixing of gauge points
1.4.2 Slot preparation
Fig. 4. Slot Preparation by stitch drilling
1.4.3 Insertion of Flat-jack and packing of slot
Flat jack was fully inserted to the slot (Fig. 5) and the made tight with shim, equal in size with flat-
jack.
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Fig. 5. Insertion of Flat-jack into the slot
1.4.4 Pressurization of Flat-jack
This process of pressurization (Fig. 6) was started as soon as slot formation was completed and flat-
jack was inserted to the slot. The hydraulic hoses were connected to the flat-jack and pumping was
done until pressure began to develop. Since, estimated flat-jack pressure was low so gauge length was
measured at every small increase in pressure.
Fig. 6. Gauge point measurement by pressurization of flat-jack
1.4.5 Measurements of the contact area
Since knowledge of the contact area during flat-jack testing is important when deciding about test
validity, to gain better understanding of this area, a very simple and inexpensive method was
introduced in experiments following experiment no. 1: a sheet of carbon paper, sandwiched between
two sheets of ordinary paper, was placed between the flatjack and a surface of the shim. The paper
was marked in places of contact, conversely to places without contact, where the paper remained
white. All the sheets determining contact area are shown below.
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Fig. 7. Contact area for Ground floor wall Fig. 8. Contact area for First floor wall
Fig. 9. Contact area for Second floor wall
1.4.6 Calculation and observation:
Following deformation measurements were observed during the pressurization of the flat-jack.
Table 1. Measurement of deformation during pressurization of slot 1

Restoration Pressure Measured Deformation in mm
(Bar) D1 D2 D3 D4
0 -0.266 -0.453 -0.253 -0.197
1 -0.21 -0.266 -0.208 -0.123
1.5 -0.187 -0.216 -0.182 -0.113
3 -0.125 -0.142 -0.096 -0.098
4 -0.093 -0.045 -0.016 -0.034
5 -0.031 0.057 0.073 0.071
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(Bar) D1 D2 D3 D4
0 -0.535 -0.137 -0.233 -0.349
1 -0.284 -0.109 -0.117 -0.326
1.5 -0.158 -0.066 -0.06 -0.309
3 -0.168 -0.048 -0.032 -0.301
4 -0.063 0.065 0.106 -0.228
4.5 -0.024 0.093 0.097 -0.018

(Bar) D1 D2 D3 D4
0 -0.051 -0.111 -0.079 -0.055
1 -0.002 -0.005 -0.039 -0.019
2.5 -0.015 0.017 0.053 0.033
4.5 0.029 0.059 0.092 0.066
6 0.276 0.375 0.427 0.225
8 0.315 0.451 0.524 0.427
Pressure Vs Displacement (slot 1)
D
1
D
Displacement in mm
Pressure in Bar
D
1
Displacement in mm
D
2
Pressure in Bar
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D1
D2
Displacement in mm
D3
D4
Pressure in Bar
Fig. 10. Graph showing Flatjack Pressure versus Gauge point displacement for each slot
Stress Calculation:
For slot 1,
= 0.714 : Calibration factor (P-machine/P-flatjack)

= 0.7921 : average flatjack area/ average slot area
ρ = 5.50 bar i.e. 0.65 N/mm2
Therefore Net Applied stress 0.368 Mpa.
For slot 2,

ρ = 3.5 bar i.e. 0.35 N/mm2
For slot 3,

ρ = 2.0 bar i.e. 0.2 N/mm2
2. Conclusions
The insitu compressive stress was estimated using flatjack instrument. The average existing
compressive stress in the masonry wall is calculated to be 0.368 Mpa at Ground floor which is
constructed with burnt brick with mud mortar. Similarly, the average existing compressive stress in
the first floor wall which is constructed with sun dried brick wall with mud mortar is estimated to be
0.18 Mpa and the compressive stress at second floor wall is estimated to be 0.113 Mpa.
174
References
ASTM, In-situ compressive stress within solid unit masonry estimated using flat-jack measurements, ASTM
Standard C 1196-91, 1991
ASTM, In-situ measurement of masonry deformability properties using flat-jack method, ASTM Standard C
1197 -91, 1991
Binda, L., Tiraboschi, C.(1999), Flat-Jack Test: A slightly destructive technique for the diagnosis of brick and
stone masonry structures.
IS:1905-1987, (1987), “Indian Standard Code of Practice for Structural Use of Unreinforced Masonry”, Bureau
of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Gregorczyk, P., Paulo B., L. (2016), A Review on Flat-Jack Testing.
Parivallal, S., Kesavan, K., Ravisankar, K., Arun Sundram, B., and Farvaze Ahmed, A.K. (2011), Evaluation of
In-situ stress in masonry structures by Flat Jack Technique.
Amatya, S., Pujari Math: The background history of the Bhaktapur development project.
175
Numerical Runout Modelling of a Glaciated Debris Avalanche in

the Himalaya: a Preliminary Analysis
Kaushal Raj Gnyawali1 and Aiguo Xing2
Abstract
The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake triggered several large avalanches. The glaciated debris avalanche in the
Langtang valley was the most destructive one with largest runout of about 5 km that completely buried
the touristic village of Langtang. In this study, preliminary results of a dynamic simulation of the
Langtang avalanche are presented which was done using the r.avaflow software. A combination of
optimum flow parameters to run the model are found. The main avalanche onto the village was a multi-
staged process and entrained further sub-avalanche material during its movement. It had a duration of
about 100 s and an average velocity of 48 m/s.
Keywords: Gorkha Earthquake; Avalanche; Numerical simulation; Dynamic run out
1. Introduction
Rock avalanches are large (generally larger than >106 m3 volume) with extremely high velocity and
long runout geological hazards in the mountainous regions. They often cause large loss of human life
and property in the mountain regions. The April 25, 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Mw 7.9) in Central Nepal,
triggered many catastrophic landslides and avalanches (Collins & Jibson, 2015; Gnyawali & Adhikari,
2017; Hashash et al., 2015; Roback et al., 2018). The largest and most destructive of them was the
Langtang avalanche (Lacroix, 2016), where the shaking triggered a debris avalanche composed of ice,
snow, soil and rocks (Collins & Jibson, 2015). This avalanche buried several villages, destroyed a large
part of the valley with the associated air-blast, killed at least 350 people and also dammed the river for
a few days (Kargel et al., 2015).
Fig. 1. Study area and source depth maps.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao
Tong University, Shanghai, China, gnyawalikr@sjtu.edu.cn

2 State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, Corresponding
author, xingaiguo@sjtu.edu.cn
176
The r.avaflow is an open-source and freely available computational tool for simulation of
gravitational mass movements and avalanches (Mergili et al., 2017). It employs a two-phase solid-fluid
interacting mixture model (Pudasaini, 2012) and considers both entrainment and stopping with
deposition criteria for flow simulation. To run a model, essentially three inputs are needed: the digital
elevation model of the pre-event condition, the solid and fluid release heights including the material
and flow parameter values. The main outputs are: time step image of the solid and fluid flow heights,
developed pressure, flow velocities, change in basal topography due to entrainment and stopping of the
flow.
Avalanche runout dynamics are substantially altered by the topography and obstacles (Kattel et al.,
2018). A dynamic simulation is run to mainly understand the runout dynamics, velocities and duration
of the avalanche (Xing et al., 2017). Understanding the duration, dynamics and extent of the avalanche
propagation can assist for disaster preparation of mountainous settlement areas.
In this study we present preliminary simulation results of the Langtang avalanche triggered by the
2015 Gorkha earthquake using r.avaflow software. Multiple model runs are done to find optimum
parameters for the flow simulation. We further analyse and validate the dynamic flow, propagation,
duration of the avalanche and velocities.
2. Data and methods

2.1 Data
The DEM were used in this study is obtained from Lacroix (2016). A 4-meter resolution pre- and post-
disaster digital elevation model (DEM) obtained by processing tri-stereo SPOT-6 images using NASA
open source software Ames Stereo Pipeline (Broxton & Edwards, 2008) was used for modelling. The
pre-earthquake image/ DEM was of 2014 April and post event was of 2015 May.
2.2 Method
After deriving the pre and post event DEMs, some voids existed in the data which were filled using
ALOS-PALSAR DEM of 12.5m. The post event DEM was subtracted from the pre-event DEM to get
the source depth map. This was resampled to 15 m using bilinear interpolation to smoothen the terrain
for stable flow simulation. The source depth was classified into solid and fluid release heights based on
the snow line contour of 5000 m. The source area above 5000 m were considered fluid and below it was
considered solids. The DEM, solids and fluids depths were input in r.avaflow professional software
using following optimized parameters from multiple runs, Table 1.
Table 1. Main flow parameters and entrainment coefficient used for simulation in r.avaflow
Symbol Parameter Unit Exp. 1A, B, C
ρs Solid material density (grain density) kgm−3 2200
ρf Fluid material density kgm−3 1000
ϕ Internal friction angle Degree 35
δ Basal friction angle Degree 8
CVM Virtual mass – 0.5
VT Terminal velocity ms−1 1
P Parameter for combination of solid- and fluid-

like contributions to drag resistance – 0.5
ReP Particle Reynolds number – 1
177
J Exponent for drag (1 =linear, 2 =quadratic) – 1
NR Quasi-Reynolds number – 4.5
NRA Mobility number – 3
χ Viscous shearing coefficient for fluid – 0
ξ Solid concentration distribution with depth – 0
CAD Ambient drag coefficient – 0
CE Entrainment coefficient kg−1 10−7

Multiple back-analyses were done to obtain the best rheological parameters for the model simulation
(Table 1). The displaced material travelled about five kilometers downstream. The time varying flow
depth simulation results from the r.avaflow are presented in Fig. 2. The main avalanche duration was
100 seconds from the simulation. The main avalanche originated near the cliff and entrained multiple
sub-avalanche debris that also fell correspondingly onto the village at different times. Multiple
avalanche hit the village at different time frames as villagers had witnessed, reported in (Fujita et al.,
2017). Nagai et al. (2017) found nine different types of deposition zones based on interpretation high
resolution images and interpreted them based on temporal evolution of the avalanche. Our simulation
traced seven out of those nine characteristic deposition areas.
Fig. 2. Time lapse flow depth simulation results from r.avaflow software.
178
Fig. 3. Maximum pressure, fluid and solid velocity plots.
Internal friction angle of 35° and basal friction angle of 8° were found optimum. For the snow depth
accumulation above the 5000m asl. elevation as found in Fujita et al. (2017), we ran simulations
considering both snow density and ice density. However, the snow density-based simulation did not
yield correct deposit depth. Thus, we considered it as ice with density 1000 kg/m3. The snow above
this region must have been compacted and turned into ice which was mobilized as water during the
avalanche propagation.
A plot of the maximum pressure, solid and fluid velocities are shown in Fig. 3. (Kargel et al., 2015)
estimated the air blast velocity up to 332 km/hr in order to case tree up-rooting. Fujita et al. (2017)
carried out fieldworks and estimated a boulder velocity of the “cheese boulder” located near the river
bed. The simulated solid velocity is consistent at that location. The mean velocity of the avalanche was
48 m/s. Due to the presence of ice which must have melted during the movement process, the flow was
unstable even after reaching the deposition.
4. Validation
Fig. 4. Validation of simulation based on debris deposit extent.

For validation of the simulation results Fig. 4, the actual deposit depth map was overlaid on the
simulated deposit depth map. Then, validation parameters: Factor of conservativeness (FoC) and
Critical success index (CSI) were calculated based on the cells with observed impact or deposition are
179
referred to as observed positives and those cells without observed impact or deposition as observed
negatives. The details of the calculation procedure are described in Mergili et al. (2017). The optimum
value of FoC and CSI are 1, while for this model, the following values were obtained: FoC=0.5 and
CSI=0.46. Temporal difference of 1 year between the used DEMs (Lacroix, 2016), anomalous snow
deposition above 5000m asl during that time frame (Fujita et al., 2017) and single model run results
seem to have acted in combine to yield less than optimum values of these parameters.
5. Summary and Conclusions

The Langtang avalanche, which was among the most destructive avalanche triggered by the April 25,
2015 Gorkha earthquake, was numerically simulated in this study. It’s dynamic characteristics and run
out was preliminarily analysed based on the free and open source r.avaflow software. The following
points summarize this study:
The Langtang avalanche consisted of multiple-stage avalanches that descent from the ridge and
entrained further sub-avalanches on its path and finally falling onto the Langtang-valley.
The duration of the avalanche was 100 seconds with a mean propagation velocity of 48 m/s.
Parameter sensitivity analysis and further computational iterative multi-model run analysis can be
done for more insightful and accurate analysis.
References
Collins, B.D. & Jibson, R.W. (2015). Assessment of existing and potential landslide hazards resulting from the
April 25, 2015 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake sequence. US Geological Survey.
Fujita, K. et al. (2017) Anomalous winter-snow-amplified earthquake-induced disaster of the 2015 Langtang
avalanche in Nepal. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci, 17,749-764 doi:10.5194/nhess-17-749-2017
Gnyawali, K.R. & Adhikari. B.R. (2017) Spatial Relations of Earthquake Induced Landslides Triggered by 2015
Gorkha Earthquake Mw = 7.8. In: Mikoš M, Casagli N, Yin Y, Sassa K (eds) Advancing Culture of Living
with Landslides. WLF 2017. Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides. Springer International Publishing,
Cham, pp 85-93
Hashash, Y. et al. (2015) Geotechnical field reconnaissance: Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake of April 25, 2015 and
related shaking sequence Geotechnical Extreme Event Reconnaisance GEER Association Report No GEER-
040:1-250
Kargel, J.S. et al. (2015) Geomorphic and geologic controls of geohazards induced by Nepal’s 2015 Gorkha
earthquake Science
Lacroix P (2016) Landslides triggered by the Gorkha earthquake in the Langtang valley, volumes and initiation
processes. Earth, Planets and Space, 68 (46). doi:10.1186/s40623-016-0423-3
Mergili, M., Fischer, J.T., Krenn, J., & Pudasaini, S.P. (2017) r.avaflow v1, an advanced open-source
computational framework for the propagation and interaction of two-phase mass flows. Geosci Model Dev 10,
553-569 doi:10.5194/gmd-10-553-2017
Nagai, H., Watanabe, M., Tomii, N., Tadono, T., & Suzuki, S. (2017) Multiple remote-sensing assessment of the
catastrophic collapse in Langtang Valley induced by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Nat Hazards Earth Syst
Sci, 17,1907-1921. doi:10.5194/nhess-17-1907-2017
Pudasaini, S.P. (2012) A general two-phase debris flow model. Journal of Geophysical Research, 117
doi:doi:10.1029/2011JF002186
Roback K et al. (2018) The size, distribution, and mobility of landslides caused by the 2015 Mw7. 8 Gorkha
earthquake, Nepal Geomorphology. 301, 121-138
180
Analysis of Timber Reinforced Masonry in Historic Monuments

Sangina Awal1, Alisha Prajapati2, Robin Lageju3 and Rameswor Shrestha4
Abstract
The Gorkha earthquake on 15 April 2015 A.D. damaged most of heritage structure and temples.
These structures carry traditional and historical essence. They need to be reconstructed which should
be earthquake resilient. Earthquake resilient structures can be constructed by reinforcing the masonry
structure. From the historical aspect, timbers were used with masonry. The load sharing property of
masonry and timber determine the efficiency of the structure. So, this paper focuses on the
significance of use of the timber as reinforcing material to the masonry and through the experimental
analysis the increment in load resisting capacity of the masonry had been found indicating timber
reinforced masonry as a more stable structure as compared to unreinforced masonry.
Keywords: Gorkha earthquake; Masonry; Reinforcement
1. Introduction
The traditional use of timber in masonry can widely be seen in most of the historical monuments in
Nepal. These are probably the oldest building materials mostly used in such structures and other
common residential structure which shows that timber had been in use with masonry since long before
Lichhavi period. A large range of reinforcement methods is currently available and further
technologies are under development. Among these, timber reinforcement consists of mainly 2 types
i.e. timber and bamboo. Bamboos are widely used in Terai region of Nepal for increasing aesthetic
view but also used as band to increase the strength of in-plane wall. Timber is mostly used as beam,
columns of the historical building to increase durability and strength. Timber is used as band and is
applicable in locking system to increase the strength of structure as several onsite investigations after
the occurrence of recent earthquakes gave proof of good seismic resistance of such structures. Fig. 1
and 2 are some example of timber reinforced masonry works.
Due to proper bonding in the masonry load-bearing walls, out of plane collapses were more
commonly observed in the Kathmandu valley and other settlements (Varum et al., 2017). The timber
reinforced structures are less susceptible to lateral displacement compared to unreinforced ones and
the introduction of timber reinforcement increases the stiffness to resist the seismic load (Moroz &
Lissel, 2009). The bamboo reinforced shear wall showed remarkably similar behaviour to that
reinforced with steel if some protective treatments like waterproofing is done before its use (Awall et
al., 2017).The use of embedded wooden beams in stone ashlar masonry reduced the shear stress of the
structure by upto 50 % (Rababhe et al., 2014). The experimental tests show that the timber diagonals,
when compressed, they usually come back to their initial position, without experiencing out of plane
behaviour (Dutu et al., 2012). Timber reinforcement in wallets prevented disintegration of stone
masonry by exhibiting substantial small crack openings and strength enhancement as high as 100%
was recorded (Vintzileou et al., 2006).
2. Methodology
This research was conducted by compressive strength test carried under the Universal Testing
Machine (UTM) for cuboidal timber and box column (with and without timber reinforcement).
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, sanginaawal11@gmail.com
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, palisha79@gmail.com
3
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, robinlage10@gmail.com
4
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, rameswor.sth@gmail.com
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Fig. 1. Timber work in Batsala Temple. Fig. 2. Tradiational timber reinforced masonry.
2.1 For cuboidal timber
The timber was cut down to the required size i.e.7cm x 7cm x 28cm and it was seasoned for 5 days.
The seasoned timber was then tested in UTM by placing the smaller base at the plate of the machine.
The timber was then passed under the load from the UTM and the cracks were studied and the
compressive strength of the timber was noted. This was done for three sample of the seasoned timber.
2.2 For box column without timber reinforcement
Fig. 3. Box-column without timber Fig. 4. Box-column with timber

reinforcement. reinforcement.
The brick (maa aapa) (190mm x 115mm x 50mm) was firstly cleaned from clear water and soaked in
water for 1 day. The lime was firstly mixed with water until the solution was like creamy in nature
and the solution was kept for one day to check the volume change. The lime solution was then mixed
with brick dust at the ratio 1:3 by providing water at 60% as that of lime solution. The brick was cut
down into a specific size to keep in the middle of the box column. A wooden plank of 50cm x 50cm
was kept in the base and the mortar layer about 1 cm was kept and brick were kept and with the help
of the spirit level, erection of the box column was checked. The mortar kept between the brick were
not more than 1cm and the box column was constructed of 33cm x 33cm x 66cm and extra top layer
of 1cm mortar was kept which is shown in Fig. 3. Thus made box column was painted by lime water
solution and covered by sack for 45 days. After 45 days the dimension of the box column was
measured and recorded and it was kept in the UTM machine and the test was carried out. The crack
formation was observed and compressive strength was noted down. The same process was carried out
for three sample simultaneously.
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2.3 For box column with timber reinforcement
The brick (maa aapa) (190 mm x 115 mm x 50 mm) was firstly cleaned from clear water and soaked
in water for 1 day. The lime was firstly mixed with water until the solution was like creamy in nature
and the solution was kept for one day to check the volume change. The lime solution was then mixed
with brick dust at the ratio 1:3 by providing water at 60% as that of lime solution. The timber was cut
down into the required size (7cm x 7cm x 66cm) and seasoned for 5 days. A wooden plank of 50cm x
50cm was kept in the base and the mortar layer about 1 cm was kept. The timber was kept at the
middle of the plank and brick were kept just covering the timber and with the help of the spirit level,
erection of the box column was checked. The mortar kept was not more than 1cm and the box column
was constructed of 33cm x 33cm x 66cm and extra top layer of 1cm mortar was kept which is shown
in Fig. 4. Thus made box column was painted by lime water solution and covered by sack for 45 days.
After 45 days the dimension of the box column was measured and recorded and it was kept in the
UTM machine and the test was carried out. The crack formation was observed and compressive
strength was noted down. The same process was carried out for three sample simultaneously.

In the compressive strength test of timber cuboids, the common failure in all timber specimen
occurred by forming diagonal cracks as shown in Fig. 5 which showed the timber failure in shear.
Buckling was also seen in one of the specimen. The average compressive strength of the timber
cuboid was 35.99 Mpa.
Fig. 5. Failure pattern of cuboidal timber Fig. 6. Failure pattern of unreinforced masonry
Also, the compressive strength tests were performed on the reinforced and unreinforced masonry
models which followed different failure mechanisms; in unreinforced masonry, vertical cracks were
seen which showed the failure through joints and then the walls started to buckle outwards with
appearance of diagonal cracks on the specimen as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.
In reinforced masonry too, the vertical cracks through joints were seen but the cracks were minor
(Vintzileou et al., 2006). The outer masonry failure was seen but the load was still being resisted by
the inner timber member and the whole model faced failure after the failure of the vertical timber
reinforcement. There were single to multiple oblique cracks observed at the bottom part of the timber
as shown in Fig. 7. The timber showed the punching effect after the stress was released (Dutu et al.,
2012). Which shows that the timber failed solely in shear, no buckling failure occurred because of
compression provided on it by the surrounding brick masonry.
The compressive stress developed on the unreinforced masonry was 1.185 Mpa, 1.042 Mpa and
0.900 Mpa with the mean of 1.042 Mpa where the timber reinforced masonry showed the compressive
stress of 1.928 Mpa, 1.772 Mpa, and 2.084 with mean of 1.928 Mpa. The one with timber
reinforcement showed the 85.03 % change in resisting capacity. This huge difference in compressive
strength of these models show the significant use of reinforcement in the structure and the
combination of rigid and flexible materials (masonry and timber respectively) allows absorption of the
shear force during earthquake (Cruz et al., 2015).The timber reinforcement on masonry increase the
183
compressive strength and provide the well resisting behavior against the seismic actions. Generally,
timber reinforcement are used as column and bonds in the historical structures which provide ductile
nature to the structure in some extent and increase load bearing capacity as well.
Fig. 7. Failure pattern of timber reinforcement of masonry test specimen.
4. Conclusion
Timber, being of various species, it has different strength and should be properly seasoned and
painted before using it as the reinforcement for masonry structures. The above experiment shows that
the compressive stress bearing capacity can be modified using timber masonry which can be used for
the earthquake resilient historical structures.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Khwopa College of Engineering by providing the
platform for conducting our experiments. In addition, the authors would like to thank their friends, Mr. Saman
Sachinya Shrestha and Mr.Pramit Rajkarnikar and others, who contributed in preparation of specimen and some
theoretical analysis.
References
Awall, M. R., Azad, M. S., Rahman, M. O., Samadder, N., & Hasan, M. (2017). Effect of using timber
reinforcements in mud houses to Earthquake. In Proceedings of International Conference on Planning,
Architecture and Civil Engineering.
Cruz, H., Candeias, P. X., & Ruggieri, N. (2015). Historical earthquake resistant timber framing in the
Mediterranean area.
Dutu, A., Gomes Ferreira, J., Goncalves, A. M., & Covaleov, A. (2012). Components interaction in timber
framed masonry.
Moroz, J. G., & Lissel, S. L. (2009). Tonkin Cane Bamboo as reinforcement in masonry shear walls. In 11th
Canadian Masonry Symposium, Toronto, Ontario, May 31- June 3, 2009.
Rababhe, S., Al Qablan, H., Abu-Khafajah, S., & El-Mashaleh, M. (2014). Structural utilisation of wooden
beams as anti-seismic and stabilising techniques in stone masonry in Qasr el-Bint , Petra , Jordan.
Construction and Building Materials 54, 60–69.
Varum, H., Dumaru, R., & Barbosa, A. R. (2017). Seismic performance of buildings in Nepal after the Gorkha
earthquake. Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake, Elsevier Inc, (September).
Vintzileou, E. N., Papadopoulou, D. A., & Palieraki, V. A. (2006). Mechanical properties of masonry reinforced
with timber ties. Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions, 691–698.
184
Performance of Lime Mortar in Reconstruction of Monuments of

Bhaktapur
Rukshana Shrestha1, Sristi Koju2 and Rameswor Shrestha3
Abstract
Nepal has history of lime mortar of about 200 years. Many palaces, heritages and monuments were
constructed using lime mortar. The structures serves different devastating earthquake. So, lime has
important role in developing advance sustainable society. Pure form of lime mortar consist of lime
and fine aggregate. Construction history of Nepal shows that the mortar consists of lime, sand, surkhi,
molasses and black lentil. After 2015 A.D. Gorkha earthquake, for the reconstruction of the heritage
along with to maintain its originality, mortar combination of lime, sand and surkhi was being used in
Bhaktapur. The appropriate proportion of these material provide the effective bonding efficiency.
Numbers of mortar cubes were tested at different interval of time. Masonry element using traditional
brick and mortar were tested to determine the combine effect of mortar and unit. The tests provide the
mathematical form of performance of lime mortar in traditional unit.
Keywords: Performance; Lime mortar; Historical structure; Gorkha Earthquake; Bhaktapur.
1. Introduction
Bhaktapur Durbar square is enlisted in world heritage site of UNESCO in 1979. This heritage site
comprises of numerous traditional, historical, cultural, archaeological monuments. These monuments
date back to 18th century, have been enduring damages along this course of time. The durbar area was
severely damages by earthquake in 1934 and Recently, Gorkha (Barpaka) Earthquake in 2015.
Several temples, monuments were cracked and damaged. For the reconstruction of historic buildings
lime-based mortar is being used. Lime based mortar is used prior to other material due to its physical,
chemical, structural and mechanical compatibility with the ancient mortar (Lanas & Alverez, 2003).
Besides, lime-surkhi mortar continues the legacy of our construction practices. Lime mortar is soft,
porous and deformable in type, which helps to accommodate masonry under action of load. Also, it
blends well with organic materials. According to the local peoples, then different organic additives
were added during preparation of lime-based mortar. Egg white, molasses, animal hair, blood, Sticky
rice are the major material with is mixed in lime mortar (Fang et al., 2013).According to the Romans
and taking under account, the concrete that has lasted so many years and till now, shows, addition of
volcanic material increases resistance against water and freezing and thawing action (Degryse, Elsen,
& Waelkens, 2001).Surkhi is used as pozzlanic material in lime based mortar (Baronia et al., 1997).
This paper focuses on the compressive strength of masonry in two different proportion of
lime:surkhi:sand mortar. For the strength of masonry element both brick and mortar contribute. This
paper let us know about the mechanical characteristics of lime mortar. Since lime is one of the oldest
building materials, number of researches has been conducted throughout the world. Along with that
different trusts like Aga Khan Trust in India, Engineer Ireland of Heritage Society and different
individual have researching and working on lime for renovation works. Even in Nepal, joint venture
of UNESCO, KVPT and DoA working on lime mortar. However, strong building units impart
strength to the masonry structure (Drougkas et al., 2016).
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, rukshanashrestha@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, kojusristi6789@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, rameswor.sth@gmail.com
185
2. Methodology
Slaked lime mortar which was mixed and proportionated in the construction site and tested in lab by
making cube of size 10 cm. Five cubes were prepared for the test which was respectively tested on
58th and 65th day. The same mortar was used for preparing masonry element. Prism of height to width
ratio 2:5 was maintained for preparing 6 prisms. Among 6 prisms, 3 were of 1:1:1 proportion and
remaining 3 of 1:1:2 with same water content. The mortar and element were tested in compression.
3. Results and Discussions

3.1. Cube Test
Six cubes of each proportion were prepared. Mean weight of cube in dry condition was 1.62 kg and
the mean weight of cube in saturated surface dry condition was 1.77 kg. Dry density of the cube was
found to be 1620.4 kg/m3. Water content was found to be 9.26%. From Table 1 and 2, the stress
bearing capacity of saturated and dry mortar changed to approximately 40%. It has clearly been
determined that porosity influences the strength of cement mortars. Contrary to the cement mortars,
the specimens with highest strength are the mortars with the highest porosity (Lanas & Alverez,
2003). Lime based mortar reacts with the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere and tries to gains
its original form of CaCo3. The strength of mortar is also influenced by the curing time
(UNESCO,KVPT and DoA, 2017). The failure resembles dumb bell shape which can be concluded as
non-explosive failure mode.
Table 1. Compressive strength of cube in saturated surface dry condition
Stress Mean Stress

Cube Size (mm) Force(kg)
(N/mm2) (N/mm2)
100 1400 1.373
1.504
100 1600 1.57
100 1600 1.57
Table 2. Compressive Strength of Cube in Oven Dried Condition
Stress Mean Stress

Cube Size (mm) Force(kg)
(N/mm2) (N/mm2)
100 2200 2.158
100 2000 1.962 2.093
100 2200 2.158
3.2. Prism test
From the prism test compressive strength, strain, characteristics strength of prism was calculated. The
test was conducted on the 56th day of casting.
Proportion: 1:1:1 and 1:1:2 (lime: surkhi: sand)
186
Table 3. Compressive Strength of Prism
Force Stress Mean

S.N Cross-section (mm)
(kg) (N/mm2) Stress (N/mm2)
L (mm) B (mm)
1 7000 190 130 2.834
2 6000 205 135 2.168 2.442
3 5300 190 120 2.3246
4 7400 200 140 2.6429
5 9000 195 125 3.6923
3.500
6 9000 180 120 4.1667
Fig 1. Failure pattern of cube Fig 2. Failure pattern of masonry element
The strength of masonry was composite of building unit and binding material. The strength of
local brick was 4.443 Mpa. The cracks were seen in units than in joints. From Table 3, the strength of
masonry element was higher with lower lime ratio. Lime allows absorbs the dampness and evaporates
from the surface (Banfill & Forster, 2000). Also increased porosity helps in CO2 flow, so that
carbonation process is enhanced which ultimately helps in lime cycle and increase strength.
4. Conclusion
Destructive tests were carried out to investigate performance of lime mortar. The compressive
strength was comparatively less than prevalent building materials like (cement mortar) on the 65th day
of molding. The mortar was found to be porous which furnished in carbonation process and complete
lime cycle to reach natural form of limestone. The strength of mortar is function of curing time,
strength of building units and binder.
References
Banfill, P., & Forster, A. (2000). A relationship between hydraulicity and permeability of hydraulic lime. . In
Proceedings of the International RILEM workshop: Historic mortars: characteristics and tests.
Baronia, G., Binda, L., & Lombardini, N. (1997). The role of brick pebbles and dust in conglomerates based on
hydrated lime and crushed bricks. Elsevier.
Cutrone, G., Sebastian, E., & Huertas, M. O. (2004). Forced and natural carbonation of lime-based mortars with
and without. Elsevier.
Degryse, P., Elsen, J., & Waelkens, M. (2001). Study of ancient mortars from Sagalassos (Turkey) in view of
their conservation. Elsevier.
Drougkas, A., Roca, P., & Molins, C. (2016). Compressive strength and elasticity of pure lime masonry.
Material and structures.
187
Fang, S. Q., Zhang, H., Zhang, B. J., & Zheng, Y. (2013). The identification of organic additives in traditional
lime mortarShi. Elsevier.
Gumaste, K., Nanjunda Rao, K. S., Reddy, B. V., & Jagadish, K. S. (2006). Strength and elasticity of brick
masonry prisms. Materials and Structures.
Hamad, A. J. (2015). Size and shape effect of specimen on the compressive strength of HPLWFC reinforced
with glass fibres. Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences.
Iyenger, R. N. (1972). Strength Characteristicss of Surkhi-lime mortar and concrete.
Lanas, J., & Alverez, J. (2003). Masonary Repair lime based Mortar: Factors affecting the Mechanical
Behaviour. Elsevier.
Parajuli, H. R. (2012). Determination of mechanical properties of the Kathmandu World Heritage brick masonry
buildings. 15th World conference on Earthquake.
Seible, F., Hegemier, G., Kingsley, G., & Igarashi, A. (1994). Simulated Seismic Load Test on Full Scale Five
Story Masonry Building. Journal of Structural Engineering.
Snow, J., & Torney, C. (2014). Lime Mortar in Traditional Buildings. Heritage Scotland.
UNESCO,KVPT and DoA. (2017). Lime mortar:Lime Best Practices.
188
Site-Specific Ground Response Analysis Of Bhaktapur

Municipality With Microtremor
Amit Prajapati11, Youb Raj Poudel2 and Surendra Bahadur Tamrakar3
Abstract
The recent 2015 Gorkha Earthquake created the havoc situation in Bhaktapur municipality, smallest
municipality of Nepal. This earthquake had shown the variation in the destruction pattern within the
Bhaktapur municipality, showing the need for the site-specific ground response analysis of the area.
Among the various methods available for the site response analysis, here in this study, microtremor
survey of the area is done. Microtremor is a low amplitude ambient vibration of the ground caused by
natural or man-made disturbances. Study of the ambient vibration of the ground helps to understand
the predominant frequency of the ground. In this study, Bhaktapur Municipality is divided into a
number of grids; each grid of 200 m by 200 m. As study area is very densely populated and each node
of the grid as a reference point. In total, observation and measurement of 50 nodes are made. The
obtained time domain data is then transformed into the frequency domain by using Fourier
transformation. The results after the analysis show the fundamental frequency varies from 0.4 Hz to
3.8 Hz. The central and western part has lower frequency than the eastern part of Bhaktapur. The
central region, Sakotha area, has the lowest frequency of 0.42 Hz.
Keywords: Predominant frequency; Microtremor, Bhaktapur municipality; earthquake; Fourier analysis
1. Introduction
Kathmandu Valley, once a former lake consists of lacustrine deposits, which ranges to several
hundreds of meters in thickness. These deposits consist of an irregular thick depositional layer of
clays, silt, sand, and gravel. (Dongol, 1985; Fujii & Sakai, 2002; Moribayashi & Maruo, 1980; Sakai
et.al., 2001; Yoshida & Igarashi, 1984; and Dahal & Aryal, 2002). The depth of sediment deposit and
the irregular layer of deposition trapped the seismic wave during earthquake eventually leading to the
abrupt change in ground motion behaviour within a short period of distance. Ground motion behavior
during an earthquake is well explained by the geological soil structure underneath the study area.
In Nepal, a major earthquake is reported every 80 to 100 years. These earthquakes create a
devastating scenario in a different part of the Kathmandu Valley. Variation in the destruction part
around the valley shows the need for the study of underlying geological soil structure. Basically, the
Kathmandu valley lies in basin type topography having different soil formation, especially the
Kalamati formation. It consists of massive to very thin laminated black and grey silt and mud
(Paudyal et al., 2006). Sakai (2001) mentioned the thick bed of the Kalimati formation in the central
part of Kathmandu basin, which extends up thinly towards the southern part.
Bhaktapur district is located at eastern part of Kathmandu valley, lying at a distance of 10km from
Kathmandu district. It is the smallest district of Nepal and Bhaktapur municipality is the smallest
municipality. It covers an area of 6.88 km2. It is historically and culturally preserved the city. Many
monuments built in Malla regimes were marked as a World Heritage. Bhaktapur Durbar Square,
Dattatray temple, Nyatapole temple, 55 window palace, Bhairabnath temple etc. are some of the
world heritage sites of Bhaktapur. During 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, these monumental sites were
damages due to the seismic behavior of the ground. Many studies have been carried out to know the
relation between the underlying complex soil profile and ground motion performance during an
Earthquake. The best way for the study is exploring borehole in definite spacing. It offers accurate
data concerning the dynamic characteristic of the soil layer. Since lots of boring are needed for the
wide area, in high intensity, it is not feasible considering high demand for manpower, substantial time
1Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, amit070khwopa@gmail.com

2CLPIU, Government of Urban Development, Kathmandu, Nepal, yrpaudyal@gmail.com
3RTCD, Kantipur Engineering College, Dhapakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal, tamrakarsb@gmail.com
189
as well as tremendous cost (Nakamura, 1989). Kanai (1957) introduced the microtremor method for
site effect study and later improved by Nakamura (1989) and it became widespread method as a low
cost and effective tool to estimate the fundamental resonant frequency of sediments by measuring at a
single station (Paudyal et al., 2013).
The study area covers 1.828 km2 area of Bhaktapur, which includes the core area of Bhaktapur
Municipality. The study area is divided into a grid of size 200 m by 200 m as shown in the figure
below (Fig.1). The study area extends from 85°26’42” E to 85°25’8” E longitude and 27°41’21” N to
27°40’18” N latitude and have an altitude of 1300 m above sea level. Taking each node as a reference
point, measurement for 50 points are carried out. Nakamura’s technique (1989), Horizontal-to-
Vertical technique (H/V) spectral ratio technique, is used for evaluation of ambient vibration to obtain
the predominant frequency of study area. It is low-cost effective tools for exploration of the
geophysical condition of the study area (Delgado et al., 2000).
Fig. 1. Study area (Bhaktapur Municipality) with reference points
2. Methodology
2.1 Data Acquisition
A portable velocity sensor Portable Intelligent Collector (PIC) 1016 was used to measure the ambient
vibration around Bhaktapur Municipality. Grid points of about 200 m by 200 m spacing were
overlayed on topographic base map (1:6000) taken from Google Map Engine that included Bhaktapur
Municipality All the nodal points and the base maps were then plotted in GIS Environment. Around
50 numbers of points were observed. Since Bhaktapur Municipality is the densely populated city, grid
point is taken as a reference point for observation. A slight deviation in grid point is due to the
compact houses and inadequate open space. Most of the data has measured at midnight to avoid
unusable noises around 10 PM to 3 AM. It measured three components of vibration: two horizontal:
North-South (NS) and East-West (EW), and one vertical (V).
Firstly, the base plate was levelled in the smooth ground with three pins properly placed on the
ground. PIC sensor was kept at the top the base plate facing the horizontal component (Y) towards the
north and other two components on the respective direction. This sensor is then connected to a
transducer that digitizes the acquired signal of the ground. The transducer converts ambient noises
signal of ground to a digital form that is displayed on a laptop as shown in Fig.2. PicRic software is
used to display three component of the signal, two horizontal components, and one vertical
component, obtained from the sensor. The data were recorded at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz. A
single recording of 300 s time interval was considered enough if there was no influence of any
transient noise. But if a single set of data is unsatisfactory and there is some influence of transient
noise (pedestrian, traffic, winds, etc.) different set of data was taken.
190
Fig. 2. Instrument setup with baseplate, PIC sensor, transducer, inverter, battery and laptop all connected
with connector wire.
The velocity sensor is the very sensitive instrument, so the vibration from traffic especially large
vehicles even from the long distances from the measurement point can be easily recorded. Therefore,
the condition of vehicular movement and walking pedestrian near station during measurements time
was monitored and recorded in a memo book.
2.2 Data Processing
The recorded three components (NS, EW, and V) of signals were observed in terms of velocity time
series as shown in Fig. 3. Each of the signals is then corrected by the baseline and divided into 15
windows. The corrected signals are reviewed and then transient signals, if any, are removed manually.
Satisfactory signals are customized to 8-14 segments of 2048 sample (equivalent 20.48s). The signals
are then segregated to an individual component (X, Y, and Z).
Fourier analysis was carried out separately for each window using the Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT). The Fourier spectrum of two horizontal microtremor motion and one vertical motion were
obtained and the H/V spectral ratio was obtained after dividing a horizontal by the vertical component
of the obtained spectrum. Then, the obtained spectra were smoothed by the Parzen window of
bandwidth of 0.5 Hz. Fig. 4 and 5 show the Fourier spectra of measured microtremor in north-south
and east-west, direction before and after smoothening respectively.
Fig. 3. Typical pattern of velocity time series data of three component of ground data (NS component, EW
component and UD-vertical direction) showing unusual noise during microtremor observation.
After getting Fourier spectrum and H/V spectral ratio, the ensemble averaging was conducted to
get average of all segments using Equation 1 (Delgado et. al., 2000, Paudyal et.at., 2012).
!
"
= $(𝐹 ' () + 𝐹 ' +, )//2𝐹 ' 12 (1)
Here, FNS, FEW and FUD are the Fourier amplitude spectra in the north-south (NS), east-west (EW)
and vertical (UD) directions, respectively.
191
F=1.46 Hz
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. (a) Fourier spectrum of the vertical component after the Fourier transform and (b) is the H/V spectral
ratio showing predominant frequency of the measured station after smoothing
Based on the fact that the frequency corresponding to the first peak of the H/V spectrum plot
represents fundamental frequency of the site (Bonnefoy-Claudet et al., 2006; Field & Jacob, 1993;
SESAME, 2004) which is also a minimum frequency in the H/V spectrum, the site-specific
fundamental frequency and the corresponding predominant period for each measurement point were
obtained.
F=1.4
6 Hz
Fig. 5. Typical graph of H/V spectral ratio showing the predominant frequency of a particular site.
Sometimes average of H/V spectral ratio shows a slightly shifted true peak of frequency, due to a
magnification of pinpoint noise. In this situation, H/V spectral ratio of individual component NS and
EW direction before smoothing and after smoothing are to be carefully observed to obtain the true
peak of frequency i.e., predominant frequency.
3. Results and discussion

Horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratio of all the observed points are expressed in terms of resonant
frequency. Obtained resonant frequency shows that there is a variation of the first amplified frequency
between 0.537 Hz to 4.54 Hz within the study area. The contour map of frequency is plotted in Arc
GIS using Inverse Distance weightage (IDW) method of interpolation. The map is then classified into
four categories Zone A (0.4 Hz-1.2 Hz), Zone B (1.2 Hz-2 Hz), and Zone C (2 Hz-3.8 Hz) as shown
in Fig. 6.
192
Fig. 6. Predominant frequency mapping of Bhaktapur Municipality

As shown in Fig. 6, Zone A covers around 54 % of the study area, Zone B covers 36% of the area,
Zone C covers 16% of the area. Paudyal et al., (2012), describe two scales of amplification effects: 1)
at low frequencies due to the global effect of the deep sedimentary basin and 2) at high frequencies
due to the uppermost surface layer. Hence there is the higher depth of sedimentary deposit in Zone A
at western and central part of Bhaktapur and lower depth of sediment in Zone B at eastern part of
Bhaktapur.
From the borehole data recorded for the study on Earthquake disaster mitigation in Kathmandu
valley, (JICA, 2002) the calculated characteristic frequency from the borehole data of soil depth 30 m
at Bhaktapur Durbar Square, is 2.08 Hz.
The concentration of human settlement at the central area of the valley was found to be more with
a number of houses ranging from 3 to 5 stories corresponding to the frequency of vibration from 2 Hz
to 5 Hz. Thus, there is a high chance of enhanced resonance vibration with observed soil layers in the
central part of the Bhaktapur. In the 1934 Nepal Bihar Earthquake, heavy damages of infrastructure in
the valley are due to the thick fluivo-lacustrine sediment in Kathmandu basin due to amplification of
ground (Hough & Bilham, 2008, Pandey & Molnar, 1988). This type of vibration causes intensive
damages to the structures which were observed during the 1985 Mexico Earthquake. In order to
mitigate the enhanced resonance damages from the earthquake, special consideration must be taken to
build the structure having a fundamental frequency of vibration differing from approaching the
observed fundamental frequency of the respective zone in the area.
4. Concluding Remarks
Finally, the overall study is carried out to minimize the structural damages caused due to sub-surface
during seismic activities. When the fundamental frequency of building comes close to or equal to the
ground frequency, resonance takes place that leads to severe damages to the structure and there will
be a higher possibility of collapse.
Bhaktapur Municipality has restricted the height of the building up to 5 stories. The construction
and typology of building here in Bhaktapur are similar in nature. Due to this typology, most of the
buildings have similar seismic performance during seismic activity. Kramer (1996) has proposed the
fundament periods of approximately 0.1N for N- story building. Accordingly, from the results
obtained, the approximate fundamental period of building in Bhaktapur to be 0.1 s to 0.5 s. Thus, we
can conclude that there is a higher possibility of a resonant effect of ground motion and structure in
Bhaktapur Municipality.
193
Acknowledgment
The authors express gratitude to the Principal of Khwopa Engineering College, Principal of Khwopa College of
Engineering, Department of Earthquake Engineering and Research Department of the Khwopa Engineering
College for providing a platform for research and sharing documents and knowledge. We would like to thank
our colleagues for helping in data collection and encouraging in further research.
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effect studies: A literature review. Earth-Science Reviews, 79(3-4), 205-227.
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Geophysical Exploration Tool: Applications and Limitation, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 157(2000),
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Kathmandu Basin, Nepal. Newsletter Stratigraphy, 18(1), 21-29.
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Hough, S. E. & Bilham, R. (2008). Site response of the Ganges basin inferred from reevaluated macroseismic
observations from the 1897 Shillong, 1905 Kangra, and 1934 Nepal earthquakes. Journal of Earth System
and Science, 117, 773–782.
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194
Study on the Effect of Mass and Stiffness Irregularities on

Fundamental Period of Infilled RC Framed Buildings
Mahesh Raj Bhatt1, Prachand Man Pradhan2 and Sudip Jha3
Abstract
Reinforced concrete (RC) frames infilled with unreinforced masonry are quite common all across the
globe since many decades. In this study the special moment resisting RC framed buildings with
vertical mass and stiffness irregularities have been analysed with modal analysis using ETABS 2016.
Regular model having regular distribution of mass and stiffness in elevation were analysed and
designed as per IS 1893:2002 by equivalent static method. Comparison has been done among the
fundamental periods of 6th, 9th and 12th storeys among regular, irregular and bare framed buildings.
Results show that there is significant contribution of infill in fundamental periods and there is
significant effect of location and magnitude of irregularity in fundamental period. The fundamental
periods of the irregular buildings were found longer than regular and shorter than bare frame
buildings. Furthermore, it has been found that there are positive correlation between elevation of mass
irregularity & fundamental time period and negative correlation between elevation of stiffness
irregularity and fundamental period. Fundamental period was longest with mass irregularities in top
storey and stiffness irregularities in second storey. There was not significant effect in fundamental
period when mass irregularity was in bottom portion of building and stiffness irregularity was in top
portion of the building.
Keywords: Infilled RC frames; Fundamental period; Mass irregularity; Stiffness irregularity
1. Introduction
The structural irregularities can be broadly classified as plan and vertical irregularities as per (IS
1893:2002). Irregularity arises due to sudden reduction of stiffness or strength and sudden increase of
mass in a particular storey. For high seismic zone area, irregularity in vertical elevation is a great
challenge to structural engineers. A large number of vertically irregular buildings exist in modern
urban infrastructures. Among them, open ground storey is common these days in urban cities in
Nepal, for parking and storing purposes.
As per (IS:1893, 2002), a storey in a building is said to contain mass irregularity if its mass
exceeds 200% than that of the adjacent storey. Furthermore, a soft storey is one in which the lateral
stiffness is less than 70% of that in the storey above or less than 80% of the average lateral stiffness of
the three stories above. A storey is said to be an extreme soft storey if the lateral stiffness is less than
60% of that in the storey above it or less than 70% of the average stiffness of the three stories above.
Many reasons like the presence of swimming pool in particular elevation, storing of heavy mechanical
equipment & machines, parking of vehicle in particular storey etc., may cause the storey to be mass
irregular. The elimination of infill in interior part of the building for application purpose, reduction of
beam and column size in uppers storey, increasing the height of the particular storey, elimination of
shear wall in particular level etc., may cause a particular storey to be soft storey (Varadharajan, 2014).
It was observed that there were severe damages in vertical irregular structures in Gorkha
Earthquake-2015; especially Open ground RC buildings were affected during earthquake (Gautam et.
al., 2016). In Nepal the common types of failures in RC construction were identified as the soft storey,
pounding, shear failure, and other failures associated with construction as well as structural
1Department of Civil & Geomatics Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal,

maheshrajbhatt2014@gmail.com
2Department of Civil & Geomatics Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal,
prachand@ku.edu.np
3Department of Urban Development & Building Construction, Government of Nepal, Ilam, Nepal,
sudip.jha@ku.edu.np
195
deficiencies like building symmetry, detailing and others (Gautam et al., 2016). Earthquakes namely
San Fernando (1971), North Ridge (1994), Bingol (2003), Kashmir (2011) etc. caused the major
damage in the vertical irregular buildings (Varadharajan, 2014). After the visual observation during
Jabalpur earthquake (1997), the performance of RC buildings with brick infill having no abrupt
change in stiffness have been very satisfactory i.e. unreinforced masonry contributed positively,
but RC frames with open ground storey has shown poor performance (Jain et al., 1997).
Due to many reasons, the outcomes of the calculations of fundamental time period are scattered.
Besides, the infill-frame interaction and the height of the construction, several other parameters affect
the fundamental period of vibration, such as the irregularity in plan and elevation, the number of
storeys, the number of spans (and respective dimensions), the presence of openings within infills and
the rigidity of storeys (Asteris et al., 2015). This paper compares time period obtained from the finite
element modeling of regular, bare frame and mass and stiffness irregular infilled RC buildings.
Pradhan et al. (2012) states that, the fundamental period of vibration reduces significantly due to infill
in RC frame. In this study infill is considered with central opening of 30% of panel area for the
analysis.
2. Code Provision of Fundamental Time Period

Nepal National Building Code (NBC-105, 1994), Indian Standard (IS: 1893, 2002), Uniform Building
Code (UBC 1997), National Building Code of Canada (NBCC 2005), International Building Code
(IBC 2012) & American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE, 7-05) recommendation for time period are
given in Table 1.
Table 1. Mass and stiffness irregularity limitations and empirical time period as per different codes
Code Mass Irregularity Stiffness Irregularity Time Equation (T)
Si<0.7 Si+1 0.09 ℎ

IS 1893:2002 Mi>200 Ma
Si<0.8( Si+1+Si+2+Si+3)/3 √𝑑
Si<0.7 Si+1
UBC 1997 Mi>150 Ma Ct h0.75
Si<0.8( Si+1+Si+2+Si+3)/3
NBCC 2005 Si<0.7 Si+1
Mi>150 Ma 0.01N
Si<0.8( Si+1+Si+2+Si+3)/3
0.09 ℎ
NBC 105:1994 - -
√𝑑
IBC 2012 Si<0.7 Si+1
Mi>150 Ma Ct hnz
Si<0.8( Si+1+Si+2+Si+3)/3
Si<0.7 Si+1
ASCE 7-05 Mi>150 Ma Ct hnz
Si<0.8( Si+1+Si+2+Si+3)/3
where, Mi, Ma, Si, Si+1, Si+2, Si+3 are Mass of irregular storey, Mass of adjacent storey, stiffness
of ith , i+1th , i+2nd and i+3rd storey, Ct constant which varies as per different codes, h is total
height of the building, N is the numbers of storey and, d is bay width in earthquake direction.
It is seen that the fundamental time period is influenced by various factors like height of the
building, number of span and span width, number of storey, presence of infill or not, size and property
of material used in the building frame etc. Some of the codes provide simple empirical formulas for
the estimation of the fundamental period of vibration (T) of construction simply related to the overall
height and base width of the buildings and some are based upon overall structural height of the
building irrespective of the width.
196
3. Modelling and Analysis

In this study Beam, column and strut were modeled in ETABS 2016 as frame element with prismatic
section with specific defined material properties of concrete, steel and masonry. The foundation level
was assumed fixed and meshing of the shell element i.e. slab and shear wall was done manually.
Concrete grade of M25 and steel of grade Fe415 were assigned as materials for beam, column, slab
and shear wall. Slab and shear walls were modeled as shell element with slab having rigid diaphragm
in each storey level. Mechanical properties of the materials are explained in Table 2.
Three different building height categories, ranging 6, 9 and 12 stories (Fig. 2.), with a similar
storey height of 3.5m and in both directions number of three bays are considered for the present study.
The mass ratio is varied to 200% and 300%. For the mass irregularity of 200%, live load is assigned
up to 21.10 kN/m2 uniformly distributed in slab and for the mass irregularity of 300% the live load
assigned is 48.24 kN/m2 uniformly distributed in slab in irregular storey. Stiffness irregularity is
introduced by replacing all the infill struts in particular storey.
Fig. 1. Typical plan and elevation of 6-storey building model
Fig. 2. (a), (b) and (c) ETABS 6th, 9th and 12th storey building 3D models
Equivalent diagonal compression strut of width, w, given by the Eq. (1), recommended by (FEMA
356, 2000) is considered
𝑤 = 0.175 𝑑-./ (𝜆2 ℎ3 )56.7 (1)

F
9: ;<=> ?-.@A G
𝜆2 = 8 79B CB D<=>
E (2)
197
Where, hc= Column height between centerlines of the beams, hinf = Height of infill panel, Ec is
Expected modulus of elasticity of frame material, Em= Expected modulus of elasticity of infill
material, Ic = Moment of Inertia of Column, Linf = Length of the infill panel, dinf = Diagonal length
of the infill, tinf = Thickness of infill panel and equivalent panel, θ = Angle whose tangent is the infill
height-to-length aspect ratio in radians, λ1= Coefficient used to determine equivalent width of infill
strut.
Reduction factor proposed by (Al-Chaar, 2002), given in Eq. (3) is adopted in the study.
@
J J
𝑅/ = 0.6 8JK E − 1.6 8JK E + 1 (3)
L L
Where,
Ao=Area of the Opening, Ap =Area of the infill panel and Rf = In plane reduction factor for the
infill opening. External infill is considered with 30% central openings. Modulus of elasticity Em (in
MPa) of masonry wall as Em=550 fm , where fm is the compressive strength of the masonry prism (in
MPa) obtained as per (IS:1905, 1989) and is given by Eq. (4).
𝑓P = 0.433 𝑓S 6.T7 𝑓PU 6.VT (4)

where, fb = compressive strength of brick along its thickness (MPa) and fmo =compressive strength of
mortar (MPa). As per (IS:1077, 1992), compressive strength of the common burnt clay brick with
Grade 35 is 35 MPa, and as per (IS:1905, 1989), minimum strength of mortar at 28 days Grade H1 is
10 MPa. Adopting these bricks and mortar, Modulus of elasticity of the masonry using Eq. (4) is
obtained as 5309.48 MPa.
Fig. 3. Typical placement of single strut in infill panel, (Bhatt et al., 2017)
Regular model (having regular distribution of mass and stiffness along height) was designed as per
(IS:1893, 2002), with load combinations for linear static and response spectrum method with medium
soil type and seismic zone of V. After the design check for safety, the models were made irregular in
both mass and stiffness. In this study the infill is modeled as macro modeling with equivalent single
strut as per FEMA 356. Panel of infill is replaced by a single equivalent diagonal strut of thickness
equal to that of infill wall and length equal to length of the diagonal between the two compression
corners.
198
Table 2. Geometrical and mechanical properties of material used in analysis

Parameters Data Unit Remarks
Characteristic Strength of Concrete (fck) 25 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Concrete, (Ec ) 25000 MPa (IS:456, 2000)
Size of Beam (Depth X Breadth) 550 X300 (mm X mm)
Size of Column (Breadth X Width) 450 X 450 (mm X mm)
Moment of inertia of Column MOI, Ic 3417187500 mm4
Infill wall thickness (t) 230 mm
Infill wall height (h) 2950 mm
Length of Infill wall (L) 4550 mm
Area of the infill (Ap) 13422500 mm2
Characteristic strength of the infill wall (fm) 9.6536 MPa (IS 1893:2016)
Young’s Modulus of masonry wall (Em) 5309.48 MPa (FEMA 356:2000)
Angle made by strut with horizontal (θ) 32.957 Degrees
Diagonal Length of the Infill (dinf) 5422.635 mm
Height of the Storey/Column (hc) 3500 mm
Open Area (Ao) 4026750 mm2 30% opening
Opening reduction factor ( Rf) 0.574 (Al-Chaar, 2002)
Equivalent Coefficient ( λ1) 0.0010254 Eq. (2)
Equivalent width of the Strut (w) 569.17 mm Eq. (1)
Final modeled width of strut (w') 326.70 mm (Al-Chaar, 2002)

The presence of infill walls resulted in a considerable increase in the global stiffness of the building
that reduced the first mode time period. Because of increase in the lateral stiffness of the infilled
frame it is expected to experience higher seismic forces. Some of the Parameters that may affect the
time period of the infilled RC frames are e.g. number of the spans, stiffness of the masonry panel,
opening ratio of the infill panel, position of the soft storey, soil type etc.
Here, building having no mass and stiffness irregularity is named as regular frame, the building
without infill is named as bare frame and building having irregularity is named as irregular building
model.
4.1 Result discussions for the mass irregularities
The location and magnitude of mass irregularity is considered for the fundamental time period
comparison of regular, bare frame and irregular building models.
In 6-storey case (Fig. 4), first mode time period of bare frame is maximum i.e. 0.796 sec and the
first mode time period of regular frame building having regular distribution of storey weight is least
among all irregular cases. When irregularity is in higher elevation the time period is increased. In
200% mass case, 13% and 17% are increased in time for irregular 5th and 6th storey respectively and in
300% irregularity, 25% and 33% is increased time period as compared to regular case model for
irregular 5th and 6th storey respectively. Highest time period is observed when top storey is irregular.
199
Fig. 4. First mode time period comparison of 6-storey, mass irregular case
İn 9-storey case, (Fig. 5), bare frame building model with 0.734 Sec. is highest value followed by
irregular top storey. Irregularity in bottom one third part, do not have high influence compared to the
irregularity in top part. Time period increasing rate is higher when the magnitude of the irregularity
increase in that specific storey level. Irregularity in top increased the time period abruptly, while the
base part irregularity does not have significant effect in time period. 20%, 26%, 10% & 13% are
200
increased time periods in both 300% and 200% irregular cases when irregularities were in 5th and 6th
storeys.
İn 12 storey case, (Fig. 6), bare frame has highest time period in first mode i.e. 1.756 Sec. followed
by irregularity in top storey in both 200% & 300% irregular case. In 200% mass time period increased
by 10% and 13% respectively when irregularity in 5th and 6th storey & 19% and 23% is increased time
period when 5th and 6th storeys irregular by 300%. Linearly positive correlation is observed between
position of irregularity and fundamental time period of the building.
4.2 Result discussions for the stiffness irregularities
As time period is the fundamental parameter for the seismic lateral force calculation, in this case it is
seen that the time period is highest in bare frame and least in the regular frame having full infill.
Global stiffness of the building system is influenced by the presence of the masonry infill. The
diagonal strut enhances the lateral stiffness of the structure which causes reduction in time period of
the buildings systems. In all height of the building model i.e. 6th, 9th and 12th storey, the time period is
highest among all irregularities when the 2nd storey is irregular (Fig. 7) and (Fig. 8).
In stiffness irregular case, irregularity in lower one third portion yield increased in time period but
irregular top one third parts do not show significant change in time periods. In 6-storey when
irregularity is in 1st& 2nd storey the increase in time period is 13% and 18% respectively. In 9-Storey
building, the increased percentage of time period is 46% & 56% when irregularities are in 1st and 2nd
storey. Similarly, 12-Storey, (Fig. 8), 5% & 10% increase in time period was observed when
irregularities are in 1st and 2nd storey respectively.
Fig. 7. First mode time period comparison of 6-Storey, 9-Storey, Stiffness Irregular case
Fig. 8. First mode time period comparison of 12-storey, Stiffness Irregular case
For all the building height, the time period is highest when stiffness irregularity is in 2nd storey.
Infill reduces the time period of the building, so the time period of the bare frame is highest and least
201
in the regular building. It is seen that the negative linear correlations between the elevation of stiffness
irregularity and fundamental time period in all cases i.e. 6th, 9th and 12th storeys.
5. Conclusions
Total of 60 models for mass irregularities and 33 model of stiffness irregularities were analyzed for
the comparative study of fundamental time period. From this study, following conclusions are drawn:
ü Magnitude (amount of irregularities) as well as location (elevation of the irregular storey) of the
irregularities has significant role on fundamental time period of infilled RC frames.
ü In both mass and stiffness irregular case the time period of the bare frame is highest and that of
regular frame is least. First mode period of the building increased as the number of the storey
increased. For the same storey building the mass irregularity magnitude increases the fundamental
first mode time period when located in same position. That concludes the time period of the
building is directly affected by the magnitude of the mass irregularity. When irregular mass is in
higher elevation the time is increased and vice versa for the stiffness irregularity
ü As per IS:1893, 2002 & NBC-105, 1994, the code calculated time periods for 6th, 9th and 12th
storey are 0.488 Sec., 0.732 Sec., & 0.976 Sec. respectively in both X and Y-directions. These are
nearly similar to the regular building model; however, the code specified formulae don’t satisfy for
the irregular case with same building height and bay width.
ü In case of mass irregularity, the location of mass irregularity for bottom one third parts don’t vary
the time period significantly but when irregularity is in top one third parts the time period increases
significantly. Similarly, in case of the stiffness irregularity, time period is maximum when
irregularities in 2nd storey. An irregularity in bottom one third significantly increases the time
period while an irregularity in top one third does not in case of stiffness irregular case.
ü In case of mass irregularities, the positive correlation between the elevation of the mass irregularity
and time period is observed. Similarly, negative correlation between the locations of the
irregularity and time period is observed.
Finally, in light of the above points it is concluded that, mass irregularity in top part of the building
and stiffness irregularity in bottom part of the building significantly changes the fundamental time
period of the RC infill building structures in comparison to the regular building.
Acknowledgement
University Grants Commission (UGC-Nepal), Sanothimi, Bhaktapur is acknowledged for the financial support,
as the research is based on the work done for master’s thesis for the completion of the Masters degree in
Structural Engineering from Kathmandu University, Nepal.
References:
Al-Chaar, G. (2002). Evaluating strength and stiffness of unreinforced masonry infill structures. US Army
Corps of Engineers, Engineering Research and development center. Construction Engineering Research
Laboratory.
ASCE (2006). Minimum Design loads and for Buidling and other Structures (ASCE/sei-7-05). New York, USA:
American Society of Civil Engineers.
Asteris, P. G., Repapis, C. C., Tsaris, A. K. & Cavaleri, L. (2015). Parameters affecting the fundamental period
of infilled RC frame Structures. Earthquake and Structures, 9(5), 999-1028.
Bhatt, M. R., Pradhan, P. M. & Jha, S. (2017). Study on the Effect of Soft Storey on Infill RC Frames under
Seismic Effect. Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology, 13(2), 79-91.
https://doi.org/10.3126/kuset.v13i2.21286
ETABS (2000). integratee software for structural analysis and design, Berkeley (California). Retrieved from
Computers & Structures
FEMA 356 (2000). Prestandaard and Commentry for the seismic behaviour of Buiildinds. Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
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Gautam, D., Rodrigues, H., Bhetwal, K., Neupane, P. & Sanada, Y. (2016). Commom Structural and
Construction deficiencies of Nepales Buildinds. Innovative infrastructure solutions, 1(1). DOI
10.1007/s41062-016-0001-3.
IBC (2012). International Building Code. International code council(ICC), 2011 Inc.
IS:1893 (2002). Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures Part-I, General provisions and buildings.
Bureau Of Indian Standards. Delhi, India
IS:1893 (2016). Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures Part-I, General provisions and buildings.
Bureau Of Indian Standards. Delhi, India
Jain, S. K., Murty, C. V., Arlekar, J. N., Sinha, R., Goyal, A. & Jain, C. K. (1997). Some Observation of
Engineering Aspects of the Jabalpur Earthquake on 22 may 1997. EERI Special Earthquake Report, EERI
Newsletter, 32(2).
NBC 105 (1994). Nepal National Building Code:Seismic Design of Buildings in Nepal. Ministry of Physical
Planning and Works, Department of Urban Development and Building Construction. Kathmandu Nepal:
Government of Nepal.
NBCC (2005). National Building Code of Canada 1995. Ottawa, Ontario 1995: National Research Council.
Pradhan, P.M., Maskey, R.K. & Pradhan, P.L. (2012). Composite Behavior of Masonry Partially Infilled
Reinforced Concrete Frames. Building Research Journal, Vol.60, Number1-2
Varadharajan, S. (2014). Study of Irregular RC Buildings under Seismic Effect (Doctoral thesis, Department of
Civil Engineering, National Institute of the Technology, Kurukshetra, India). retrieved from
http://nitkkr.ac.in/nit_kuk/docs/SVRAJAN_phd_2015.pdf
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Analytical Investigation of Unreinforced Masonry Walls

Strengthened using Ferrocement Overlay
Dattatreya Tripathy1, and Vaibhav Singhal2
Abstract
Unreinforced masonry (URM) structures had experienced severe damage during past earthquakes.
Thus, the strengthening of these structures is essential to avoid a huge loss of lives and properties.
Past experimental research has identified several retrofitting techniques that can be used for seismic
strengthening of URM walls. Among these methods, steel wire mesh embedded in plaster is popularly
used because it is economical and simple to construct. This strengthening technique is generally
referred to as the ferrocement overlay. The effectiveness of this strengthening scheme in improving
in-plane and out-of-plane strength of masonry panels has been established through various
experimental studies performed by many researchers. However, there is no scientific methodology
available for the design of externally bonded ferrocement overlays for strengthening unreinforced
masonry buildings.
Several equations primarily developed for the strengthening of masonry walls using externally
bonded fibre reinforced polymer are available in the literature, these equations are semi-empirical in
nature and are based on a limited number of experiments. In the present study, the suitability of these
equations for ferrocement overlay is evaluated and for which a database of experimental studies
performed on URM specimens strengthened using this scheme is developed. Subsequently, in-plane
strength is predicted using these available equations and the most suitable equation is identified by
comparing the calculated strength parameters with its respective experimental result. However, for the
prediction of out-of-plane strength, the test specimens in the repository are very less. So, a non-linear
parametric finite element study is performed to generate more data. Using the parametric analysis as
well as existing experimental results, the accuracy of predictive equations for the out-of-plane
capacity of strengthened masonry with overlays is evaluated.
Keywords: Retrofitting; Unreinforced masonry; Finite Element Analysis; Ferrocement
1. Introduction
Unreinforced masonry (URM) structures are widely used as load-bearing structures or as an infill in
RC structures due to its low cost, durability, and simple to construct. However, these structures
exhibited poor seismic performance as observed during Bhuj 2001, Kashmir 2005, Ankara 2007,
Sikkim 2011 and Nepal 2015 earthquakes, which causes unacceptably huge loss of lives and
properties. During a seismic event, the masonry wall is subjected to both in-plane and out-of-plane
forces and thus need to be strengthened for these forces to mitigate losses and to protect the heritage,
and old religious structures from severe damage in future earthquakes. Extensive research has been
carried out to upgrade the masonry capacity using various composite materials. The conventional
strengthening techniques such as grout injection, additional shear wall construction, external steel
plates, post-tensioning are popularly used to strengthen the masonry walls. However, these methods
are not cost-effective because it involves costly materials and skilled labour. Therefore, these
techniques were not to be widely adopted in developing countries like India and Nepal.
In the recent past, the experimental works and in-situ applications have demonstrated that
ferrocement overlay is an effective means to safeguard the URM walls against the in-plane as well as
out-of-plane failure. This method of strengthening technique mainly consists of welded wire-mesh
embedded either in the cement-sand mortar or in the micro-concrete. The main advantages of this
technique over other methods are a lower cost of construction, ease in installation and readily
available material in the local market. The recent experimental studies performed by Shermi and
1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Patna, Patna, India, dattatreya.pce17@iitp.ac.in
2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Patna, Patna, India, singhal@iitp.ac.in
204
Dubey (2017, 2018) and Kadam et al. (2014, 2015) on ferrocement strengthened masonry has shown
an increase in the shear and flexural strength by up to 7 and 10 times when compared to
unstrengthened masonry, respectively. However, the efficacy of this strengthening scheme and a
stepwise design methodology is still not well known.
In this paper, an analytical study was performed to evaluate the accuracy of existing predictive
relations by calculating and comparing the in-plane, and out-of-plane capacity of ferrocement overlay
strengthened masonry walls with their respective experimental result. These predictive equations are
semi-empirical in nature and are originally developed for fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthened
masonry walls. To judge the accuracy of these equations, a repository consists of unreinforced
masonry wall specimens strengthened with ferrocement overlays was developed. This database
includes the specimens tested under the in-plane loading (mostly diagonal test specimens) and out-of-
plane loading (generally four-point bending test specimens). Table 1 lists the ranges of various
properties like the geometry of wall panel and material characteristics in the repository. Further, due
to the lack of available test specimens for predicting the out-of-plane capacity of ferrocement overlay
strengthened masonry wall, a non-linear finite element analysis was performed to generate more data
to judge the accuracy of the existing equations.
Table 1. Database developed for prediction of in-plane as well as out-of-plane strength
Range of Parameters
Parameters
In-plane test database Out-of-plane test database
No. of test specimens 53 09
Compressive strength of masonry (fmc) 3.7 - 32.1 MPa 2.2 - 24 MPa
Compressive strength of plaster (fp) 7.5 - 40 MPa 7.5 MPa
Tensile strength of plaster (fpt) 0.7 - 3.6 MPa 0.7 MPa
Compressive strength of brick (fb) 6.9 - 66.2 MPa 10-37.8 MPa
Thickness of plaster (tp) 10 - 30 mm 20 - 30 mm
Thickness of the wall (tw) 70 - 280 mm 115 - 270 mm
Wire mesh diameter (ϕ) 0.5 - 10 mm 2 - 3.2 mm
Elastic Modulus of wire (Eo) [Assumed] 200 GPa 200 GPa
Ultimate tensile strength of wire (fu) 360 - 1215 MPa 730 -1215 MPa
Mesh spacing, S 3.3 - 100 mm 20 - 38 mm
Number of layer of wire mesh (nt) 1-2 1-2
Horizontal reinforcement ratio (ρh) 0.03 - 0.3 % 0.1 - 0.3 %
2. In-plane Strength of Strengthened Masonry

From the past experimental research, it has been observed that the unreinforced masonry wall
undergoes several failure mechanisms when subjected to in-plane loads. These failure mechanisms are
generalized as (Tomaževič, 1999):
a) Sliding shear ( Vss ) b) Diagonal tension ( Vdt )
c) Toe crushing ( Vcf ) d) Shear friction ( Vsf )
In case of weak mortar joint and strong masonry units, the applied loads can cause sliding shear
failure of the URM wall as shown in Fig. 1a. In this type of failure mechanism, horizontal cracks are
generally developed along the bed joint. The diagonal shear failure mechanism is the most common
type of failure mode for the URM walls. This mode of failure occurs when the principal stresses
exceed the tensile strength of the masonry. In this failure mode, the diagonal cracks are usually
formed along the direction of the weak mortar joint as well as through the brick units (Fig. 1b). The
third type of failure mode is toe crushing failure, in which the crushing of bricks or blocks has been
observed near the toe area (see Fig. 1c). This failure mechanism generally occurs when generated
stresses due to in-plane loads exceed the compressive strength of masonry. In case of shear friction
205
mechanism, de-bonding of the mortar-brick interfaces are generally observed following a stepped
crack pattern through the horizontal and vertical joints (see Fig.(a) 1d). (b)
(a) (b)
(a)
(a)
(a)
(b)
(b)(b)
(c)
(c)
(c)
(d)
(d)
(d)
Fig. 1. Modes of failure; (a) Sliding shear failure (b) Diagonal tension (c) Toe crushing and (d) Shear friction
2.1 Estimation of in-plane capacity of the strengthened wall
The in-plane shear capacity of the masonry walls strengthened with overlays is calculated as the sum
of contributions
(c)
(c) from the masonry (d)and
(d) the strengthening material. The contribution of overlays is
considered after the development of cracks in the masonry panel (Silva et al. 2008; ACI 2013 and
Babaeidarabad et al., 2014b). The shear capacity of strengthened masonry (Vcal) is expressed as,
Vcal = Vm + V f (1)
where, Vm and Vf are the shear capacity of masonry and overlay, respectively. The contribution of
masonry (Vm) can be expressed as the minimum of strength predicted by the four predominant in-
plane failure mechanisms as discussed earlier.
Vm = min (Vss ,Vsf ,Vdt ,Vcf ) (2)
The equations used to calculate the in-plane shear capacity of masonry walls based on these failure
modes are given in Table 2. In the present study, due to lack of analytical models for ferrocement
overlay masonry, the expressions originally developed for FRP strengthening by the Italian National
Research Council (2004), ACI 549.4R (2013) and masonry strengthened with engineered
cementitious composites (Lin et al., 2014) are used to predict the in-plane shear strength of masonry
strengthened using ferrocement overlay. These equations are semi-empirical in nature and are based
on a limited number of experiments. The equations used to calculate the overlay contribution of the
strengthened masonry wall are given in Table 3.
2.2 Prediction of in-plane strength
The masonry contribution of test specimens in the repository has been estimated using the equations
as mentioned in Table 2. The overlay contribution was calculated using the equations in Table 3 and
added with masonry contribution Vm (Eq. 2). The predicted in-plane strength, Vcal was then compared
with their respective experimental result, Vexp by calculating Vexp / Vcal. The average in-plane strength
of all specimens for all existing predictive equations along with the coefficient of variation [%] are
represented in Fig. 2. The equation proposed by ACI (2013) shows good prediction as shown in Fig.
2. However, the coefficient of variation for this equation is significantly larger. Further, the equation
proposed by Lin et al. (2014) is highly under predicting the in-plane strength of strengthened masonry
with ferrocement overlays. Among these equations, the best prediction is provided by ElGawady et al.
(2007), which gave the reasonable prediction of in-plane shear strength of strengthened masonry with
an average ratio, Vexp / Vcal of 1.54 and coefficient of variation (COV) of 36.7%. Considering the high
value of the coefficient of variation, the reliability of these equations is doubtful.
206
Table 2. In-plane capacity of unreinforced masonry
Types Equation Remarks References

Shear ì t0 t 0 = 0.03 f mc , t 0 = bond Li et al., 2005,
sliding ï An Silva et al., 2008
Vss = min í1 - µ0 tan q strength of bed joint; µ0 = ElGawady et al.,
ïL ´ t ´t coefficient of friction = 0.3; 2007
î w w u c = 0.2 MPa for mortar types
ì c + 0.4s M2.5 – M9; fb = brick
t u = min í compressive strength
î0.0306 f b + 0.126s
Shear t 0,m f mc = compressive strength of Mann & Müller,
friction Vsf = An masonry; h = height of brick 1982,
1 - µm tan q Crisafulli et al.,
(mm); w = length of brick
t0 µ0 (mm); An = net area (mm2) 1995,
t 0,m = ; µm = Babaeidarabad et
æhö æhö al., 2014b
1 + 1.5µ0 ç ÷ 1 + 1.5µ0 ç ÷
è wø è wø
Diagonal f mt = 0.67 f mc , f mt =tensile Li et al., 2005,
tension tan q + 21.16 + tan q 2 ' Silva et al., 2008
Vdt = f mt An
10.58 strength of masonry
Toe 2 wf mc Am = interface area between Babaeidarabad et
crushing Vc = Am al., 2014b
3h + 2 w tan q loading shoe and wallet
Table 3. Overlay contribution of strengthened masonry
Sl no. Equation Remarks References

1 V f 1 = 2nAo Eoe ou Ao = area of wire mesh; Eo = modulus of ACI 549.4R,
elasticity of overlay; εou = ultimate tensile 2013
strain of overlay £ 0.004
2
Vf 2
(
ìïto zf yo + 0.18 f co Lw
= min í
) Vf21 and Vf22 = overlay shear strength and de-
bonding shear strength; z = lever arm =
Lin et al.,
2014
ïî0.12 K wt f b Eo MAB 0.87Lw; fyo and fco = tensile and compressive
strength of overlay; AB = bond area (m2)
3 V f 3 = 0.75 ´ r h ´ f j ´ tw ´ Lw r h = reinforcement ratio in the horizontal ElGawady et
direction; fj = axial force in overlay al., 2007
4 V f 4 = r h Eoe o tw Lw εo = effective strain of overlay Choi et al.,
2015
5
3.9
4 [69]
3
cal
/V
exp
2 1.5
V
1.1 [36]
[52] 0.9
1 [66]
0
ACI Lin et al. ElGawady et al. Choi et al.
(2013) (2014) (2007) (2015)
Fig. 2. Comparison of Vexp /Vcal for in-plane strength of strengthened masonry (Values indicate COV in %)
207
3. Out-of-plane Strength of Strengthened Masonry

During the seismic event, the masonry wall can experience bending either about the vertical axis or
horizontal axis or both. This bending may lead to the failure of the masonry wall in the out-of-plane
direction. From the past earthquake reports, it has been observed that the masonry walls are mostly
vulnerable to out-of-plane collapse (flexural failure) due to their poor tensile strength. So, a precise
estimate of the flexural tensile strength of the masonry may facilitate in providing effective and
economical strengthening solution to unreinforced masonry structures.
3.1 Estimation of out-of-plane capacity of the strengthened wall
Several analytical equations are available in the literature to estimate the out-of-plane strength of
masonry strengthened with different composite material. Likewise, in-plane strength prediction, due
to the lack of an analytical model for ferrocement overlay, the available equations for FRP
strengthening are used to predict the out-of-plane strength of masonry strengthened with ferrocement
overlay. The available relations are listed in Table 4. In the present study, the relations proposed by
ACI 549.4R (2013), Harajli et al. (2010), Willis et al. (2009), Hamoush et al. (2001), Tan and Patoary
(2004) were used to predict out-of-plane strength. The relations proposed by ACI 549.4R (2013),
Harajli et al. (2010) were originally developed for fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM)
strengthening whereas equation proposed by Hamoush et al. (2001), Tan and Patoary (2004) were for
FRP strengthened walls. Moreover, an equation proposed by Dayaratnam (1987) was also considered
to predict out-of-plane strength of strengthened masonry (see Table 4 where M and P are moment
capacity and out-of-plane strength of strengthened masonry wall, respectively).
Table 4. Out-of-Plane Capacity of strengthened Masonry
Sl no Equation Remark Reference

c = e mu / (e mu + e ou )
Tan & Patoary,
1 M 1 = Ao f u ( tw - 0.375c ) e mu = ultimate strain in masonry = 2004
0.0035;
a = debonding factor =1 ; nt = number of Haraji et al.,
2 M 2 = nt Ao Eo (ae ou )tw
mesh layer 2010
M 3 = f yo Ao jd jd = d ëé1 - 0.625 f yo Ao / f b bd ûù £ 0.95d Dayaratnam,

3
1987

Hamoush et al,
M 4 = Aoe o Eo ( tw - 0.425c ) c = Aoe o Eo / ( 0.85 ) f mc b
2
4
2001
5 M 5 = Aoe o Eo (tw - 0.5c) c = Aoe o Eo / gb1 f mc Lw ; g = b1 = 0.7 ACI, 2013
P = 1.45f 0.263 f u0.6 L per Eo Ao f f @ 1 / (2 + bo ) ; Lper @ 4 + 2bo + to Willis et al.,
6 f
2009
The number of test specimens available in the literature for the out-of-plane response of masonry
strengthened with ferrocement overlay is limited. Thus, a non-linear finite element parametric study
was performed to create more data points for strengthened masonry under out-of-plane loads.
3.2 Parametric finite element analysis
A parametric study was performed by varying various properties such as the thickness of the wall
panel, cross-sectional properties of wire mesh and material strength of masonry, plaster, and mortar.
The ranges of various parameter considered in this study are listed in Table 5. In total 90 FE models
were developed. A typical FE model of ferrocement strengthened masonry wallet with its all
components is shown in Fig. 4.
To conduct the parametric study, the macro-modeling technique is used for developing the FE
models using Abaqus (Simulia, 2011). The 8-noded 3D element with reduced integration (C3D8R)
was used to model the masonry panel and plaster. However, 2-noded 3D truss element (T3D2) was
used to model wire mesh, which was embedded in the surrounding plaster elements. The meshing was
208
gradually refined to achieve the convergence. In the present study, the suitable meshing size was
found to be 20 mm. Tie constraints were provided to model the interaction behaviour at all wall-to-
plaster interfaces whereas embedded constraints were provided to simulate the interaction behaviour
between the wire mesh and the plaster. Loading and boundary conditions used by Kadam et al. (2015)
for four-point bend test were simulated in this FE study, and the lateral load was applied at the
distance of Lw/3 from both the edges on the top surface. The appropriate boundary conditions were
achieved by providing roller support at 50 mm distance from each bottom edge. Concrete Damaged
Plasticity (CDP) model was used to simulate the inelastic behaviour of masonry and plaster. The
developed FE models were calibrated and validated using the experimental study conducted by
Shermi & Dubey (2017) and Kadam et al. (2015).
Table 5. Ranges of parameters considered for the FE analysis
Parameters Ranges
Compressive strength of masonry (fmc) 2.6, 7.6, 12.7, 17.1, and 22.6 MPa
Elastic modulus of masonry (Emc) 550 fmc
Density of masonry (ρm) 1900 kg/m3
Density of plaster (ρp) 2300 kg/m3
Compressive strength of plaster (fp) 1:3 (10 MPa), 1:4 (6.5 MPa), 1:6 (4 MPa)
Thickness of plaster (to) 30 mm
Dimension of the wall (Lw × Hw × tw) 770×400×120 mm and 1440×750×240 mm
Wire mesh diameter (ϕ) 2.03, 2.64 and 3.25 mm
Elastic modulus of wire (Eo) 200000 MPa
Yield strength of overlay (fyo) 250 MPa
Wire mesh spacing, S 25 mm
Plaster (8 noded brick element; C3D8R)
Welded wire mesh embedded at the mid depth of

plaster (2- noded truss element; T3D2)
Masonry wall (8 noded brick element; C3D8R)
Fig. 4. Typical FE model developed for strengthened walls under out-of-plane loads.
3.2.1. Material model
The constitutive model for masonry in compression was developed using the simplified tri-linear
curve as shown in Fig. 5a (Kaushik et al., 2007). The tensile behaviour of masonry was simulated
using a bi-linear curve (see Fig. 5b). The ascending branch of this curve illustrates the elastic
behaviour of masonry whereas the descending linear branch represents the post-yield behaviour. The
tensile strength of masonry fmt, was taken as one-tenth of its compressive strength (Akhaveissy &
Desai, 2011). Equations representing both the curves are given in Figs. 5a and 5b.
The model proposed by Kent & Park (1971) was specified to describe the compressive behaviour
of plaster as shown in Fig. 6a. The tensile stress-strain behaviour of plaster was defined based on the
tension softening law proposed by Gopalaratnam & Shah (1985) (see Fig. 6b). Strains corresponding
to peak compressive stress, εcc and tension stress, εct were taken as 0.002 and 0.00015, respectively.
To define the post-peak behaviour of concrete in the tension region, various parameters such as crack
209
width (wc) and constants like kct, λct are required to be specified. In this study, the value of kct and λct
were considered as 0.063 and 1.01 respectively, while the value of crack width (wc) was expressed in
micrometers (Morcos & Bjorhovde, 1995). Other required material properties were taken as default
values in Abaqus (Simulia, 2011).
(a) (b)
Fig. 5. Material model of masonry considered for numerical modeling: a) compressive stress-strain curve, and
b) tensile stress-strain curve
(a) (b)
Fig. 6. Material model of plaster used in finite element analyses: a) compressive stress-strain curve, and b)
tensile stress-strain curve
3.2.2 Results of the parametric study
The plots shown in Figs. 7a-c illustrates the variation of OOP capacity with masonry compressive
strength for a given size of wire mesh. In addition, the results for three different plaster strength and
two different wall thickness are presented in Figs. 7a-c. As depicted from these figures, the OOP
capacity increases with an increase in the compressive strength of masonry (fmc). However, the rate of
increase in capacity is more for thicker walls. Figs. 7a-c shows that there are nearly 3 times increase
in the OOP strength from weaker to stronger masonry whereas it is only about 10% - 15% increase
with the change in the plaster strength. Hence, the strength of masonry significantly influences the
OOP capacity of strengthened walls. However, the strength of plaster in ferrocement overlay has a
negligible impact on the OOP capacity of the strengthened wall.
210
A similar type of plots is also shown in Figs. 8a-c by considering the variation of OOP strength
with masonry compressive strength and wire mesh size for a given grade of plaster. As expected, the
OOP capacity increases with an increase in mesh size, which is nearly about 20% – 80% (see Figs.
8a-c). From this observation, it can be concluded that the impact on OOP strength due to change in
the mesh size is higher as compared to plaster strength. Therefore, the order of sensitivity of the
parameters for the OOP capacity of masonry strengthened with ferrocement overlay is as follows:
Compressive strength of masonry (fmc) > Wire size (ϕ) > Plaster strength (fp)
160 160 160
140 f = 2.03 mm f = 2.64 mm f = 3.25 mm
140 140
120 t = 240 mm 120 t = 240 mm t = 240 mm
w w 120 w
100 100
Force (kN)
Force (kN)
Force (kN)
100
80 80
t = 120 mm t = 120 mm 80 t = 120 mm
60 w 60 w w
40 60
40
20 20 40
0 0 20
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25
160
160 f (MPa) f (MPa) f (MPa)
mc 160
140 mc mc
140
(a) fp = (b)
10 MPa f = 4 MPa (c) fp=6.5
140
120 p
fp = 10 MPa
100
f=
ff = =410MPa
p 6.5
MPa
MPa f = 4 MPa
fp=6.5
fp=10 fp=6.5
f = 4 MPa
120 120 p
p p p
80
f = 6.5with
MPa f = 6.5 MPa
fp=10 ffp=10
= 4 MPa f = 4 MPa
Fig.
1007. Variation of OOP capacity
p
100 respect to the compressive
p strength of masonry
p
for a given meshp size
60
80
80 40
60
16060 160
20 160
40 0 5 10
f = 10 MPa
15 20 25
14040 f = 4 MPa f = 6.5 MPa
p 140 p 140 fmc (MPa)
p
20 t = 240 mm
120 t = 240 mm
w
120 0 w
5 10 t = 240 mm 15
120 w
20
20 f (MPa)20
100 0 5 100 10 15 mc 25
Force (kN)
Force (kN)
Force (kN)
t = 120 mm 100
160
80 80 f (MPa)
w
t = 120 mm mc
w 80 t = 120 mm
60 60 140 w
60 2.03 mm
40 40 160 120
fp=10
20 20 40
0 0
140 100
0 5 10 15 20 25 20
160 0 5 10 15 mm
2.03 20 25 0 5 = 10
2.64 mm
fp=10 15 20 25 fp=6.5
f (MPa) 120 f (MPa) 80 f (MPa)
mc mc mc
140 (a) (b) (c)
100 60
2.03 mm = 2.64 mm
fp=10 = 3.25 mm
fp=6.5 fp=4
120
80 40of masonry for a given plaster
Fig. 8. Variation of OOP capacity with respect to the compressive strength
100 strength
= 2.64 mm 60 = 3.25 mm
fp=6.5 20 fp=4
80 0 5 10 15 20 25
40
3.3 Prediction of OOP capacity of strengthened masonry wall f (MPa)
60 mc
= 3.25 mm fp=4
20
Using the parametric FE analysis results and 0 test results
5 in
10 the database
15 (Table
20 1),
25 the accuracy of
40
available relationship (Table 4) was evaluated to predict the OOP strength of strengthened masonry
f (MPa)
with ferrocement
20
overlays. The predicted out-of-plane strength
mc was compared with their respective
simulation and experimental
0 5 results
10 as shown
15 in20Fig. 9. 25
As depicted from Fig. 9, none of the available
equations was able to provide anf accurate
(MPa) and reliable prediction of OOP strength. The best prediction
among these equations was mademcby Willis et al. (2009) and Hamoush et al. (2001) with COV close
to 40%. All equations were under predicting the OOP capacity of strengthened masonry except the
equation proposed by Willis et al. (2009), which shows the overprediction of OOP strength.
211
cal
2.7 2.8
and V ) / V
3 2.4 [65] [66]
[67]
FE 2 1.4 1.4
[47] [40]
exp
0.78
(V
1 [43]
0
Tan and Haraji Willis Hamoush ACI Dayaratnam
Patoary et al. et al. et al. (2013) (1987)
(2004) (2010) (2009) (2001)
Fig. 9. Comparison of (Vexp and VFE)/Vcal for OOP strength of strengthened masonry wall
(Figure in [] indicate COV in %)
3. Conclusion
Ferrocement overlay is a promising economical solution for seismic retrofitting of the huge existing
stock of URM buildings in developing countries like India and Nepal. This strengthening technique
has been very effective in enhancing the in-plane and out-of-plane performance of vulnerable
unreinforced masonry. However, till date, a methodology for the design and performance evaluation
of this strengthening scheme is not available in the literature. Thus, the available equations for the
masonry strengthened with other composite materials are reviewed in this paper. To evaluate the
suitability of these equations, a database of masonry specimens strengthened with ferrocement overlay
and tested under in-plane and out-of-plane loads were developed. The estimated in-plane and out-of-
plane strength values were compared with the respective experimental results. The existing equations
show the reasonable prediction for in-plane strength of strengthened masonry wall with ferrocement
overlay. However, their reliability is doubtful considering the high value of the coefficient of
variation. Furthermore, none of the available equations was able to provide a reasonable and reliable
prediction of OOP strength. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new methodology for better
prediction of in-plane and out-of-plane strength of masonry strengthened with ferrocement overlay.
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213
Comparison of Two Large Earthquakes in Nepal: The M7.8

Gorkha Earthquake and the M7.3 Dolakha Earthquake in 2015
Raghabendra Yadav1, Binay Kumar Sah2 and Dinesh Kumar Gupta3
Abstract
Nepal is located in earthquake prone zone in the world because it lies on the subduction zone of
Indian plate and Eurasian plate. The two large Earthquakes occurred in the 2015 with a gap of less
than a month and many losses in terms of casualties, property etc happened due to not following
seismically resistant design code. In coming future, the parameters involved in seismic ground motion
data can be used for designing the structures with dynamic analysis which is more accurate than linear
analysis. This study compares the basic properties of strong-motion parameters often required by
engineers, seismologists and earthquake engineers. The parameters include Time history, Response
spectra, Fourier and Power spectra, Arias intensities and Energy flux have studied and compared with
both earthquakes. The Gorkha earthquake looks high in all ground motion parameters studied as
compared with Dolakha earthquake.
Keywords: Gorkha Earthquake; Dolakha Earthquake; Strong-motion parameters; Nepal
1. Introduction
Nepal is seismically vulnerable country because it lies in subduction zone of Indo-Australia and
Eurasian plate as shown in Fig. 1. Earthquake is the major natural hazards of Nepal where, there was a
major loss of life & properties due to the earthquake in the past. In 2015, two large earthquakes
Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake struck Nepal having the intensities of M7.8 and M7.3
respectively. The epicentre of M7.8 and M7.3 earthquakes were in Barpark in Gorkha district and
near Kodari in Dolakha district respectively. M7.3 Dolakha earthquake is considered as the aftershock
of M7.8 Gorkha earthquake. Due to these earthquakes nearly 9,000 peoples lost their lives and 22,000
peoples being injured. Its epicentre was located at 28.23 N, 84.731E by the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) (http://earthquake.usgs.gov), which was 80 km northwest of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
Its rupture initiated at a depth of 15 km, on or near the Main Himalayan Thrust, and propagated
toward the east-southeast over a distance of 160 km with a duration of 55s (Fan & Shearer, 2015).
Earthquake is a natural disaster which is happened over period of time. Earthquake does not make any
losses (as human losses, property, etc.) rather the not design of seismic resistant building does.
Therefore, to perform a seismic resistant building, it requires earthquake engineering studies where,
there is a need of strong motion records as original input data for analysis. In order to calculate the
seismic parameters, it is very important to make realistic selections and get use of the input strong
motion records which will help in the calculation of the dynamic response of the structure(s) to be
designed. There are many software programs have been developed for the selection of the strong
ground motions which are used for the dynamic analysis and design of structures. Among the most
important seismic parameters of a strong ground motion are the various types of spectra (i.e. elastic
response spectrum, Arias Intensity, energy flux, Fourier spectrum, etc.) which result from the
processing of the ground motion and which are used in various seismic design procedures, such as the
Dynamic Response Spectrum Analysis (DRSA), the Uncoupled Modal Response History Analysis
(UMRHA), the Modal Pushover Analysis (MPA) procedures for dynamic analysis. Furthermore, by
adjusting the Fourier spectrum of a strong ground motion, it is possible to control its frequency
content. Therefore, the use of a robust and accurate strong motion processing is critical for the proper
1 College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China, raghabendrayadav@gmail.com

2 College of Civil Engineering, Nepal Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, binaykumarsah108@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Western Region Campus, Pokhara, Nepal, replydinesh@ioe.edu.np
214
seismic design of structures, including strategies for designing earthquake-resistant buildings to

ensure the health, safety, and security of building occupants and assets during the structure’s lifetime.
Fig. 1. Indian and Eurasian Plate
From the perspective of hazard intensity, the earthquake intensity of the Dolakha earthquake is
relatively small. Since, Dolakha earthquake is an aftershock of main earthquake (Gorkha earthquake),
the disaster geological environment of the Dolakha earthquake is stable, with less seismic
amplification factor. The maximum intensity of Gorkha was VII MMI earthquake. The main impact
terrain of both earthquakes was mountains and also has epicenter on a zone with complex
geomorphology. The earthquake intensity of both Gorkha and Dolakha earthquake area are shown in
Fig. 2. and Fig. 3. The tremor effect of both earthquakes is shown in Fig. 3. in large scale. The
coverage area of Gorkha earthquake effect stronger in mid part of Nepal and some northern part in
India region and southern part in china can be easily seen in USGS map. The Dolakha earthquake
coverage area much more lesser than Gorkha earthquake. The main objectives of this study are to:
• To know the various seismic ground motion parameters of both earthquakes.

• And Comparison of Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
Fig. 2. The earthquake intensity with its potential shaking and damage of Gorkha earthquake (Left) and
Dolakha Earthquake (right) area.
215
Fig. 3.The comparison of USGS Shake Map of Gorkha Earthquake (left) and Dolakha Earthquake (right) area.
2. Comparison of Strong Motion Parameters

The study of different strong motion parameters is to keep as an input data for designing a proper
seismic resistant structure which will help mainly for dynamic analysis. The parameters which are
taken for comparison of both earthquakes are Time history, Arias Intensity, response spectra, Fourier
intensity, etc. which are explained detailed below.
2.1 Time History
Time history data is much more accurate one which will make use while doing the dynamic analysis
in FEM software of any structures. Time history analysis is also called as Nonlinear dynamic analysis
for doing seismic analysis of structures.
The peak acceleration of Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake is 0.16g and 0.05g
respectively. Due to high acceleration in Gorkha earthquake, the loss in any kinds of forms is also
more than Dolakha earthquake which may give elastic response of structures. As the time period
exceeds more than 60 secs, the acceleration goes nearly to zero which can be shown in Fig. 4.
0.20
0.15
0.10
Acceleration (g)
0.05
0.00
-0.05
-0.10 Gorkha
-0.15
-0.20
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (sec)
216
0.08
0.06
0.04
Acceleration (g)
0.02
0
-0.02
-0.04 Dolakha
-0.06
-0.08
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (sec)
Fig. 4. Comparison of Time history for Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
2.2 Dominant Frequency /Frequency content
The amplitude of the strong ground motion varies with frequency gives the Fourier Amplitude
Spectrum. The comparison of Fourier amplitude spectrum of both earthquakes is shown in Fig. 5. The
peak amplitude of Gorkha earthquake is 0.71 with less frequency as 0.25Hz and Dolakha earthquake
is 0.19 with 0.37 Hz frequency.
Fig. 5. Comparison of Fourier spectra for Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
2.3 Power Spectra
The Power amplitude spectrum is the amplitude of ground motion varies with frequency. The Peak
Power amplitude with respective frequency for both earthquakes are depicted here in Fig. 6. It can be
observed that the peak power amplitude of Gorkha and Dolakha earthquake is 1.9 and 0.68
respectively on same frequency as for peak Fourier amplitude. That means the power spectrum of
Gorkha earthquake is much more than Dolakha earthquake.
217
Fig. 6. Comparison of Power spectra for Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
2.4 Response Spectra
The response spectrum curve is also called as demand curve of strong ground motions. The initial
response acceleration of nearly 0.16g then it increases with increase in time period (secs) and it
reaches to 0.45g at 4 secs time period of Gorkha earthquake. But it’s opposite in case of Dolakha
earthquake as initial acceleration is high as 0.62g then it suddenly falls down as time periods exceed
as shown in Fig. 7. The response spectrum curve as doing the role of seismic demand with capacity
of structures resulting proper performance point. This curves also useful for input seismic data for
linear dynamic analysis of structures.
Fig. 7. Comparison of response spectra for Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
2.5 Arias Intensity
The Arias Intensity (IA) is a measure of the strength of a ground motion. It determines the intensity of
shaking by measuring the acceleration of transient seismic waves. It has been found to be a fairly
reliable parameter to describe earthquake shaking necessary to trigger landslides. It was proposed by
Chilean engineer Arturo Arias in 1970.
It is defined as the time-integral of the square of the ground acceleration which is given in Eq. (1).
$ 1
𝐼" = %& ∫3 2 𝑎(𝑡)% 𝑑𝑡 (𝑚/𝑠) (1)
where a(t) is the ground motion acceleration at time t, td is the total duration of the ground motion,
and g is the acceleration of gravity Eq. (1) is a specific version of IA for the commonly considered
218
case of zero damping. As it can be seen from the integral definition of Eq. (1), IA considers the ground
motion acceleration amplitude, frequency content (i.e., the value of the integrand between zero-
crossings will be frequency-dependent), and duration of ground motion. The fact that IA captures these
three general aspects of ground motion severity makes it notably different from other conventional
intensity measures which are often a measure of peak amplitude (e.g., peak ground acceleration/
velocity, and response spectral ordinates). From a theoretical standpoint, IA, represents the cumulative
energy per unit weight absorbed by an infinite set of single-degree-of-freedom oscillators having a
uniform distribution of fundamental frequencies on (0, ∞).
Time histories of the normalized Arias Intensity for the strong motion data for both earthquakes are
considered in this study are shown in Fig. 8. Since it was recognized that the peak values alone
cannot adequately represent the intensity of a ground motion. It is broadly defined as the sum of the
energies per unit mass, dissipated due to the ground motion.
Fig. 8. Comparison of arias intensity for Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
2.6 Energy flux
Seismic energy is one of the key parameters characterizing the intensity of ground shaking and the
magnitude of structural damage. The concept of using energy for seismic hazard assessment and
seismic design was first suggested by Housner (1956) more than sixty years ago. Energy flux is
defined as the amount of energy transmitted per unit time through a cross-section of a medium, and is
expressed by the following Eq. (2),
5
𝐸(𝑡) = % 𝜌𝑎𝑣 % (𝑡)𝑉 (2)
where ρ and A are the mass density and the cross-sectional area, v(t) is the velocity response, and V is
the propagation velocity of seismic waves. And it is also equal to kinetic energy multiplied by the
propagation velocity.
The Energy flux for both earthquakes are shown in Fig. 9. The energy flux in Gorkha earthquake is
much higher than Dolakha earthquake. At time period of around 20 secs, the energy flux reaches
nearly 38000 cm2/secs for Gorkha earthquake but in Dolakha earthquake, energy flux goes linearly
and get maximum of 1700 cm2/secs for 140 secs which is maximum time period taken for study.
219
Fig. 9. Comparison of energy flux for Gorkha earthquake and Dolakha earthquake.
3 Conclusions
Both earthquakes occurred in east and west region of the Kathmandu valley and have experienced
unpredicted disaster with a gap of less than a month. Earthquakes are natural disasters that cannot be
avoided but the damage wrought by earthquake can be minimized by effective use of building
regulations. Here, the strong motion parameters are studied for the major earthquake as Gorkha
Earthquake and Dolakha Earthquake occurred in 2015 and compared. This seismic strong ground
motions data can be used while designing the seismically resistant structure with permissible limit.
The following conclusions can be withdrawn from above discussion are as follows:
Ø The maximum intensity of the Gorkha earthquake was VII MMI, while the Dolakha earthquake
was VI MMI.
Ø From Time history data, the peak acceleration of the Gorkha earthquake is 3 times greater than
Dolakha earthquake. The tremor effect on Gorkha earthquake area is more than Dolakha
earthquake with less time period.
Ø The peak of Fourier and Power amplitude of Gorkha earthquake is 3.737 and 2.8 times greater
than Dolakha earthquake with same respective frequency.
Ø The response acceleration for Gorkha earthquake is go on increasing with time period of 4 secs
but its vice versa in case of Dolakha earthquake.
Ø The normalized Arias intensity % for Gorkha earthquake is more in 20 secs time period than
Dolakha earthquake and the maximum energy flux for Gorkha earthquake is 22.35 times more
than greater than Dolkha earthquake.
Acknowledgements
This research described here was sponsored by Digicon Engineering Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. Their support is
gratefully acknowledged. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the sponsors. The authors would also like to thank Pratyush Jha, Nabin Basnet and Subhash
Pantha for their assistance.
References
Arias A (1970) A measure of earthquake intensity. In: Hansen RJ (ed) Seismic design for nuclear power plants.
MIT Press, Cambridge MA, 438–483.
Anderson JG, Hough SE (1984) A model for the shape of the Fourier amplitude spectrum of acceleration at
high-frequencies. Bull Seismol Soc Am 74(5),1969–1993
220
Anderson H, Webb T, Jackson J (1993) Focal mechanisms of large earthquakes in the South-Island of New-
Zealand – implications for the accommodation of Pacific-Australia plate motion. Geophys J Int
115(3),1032–1054.
Clough, R. W., & Penzien, J. (1993). Dynamics of Structures (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book
Company.
R. Yadav, B. Chen, H. Yuan, R. Adhikari, (2016). Comparative Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Buildings and
Concrete Filled Steel Tube Buildings in Nepal. International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and
Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, Nepal, 70-77.
Stafford, P.J., Berrill, J.B. & Pettinga, J.R. J Seismol (2009) New predictive equations for Arias intensity from
crustal earthquakes in New Zealand, Journal of Seismology, 13,31.
Fan, W. and P. M. Shearer, Detailed rupture imaging of the 25 April 2015 Nepal earthquake using teleseismic P
waves, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 7467-7475.
Zhao JX, Dowrick DJ, McVerry GH (1997) Attenuation of peak ground accelerations in New Zealand
earthquakes. Bull NZ Nat Soc Earthq Eng 30(2),133–158
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2015_Nepal_earthquake -Date: 2019/02/15
http://earthquake.usgs.gov
221
Seismic Performance of RCC Buildings with Plan Irregularity

Binay Kumar Sah1, Raghabendra Yadav2 and Dinesh Kumar Gupta3
Abstract
Nepal is one of the most earthquake prone areas in South-Asia. Due to region is placed in high
seismic prone zone, seismic performance analysis is highly recommended to ensure safe and sound
building structures. To get better performance of reinforced concrete (RCC) structure, new seismic
design provisions require structural engineers to perform both linear and nonlinear for the design of
structures to validate the results. The objective of this study is to carry out linear static and nonlinear
static analysis i.e. equivalent static analysis (ESA) and Pushover analysis over regular and different
irregular shaped RCC building frame considering the equal span. In this study, five different shaped
(Square, L, W, U and H shaped) in plan and have five storied RCC building frames are analysed using
FEM software. The comparative study on the capacity, base shear and maximum displacement at
performance point of different shaped buildings have done with both method of analysis. Here,
Pushover analysis shows more accurate base shear and displacement as compared to ESA. The value
of base shear from nonlinear analysis gives approximately four times more than linear analysis in all
shaped buildings. The overall capacity degradation percentage is more in L shaped building as
62.53% and less in W, U shaped buildings as nearly 17.5 % than square shaped building. The H and U
shaped is more acceptable irregular buildings than L and W shaped buildings.
Keywords: Linear Static analysis; Pushover analysis; Performance point; Reinforced concrete, Irregular
building
1. Introduction
Earthquake is a natural disaster which takes place continuously in different parts of the world.
Recently on 25th April 2015, Nepal got struck with major earthquake of magnitude 7.8M. It affected
Nepal, northern part of India, China and Bangladesh. Due to that earthquake nearly 9,000 people have
lost their lives and nearly 22,000 injured (Wikipedia, 2019). 802,500 buildings were collapsed
because they were not designed as per earthquake code. Fig. 1 shows the shake intensity map of 2015
Gorkha earthquake, Nepal.
However, buildings have nonlinearity and inelastic but cannot obtain exact structural behaviour
using linear analysis. So, the use of nonlinear analysis has become most prominent to get inelastic
behaviour of structures under seismic loadings. Pushover analysis is widely used which provides
useful data that cannot be acquired by linear static or dynamic analysis procedure. Structural
engineering has started using the nonlinear static procedure (NSP) or pushover analysis professionally
due to its simplicity in nature and easy in calculation, described in FEMA-356 and ATC-40. Many
buildings in the present scenario have irregular configurations which looks more aesthetic than regular
buildings in architectural. There is necessity to know the seismic performance of the buildings to
withstand against disaster for both new and existing one.
Pushover analysis has been in vogue for many structures like steel frame structures, diagrid
structures to get capacity, ductility demand and performance (Kamath et al., 2016). Finally, Ismail. A
(2014) and Mohammed Ismaeil et al. (2015) have assessed the reinforced concrete building with
using different materials like steel plating, CFRP and reinforced concrete jacket and check their
strength and compared with original structure. Ravikumar et. al. (2012), performance of various
irregular building was observed for the hard rock region in India.
The reinforced concrete models which are presented in this paper have practical utility. The default
properties have been provided due to convenience and simplicity as per the FEMA-356, ASCE 41 and
1 College of Civil Engineering, Nepal Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, binaykumarsah108@gmail.com

2 College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China, raghabendrayadav@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Western Region Campus, Pokhara, Nepal, replydinesh@ioe.edu.np
222
ATC-40 documents. Due to its simplicity, the default hinge properties which are inbuilt in some
software package (i.e. SAP2000), can be used without taking any considerations. FEMA-356 and
ATC-40 guidelines are prepared based on some assumptions related to typical reinforced concrete
structures. The present paper made an attempt to study four types of irregularities in the building
models namely plan irregularity with geometric and compare it with regular building. Also, compare
some parameters like capacity, performance, displacement with regular structures.
Fig. 1. Shake map of Gorkha Earthquake 2015 (USGS)
2. Methodology
2.1 Equivalent static method (Linear static analysis)
Equivalent static analysis shows more accuracy in structure with limited height and this method is
only permitted to analyse regular, low to medium rise buildings in many codes. This method requires
less computational efforts which is based on the formulation given in IS codal provision. The first step
is to compute the design base shear as per IS 1893(Part 1):2002 for entire structure, and then it is
distributed along the height. The necessary input data requires for doing linear static analysis is listed
in Table 1.
Table 1. Data requirement for Equivalent static analysis
Seismic Zone V (Z=0.36)
Soil Type Medium (II)
Importance factor (I) 1.0
Response reduction factor (R) 5.0
2.2 Pushover analysis (Nonlinear static analysis)
Pushover analysis is a static nonlinear analysis method where structure is subjected to gravity loads
and monotonically increased lateral loads pattern which continuously increases with elastic &
223
inelastic behaviour until an ultimate condition is reached. It also allows sequence of yielding and
failure on member and progress of overall capacity curve in structure. The lateral load pattern for all
cases is same which is inverted triangular representing the first mode shape for pushover analysis. At
the end of the analysis, capacity curve and a plastic hinge model can be produced which give a
general idea of the behaviour of the building.
Fig.1 shows capacity curve having five points A, B, C, D and E which defines the behaviour of
plastic hinges in structure. These points will be varying depending on the type of element, material
properties, axial load level on element, longitudinal and transverse steel content. All points shown in
Fig. 2 i.e. B, C, D and E represent effective yield, peak strength, residual strength and ultimate
deformation. The segment A-B represents elastic region; segment B-C represents strain hardening
region, segment C-D represents loss of strength which may be sudden or in some cases somewhat
gradual and segment D-E represents substantially reduced strength. Also based on service
requirements, the performance levels for Immediate Occupancy (IO), Life Safety (LS) and Collapse
Prevention (CP) can be expressed, in terms of deformation levels.
Fig. 2. Capacity curve
2.3 Description of structural models
There are regular shaped structures as square and rectangular shaped, which are the most common
shape of regular structures used in Nepal and square shaped have been chosen in this study. Among
many Irregularities in structures either in plan or elevation to look more aesthetic in architectural point
of view. Here, Plan irregularity is used in this study as L-Shape, W-Shape, U-Shape and H-Shape
which is shown in Fig. 3.
(i) Square Shape (ii) L- Shape
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(iii) W- Shape (iv) U-Shape
(v) H-Shape
Fig. 3. Different plan of buildings
Size of columns, beams and slabs are taken approximately for 5 storied buildings considered in
this study. The area of the structures is kept close to each other to keep their influence similar. The
span lengths are kept constant both in X and Y direction of different shapes. Total height is kept
constant as 15 m for all types of buildings assumed for the study. Loads applied on structures include
dead load, live load, and earthquake load according to IS 875 Part I, II and IS 1893(Part I):2002
respectively. Grade of concrete and steel is M20 and Fe500 respectively for analysis of the reinforced
buildings. The structural dimension details are presented in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Structural Details of Buildings

Component Square shape L shape W shape U shape H shape
Area, m2 576 320 384 448 448
Beam Size, mm 300*450 300*450 300*450 300*450 300*450
Column Size, mm 450*450 450*450 450*450 450*450 450*450
Slab thickness, mm 125 125 125 125 125
Storey height, m 3 3 3 3 3
Span of bay in X and Y
4 4 4 4 4
direction, m
225
2.4 Loadings
Wall loads are considered on the exterior and interior beams for this building. The wall thickness
provided on exterior and interior beams are 230 mm and 115 mm on all the intermediate floors
respectively. The surrounding parapet wall has been provided on terrace. Live loads on the floors are
taken as 3 kN/m2 and on roof is 1.5 kN/m2. This model location considered as seismic Zone V and
type of soil is medium. Earthquake loading is combined with gravity loads i.e. G+ 0.25Q, where G
denotes permanent loads which includes exterior walls, interior walls & Q is the live loads as per
IS875 Part-II. The total Seismic weight is calculated based on the IS 1893:2002. A typical three-
dimensional rendered view of regular structure is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. 3D Rendered view of building

The global response of a structure is represented by pushover curve which is base shear vs roof
displacement shown in Fig.5. Since, the structure with more rigidity and flexibility has more strength
to withstand seismic force coming from ground motions. The capacity of regular (square shaped)
building shows more as compared to other irregular models assumed for study. The L shaped building
got less capacity than W, U, H and square shaped respectively. The U and H shaped building overlaps
with each other while resulting pushover curve.
9000
8000 Square
Shape
7000
BASE SHEAR, KN
L Shape
6000
5000 W Shape
4000 U Shape
3000
2000
1000
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
ROOF DISPLACEMENT, m
Fig. 5. Pushover curve for different models
The performance point is a point where the capacity or pushover curve intersects with demand
curve. Demand curve is a curve representation of earthquake ground motion and capacity is a
structure’s ability to resist seismic demand. Here, the structures behave at location of performance
226
point. The base shear at performance point for regular building as square shaped has more as 7908.57
kN which resists more seismic demand than other irregular models shown in Fig. 6.
The percentage base shear degradation in L, W, U and H shaped is 62.53%, 40.74%, 17.48%,
17.59% as compared with square shaped building.
The roof displacement at performance point for three different shapes (regular, U and H) looks
quite similar as 120 mm than L and W shaped building shown in Fig. 7. In case of roof displacement,
it does not show much more differences in all cases at performance point.
Base Shear At Performance Point, kN
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Square Shape L Shape W Shape U Shape H Shape
Fig. 6. Base shear at performance point
Fig. 7. Roof displacement at performance point
The square shaped building has more covered areas than other cases which indicates more chances
of hinges formation. The stage of plastic hinge formation at performance point of all models is shown
in Table 3. Since all buildings (regular and irregular) are on the stage of between immediate
occupancy and life safety. In that stage, structure’s is in the plastic zone and still without under
threaten.
227
Table 3. Formation of plastic hinges at performance point for different shaped buildings
Shape A to B B to IO IO to LS LS to CP CP to C C to D D to E Beyond E Total

Square 907 310 113 0 0 0 0 0 1330
L 625 155 70 0 0 0 0 0 850
W 650 218 102 0 0 0 0 0 970
U 868 210 92 0 0 0 0 0 1170
H 870 210 90 0 0 0 0 0 1170
The Linear analysis gives linear behaviour of structure within elastic limit. As per IS 1893(Part
I):2002, The displacement should be more than 0.04 of the height of building as 60 mm which is very
much satisfied by linear analysis. But it is more than allowable limit while doing by pushover
analysis. The comparison of base shear and displacement is shown in Table 4. The nonlinear analysis
gives much more accurate results than linear one. Base shear of square shape building is about
1989.19 kN and 7908.57 kN with linear and nonlinear analysis respectively. The base shear value
with pushover analysis gives approximately four times more than linear analysis which is applicable
for all cases shown in Table 4. The nonlinear static analysis is accurate method of analysis for
knowing actual strength of structures. The Square shaped building looks more strength and less
vulnerable than irregular buildings.
Table 4. Comparison of base shear and displacement in Linear and Nonlinear analysis.
Linear Static Analysis Nonlinear Static Analysis @Performance pt.
Shape
Base Shear, kN Displacement, mm Base Shear, kN Displacement, mm
Square 1989.19 18.4 7908.57 119
L 1230.42 17.7 4865.72 115
W 1419.57 18.2 5619.09 116
U 1674.76 18.5 6731.70 119
H 1675.60 9.6 6725.33 120
4. Conclusions
This paper discussed nonlinear static analysis as well as linear static analysis of different shaped
models having plan irregularities of reinforced concrete buildings using SAP2000 V20. The
parameters in this study are capacity curve, performance point, stages of plastic hinge formations and
their comparison with method of seismic analysis. The following conclusions can be made from the
present study.
• The Capacity of regular (square shaped) building has more than irregular (L, W, U and H shaped)
buildings. So, regular building looks more strength and less vulnerable than buildings with plan
irregularities.
• The percentage base shear degradation in L, W, U and H shaped is 62.53%, 40.74%, 17.48%,
17.59% as compared with square shaped building at performance point.
• All assumed models are under without threaten stage as between immediate occupancy and life
safety with pushover analysis.
• In case of roof displacement, it does not show much more differences in all cases at performance
point as nearly 120mm.
• The base shear value with pushover analysis gives approximately four times more than linear
static analysis which is applicable for all regular and irregular buildings.
• The roof displacement value of buildings with pushover analysis gives nearly two times more
than allowable limit given in IS 1893:2002 which is applicable for all regular and irregular
buildings.
228
Acknowledgements
This research described here was sponsored by Digicon Engineering Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. Their support is
gratefully acknowledged. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the sponsors. The authors would also like to thank Pratyush Jha, Nabin Basnet and Subhash
Pantha for their assistance.
References
Agarwal P., Shrikhande M. (2004). Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, PHI Publication.
Ali Kocak et al. (2015). Performance assessment of irregular RC buildings with shear walls after Earthquake.
Engineering Failure Analysis 55, 157-168.
Ashok K Jain (2015). Dynamics of Structures with Matlab applications. Pearson Education India; First edition,
page 519 –567, 2016.
ATC 40 (1996). Seismic Analysis and Retrofit of Concrete Buildings, Vol.1, Applied Technology Council, CA,
US.
Chopra A K (2001). Dynamics of structures: Theory and application to earthquake engineering, Englewood
Cliffs (NJ): Prentice-Hall.
CSI SAP2000 V20 (2018). Integrated Finite Element Analysis and Design of Structures Basic Analysis
Reference Manual. Computers and Structures, Inc., Berkeley.
Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA 440 (2005). Improvement of Nonlinear Static Seismic
Analysis Procedures, Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency,
Washington.
FEMA 356 (2000). Prestandard and Commentary for Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings. Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Washington DC.
IS 456 (2000). Plain and Reinforced Concrete – Indian Standard Code of Practice, Bureau of Indian Standards,
New Delhi, India.
IS 1893 (Part-I) (2002). Indian Standard- Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, Bureau of
Indian Standard, New Delhi.
Ismail. A (2013). Nonlinear Static Analysis of a Retrofitted Reinforced Concrete Building, HBRC Journal.
Kamath et. Al (2016). An analytical study on performance of a diagrid structures using nonlinear static analysis.
perspective in science, 8, 90-92.
Mohammed Ismaeil et al (2015). Seismic Capacity Assessment of Existing RC Buildings in The Sudan by
Using Pushover Analysis, Open Journal of Civil Engineering, pp 154-174.
R. Yadav, B. Chen, H. Yuan, R. Adhikari, (2016). Comparative Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Buildings and
Concrete Filled Steel Tube Buildings in Nepal. International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and
Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, Nepal, 70-77.
Ravikumar, C., et al (2012). Effect of irregular configurations on seismic vulnerability of RC buildings”,
Architecture Research.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2015_Nepal_earthquake -Date: 2019/02/15
229
Seismic Reliability Assessment of Calibrated Concrete Gravity

Dam Using High-Dimensional Model Representation and
Cornell’s Approach: A Case Study
Md Motiur Rahman1, Tahmina Tasnim Nahar2 and Dookie Kim3
Abstract
Reliability assessment is used for decisions making about the acceptability of an existing structure. In
this study, the seismic response of Bohyeonsan concrete gravity dam is analyzed using the 2D Finite
Element Model (FEM) that is developed by ABAQUS. The calibration of the FEM of this dam is
carried out using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on the recorded data from the
Pohang earthquake, which is one the strongest earthquakes recorded in Korea. The time history
analysis of the calibrated FEM is done for developing seismic fragility curves from 12 earthquakes
data sets, which are selected based on the strong duration. Seismic fragility indicates the reliability of
the structure to inhibit posterior seismic needs. It is defined as the conditional probability that a
structural need attains or overcome a stated capacity for given earthquake intensity. The seismic
fragility curves of this concrete gravity dam are developed according to the limit state of tensile stress
by using High-Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) and Cornell’s approach. These seismic
fragility curves are used to exhibit the relationship between reliability index and seismic intensity
measure in terms of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA). The target reliability index of the dam using
the local seismicity map is exposed for the different reference period, which is compared with the
measured reliability index. After the seismic reliability assessment of Bohyeonsan Dam, it can be
summarized that the operational condition of this dam is satisfied for 50 years reference period.
Keywords: Seismic reliability; Fragility analysis; RSM; HDMR; Cornell’s approach; Reliability index
1. Introduction
Earthquake is one of the natural hazards, which have always had unpredictable influences on
infrastructure, communities and human life and property because of its randomness of the shaking
intensity and the return period. Therefore, the seismic reliability assessment can make the
quantification of risk involved in a specified earthquake in a region. The reliability index is usually
represented in terms of either Damage Probability Matrixes (DPM) or Fragility curves (Wasekar &
Chaudhari, 2017). The reliability analysis is a limit state function of the failure mode, where all
parameters are random variables and are described by stochastic distributions (Westberg, 2010). In
order to introduce the reliability index for a non-normal distribution, the probability of failure is
defined first based on the convolution operation and then it is calculated for that probability failure
function (Ghasemi, 2015). In this paper for determining the reliability index of the Bohyeonsan dam,
it needs to be calibrated which is done by the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and parameters
are selected by considering Central Composite Design method (CCD). Response Surface Method is a
helpful tool to solve this uncertainty such as mechanical properties of the material, geometric
properties, load magnitude, and distribution, etc. mentioned by (Abu-Odeh & Jones, 1998; Chávez-
Valencia et al., 2007; Lee & Lin, 2003).
As explained before, it is necessary to develop the fragility curve for the reliability index of the
structure, which is studied previously. Lognormal distribution reasonably well for developing seismic
fragility of concrete gravity dams, but it provides the median seismic fragility including randomness
and uncertainty for the base sliding and pier failure (Ghanaat et al., 2015).
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan, South Korea, motiur.c@gmail.com
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan, South Korea, tasnim30.ce@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan, South Korea, kim2kie@kunsan.ac.kr
230
There are many methods to make a fragility curve for civil engineering structures. However,
limited fragility analysis is currently available for concrete gravity dams (Bernier et al., 2016;
Ghanaat et al., 2015; Lupoi & Callari, 2012; Tekie & Ellingwood, 2003). For reducing the uncertainty
of material properties, the Conditional Spectrum (CS) method is used to improve the fragility
assessment of concrete gravity dam (Bernier et al., 2016).
In this study fragility curve for the concrete gravity dam is analysed using the High-Dimensional
Model Representation (HDMR) and Cornell’s approach. HDMR has been under development for
multivariate analysis since the 1990s (Demiralp, 2009). It is a tool developed for input-output
relations of complex, computationally burdensome models in terms of hierarchical interrelated
function expansions (Thachampuram, 2014). For high-dimensional input-output systems, the
technique which is generally used, can be applied to various disciplines including inversion of data
(Alış & Rabitz, 2001), replacement of the existing time-consuming mathematical model by the
creation of an efficient fully equivalent operational model (Li et al., 2001), key model variables
(Rabitz & Aliş, 1999), global uncertainty assessments (Wang et al., 1999), efficient quantitative risk
assessments (Rabitz & Aliş, 1999), structural reliability analysis (Rajib et al., 2009) etc. Cornell et al.
(2002) proposed a methodology to characterize the fragility function as the probability of exceedance
of the designated Engineering Demand Parameter (EDP) for a selected physical limit state (DS) for a
particular ground motion intensity measure (IM). Some researchers use Cornell’s methodology to
develop seismic fragility i.e., Thachampuram (2014); Wasekar and Chaudhari (2017) used for RC
buildings; (Padgett, 2007) are used for the bridge.
In this research work, these two types of methodology have been used to make decisions about
operational condition of the Bohyeonsan concrete gravity dam easily.
2. Case Study: Bohyeonsan Concrete Gravity Dam

In this study, Bohyeonsan concrete gravity dam which is located at 36.12° N and 128.94° E in
Yeongcheonsi, Rep. of Korea is selected as a case study to demonstrate the adopted methodology for
reliability assessment by investigating its seismic response. This dam is significantly using for the
controlling of reservoir water. The total length of the concrete gravity arch dam is 250m, and the
construction of the dam was completed in 2014. The total storage capacity of the reservoir is
22.10×106 m3. The crest width of the dam is 11.15m and the height varies from 34.5m to 58.5m. Fig.
1(a) shows the general condition of Bohyeonsan dam. Recently, Korea is experiencing more frequent
and bigger earthquake due to climate change although it is known as a low and moderate earthquake
zone.
1.5Hd=85.5m Bcr=11.1m
Dam Domain (outside)

Dam Domain (Inside)
Water Domain
Hw=42m
Hd=57m
4.5m 10m
B=57.6m
Fig. 1. Bohyeonsan concrete gravity dam: (a) General condition; (b) FEM of dam-reservoir system in ABAQUS
2.1 FE Modeling of Bohyeonsan Dam
Finite Element Modeling (FEM) of concrete gravity dam is a method with a lot of advantages
compared to traditional structural dynamics and scale modelling (Zeidan, 2015). In order to model the
dam-reservoir system, the computer program ABAQUS is used in this study (ABAQUS, 2014). The
foundation rock is not included in the model in order to reduce computational efforts (USACE, 2007).
For the FEM of the dam-reservoir system, the dam is assumed as homogeneous, elastic and isotropic
2D solid element with element type CPS4R and the fluid is assumed compressible and inviscid as an
231
acoustic model with element type AC2D4. Here the most critical section of Bohyeonsan dam is
selected, according to the response recorded acceleration, stress output of the model analysis. In order
to decrease the effect of the FE model boundaries on the response of the system, the reservoir length
is considered 1.5 times longer than dam height (Sen, 2018). The model of the dam-reservoir system in
ABAQUS with geometric details is shown in Fig. 1(b).
2.2 Calibration of FEM
In this section, the response surface methodology based on multi-objective optimization is used for
calibration of the Bohyeonsan concrete dam considering the recent Pohang earthquake data. The
response surface methodology (RSM) constitute a set of statistical models for modeling, analyzing,
optimization and building an empirical model (Myers et al., 2008). Based on the statistical and
mathematical analysis, RSM investigates the approximate relationship of the input design variables
z 1 , z 2 ,..., z k and the response variable y of a structure as Eq. (1)
y = f (z 1 , z 2 ,..., z k ) + e (1)
where f (z 1 , z 2 ,..., z k ) denotes the approximate response function and 𝜀 represents the statistical
error term having a normal distribution with a zero mean. The number of input variables is k. The
input variables z 1 , z 2 ,..., z k are designed as dimensionless variables with zero mean and equal
standard deviation.
In this study, CCD is used for RSM design for identifying the structural parameters. Here Young’s
modulus (E) and mass density (ρ), poison’s ratio (μ), damping ratio (ξ) are used as input variables for
FEM. In this research, we also observed that E and ρ are the most influencing parameters of this dam.
In order to calibrate this dam, E and ρ are used as input variables to construct CCD. Since the value of
E for inside and outside of dam is different, so for decreasing the number of runs and to keep the ratio
of inside and outside parameter of dam is same, the coefficient of E (CoE) (i.e., multiplying factor of
E which will be used to get the original value of E) for both inside and outside of dam is used as an
optimized parameter. CoE and ρ are used as input variables of CCD for RSM. So that, the number of
experiments is k = 2 + 2´ 2 + 5 = 13 . Due to the interaction effect of Young’s modulus and Density,
2
the acceleration on the top of the dam under Pohang-earthquake has been counted as the structural
response. the peak value of acceleration (R1) and corresponding frequency (R2) on the frequency
domain is considered as an objective function. From the recorded top response of the dam we get the
value of R1 and R2 as 0.2134 and 14.5 respectively. CCD created total 13 points for CoE, mass
density and corresponding FEM response R1 and R2 value is set to optimize by Minitab tool. The
relation between input variables and response using RSM are shown in Eq. (2) and (3).
R 1 = 0.926 - 0.248(CoE ) - 0.413r + 0.1655(CoE )2 + 0.086 r 2 - 0.068(CoE )r (2)

R 2 = -92 + 50.4(CoE ) + 69r + 12.9(CoE )2 - 6.7r 2 - 35.0(CoE )r (3)
To get the optimization value of CoE and mass density, the R1 and R2 values 0.2134 and 14.5
respectively are used as the target values. From RSM analysis we found the optimized value of CoE
and mass density are 0.8640 and 2.2005 respectively. After optimization of CoE and ρ, the parameters
of calibrated FEM of the dam are shown in table 1.
Table 1. Materials properties of calibrated FEM of dam

Material properties Inside the dam Outside the dam
Modulus of elasticity, E (MPa) 11895 14568
Poisson ratio, μ 0.18 0.18
Density, ρ (ton/m3) 2.2 2.2
Damping Ratio, ξ (%) 6
232
The response spectrum from top recorded and top FEM response isn’t matched perfectly. But, we
get the coefficient of variation (CoV) between recorded and response for pick acceleration and
corresponding frequency are 0.0250 and 0.0 respectively which are shown in Table 3. The CoV
values are so small, so we can say these results are acceptable and this FEM can be used for further
analysis.
Table 2. Materials properties of calibrated FEM of dam

Response function From Recorded Data FEM Response CoV
Pick Spectral Acceleration, R1 (g) 0.2134 0.2059 0.0250
Frequency, R2 (Hz) 14.5 14.5 0.0
3. Selection of Ground Motion

In this study horizontal component of 12 earthquake data are used from South Korean earthquake
dataset for time history analysis which is shown in Table 3. The earthquake is selected based on
strong duration i.e., 5-75% areas intensities.
Table 3. Selected ground motion

Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
EQ Code AD BJ BS CG DA DB EP GC GN RD YD YO
Strong duration,
8.52 32.09 11.12 6.89 10.33 5.01 8.23 19.95 22.21 9.01 23.53 8.52
t75-t5 (s)
4. HDRM Approach
The notion of ‘high’ dimensionality is system dependent, with some situations being considered high
for practical reasons at N ∼3–5, whereas others will only reach that level of complexity for N >10 or
more (Rajib et al., 2009). Let the N-dimensional vector x = { x1 , x2 ,!, xN } represent the input
variables of the model under consideration and the response variable as fx. As the influence of the
input variables on the response variable can be independent and/or cooperative, HDMR expresses the
response fx as a hierarchical correlated function expansion in terms of the input variables as
(Unnikrishnan et al., 2013).
N
f (x ) = f 0 + å f i (x i ) + å f i ,i ( x i , x i ) + å fi (x i , x i , x i ) + !
1 ,i 2 ,i 3
i =1 1< i 1 < i 2 < i N
1 2 1 2
1£ i 1 £ i 2 £ i 3 £ i N
1 2 3
(4)
+f i ( x i , x i ,! , x i )
1 ,i 2 ,!, i N 1 2 N
where f0 is a constant term representing the zeroth-order component function or the mean response
of f(x). The function fi(xi) is a first-order term expressing the effect of variable xi acting individually,
although generally nonlinearly, upon the output f(x). The function f i1 ,i2 ( xi1 , xi2 ) is a second order term
that describes the cooperative effects of the variables xi1 and xi2 upon the output. The higher-order
terms give the cooperative effects of increasing numbers of input variables acting together to
influence the output f(x). The last term fi1 ,i2 ,!,iN ( xi1 , xi2 ,!, xiN ) contains any residual dependence of all
the input variables locked together in a cooperative way to influence. There are two particular HDMR
expansions reliant on the method adopted to determine the component functions in Eq. (4)
(Thachampuram, 2014) one of these- analysis of variance-HDMR (ANOVA-HDMR) and another
method are Cut-HDMR. In this study, the cut-HDMR procedure is used to approximate the original
implicit limit state/ performance function with an explicit performance function for predicting the
233
failure probability of structural/mechanical systems subjected to random loads and material

properties.
In Cut-HDMR a reference point c = {c1 , c2 ,!, cN } is first defined in the variable space which is
mostly at the mean values of the input variables. In practice ordinarily, c is chosen within the outskirts
of interest in the input space (Unnikrishnan et al., 2013). The component functions in Equation (5)
will be minimized to the following relationships.
f 0 = f (c ) (5)
f i ( x i ) = f ( x i ,c i ) - f 0 (6)
f i ,i ( x i , x i ) = f ( x i , x i , c i i ) - f i ( x i ) - f i ( x i ) - f 0
1 2
(7)
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2
In Equation (9), f ( xi , ci ) = f (c1 , c2 ,!, ci1 -1 xi , ci1 +1 !, cN ) f designates that all the input variables
except are at their reference points, and the function given by
i1i2
f ( xi1 , xi2 , c ) = f (c1 ,!, ci1 -1 , xi1 , ci1 +1 ,!, ci2 -1 xi2 , ci2 +1 !, cN ) designates that the input variables except
( xi1 , xi2 ) are at their reference point values. The f0 term is the output response of the system at the
reference point. FE analysis is performed on the studied concrete gravity dam model using Scaled
earthquake records (12 in number) as the loading inputs Table 3. Mean and standard deviation of the
response from the FE analysis using these 12 earthquake records for each combination of input
variables is calculated. Metamodels, which are polynomial functions representing the mean and
standard deviation of the responses, is framed by applying the HDMR technique. The two
metamodels which are shown in Eq. (9) and (10) are combined to form the overall metamodel as
specified in Eq. (8).
f t = f t + N (0, f t ) (8)
µ s
Where f t and f t are the mean and standard deviation metamodels of the responses respectively,
µ s
N is the normal distribution. The maximum response (tensile strength) of the structure for 12 ground
acceleration records are estimated by nonlinear time history analysis at each of the three sampling
points, for each random variable of scaled PGA as shown in Table 4. The mean and standard
deviation of the maximum response for each of these cases are calculated and the metamodel for the
mean and standard deviation are formulated as shown in Equations (9) and (10).
f t = (0.3809)PGA2 + (2.0009)PGA + 0.1359 (9)

µ
f t = (0.3183)PGA 2 + (1.6721)PGA + 0.1136

s
(10)
Table 4. Range of input random variable used for 3-point sampling in HDMR
Variable μ-2 μ μ+2
PGA (g) 0.13 0.58 1.02
5. Conrnell’s Approach
Cornell et al. (2002) demonstrate that the estimate of the average engineering demand parameter
(EDP) can be represented by a power law model, which is called a Probabilistic Seismic Demand
Model (PSDM) as specified in Eq. (11).
EDP = a(IM )b (11)
234
where a and b are the regression coefficients of the Probabilistic Seismic Demand Model (PSDM).
In this study tensile strength is taken as the Engineering Damage Parameter (EDP) and peak ground
acceleration (PGA) as the intensity measure (IM).
In this approach, a fragility function represents the probability of exceedance of the nominated
Engineering Demand Parameter (EDP) for a selected structural limit state (LS) for a specific ground
motion intensity measure (IM). These curves are cumulative probability distributions that specify the
probability that a component/system will be damaged to a given damage state. Th seismic fragility
curve can be express for each damage state and can be conveyed in closed form as using Eq. (12).
æ sD ö
ç ln ÷
sC
(D ³ C IM ) = f ç ÷ (12)
ç ÷
çç bD IM + bc
2 2
÷÷
è ø
where C is the tensile strength (capacity), D is the tensile stress (demand), S D is the median of the
demand and S C is the median of the chosen LS. bD IM and bC are dispersions in the intensity
measures and capacities respectively. Eq. (12) can be redesigned as equation for system fragilities
(Padgett, 2007).
æ ln IM - ln IM ö
P (D ³ C IM ) = f ç m
÷ (13)
ç b ÷
è comp ø
æ ln SC - ln a ö bD2 IM + bc2
Where, IM m = exp ç ÷ and the dispersion component, bcomp =
è b ø b
b D IM is the dispersion on the data set (di) can be calculated using Equation (14).
å ( ln(d i ) - ln(aIM ))
2
bD IM @ (14)
N -2
The PSDM model obtained in this case is shown in Eq. (15),
EDP = 1.402(IM )1.003 (15)
6. Development of Fragility Curve

6.1 HDRM approach
To develop the fragility curve from HDRM Monte Carlo simulation is performed successively on the
overall metamodel using Eq. (8) arbitrarily generating 10000 values for input variables and the
corresponding response as tensile stress is calculated. In case of the convergence study of the
variation of the number of simulations and the probability of exceedance, it is found that 10000
simulations appropriate for the convergence (Thachampuram, 2014). The obtained fragility curves for
limit states are shown in Fig. 2.
6.2 Cornell’s approach
A power law (Eq. (11)) relationship is fitted using regression analysis, which represents the PSDM
model for this dam (Eq. (15)). The regression coefficients a and b are found to be 1.402 and 1.003
respectively. The R2 value for the fitted relation is found to be 0.9993. The dispersion in capacity, βc is
related to the structure type and construction excellence generally it is suggested as 0.1, 0.25, 0.40
235
depending on the quality of construction. In this study, dispersion in capacity has been assumed as
0.25.
The dispersion, β(D│IM) is calculated using the Eq. (14). The Fragility curves developed using the
Eq. (13) for the limit tensile strength of 1.60 MPa is shown in Fig. 2.
Cornell's Approach
1
Probability of Failure, Pf
0.5
0
0 0.5 1PGA (g)
1.5 2 2.5
Fig. 2. Probabilistic seismic demand model using Cornell’s approach
7. Reliability Assessment
The reliability or the safety index is a measure of how away is from the condition of fall. Also it
defined as the probability that a structure will fail or fail in its design period (Mohammadi et al.,
2015). Amending of the reliability measure is actual by the revaluation of the reliability of an existing
structure (Ditlevsen & Madsen, 1996). For the reliability assessment of the whole structure, fragility
analysis is an important issue (Sfahani et al., 2015). In this study for the probabilistic assessment,
fragility curve is used as a key feature which is developed by HDMR and Cornell’s approach. The
reliability index for the corresponding probability of failure which is measured from the fragility
curve and can be found by the Eq. (16).
b = -f -1 Pf ( )
(16)
The reliability index is calculated from the fragility curve of both methods is shown in Fig. 3.
Cornell's Approach
7
6
Reliability Index, β
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4
PGA (g)
Fig. 3. Reliability Index vs PGA curve using HDMR and Cornell’s Approach
From Fig. 3 we can found present ratability index of any PGA value for Bohyeonsan concrete
dam. In this research work, to evaluate the seismic reliability of Bohyeonsan concrete dam the
seismicity curve which is shown in Fig. 4 is developed by using a MATLAB tool name Korea
Seismicity Map (Tuan & Kim, 2017).
236
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Seismicity curve of Bohyeonsan, Yeongcheonsi, South Korea (36.12° N and 128.94° E)
PGA with the probability of exceedance in any years can be calculated from Fig. 4(a) and from
Fig 4(b) for any return period corresponding PGA can be found.
Since risk is a product of the probability and consequence of failure, different failure probabilities
are tolerated for high and low consequences (Westberg, 2010). Table 5 from (Schneider, 1997) gives
target reliability or safety index depending on the type of structure and type of failure.
Table 5. Target relativity index β/year, after Schneider (1997).

Type of failure
Type C: Type D:
Case Type A: Type B: ductile, brittle,
serviceability ductile non- non-
redundant redundant
Class 1 - no consequences 1 1.5 2 2.5
Class 2: minor consequences 1.5 2 2.5 3
Consequences
Class 3: moderate consequences 2 2.5 3.5 4

Class 4: large consequences, medium hazards to life
2.5 3 4.5 5
(bridges etc.)
Class 5: Extreme consequences, high hazards to life
3 4 5 6
(large dams etc.)
Large dams often fall into class 5 as the consequences can be extreme, either to human life or in
economic consequences. Dams do not have exorbitance and in many cases exhibit brittle behaviour
with no or very short warning. If consequences are large the resulting required β value is thus around
6, corresponding approximately to a probability of failure of 1×10-9/year (Westberg, 2010).
The probability of failure for any reference period can be calculated as Eq. (17).
pf = 1 - (1 - pf )n
n 1
(17)
where Pf n is the probability of failure during the n year reference period and Pf1 that during 1
year.
237
Table 5. Calculated and target Reliability Index

Reference Period (Years) 50 100
Probabilities of Exceedance (%) 2% 5% 10% 2% 5% 10%
Return Period (Years) 2500 1000 500 5000 2000 1000
PGA (g) 0.19 0.14 0.11 0.23 0.18 0.14
β (HDMR Approach) 6.41 6.5 6.55 6.04 6.44 6.5
β (Cornell's Approach) 4.78 5.35 5.85 4.40 4.87 5.35
Pfn (per Year) 9.99×10-
2.49×10-6 9.99×10-7 4.99×10-7 4.99×10-6 1.99×10-6
7
β (Target) 4.57 4.75 4.89 4.42 4.61 4.75
Table 5 represents the calculated and target reliability index for the corresponding reference period
and exceedance probability. Here it shows that the HDMR approach gives the conservative result
compared to Cornell’s approach. So, in this case, we make decision from Cornell’s approach.
8. Conclusion
For 50 years reference period calculated β for Bohyeonsan dam is more than 4.59%, 12.63% and
19.63% compared with the target β considering the probability of exceedance 2%, 5% and 10%
respectively.
In the case of the 100 years reference period calculated β is more than 5.6% and 13.05% compared
with the target β considering the probability of exceedance 5% and 10% respectively. If we consider
2% exceedance probability, calculated β is less than the target β.
We can conclude that the dam may not fail within 50 years reference period but more technical
investigation needed to take decision for 100 years.
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239
Chemical Properties and Fineness of OPC Cement from

Various Manufacturers and Their Effect on Cement Grade –
A Case Study of Nepal
Nabaraj Budhathoki1 and Sudip Karanjit2
Abstract
Since cement grade directly affects the strength of any concrete and the performance of structure,
proper monitoring and control of cement grade can be taken as one of the important parameters in
quality control of concrete. As claimed by manufacturers, different grades of cements (33, 43, 53, 55,
etc.) are available in our market, but frequently conducted test results from various laboratories
indicate the failure in quality control in cement grade on the part of most of the manufacturers in
Nepal. Use of raw material, overall manufacturing process and various other parameters directly
impact the final properties of cement. This paper presents the chemical and fineness property of
cement from various manufacturers and their effect on the overall strength development.
Cement samples from 15 different manufacturers were collected in the study. Various chemical,
physical and mechanical tests were carried out to access the properties of cement and their correlation
with cement grade. Test results from chemical composition, lime saturation factor, loss of ignition,
insoluble residue were found within the limit specified by code, and it shows the good quality control
in chemical properties of cement obtained from most of the manufacturers. C3S content of most of the
cements has been found low compared to current global cement production trend. The test result of 28
days grade test indicates that 40% of manufacturers were unable to fulfill even the minimum grade
requirement specified by the code. From test results, good quality control practice is found in
chemical properties of cement by most of the manufacturers in Nepal indicating satisfactory
workability and durability characters. Quality of cement has been found poor in terms of cement
grade which indicates the poor quality control in mechanical properties of the cement. The effect of
cement chemistry and fineness has been found less on grade of cement compared to other similar
studies.
Keywords: Cement Chemistry, Quality Control, Cement Grade, Cement Fineness
1. Introduction
Cement can be considered one of the important materials for all the major construction projects in
Nepal. Cement being a binder, its element properties directly impact on overall properties of concrete.
Currently, there are more than 50 cement industries in Nepal. According to CW Research (2018)
cement consumption in Nepal is 6.1 million ton per year in 2017 which will grow to 10 million ton
per year by 2023. Due to the presence of huge number of manufacturers and different production
techniques, there is possibility of variation in chemical, physical as well as mechanical qualities of
cement. Various past research works from different countries indicated that depending upon the
production techniques and quality control methods followed, there is significant variation in the
properties of cement from various manufactures (Nwankwojike, Onwuka, & Ndukwe, 2014).
Different studies also show that chemical and physical properties of cement significantly impact on
the strength, workability and durability of concrete. Research performed by K.Svinning (2010) found
that the clinker chemical character has direct impact on the strength development of cement. Study by
1 Department of Science and Humanities, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
nr.budhathoki@khec.edu.np
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
karanjit.sudip@khec.edu.np
240
Arif (2017) on effect of cement fineness on permormance of admixture in concrete indicated that
there is improvement in performance of admixture with the cement of high fineness. P.C. Hewlett
(2005) also presents the strength development character of different cement chemical compounds
(C3S, C2S, C3A and C4AF) and their effect on overall strength development. Currently it is well
understood by various researches that cement chemistry and fineness have direct effect on overall
strength behavior of cement.
The study intends to evaluate the extent of variation in chemical and fineness properties of the
cement from various manufacturers of Nepal and their effect on cement strength development. Scope
of work includes the various chemical, physical and mechanical tests of cement in lab.
2. Methodology
was used to collect the secondary data from various sources regarding the various manufacturers of
cement in Nepal. On the other hand, Quantitative approach was used for analysis of the data obtained
from testing chemical, physical and mechanical properties of cement.
2.1 Sample collection
Field enquiry and the collection of secondary data from various sources had been carried out to have
general overview of the major OPC cement manufactures in Nepal. Among these sources, fifteen
cement samples were selected. Freshly manufactured cements samples were collected from local
suppliers in cement bag.
2.2 Chemical, physical and mechanical properties
After sampling, laboratory tests were carried to assess the chemical, physical and mechanical
properties of cement samples from various manufacturers as per IS: 4031:1996 (Part 1-15) and
IS4032:1985. Chemical test had been performed as per IS4032:1985 using quantitative chemical
analysis method. Various chemical compounds present in cement (CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, SO3
etc) had been found by chemical analysis. And final cement chemistry (C3S, C2S, C3A, C4AF) has
been calculated using Bogue’s equation. The requirement of chemical, physical and mechanical
properties were checked with reference to the code NS49-2041, IS269:2013 and IS12269:2013.

3.1 Chemical, physical and mechanical properties of cement
Test results of cement chemical composition in terms of ingredient used for cement production are
shown in Fig1. The test results clearly indicate that there is very little variation in ingredient chemical
used for cement production by various manufacturers. Major chemical compound CaO varies in
between 57% to 62.1%, and SiO2 varies between 20% to 25%. MgO and SO3 has been found greater
than the limit specified (max. 5% for MgO and max. 3% for SO3) by the code NS49-2041 for few
cements.
241
Fig. 1. Cement chemistry – ingredient elements
Fig. 2. Cement chemistry – compound
Calculation of cement compound from Bogue’s equation (Fig.2) indicates that there is significant
variation in cement chemical compounds (C3S, C2S, C3A and C4AF) from those manufacturers in
research. C3S alone in cement varies from 0% to 43% which is very low compared to the cement
being produced in international market. C2S varies from 25% to 72% which can be considered high.
Variation in C3A and C4AF among the different manufacturers has been found relatively less.
242
Fig. 3. Lime Saturation Factor (LSF) Fig. 4. Alumina Iron Ratio (AIR)
Lime Saturation Factor (LSF) has been found within the limit (0.66-1.02) specified by the code
(Fig. 3). LSF varies from 0.7 to 0.89 among the manufacturer. Alumina Iron Ratio varies from 1.22 to
1.97 which is greater than minimum limit of 0.66 given by NS49-2041. Result of test, performed for
insoluble ratio and loss of ignition shows that the parameters were within the maximum limit of 5%
given by code.
Fig. 5. Insoluble Residue Fig. 6. Loss of Ignition
Fineness of cement varies from 305 – 390 m2/Kg which is greater than the minimum limit of 225
m2/Kg set by NS49-2041. The values obtained from fineness from all the manufacturers can be
considered satisfactory with refrence to the standard. Grade of the cement varies between 25Mpa to
45Mpa which is less than grade specified by the code (min. 33 Mpa for 28 days) for few of the
manufacturers. Total 40% of manufacturers failed to meet 28 days grade test.
3.2 Effect of chemical and fineness properties of cement on cement grade
Effect of cement chemistry and fineness on grade of cement has been studied. The chart shows very
low correlation between cement grade and chemistry of cement (Fig.7). Similarly, fineness of cement
also has very low impact on grade of cement (Fig.8). Correlation analysis also shows insignificant
correlation between cement chemistry, fineness and cement grade.
243
Fig. 7. Cement chemical composition vs cement grade
Fig. 8. Cement Fineness vs Cement Grade
Even there is certain effect of cement chemistry and fineness properties on grade of cement the
current research shows very low effect.
4. Conclusion
Selected cements from various manufacturers had been tested to access the chemical, physical and
mechanical characteristics. From the chemical properties of cement, it was found that most of the
cement being manufactured in Nepal has low C3S content which may be the reason for low grade of
cement production. Although in-terms of chemistry most of the parameters are within limit specified
by code, 40% of manufacturers failed to meet 28 days grade test. Low lime saturation factor, MgO
and SO3 indicates the good durability character of cement being produced in Nepal. From the study
of overall properties of cement from various manufacturers, it can be concluded that the most of the
cement being produced in Nepal has good durability character but are very low in strength.
Correlation between cement chemical compound, fineness properties and cement grade has been
found less in this study compared to the similar study performed by various other researchers.
244
Acknowledgement
We are greatly thankful to Khwopa Engineering College for providing with the required funding to collect the
selected cement samples for this research work and to assess their chemical properties, and for arranging the
laboratory facilities to assess the physical properties of the samples. Similarly, thanks are also due to the fellow
lecturers and whole college family for their valuable assistance during our research.
References
Arif , E., Burak , F., Kambiz, R., & Ali, M.-A. (2017). Effect of Cement Fineness on Properties of Cementitious
Materials Containing High Range ater Reducing Admixtur. Journal of Green Building.
Bentz, D. P., Zunino, F., & Lootens, D. (2016). Chemical vs. Physical Acceleration of Cement Hydration.
Concrete international design & construction, 37.
Bhamere, S. (2016). Comparison of Compressive Strength of Various Brands of Cement. International Journal
of Advances in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, 110-112.
Hamza, A., & El Aref, A. (2017). The Effect of Cement Type on Concrete Resistance to Sulphates. Leadership
in Sustainable Infrastructure, 5691-10.
Hewlett, P. (2010). Lea’s Chemistry of Cement and Concrete, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. New York:
Elsevier.
Hokuldsson, A., Svinninga, K., & Justnesc, H. (2010). Prediction of potential compressive strength of Portland
clinker from its mineralogy. Cement and Concrete Composites, 300-311.
IS4032:1985. (2005). Method of chemical analysis of hydraulic cement. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian
Standards.
Nwankwojike, B. N., Onwuka, O. S., & Ndukwe, E. C. (2014). An Appraisal of Different Brands of Portland
Cement in Umuahia Industrial. Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, 577-589.
Reasearch, C. (2018, Feb 16). cemweek-features. Retrieved from cwgrp: https://www.cwgrp.com/cemweek-
features/497295
Talaber, J. (1982). Factor Influincing the Quality of Cement. Periodica Polytechnica. Civil Engineering, 27.
Yildirim, H., Ilica, T., & Sengul, O. (2010). Effect of cement type on the resistance of concrete against chloride
penetration. Construction and Building Materials, 1282-1288.
245
Performance of Timber Joint System Used in Traditional

Monuments of Bhaktapur Municipality
Pratik Raj Sainju1, Manish Shrestha2, Rupesh Prajapati3, Ratna Shova Prajapati4 and
Rameswor Shrestha5
Abstract
Nepal is a culturally diverse country. This cultural diversity comes with the vivid heritages that have
brought a worldwide recognition. These ancient structures have been a part of the national treasure.
These structures have endured a lot of seismic shocks throughout their life span, but these glorious
monuments still stand till this date. Despite the fact that these structures have no nails hammered or
no binding materials that were used to hold them together, these resilient structures have endured
tremendous damages throughout the years, and quite recently the devastating Gorkha earthquake.
These structures have no fixed joints provided; these structures have timber locking joints which
allow displacement when seismic load is encountered. Thus, to analyze the damage, the strength of
joints both in tension and compression will be carried out. It is fascinating that these enormous
structures are supported by interlocking joints, but some other traditional joints from other nations
also seem to possess similar and more complex joint system. Hence, it is necessary to study these joint
systems, which will help for the development of the joint system in traditional monuments with
proper analysis and design.
Keywords: Traditional monuments; Timber joints; Gorkha Earthquake.
1. Introduction
Timber has been used since antiquity in the Mediterranean region to improve the seismic response of
masonry, as witnessed by findings at archaeological sites. (Tsakanika, 2008) Different arrangements
of the two materials have been developed in time, corresponding to different views of the way
collaboration should be accomplished. They range, geographically and formally, from the infilled
timber frames of the Pombaline architecture in Portugal (Monteiro et al., 2005) through the timber
framing of southern Italian “case baraccate” (Ruggieri et al., 2013) to the timber frame-and-wall
system found in Greece in the island of Leukada where a secondary frame parallels the stone masonry
walls (Vintzileou et al., 2007), again to Greece (Vintezileou, 2008) and to the many solutions offered
by Turkey (Gulkan & Langenbach, 2004).
Bhaktapur, the smallest district in the culturally diverse country Nepal is one of the richest districts
in reference to the prevalence of cultural heritages and traditional monuments. It comprises of various
forms of architecture, and to comply with these magnificent pieces of architectural designs, wooden
locks and joints have been introduced into the system to ensure the strength of these joints due to the
absence of other adhering materials such as glue, nails, or screws in the ancient times. These
structures use the system of joints that holds the structure together. The ancient practice of
incorporating structural elements with mesmerizing carvings enveloping the joints is next to a
wonder. Joints play a major role in the structural behavior of old timber frames. (Descamps et al.,
2014) Joints are essential parts of timber structures ensuring the transfer of force between structural
timber part and providing ductility in case of extreme actions. The reason why they are still standing
is not only due to their robustness (highly statically indeterminate structures), but also due to the semi-
rigid and ductile behavior of their joints, which allow for the dissipation of energy. (Branco &
Descamps, 2015).
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, razz826@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, mshrestha82529@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, prajapatirupesh1234@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, ratnashova136@gmail.com
5 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, rameswor.sth@gmail.com
246
Carpentry joints connect timber elements, usually subjected to compressive axial loads, often
without any other devices but notches in the connected members. (Pedro & Helena, 2007) Having no
nails hammered or no binding materials used to hold the structure together; these traditional
monuments have stomached tremendous damages throughout the years, and quite recently the
devastating Gorkha earthquake. Reconstruction of the traditional monuments here in Bhaktapur
municipality, is to be done such that the structure doesn’t lose its aesthetic traditional value and also
the strength and stability of the structural members is to be kept in check. The characteristics of
wooden joints are strength, flexibility, toughness, appearance, etc., derived from the properties of the
joining materials and from how they are used in the joints. (Nandanwar et al., 2013). The strength of a
joint has a relation to the loads it carries.
To fully understand the structural characteristic of a structure, it is necessary to understand the
structural behavior of the joints, in carrying the load, deformation occurred under load, and overall
strength of the joint. Hence in light of this it is necessary to acknowledge the load withstanding
nature, deformation pattern and the failure pattern of the joints in the traditional monuments.
Traditional timber connections, even without any strengthening device, usually have a significant
moment-resisting capacity. (Branco et al., 2011)Samples of some of the joints will be made; its load-
deformation behavior will be analyzed along with the ultimate stress acting on them. The load to be
recorded as "ultimate load" is the maximum value obtained during the test. (Vermeyden) Also the
failure pattern will be observed.
2. Methodology
For this study, “Agrakh” wood was selected for the preparation of specimen. Eight types of specific
joints were taken shown in Fig. 1(a.b,c,d,e,f,g,h). The test specimens were tested under tension and
compression based on their function at different spot on the structure. Metal clamps were made to
hold the specimen which were parallel to the grains of the timber. The metal clamps were made up of
mild steel with 6mm thickness, 400 mm length, and 80 mm width. 4 sets of nut and bolt of 12 mm
diameter were used to clamp the test specimen with the plates. Two rods with circular opening at one
end were fixed with the plate with the use of a nut and bolt set as shown in Fig.2. Sample of failure
pattern is shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 1(a). Plain Scarf joint Fig. 1(b). Column joint
Fig. 1(c). Tennon Scarf joint Fig. 1(d). Khichha Gachhi joint
(Source: http://www.craftsmanspace.com)
247
Fig. 1(e). Dovetail joint Fig. 1(f). Crosslap joint
Fig. 1(g). Lock Milter joint Fig. 1(h). Two-way lap joint
Fig. 1. Different joints considered for test specimen.
Fig. 2. Clamp setup for tensile test in UTM. Fig. 3. Joint after application of tensile
force in the test specimen
The clamps were sufficiently strong enough to take the stress developed during the testing. Local
craftsmen and carpenters working with traditional joints were interviewed and the types, names and
uses of each of the joints were figured out. Structural characteristics and significance of the joints
were categorized. Three wooden Samples of ‘Agrakh’ wood for each joint were prepared as test
samples. The standard dimensions of joint practiced by the carpenters were kept in view. Sample
specimens were prepared in reduced scale by the local carpenters working in temples. Three
dimensional sketches were obtained from the Architectural department of Khwopa Engineering
College. Specimens of wooden joints were prepared with the help of local carpenters. The dimensions
of each of the joint members were noted before testing them in their respective modes. The maximum
load at failure was noted down and strength was calculated.
248

The specimens were classified with reference to their usage. Then the joints were subjected to stress
and the displacement produced in reference to the load applied was noted. Mode of failure was
categorized; failure patterns and the extent of the damage of the joints were observed. For the
elongation of a beam span numerous joints are being used. Every joint used for this purpose is unique
and has its own set of interlocking patterns. Joints used for elongation of span are Plain Scarf joint,
Tenoned Scarf joint, Dovetail joint, Khichha Gachhi joint. Different wooden joints functions in
different ways. Some may behave efficiently in compression, tension, shear and likewise. From the
observed results of the test, all the samples of the same joint have the same value for ultimate load
bearing capacity.
3.1 Plain Scarf joint and Tennon Scarf joint
Plain Scarf joint conceals the joint system as it has lock embedded into only half the width of the
section. The lock can only be pulled out from one fixed end of the lock system. Tennon Scarf joint
system uses both friction and a lock system to hold the joint in place. Its lock system protruding from
both its side faces which are later fairly leveled to rest of the beam span. The lock can either be
pushed out or pulled out from either of the side faces.
Plain scarf joint seen to be having a greater value of resisting ultimate stresses developed in
comparison to the internal stress developed in the Tenoned scarf joint (Fig. 4. And Fig. 6.). Ultimate
internal stress developed in the plain scarf joint is 44% (approx.) greater than the ultimate stress
developed of Tenoned scarf, along with less failure surface area in Plain Scarf joint (Fig. 5. And Fig.
7). Both the joints are used in the elongation of the wooden section used in the structure. Under
tensile load, these joints showed shear failure.
14000
12000
10000
Load (N)
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0 10 20
Displacement (mm)
Fig. 4. Load vs displacement for Plain Scarf joint. Fig. 5. Shear failure surface in Plain Scarf joint
14000
12000
10000
Load (N)
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0 10 20
Displacement (mm)
Fig. 6. Load vs displacement for Tennon Scarf joint. Fig. 7. Shear failure surface in Tennon Scarf joint.
249
3.2 Kichha Gachhi joint
This joints lock has a wider end in comparison to its neck which is fitted in the other beam section.
The wider end prohibits the joint to come loose and holds the joint section in place. This joint
experienced shear failure under tension load. Among the three samples, two samples exhibited shear
failure where one exhibited two shear failure surfaces (Fig. 9.).
12000
10000
8000
Load (N)
6000
4000
2000
0
0 10 20
Displacement (mm)
Fig. 8. Load vs displacement curve of Fig. 9. Development of two shear failure

Khichha Gachhi joint in Khichha Gachhi joint
3.3 Cross-Lap joint
These joints are used to overlap a wooden beam over the other, providing resistance in diagonal
distortion and used for transition. In cross-lap joint all the test samples exhibited rupture of wood in
the direction of the force applied which was perpendicular to the grain of timber.
25000
20000
Load (N)
15000
10000
5000
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Displacement (mm)
Fig. 10. Load vs Displacement of Cross-Lap joint
3.4 Lock Milter joint
In case of Lock Milter joint, out of the three test samples, one of the sample experienced failure
resulted by breakage of the lock within the sample but two of the test samples failed by shear failure
(Fig. 12.).
12000
10000
Load (N)
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0 10 20
Displacement (mm)
Fig. 11. Load vs displacement of Lock Milter joint Fig. 12. Failure pattern of Lock Milter joint
250
3.5 Two way Lap joint
This joint is mostly used in the roof fascia and doesn’t exhibit any significant structural strength. On
application of load, the joint showed slippage of joint and cracks on the joints developed at ultimate
load. Two-way lap joint is mostly used in the elongation of roof fascia. This joint is not structurally
dominant. When the joint was subjected to load the sample exhibited slippage of the joint and on
further application of load minor cracks along the joint were observed (Fig. 13.).
Fig. 13. Two way lap joint failure pattern. Fig. 14. Failure pattern in square column
3.6 Column
The ultimate compressive load bared by the column of area of 4.6cm was found to be 51 KN, 49 KN,
and 56 KN, of the 3 samples tested. The square column tested consisted of two levels in which the
maximum failure exhibited was limited to the bottom portion of the column whereas the upper portion
of the column experienced little damage (Fig. 14.). Thus, for reinstatement of the column only the
lower portion can be changed.
3.7 Dovetail joint
The average ultimate load taken by this joint before failure was found to be 3924N. Dovetail joint
didn’t exhibit failure pattern in its locking system but experienced rupture of wooden surface outside
the lock periphery causing failure (Fig. 15.).
Fig. 15. Failure pattern in Dovetail joint.
251
Table 1. Ultimate stresses developed in the specimen joints

Tension Shear Compression
Specimen Maximum X - Maximum X-
S.N. Type X- Maximum
number sectional load at Strength sectional load at Strength sectional Strength
load at
failure (N/mm )2 area failure (N/ mm ) area
2 (N/mm2)
area (mm2) failure (N)
(N) (mm )2 (N) (mm )2
Plain 1 1401 11772 8.4025696 - - - - - -

1 Scarf 2 1401 11772 8.4025696 - - - - - -
Joint 3 1401 11772 8.4025696 - - - - - -
Tenoned 1 2022 11772 5.8219585 - - - - - -
2 Scarf 2 2022 11772 5.8219585 - - - - - -
Joint 3 2022 11772 5.8219585 - - - - - -
Khichha 1 1310.5434 9810 7.4854446 - - - - - -
3 Gachhi 2 1310.5434 9810 7.4854446 - - - - - -
Joint 3 1310.5434 9810 7.4854446 - - - - - -
1 - 3924 - - - - - - -
Dovetail
4 2 - 3924 - - - - - - -
Joint
3 - 3924 - - - - - - -
14.987
1 - - - 1440 21582 - - -
5
Cross- 14.987
5 2 - - - 1440 21582 - - -
lap Joint 5
14.987
3 - - - 1440 21582 - - -
5
21.5604
1 - - - - - - 455 9810
Lock 4
Milter 21.5604
6 2 - - - - - - 455 9810
Joint 4
21.5604
3 - - - - - - 455 9810
4
4. Conclusion
In various parts of the world the timber joints have been renowned for their strengthening property
and the artictural significance, and for the traditional art and design concept to live on many
researches and tests have been carried out. Bhaktapur also being an example in being rich in the use of
various timber joints to uphold hundreds of mouments requires a special attention towards the study
and research on the aspects of their design, placement according to their functional requirement,
construction and strength. An effort in the classification of the existing timber joints has been made
through this research along with the test for the stress developed under different force application
(Compression, Shear and Tension) have been made.
References
Branco, J. M., Piazza, M., & Cruz, P. J. (2011). Experimental evaluation of different strengthening techniques.
Engineering Structures.
Branco, J., & Descamps, T. (2015). Analysis and strengthening of carpentry joints .
Descamps, T., Leskool, L., Laplume, D., Van, L. P., & Aira, J. (2014). Sensitivity of timber hyperstatic frames
to the stiffness of step and ridge joints. World Conference on Timber Engineering.
Gulkan, P., & Langenbach, R. (2004). The earthquake resisitance of traditional timber and masonry dwellings in
Turkey. World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Vancouver.
Monteiro, M., Lopes, R., & Bento, R. (2005). Dynamic behaviour of Pombalino quarter. Lisbon.
Nandanwar, A., Naidu, M. V., & Pandey, C. N. (2013). Development of test methods for wooden furniture
joints. In Wood Material Science and Engineering (pp. 188-197).
Pedro, P., & Helena, C. (2007). Mechanical behaviour of traditional timber carpentry joints in service conditions
. ICOMOS IWC.
252
Ruggieri, N., Tampone, G., & Zinno, R. (2013). Typical failure, seismic behaviour and safety of the "bourbon
system" with timber framing. Adv Mater Res, 58-65.
Tsakanika, E. (2008). The constructional analysis of timber load bearing systen as a tool for intrepreting Aegean
Bronze Age Architecture., (pp. 127-139). Munich.
Vermeyden, I. (n.d.). A loading procedure for testing timber joints.
Vintezileou, E. (2008). Affects of timber ties on the behaviour of historic masonry. J Struct Eng ASCE.
Vintzileou, E., Zagkotsis, A., Repapis, C., & Zeris, C. (2007). Siesmic behaviour of the historical system of the
island of Lefkada. Constr Build Mater.
253
Determination of Properties of OPC Cement from Various

Manufacturers – A Case Study of Nepal
Ramila Shrestha1, Shyam Sundar Basukala2 and Sudip Karanjit3
Abstract
Currently, concrete is one of the mostly used construction material for any type of construction works.
Cement being one of the main constituents of concrete, properties of cement directly impacts the
overall quality of concrete. Hence the quality of cement used in concrete ultimately impacts on the
overall performance of our structure. Use of raw material, overall manufacturing process and various
other parameters directly impacts the final properties of cement. This paper presents the physical and
mechanical properties of cement, manufactured by various cement industries in Nepal.
Cement from 17 different manufacturers was collected for the study. Various physical and
mechanical tests were carried out to access the properties of cement. Test result from consistency,
setting time, specific gravity and fineness has been found within the limit specified by code which
shows the good quality control in physical properties of cement. The soundness value is also well
below the maximum limit specified by code. The test result of 7 and 28 days grade test indicates that
35% of manufacturers were unable to fulfill even the minimum grade requirement specified by the
code. From test result good quality control practice is found in physical properties of cement by most
of the manufacturer in Nepal indicating satisfactory workability and durability character. Quality of
few cement samples has been found poor in terms of cement grade which indicates the poor quality
control in mechanical properties of cement.
Keywords: Cement properties, Quality control, Setting time, Cement Grade, Cement specific gravity
1. Introduction
Concrete is one of the mostly used material by any type of construction industry. In Nepal as well,
concrete is being considered as one of the key elements for most of the construction projects. Cement
is the one of the main ingredients of concrete which gives the binding properties to concrete. Being a
binder element, properties of cement directly impacts on overall properties of concrete. There are at
present more than 50 cement industries in Nepal including both clinker producing as well as cement
producing factories (Industry statistics, 2018). According to Industry Statistics (2018) cement
consumption in Nepal is more than 5 million ton per year. With such a huge number of manufacturer
and quantity of cement produced with plants, there is possibility of variation in cement quality as well
which impact on the overall quality of our construction. Various past research from different countries
indicated that depending upon the production techniques and quality control methods followed, there
is significant variation in the properties of cement from various manufactures (Bhamere, 2016). As
already discussed, being a binding material in concrete, properties of cement significantly impacts on
the strength, workability and durability of concrete. Research performed by Yildirim (2010) on
durability character of cement found that portland slag cement permorms more better than OPC
cement. Study by Arif (2017) on effect of cement fineness on permormance of admixture in concrete
indicated that there is improvement in performance of admixture with the cement of high fineness.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, shrestha.ramila@khec.edu.np

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, basukala.shyam@khec.edu.np
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, karanjit.sudip@khec.edu.np
254

The objective of this study is to evaluate the extent of variation in physical and mechanical properties
of cement from various manufacturer of Nepal. Scope of work includes the various physical and
mechanical test of cement in lab.
3. Methodology
is done by field enquiry and the collection of secondary data from various sources to collect factual
information regarding the various manufacturer of cement in Nepal. On the other, Quantitative
approach was used for analyzing the data obtained by testing, collecting and analyzing the physical
and mechanical properties of cement.
3.1. Sample collection
Field enquiry and the collection of secondary data from various sources had been carried out to have
general overview of the major OPC cement manufactures in Nepal. Among these sources, seventeen
cements were selected. Freshly manufactured cements samples were collected from local supplier in
cement bag.
3.2. Physical and mechanical properties
After sampling, laboratory tests were carried to assess the physical and mechanical properties of
cement samples as per IS: 4031:1996 (Part 1-15). In physical test cement consistency test, initial and
final setting time test, specific gravity test, cement soundness test and fineness test had been carried
out for the study. The requirements of physical properties were checked in with reference to the code
NS49-2041, IS269:2013 and IS12269:2013.
Mechanical properties of cement were ascertained by Cement grade test and compared to
requirements of NS49-2041, IS269:2013 and IS12269:2013.

4.1.Physical properties of cement
Cement standard consistency, initial and final setting time, specific gravity, soundness and fineness
has been tested under physical test of cement. Standard consistency of cement varies from 28% to
33.5% (Fig. 1). Initial setting time of cement varies from 85 min. to 180 min. which can be considered
satisfactory with reference to the (limit of minimum 30 min.) set by NS49-2041. Similarly, final
setting time of cement varies from 150 min. to 255 min. (Fig. 2) which is also within the limit (of
maximum 600 min.) set by NS49-2041. The values obtained from setting time from all the
manufacturer can be considered satisfactory with refrence to the standard as well as the construction
practice in Nepal.
255
Fig. 1. Consistency Fig. 2. Setting time
Cement specific gravity test (Fig. 3) shows that there is not very large variation in sp. gravity from
various manufacturer, the sp. gravity of cement varies between 2.88 to 3.12 which is slightly less than
the normally assumed value of 3.15. Soundness value of cement by Le-Chatelier method ranges from
0 mm to 2 mm which is well below the limit (of 10mm) given by NS49-2041. Values obtained from
soundness test indicates the good durability character of cement being produced in Nepal.
Fig. 3. Cement sp. gravity Fig. 4. Cement soundness
Fig. 5. Fineness
Fig. 6. Grade test
Fineness of cement varies from 305 – 390 m2/Kg which is greater than the minimum limit of 225
m2/Kg set by NS49-2041. The values obtained from fineness from all the manufacturer can be
considered satisfactory with reference to the standard.
256
4.2.Mechanical properties of cement
Cement grade test has been performed (with reference to IS4031:1996) to access the mechanical
character of cement. 7 days grade test of cement ranges between 16 Mpa to 40Mpa while 28 days
grade test varies from 25 Mpa to 53 Mpa. Grade of the cement is found less than the minimum value
of 22Mpa for 7day and 33 Mpa for 28 days (NS49-2041) for some of the manufactures. Total 18% of
manufacturer failed to meet 7 days grade test while 35% of manufacturer failed to meet 28 days grade
test. Result of the grade test indicates the poor quality control by 35% of manufacturer in the cement
grade, which indicates the inferior quality of cement in terms of strength.
5. Conclusion
Selected cements from various manufacturer had been tested to access the physical and mechanical
character. From the study of the physical properties, it can be concluded that the all the cement has
good quality in-terms of their physical character. This indicates the good workability and durability
character of cement for current construction practice in Nepal. Test result of setting time, soundness
and fineness shows good quality control by manufacturer. From the study of cement grade test, most
of the manufacturer were found poor in-terms of their quality control. It can be concluded that most of
the cement being manufactured in Nepal has good workability and durability character but they
cannot be considered satisfactory in-terms of their strength.
References
Arif , E., Burak , F., Kambiz, R., & Ali, M. A. (2017). Effect of cement fineness on properties of cementitious
materials containing high range ater reducing admixture. Journal of Green Building.
Bhamere, S. (2016). Comparison of Compressive Strength of Various Brands of Cement. International Journal
of Advances in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, 110-112.
Hamza, A., & El Aref, A. (2017). The Effect of Cement Type on Concrete Resistance to Sulphates. Leadership
in Sustainable Infrastructure, 5691-10.
Industry statistics. (2018). Kathmandu, Nepal: Department of Industry.
IS:269-2013. (2013). Ordinary portland cement 33 grade-specification. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS:4031-1988 Part3. (1988). Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, Determination of Soundness. New
Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS:4031-1988 Part4. (1988). Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, Determination of consistency of
standard cement paste. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS:4031-1988 Part5. (1988). Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, Determination of initial and final
setting times. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS:4031-1988 Part6. (1988). Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, Determination of compressive
strength of hydraulic cement other than masonry cement. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS:4031-1988Part11. (1988). Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, Determination of density. New
Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS:4031-1999Part2. (1999). Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, Determination of fineness by Blaine
Air Permieability method. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standard.
IS12269:2013. (2013). Ordinary portland cement 53 grade-specification. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian
Standard.
NS:49-2041. (2041). Ordinary portland cement Specification. Kathmandu: Department of Urban Development
and Building Construction.
Nwankwojike, B. N., Onwuka, O. S., & Ndukwe, E. C. (2014). An appraisal of different brands of Portland
cement in Umuahia Industrial market, Nigeria. USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil
Engineering, 11, 577-589
Yildirim, H., Ilica, T., & Sengul, O. (2010). Effect of cement type on the resistance of concrete against chloride
penetration. Construction and Building Materials, 1282-1288.
257
Behavior And Modeling Of Masonry Infilled Rc Frame Subjected

To Column Loss Caused By Earthquake
Sanjeev Bhatta1, Jian Yang1,2, and Qing-Feng Liu1
Abstract
Progressive collapse is a calamitous structural event which can be induced either intentionally or
unintentionally; such as blast, explosive, fire or earthquake. A single local failure due to these
abnormal loads can induce a significant damage on the structure which can eventually lead to collapse
of a structure. The use of masonry infill walls in moment resisting RC frame is a common
construction practice. It is well known that the use of masonry infill walls will influence the load
resisting capacity, damage patterns, ductility, etc. In this study, a 3D finite element model of RC
frame with and without masonry infill walls is developed in ABAQUS to investigate the structural
behavior in progressive collapse event. The model is validated comparing force-displacement curve
and damage pattern with the experimental results in literature. The simulation results show a good
agreement with the experimental results.
Keywords: Finite element; Progressive collapse; Masonry infill walls; Concrete damage plasticity
1. Introduction
Reinforced concrete frame structures with masonry infill walls are a construction typology widely
adopted around the world. The study of interaction between the infill panels and RC frame subjected
to vertical loads has been carried out since the late 50’s. However, understanding their interaction is
not straight forward because it depends on several governing factors such as brick materials (concrete,
clay, etc.), mortar properties, infill panel thickness, brick geometry (hollow, solid, etc.), etc. In the
design of new structures and the assessment of existing structures subjected to vertical loads, the
influence of masonry infill walls on structural response is still disregarded, due to early brittle failure
and therefore formation of soft-story mechanism (Baghi et al., 2018).
Earthquake loading can generate strong horizontal forces and stress reversals. Observation of
earthquake damage in past earthquakes presented in Moehle et al. (2002), Fig. 1, shows that
earthquake loading can overload structural members which result in the loss of one or more load-
carrying elements. A structure is considered seismically collapsed, if a structural system, or a part of
it, is unable to sustain gravity loads under earthquake loadings. Seismic loadings may either; trigger
vertical collapse due loss of one or more vertical primary structural element or, lateral dynamic
instability collapse caused by large displacement of a single or multiple stories. The former may arise
due to loss of axial capacity of one or more vertical load carrying elements following their shear
failure (Elwood & Moehle, 2003), whereas the latter is caused by large displacement of a single or
multiple stories due to combination of P-delta effects and serious component deterioration. The
collapse process is very sensitive to the input ground motion in terms of the intensity and ground
motion profile (Hafian & May, 2012).
In progressive collapse event, the behavior of damaged structural elements due to abnormal
loading, such as seismic load, and the adjacent elements during and after the occurrence of initial
damage should be clarified with the purpose of mitigating the potential progressive collapse. The
progressive collapse event can be mitigated if the initial damage can be localized. For this the
behavior of reinforced concrete frame should be analyzed considering a column removal scenario.
Many experimental works are carried out to investigate the RC frame in progressive collapse event.
However, numerical modeling can be a suitable tool to investigate the structural behavior of RC frame
in column missing event instead of costly and time consuming experimental works, especially
parametric studies.
1 Schools of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
2 School of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK
258
(a) 2016 Taiwan Earthquakes (b) 1999 Kocaeli Earthquakes
Fig. 1. Loss of supports due to earthquake

In this study, 3D finite element modeling of reinforced concrete frame with and without infill walls
is developed in ABAQUS and validated against test results obtained by Shan et al. (2016).
2. Numerical Modeling
The quasi-static loading response of this proposed model is observed using commercially available
software ABAQUS. The model is developed considering the same geometric, material properties and
boundary conditions used in the experimental works conducted by Shan et al. (2016). Reinforced
concrete frame and masonry units are modeled using 3D continuum elements, C3D8R, with reduced
integration and hourglass control. Likewise, reinforcement in the RC frame is modeled using 3D two-
nodded linear truss element T3D2. The embedded element is used between reinforcement and
concrete to realize the force transfer and bonding (Abaqus User Manual). The finite element model of
masonry wall is generated following the simplified micro-modeling approach proposed by Lourenco
(1996). The cohesive surface behavior is used for modeling the interaction between the masonry unit
joint interfaces as well as interfaces between masonry wall and the surrounding RC frame. The
property of interface is obtained as described by Lourenco (1996). The tangential behavior
incorporating penalty friction formulation with suitable isotropic friction coefficient (μ=0.7) is used to
simulate the transfer of shear and normal force between the masonry units, and the interface between
the masonry wall and the RC frame.
The experiment performed by Shan et al. (2016) is numerically simulated using ABAQUS explicit
solver. Dimension and reinforcement details are as shown in Fig. 2. The material properties of
concrete, reinforcement, brick and mortar are considered same as in Shan et al. (2016). The concrete
damage plasticity model available in ABAQUS is used for modeling concrete and masonry unit. The
stress strain curve and damage variable used in concrete damage plasticity model is developed by
using Chinese design code of reinforced concrete structure (GB50010-2010) in which the damage is
likely to arise only in the softening range. Likewise, the plasticity parameters for concrete damage
plasticity adopted in this model are shown in Table 1. For the modeling of steel reinforcement elastic-
linearly plastic stress strain behavior is adopted.
Table 1. Plasticity parameters of CDP model for RC frame
σ"#
Parameters Dilation Angle Eccentricity K$ W$ W'
σ$#
Values 30 0.1 1.16 0.667 1 0
259
Fig. 2. Dimension and reinforcement detailing (Shan et al., 2016)
3. Model Validation
The numerical model is validated by comparing the numerical simulation results with the
experimental results reported by Shan et al. (2016). Fig. 3 shows that the force verses middle joint
displacement curves obtained from numerical modeling of RC frame with and without infill walls are
in good agreement with the test results in all three phases of progressive collapse resistance i.e.,
flexural, CAA and catenary action and the course of development of applied load obtained from
numerical modeling and experiment is similar.
60
Applied load (kN)
50
40
30
20 Exp-Bare Frame
Bare Frame
10 Infill walls
Exp-infill walls
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Middle joint displacement (mm)
Fig. 3. Applied load verses middle joint displacement
4. Comparison between RC Bare Frame and RC Frame with Infill Walls

As compared with the RC bare frame, Fig. 3 shows that the higher resistance force is observed in the
compressive stage in the case of RC frame with infill walls. The similar damage pattern is obtained
260
from numerical simulation as compared with that of experimental results as illustrated in Fig. 4 and
Fig. 5. Furthermore, it is observed that the formation of plastic hinge locations in beam is different in
RC frame with infill walls as compared with RC frame without infill walls.
(a) (b)
(i) At maximum initial stage (a) Experiment (Shan et al., 2016) (b) Numerical modeling
(a) (b)
(ii) At maximum compressive stage (a) Experiment (Shan et al., 2016) (b) Numerical modeling
(a) (b)
(iii) At maximum catenary stage (a) Experiment (Shan et al., 2016) (b) Numerical modeling.
Fig. 4. Comparison of damage pattern of RC bare frame
(a) (b)
(i) At maximum initial stage (a) Experiment (Shan et al., 2016) (b) Numerical modeling
261
(a) (b)
(ii) At maximum compressive stage (a) Experiment (Shan et al., 2016) (b) Numerical modeling
(b) (b)
(iii) At maximum catenary stage (a) Experiment (Shan et al., 2016) (b) Numerical modeling.
Fig. 5. Comparison of damage pattern of RC frame with infill walls
5. Conclusion
• A simplified model is developed to study the structural behavior of RC frame with infill walls in a
column loss event and its reliability is verified by experimental results in literature. This model
can be used for parametric studies instead of conducting costly and time consuming experimental
works.
• Higher resistance force can be obtained in the compressive stage with the use of infill walls.
• Unlike the bare frame, the plastic hinge location in beam is different in the case of RC frame with
infill walls.
References
Abaqus User Manual. Abaqus Version 6.14.
Baghi, H., Oliveira, A., Valença, J., Cavaco. E., Neves, L., & Júlio, E. (2018). Behavior of reinforced concrete
frame with masonry infill wall subjected to vertical load. Engineering Structures, 171, 476–87.
Elwood, K.J., & Moehle, J.P. (2003). Shake table tests and analytical studies on the gravity load collapse of
reinforced concrete frames. PEER 2003/01, 364.
GB50010-2010[S]. Code for design of concrete structures. China Architecture and Building Press.
Hafian, S.M. Al, & May, I.M. (2012). Seismic Progressive Collapse of Reinforced Concrete Framed Structures.
15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (15WCEE), 24-28 September, Lisbon, Portugal.
Lourenco, P.J.B.B., (1996). Computational strategies for masonry structures. Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Techology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Moehle, J.P., Elwood, K.J., & Sezen, H. (2002). Gravity Load Collapse of Building Frames during Earthquakes.
Proceedings of SM Uzumeri Symposium: Behavior and Design of Concrete Structures for Seismic
Performance, ACI Special Publication (SP-197), 215–38.
Shan, S., Li, S., Xu, S., & Xie, L. (2016). Experimental study on the progressive collapse performance of RC
frames with infill walls. Engineering Structures, 111, 80–92.
262
Strengthening of Nritya Vatsala Temple using Timber

Reinforcement
Manjip Shakya1, Chandra Kiran Kawan2, Ganesh Ram Nhemafuki3 and Sajana Suwal4
Abstract
Nepal lies in an active seismic zone in the Himalayan belt within the boundary between the Eurasian
and Indian plates. Records of large earthquakes that have devastated Nepal, claiming a significant
number of lives aswellas economical losses. The earthquakes had a significant effect on the hilly
district of central Nepal including Kathmandu valley. Kathmandu valley being rich in cultural
heritage structures such as palaces, stupas, pagoda temples etc. has faced the most severe devastation
in past earthquakes.
On 2015, April 25, Nepal faced a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.6 (ML). Gorkha
earthquake epicenter was located at 80Km north–west of Kathmandu valley, with focal depth of
15Km. Bhaktapur city, suffer a huge loss of lives and traditional structures. Along with traditional
structures, cultural heritage structures too suffered damages. Few of them were fully collapsed and
few were partially collapsed. Now it is a challenge for the stakeholder is to reconstruct these structure
safer and maintain its originality.
This paper is on structural analysis and strengthen design of completely collapsed Vatsala temple
in 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Timber confinement members are introduced to provide the lateral
flexibility.
Keywords: Slender Masonry; Shikhara Temple; Timber Reinforcement; FE Analysis
1. Introduction
Vatshala Temple is located in Bhaktapur Durbar Square as masterpiece of Shikhara Stone Temple.
The temple is also known as ‘Lohan Dega’ in local community. This temple was considered as the
main attraction in the Durbar Square. It is situated in front of fifty five windows palace and adjoins to
Big Bell. Vatsala Temple is believed to be built by King Bhupatindra Malla at the end of 1690s AD.
However, this built structure had been modified at different stages of reconstruction after major
earthquakes (Basukala et al., 2014).
In 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake, upper portion of the Vatsala Temple was completely collapsed.
The collapsed structure is shown in Fig. 1. Similarly, the temple has been completely collapsed in
April 25, 2015 Gorkha earthquake as shown in Fig. 2. The collapse of the temple in every major
earthquake is due seemingly to its construction characteristics. The load bearing wall is composite
masonry of stone and brick in mud mortar. The thickness of wall at base is 0.51m and the plinth area
is 2.89 x 2.89 m2 externally and 1.87 x 1.87 m2 internally creating a hollow square base. Temple
consists of high plinth exposed foundation, which is constructed using brick masonry.
This paper is on structural analysis and strengthening techniques proposed for completely
collapsed Vatsala temple in 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Timber members are introduced at different
portion to provide ductility.
1 Department of Civil engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, maanzeep@gmail.com

2Department of Civil engineering, Khwopa Engineering of College, Nepal, kawan.chandra1@gmail.com
3Ministry of Health, NHSSP, Kathmandu, Nepal, ganeshramnhemafuki@yahoo.com
4 Bhaktapur, Nepal, suwalsajana@gmail.com
263
Fig. 1. Vatsala temple after 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake (Basukala et al., 2014)
Fig.2. Vatsala temple after 2015 Gorkha earthquake
2. Structural Analysis
To check the earthquake resistant capacity of the temple, structural analysis has been performed
which is explained in the following sections.
2.1 Lateral load calculation and distribution
Seismic weight of Vatsala Temple has been calculated by considering lump mass at five levels. Each
level is supposed to be made rigid by inserting timber floor during the reconstruction. The lumped
mass has been calculated at 2.3m, 3.88m 5.67m 7.70m and 9.06m level (see Figure 3). The material
characteristics are taken as tabulated in Table 1.
264
Table 1. Material characteristics of masonry (IS code 1905-1987)

S.N. Material type Density (kN/m3) Young’s Modulus (MPa) Poisson ratio
1 Stone masonry 25.15 - -
2 Brick masonry 19 - -
3 Timber 8 12.5 x 103 0.12
The average unit weight of masonry wall is taken as 22kN/m3, since the structural wall is
composition of stone and brick. Table 2 shows the lump mass calculation at each level.
Table 2. Lump mass calculation in each floor

Height Cumulative Weight ( Floor mass
Floor level Lump mass (kN)
(m) height (m) kN) (kN)
1st floor 2.30 2.30 264.59 264.59 480.37
2nd floor 1.58 3.88 696.15 696.15 519.86
3rd floor 1.79 5.67 343.57 343.57 278.14
4th floor 2.03 7.7 212.71 212.71 161.01
5th floor 1.36 9.06 109.33 109.33 124.90
Pinnacle 3.88 12.94 70.24 70.24
Sum 1696.59
Base shear has been calculated according to IS 1893 (Part 1):2002. According to which the design
horizontal seismic coefficient (Ah) has been calculated according to equation (1).
Vb = Ah ∗ W (1)
Where,
W = Total weight = 1696.59 kN
+ - /0
𝐴* = = 0.45
,. 1
Z = Seismic zone factor = 0.36 (Zone V)
I = Importance factor =1.5 (monumental structure)
R = Response reduction factor =1.5 (unreinforced masonry)
T = 0.0151xH1.08 = 0.24 sec (Shakya et al., 2015)
Sa/g = Average response coefficient factor = 2.5
Vb = 763.47 kN
The base shear calculated is distributed along the height of the temple, using equation (2) as per IS
1893 (Part 1):2002. The base shear distribution is shown in Figure 3.
𝑊3 ℎ3, (2)
𝑄3 = 𝑉5 :
∑; 𝑤3 ℎ3,
Where,
Qi=Design lateral load at floor i
Wi=Seismic Weight at floor i
hi= height of floor i measured from base
n = number of storey in the structure is the number of levels at which masses are located
265
Fig. 3. Floor level distribution along the height of the structure
3. Detail Structural Analysis

Structural analysis of the temple is done using the FEM tool. For the FEM analysis the commercial
software SAP2000 v 18 was used. The three-dimensional finite element model of the structure is
prepared based on the detailed engineering drawings. For the resembling the temple with the real one,
eight noded solid elements was chosen. Load bearing brick masonry and stone masonry walls are
modeled as solid elements and the timber member using frame element.
The retrofitting of the structure is done by embedding timber elements as per requirement. The
validity of the FEM model of the temple was done comparing the fundamental period with the Jaishi
et al. (2003). The dynamic characteristics such as natural period of vibration and mode shape are
compared between existing and modified FEM model.
3.1 Assumptions and limitations on modeling

During the FEM modeling, few assumptions were considered. These assumptions are:
• The temple is considered as slender structure
• Base level of the plinth is considered as rigid.
• The material behavior of brick and stone masonry is assumed to be linear elastic, isotropic and
homogeneous
• Non-linearity of the materials is not considered.
• P-Δ effect, temperature effect, age effect, shrinkage effects are not considered.
• Soil structure interaction is not included.
266
3.2 Mechanical Properties
The modulus of elasticity is calculated using the empirical relationship given in FEMA 306 (1999),
for existing masonry. Table 3-6 shows the details material properties of various masonry structures.
Modulus of Elasticity (E) =550*fm
Where, fm is the characteristic compressive strength of masonry, N/mm2
fm = 1.82 for brick masonry with mud mortar (Parajuli, 2012)
fm = 3.1 for brick masonry with lime mortar (experimental)
Table 2. Material properties of stone masonry with mud mortar (Costa, 2002 and Foo, 2002)
Unit weight, ϒ 25.15kN/m3
Young's Modulus of Elasticity, E 200N/mm2
Poisson's Ratio, ν 0.1
Table 3. Material properties of brick masonry with mud mortar (Parajuli, 2012)
Compressive strength in axial compression (prism test), fm 1.82N/mm2
Corrected value (Indian Standard Code), permissible strength 2.420N/mm2
Basic compressive stress in axial compression, fc 0.606N/mm2 (IS code)
Permissible tensile stress due to vertical bending, ft 0.05N/mm2 (IS code)
Permissible shear stress, fs 0.201N/mm2 (IS code)
Table 4. Material properties of brick masonry with lime surkhi mortar

Compressive strength in axial compression (prism test), fm 3.1N/mm2
Table 5. Material properties of stone masonry with lime surkhi mortar (Costa, 2002 and Foo, 2002)

Table 6. Material properties of timber (IS code)

Unit weight, ϒ 8kN/m3
3.3 FE-model verifications
FE modeling was developed using the commercial SAP2000 software. The structural wall was
modeled using the eight noded solid elements and the stone pillar was modeled using the frame
elements. There are all together 8860 solid elements and 12 frame elements. The fundamental mode
shape of the existing temple is as shown in Figure 4. The fundamental time period obtained from the
FE analysis is 0.322 s. For the validation of the FE model this fundamental time period was compared
with fundamental time period obtained by the equation given by Jaishi et al. (2003). The comparative
fundamental time period is given in Table 7.
267
Fig.4. Fundamental mode of existing structure (T1=0.322 s)
Table 7. Time period for structure before modification
Method Fundamental Mode Second Mode Third Mode

Jaishi et al (2003) 0.37 s
Free vibration analysis 0.322 s 0.267 s 0.216 s
3.4 FEM analysis results of existing structure
Fig. 5-7 shows the stress output considering the dead load and lateral load combination in x-direction.
From the FEM model analysis, stress distribution contour shows that the bending stress is beyond the
permissible limit within the projected area, at the joint within the orthogonal wall, above the opening
and joint of the stone pillar with projected walls. The horizontal bending stress (see Fig. 5) is highly
significant than transverse horizontal bending stress (see Fig. 6) in tensile, under seismic action in
positive X-direction. The vertical bending stress and horizontal shear stress is as shown in Fig. 7-8. D
Fig. 5. Bending stress (Horizontal S11) contours under seismic action in positive X- direction
(Existing structure)
268
Fig. 6. Bending stress (Transverse horizontal S22) contours under seismic action in positive X- direction
Fig. 7. Bending stress (Vertical S33) contours under seismic action in positive X- direction
Fig. 8. Shear stress (Horizontal S13) contours under seismic action in positive X- direction
269
4. Proposed Reconstruction Strategy

From the previous section, we found that the load bearing wall fails in both shear and bending. Due to
the limitation of the strength, stiffness and stability of the wall, we chose alternative solution to make
these structural walls safe.
4.1 Modification in the temple structure
In this temple, timber frame element at four corners of inner wall throughout the height of the
structure is added (as shown in Figure 3) to increase the capacity of the whole structure. After these
modifications, the structure becomes more rigid and the fundamental time period of the structure is
reduced which is depicted in Table 8. Due to the constraint in the thickness of the wall, we proposed
to introduce the timber members. The fundamental mode of timber reinforced FE model is shown in
Figure 9. From the FEM model analysis stress distribution contour (see Figure 10-13), embedding the
timber, the significant stress reduction is observed which lie within the permissible stress limit.
Fig. 9. Fundamental mode after timber reinforcement (T1=0.1288 s)
Table 7. Time period for strengthened structure

Method Fundamental Mode Second Mode Third Mode
Free vibration analysis 0.129 s 0.116 s 0.0832 s
(Retrofitted structure)
270
Fig. 12. Bending stress (Vertical S33) contours under seismic action in positive X- direction
271
5. Conclusion
The collapse of Vatsala temple in past earthquake was the consequences of low seismic capacity in
shear and bending. Here in this paper, it is proposed to reconstruct the temple super structure using
1:1:2 Lime-Shurki mortar and inserting timber reinforcement. Although the analysis is done with
certain limitations, it is believed to improve the seismic performance of the structure in future
earthquake.
Acknowledgement
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the steering committee, Bhaktapur Cultural Heritage
Excavation and Reconstruction, for this opportunity. We are also grateful to Ar. Rajani Joshi,
coordinator of technical committee and all its members for their support and motivation. We would
like to take this opportunity to acknowledge with high appreciation to Prof. Dr. Sudarsan Raj Tiwari
and Prof. Dr. Prem Nath Maskey for their valuable suggestion and guidance.
References
Costa, A. (2002). Determination of mechanical properties of traditional masonry walls in dwellings of Faial
Island, Azores, Earthquake engineering and structural dynamic, V31, pp.1361-1382.
Basukala ,B., Gutschow, Kayastha, N. K. (2014). Towers in Stones, Sikhara Temples in Bhaktapur, Vatsala and
Siddhilaksmi”. Himal books.
Jaishi, B., Ren, W. X., Zong, Z.H. & Maskey P.N. (2003). Dynamic and seismic performance of old multi-tiered
temples in Nepal, Engineering structures, V 25, pp.1827-1839.
Parajuli, H. R. (2012). Determination of mechanical properties of the Kathmandu World Heritage brick
masonry buildings, In: Proceedings of 15th WCEE, Lisbon, Portugal.
IS: 1905-1987, (1987). Indian standard code of practice for structural use of unreinforced masonry. Bureau of
Indian Standards, New Delhi.
IS 1893-2002 part 1(2002). Criteria for Earthquake resistant, Design of structures, Bureau of Indian Standards,
New Delhi, India.
Foo, S. (2002). Guildelines for the seismic assessment of stone-masonry structures, technology directorate,
architectural and Engineering Services, Real property services branch, Public works and government
services Cananda, Hull, Quebec, Canada K1A 0S5.
272
Comparison of Recorded and Synthetic Response Spectrum

Compatible Ground Motions Based on Stochastic Ground
Motion Model
Swopnil Ojha1, Chandra Kiran Kawan2 and Manjip Shakya3
Abstract
As an alternative to spectral matching and amplitude scaling, stochastically generated target response
spectrum compatible ground motions are often used in response history analysis for the assessment of
structural performance. Unlike the recoded ground motion, which have spectral as well as temporal
nonstationary characteristics, the generated ground motion based on stochastic ground motion model
nonstationary in amplitude only, have been contested time and again. For this reason, response of a
Multi Degree of Freedom (MDOF) system to recorded and synthetic ground motions is compared
which show for the same intensity measure, the responses in both type of ground motion are similar.
Also the responses are higher if the ground motion's frequency contents are close to the fundamental
periods of the structure irrespective of the type of ground motion model employed. The stochastically
generated ground motion is a viable alternative, particularly in the context of Nepal because of the
scarcity of recorded ground motions arising due to the deficit in instrumentation.
Keywords: Nonstationary; Stochastic; Response history analysis; Response spectrum
1. Introduction
For the purpose of non-linear response history analysis, large number of input ground motions are
required in order to determine the performance of structures in terms of probability distributions of
engineering demand parameters. However, the number of recorded ground motions is limited
particularly in the context of Nepal, and may not be sufficient for non-linear response history analysis.
Often times due to the paucity of recorded set of ground motion data, recorded set of data from a
different type of faulting mechanism and faulting zones are scaled to match the target spectra.
Spectral matching is also another widely used method to make the set the recorded data more
representative of particular analysis conditions. However since scaling and spectrum matching
modifies the characteristics of the ground motion recordings, they are not consistent with the physical
conditions and the results from these operations could have the characteristics different from those of
the actual recordings (Bazzurro & Luco, 2006; Luco & Bazzurro, 2007). Their findings show that the
amplitude up-scaling tends to make these records more aggressive than real, un-scaled records with
spectra that are naturally at that level. Indeed there is some sort of biasness associated in the median
nonlinear structural response that increases with the degree of scaling. The amount of bias depends
on, in addition to the scale factor, (i) the fundamental period of vibration of the structure, (ii) the
overall strength of the structure, (iii) the sensitivity of the nonlinear structural response to higher (than
the first) modes of vibration. As an alternative, is to generate artificial earthquake ground motions
whose characteristics are consistent with seismicity of the region.
Generation of response spectrum compatible ground motions is a widely accepted approach for
engineering use and design and many have contributed to this (Cacciola, 2010; Cacciola & Zentner,
2012; Gasparini & Vanmarcke, 1976; Giaralis & Spanos, 2009; Parajuli, Kiyono, Ono, &
Tsutsumiuchi, 2008; Irmela Zentner, 2014). The assumptions common in these approaches is that the
1 National Reconstruction Authority, Kathmandu, Nepal, swopnilojha@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, kawan.chandra@khwopa.edu.np
3 Post Graduate Department of Earthquake Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Nepal,
shakya.majip@khec.edu.np
273
simulated motion is a zero mean Gaussian process. One of the important characteristics of recorded
ground motion is time and frequency nonstationarity, which describe changing amplitudes and
frequency characteristics in time referred as temporal and spectral nonstationarity. This feature was
not completely addressed by most of the methodologies to generate response spectrum compatible
simulated time series (Cacciola & Zentner, 2012; Gasparini & Vanmarcke, 1976; Parajuli et al., 2008;
Irmela Zentner, 2014). Zentner (2013) approached this issue based on the evolutionary power spectral
density introduced by Priestley (1965) where ground motion is expressed as a filtered white noise in
which the central frequency is made time dependent. Depending on the time-frequency distribution of
the seismic record and the dynamic properties of the system, the time-varying frequency content in
the seismic input may have a significant effect on the stochastic properties of the system response (Li,
Conte, & Barbato, 2016). With this in mind, an attempt has been made to compare the response of a
MDOF system to recorded ground motion with a stochastic ground motion model nonstationary in
amplitude only.
2. Stochastic Ground Motion Model

Gasparini & Vanmarcke (1976) first derived the expressions for distribution of the maxima of the
response of an oscillator to a white noise excitation. This lead to the definition of a peak factor linking
the median (and more generally p-quantiles) of the maxima to the standard deviation of the stationary
Gaussian stochastic process observed on the time interval [0, Td]. These results have been used to
establish a relationship between the median pseudo-acceleration response spectrum Sa and the power
spectral density function Sx(w) of a stationary stochastic process X(t). This model has been further
extended by Zentner (2014) represented by Eq. (1).
( 01 , ()* ) 7
𝑆𝑥(𝜔% ) = + / − 2 ∫8 * 𝑆𝑥(𝜔)𝑑𝜔9 (1a)
)* (,x-.) h2 ,
h : . = 2ln (2h8 [1 − expC−d(.. E𝜋ln (2h8 ))G) (1b)
where, d is the bandwidth of the stochastic process, x is the damping ratio, h8 = 1.4427𝑣8 K 𝑇MN ;
𝑇MN is the strong motion phase of the ground motion, and is taken interval between 5% and 95% of
P : )
the Arias Intensity 𝐼1 = (∫8 T 𝑞(𝑡). 𝑑𝑡). For evaluation of eq. (1b) we can take 𝑣8 K = * and for
.Q .P
Xx
lightly damped structure x < 0.1 we can take d = W . On this basis Eq. (1a) can be evaluated which
P
results a power spectral density for discrete frequencies 𝜔 from the target spectrum.
The generation of time-series is straight forward via the spectral representation theorem presented
by Shinozuka & Deodatis (1991) which takes the form represented by Eq. (2).
b
`ZPa(- e
𝑌(𝑡Z ) = 𝑞(𝑡)√𝑑𝜔𝑅] (𝑉Z 𝑒 cd ) (2a)
g -( `∅ .`PZ%gd kb
𝑉Z = ∑%h8
d
W𝑆𝑥()*) 𝜃% 𝑒 * 𝑒 (2b)
where, 𝑉Z can be determined by standard inverse fast-Fourier transformation, 𝜃% is a set of

independent standard complex-valued standard Gaussian random variables and 𝑅] is the real part.
The 𝑆𝑥()*) is the spectral density with compact support defined on the interval [-Ω, Ω], where Ω is
the cut-off frequency is considered. For a sampling time steps dt = π/ Ω and using Ns sample points
𝑑𝜔 = 2Ω/𝑁M and sampling frequencies 𝜔% = −Ω + (0.5 + n)𝑑𝑤; n = 0,…,Ns-1 is obtained. Since
the spectrum compatible PSD is determined for positive frequencies only, the negative (symmetric
part) is added in order to obtain the full two-sided PSD. 𝑞(𝑡) defined in Eq. (2a). is the envelope
function. For the stochastic time-history generation purpose gamma, Jennings and Housner are among
the popular one. In this research work gamma modulating function is adopted which takes the form
represented by Eq. (3). as shown in Fig. 1.
274
𝑞(𝑡) = 𝛼( 𝑡 (s, -() exp(−𝛼t 𝑡) , 𝑡𝜖[0, 𝑇w ] (3)
Fig. 1. Gamma modulating function
The parameter 𝛼( is a normalizing constant while 𝛼. and 𝛼t describe shape and strong motion
duration of the signal. 𝑇MN has been defined earlier and identification of 𝛼. and 𝛼t can be performed
numerically using a basic minimization algorithm. It follows 𝛼. ,𝛼t = argminE𝑒:0y . + 𝑒z( . , where
eTsm = error on the strong motion duration and 𝑒z( is the error relative to its beginning. The value
: :
𝛼( can be determined from equivalent energy criterion∫8 d{ 𝑑𝑡 = ∫8 T 𝑞. (𝑡)𝑑𝑡, which is initially
constrained to 1 while determining 𝛼. and 𝛼t . In order to simulate an accelerogram that matches a
particular response spectrum, it is necessary to perform iterations in order to adjust the spectral
content. The technique proposed by Gasparini & Vanmarcke (1976) is adopted for matching the
spectral content. The iterations follow as defined by the rules,W𝑆| `K( (𝜔% ) = W𝑆| ` (𝜔% )𝑆1 (𝜔% )/
𝑆 ` 1 (𝜔% ), where 𝑆1 is the target spectrum and 𝑆| (𝜔% ) is the power spectral density.
3. Monte Carlo Simulation of Response Spectrum

The main drawback of the simulated time-histories is that they are unable to manifest the large
variability of the seismological parameters as well as of the joint-time frequency distribution observed
for natural accelerograms. This problem has been addressed by Cacciola & Zentner (2012) and
Zentner (2014) by simulating time-histories whose response spectra match the target mean and mean
± standard deviation response spectra.
This technique was originally proposed by Jayaram et.al (2011), which takes the values of
correlation coefficient between two spectral accelerations as outlined by Baker & Jayaram (2008).
The correlation-coefficients is given by
𝑖𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 < 0.109 𝐶2
𝜌𝑙𝑛𝑆𝑎(𝑇1)𝑙𝑛𝑆𝑎(𝑇2) = Å 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛 > 0.109 𝐶1 ã,
𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒𝑖𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 < 0.2 min(𝐶2, 𝐶4)
Or else 𝜌𝑙𝑛𝑆𝑎(𝑇1)𝑙𝑛𝑆𝑎(𝑇2) = 𝐶4, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒
P :N1|
𝐶1 = 1 − 𝐶𝑜𝑠 a − 0.366 ln a ee,
. ëíì(:N`%,8.(8î)
( :N1|-:N`%
1 − 0.105 a1 − (K]|ïbññ2{óò -ôe a:N1|-8.88îîe 𝑖𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 < 0.2
𝐶2 = Å 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒, ã,
0
275
𝐶2 𝑖𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 < 0.109

𝐶3 = ö õ,
𝐶1 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
P:N`%
𝐶4 = 𝐶1 + 0.5 (√𝐶3 + 𝐶3) a1 + cos a 8.(8î ee,
with Tmin = min(T1,T2) and Tmax = max(T1,T2)
Using these empirical relations Monte Carlo simulated response spectra can be generated by using
the following relations as described by Jayaram et.al (2011) in Eq. (4).
∑ 𝑖𝑗 = 𝜌C𝑇`, 𝑇† °𝜎£% 𝑆1 (𝑇` )𝜎£% 𝑆1 C𝑇† ° , i, j = 1, 2…n (4a)
𝑍 = 𝜇 + 𝐺𝑈 (4b)
Using eq. (4a) covariance matrix can be formed for the discrete periods defined by the target
spectrum and number of response spectrum can be simulated using the eq. (4b); 𝜇 in Eq. (4b). is the
mean value of the response spectrum at discrete period, U is the vector of independent standard
Gaussian random variables and ‘G’ is obtained by Cholesky decomposition of the covariance matrix
given by eq. (4a).
4. Recorded and Synthetic Ground Motion

For the generation of synthetic ground motion based on the stochastic ground motion model defined
earlier, a target spectrum needs to be defined. Based on the study of Cacciola & Zentner (2012) target
spectra is defined as the mean of response spectrum of recorded ground motion data and the
generation of time-history is made matching mean and mean ± standard deviation. A set of 41
accelerograms from NGA database (Ancheta et al., 2014), magnitude in the range 6.5-7.5, site to
source distance in the range 10-30 km, and reverse faulting mechanism (Table 1) is retrieved and
target response spectrum is defined taking the average based on its statistical distribution.
The ensemble of response spectrum at discrete frequencies follows a lognormal distribution
(Dhakal, Singh, & Mander, 2007). So the arithmetic average of the log of the spectral acceleration is
equivalent to the median of the spectral acceleration or geometric mean. This is depicted in Fig 2.
Simulation of time-histories is completed by best matching the response spectrum of the simulated
time-history to mean ± standard deviation of the target spectrum. This is done by first generating the
Monte-Carlo simulated response spectrum described earlier. Generation of time-history matching the
Monte-Carlo simulated response spectrum is straight forward following the stochastic ground motion
model as described earlier. In order to do so, information regarding the statistical parameter of the
strong motion duration is required. This requires the information about the statistical distribution so
the significant duration based on D5-D95 of the Arias Intensity is evaluated for each of the recorded
time-history of the 41 accelerograms.
Table 1. Recorded ground motions from NGA database

Earthquake Name Station Magnitude Faulting Mechanism
"San Fernando" "Castaic - Old Ridge Route" 6.61 Reverse
"San Fernando" "Lake Hughes #1" 6.61 Reverse
"San Fernando" "Palmdale Fire Station" 6.61 Reverse
"San Fernando" "Santa Felita Dam (Outlet)" 6.61 Reverse
"Loma Prieta" "Anderson Dam (L Abut)" 6.93 Reverse
"Coyote Lake Dam -
"Loma Prieta" 6.93 Reverse
Southwest Abutment"
"Cape Mendocino" "Fortuna - Fortuna Blvd" 7.01 Reverse
"Cape Mendocino" "Shelter Cove Airport" 7.01 Reverse
"Northridge-01" "Sunland - Mt Gleason Ave" 6.69 Reverse
"Cape Mendocino" "Loleta Fire Station" 7.01 Reverse
276
"San Simeon_ CA" "San Antonio Dam - Toe" 6.52 Reverse

"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Joetsu Yasuzukaku Yasuzuka" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Matsushiro Tokamachi" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Tokamachi Matsunoyama" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Joetsu Ogataku" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Yoshikawaku Joetsu City" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Yamakoshi Takezawa Nagaoka" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Kawaguchi" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Sawa Mizuguti Tokamachi" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "Ojiya City" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "NIG019" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "NIGH01" 6.8 Reverse
"Chuetsu-oki_ Japan" "NIGH11" 6.8 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "AKT019" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "IWT015" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "IWTH04" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "IWTH22" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "MYG004" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "MYG005" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Tamati Ono" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Kami_ Miyagi Miyazaki City" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Semine Kurihara City" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Yokote Masuda Tamati Masu" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Yuzawa Town" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Machimukai Town" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Yuzawa" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Kurihara City" 6.9 Reverse
"Iwate_ Japan" "Ichinoseki Maikawa" 6.9 Reverse
The values of a2, and a3 in the envelope function were estimated with the help of optimization
algorithm of Nelder & Mead (1965). The beginning of the strong motion duration is assumed to be
uniformly distributed in the range 1-5 as based on the study of Zentner (2014).
Fig. 2. Ensemble of (a) recorded ground motions, (b) synthetic ground motions
277
In order to simulate time-history data that exudes natural variability characteristics of recorded
accelerograms the parameters obtained in the envelope function change each time the simulation
algorithm is run and also to get the feel of change in the total duration of time-history the sampling
time-step is randomized for each of the simulation. The sampling time-step used in this research work
is 0.002, 0.003, 0.004 which is discretized into sample points of 214 as shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. Synthetic time history sampled at (a) 0.002 s, (b) 0.004 s
5. MDOF System
A 2D-frame consisting of 3 bay, 3 story with typical floor height of 3m and span length of 4.5m is
modeled as shown in Fig 4. A square section of 300mm x 300mm with 8-16F in the first two-floors
and 300mm x 300mm with 4-16F + 4-12F in the roof level is modeled as column elements and a
rectangular section of 230mm x 350mm with 3-12F top and 3-16F bottom is modeled as beam
elements.
Linear tension softening concrete model with 20% of residual concrete compressive strength with
a concrete grade of 20 MPa has been used for this research work. In addition to this, for the fiber-
section implementation, parameter defined by Mander et al. (1988) has been used to model the
confined properties of the confined core. Uniaxial Menegotto-Pinto (1973) steel model with 1% of
strain hardening ratio both in tension and compression has been used as reinforcing steel material with
a grade of 415 N/mm2 has been used.
Rayleigh damping with mass and stiffness proportionality coefficient, computed after the
evaluation of 1st mode and 3rd mode frequencies with 5% damping for the structural system shown in
Fig 4, has been used to compare the results from response history analysis. A distributed plasticity
approach that accounts for the inelasticity is employed in OpenSees (McKenna, Scott, & Fenves,
2010).
Fig. 4. Structural system for response history analysis
278
6. Results
As described earlier, suite of ground motion data are generated and the one that best match the target
spectrum is selected and response history analysis is carried out. One of the results of the analysis,
that is, spectral acceleration vs. roof displacement is shown in Fig 5. As shown, the response of
MDOF to synthetic and recorded ground motion at same intensity measure, spectral acceleration, is
similar in linear as well as nonlinear range. Irrespective of the spectral acceleration, which is just an
intensity measure, maximum response to recorded ground motion and synthetic ground motion is
observed when the frequency contents of the ground motions (recorded and synthetic) are close to the
natural period of the vibration of the MDOF system—0.743, 0.184, 0.102 sec at first, second and third
modes respectively.
Fig. 5. Response of MDOF to recorded and synthetic ground motion
This is justified by the nature of elastic response spectrum of typical ground motions whose peak
responses is located in the period range 0.64 - 0.8 sec. As shown in Fig 6, when the MDOF system is
subjected to a set of ground motions whose frequency content is close to the natural period of
vibration of the MDOF system, maximum response is observed.
Fig. 6. Spectral characteristics of (a) Recorded ground motion (b) Synthetic ground motion
279
7. Conclusions
The results of the analysis are discussed in the previous section which has led to the following three
conclusions.
1 The results of the response-history analysis of a simple 3-bay, 3-story 2-D frame from the
recorded ground motion data is compared with synthetic ground motion data. Observations of the
peak responses from these results show that the responses are close at the same level of intensity
measure (spectral acceleration).
2 Irrespective of the intensity measure, when the MDOF system is subjected to suite of ground
motions (recorded and synthetic), maximum response (roof displacement) is observed, when the
frequency contents of ground motions is close to the natural period of the vibration.
3 Literatures regarding stochastic ground motion often point that for rational and reliable
earthquake-resistant design and analysis, it is necessary to use a fully nonstationary earthquake
ground motion model, which captures the temporal nonstationarity in the frequency content (Li et
al., 2016). However, in the present study stochastic ground motion model nonstationary in
amplitude only is employed to evaluate the response of a MDOF system not dominated by higher
modes. Perhaps the response of MDOF system dominated by higher modes could significantly be
affected by presence of nonstationary characteristics in frequency content due to the change in
structural characteristics resulting from stiffness change once the system starts to yield and
nonlinear behavior is initiated. This is one of the limitations of the present study and could be
studied in detail in future.
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281
Mud Masonry Houses in Nepal: A Study Based on Reconstruction

Work after 2015 Gorkha Earthquake
Binod Khadka1 and Huanjun Jiang2
Abstract
Nepal is a developing country with majority of rural settlement. In devastating 2015 Gorkha
Earthquake, there were severe damages suffered by the buildings among which majority were mud
masonry houses of rural areas and historic cities like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur. Looking
back to history till now, Nepal suffered severe structural damages during every earthquake, which
shows the poor construction practices followed in Nepal. Realizing this bitter fact, Government of
Nepal (GoN) formed National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) as the focal authority for the better
reconstruction process with support of line agencies and other stakeholders. It is very essential to
know the status of this national reconstruction project ongoing in all 31 earthquake affected regions.
With the aim to visualize this entire scenario (both positive and negative) and contribute for timely
and quality reconstruction activity, several earthquake most affected districts were visited from June
2015 to September 2017, and reconnaissance survey focusing on entire construction practices adopted
in new masonry houses, effective group discussion and questionnaire with engineers, local people and
masons relating the issues and challenges faced in reconstruction phases were conducted. The
obtained information is expressed in this paper. This study also includes some general comparison
between construction practices seen before and after 2015 earthquake, lesson learnt during
reconstruction activities and things to be target (recommendation) for its better upliftment.
Keywords: Reconstruction; 2015 Gorkha Earthquake; Mud masonry houses; Construction practice
1. Introduction
Nepal, a landlocked country with great topographical and cultural diversity, was struck by 7.8Mw
devastating earthquake on April 25, 2015 with epicenter about 80 km NW of Kathmandu and focal
depth of about 8.2 km ±2.9 km (USGS, 2015). This devastating main shock was followed by several
strong aftershocks with magnitude greater than 6, among which May 12, 2015 (Mw7.3) was the
strongest. Out of 77 (previously 75 districts) districts in Nepal, 31 districts were affected by Gorkha
earthquake and among them, 14 districts were declared as most affected in terms of casualties and
structural damages (NPC, 2015; Khadka, 2016).
Nepal being a developing country with majority of rural settlements followed by historic cities has
huge percentage of mud masonry building, i.e., above 40% (Khadka & Shakya, 2016b). In spite of
weak strength of mud mortar and brittle nature of unreinforced stone and brick masonry structure,
they are found to be major construction in Nepal for a long time (Khadka & Shakya, 2016b) and still
in practice in large number in large number due to poverty, lack of transportation, skilled manpower
shortage. Even today, mud has been, and continues to be, the most widely available and used building
material throughout most developing countries (Khadka & Shakya, 2016a).
Investigation shows massive structural damages (mostly masonry) during 2015 earthquake which
has revealed a bitter truth regarding poor construction and maintenance practices seen in local society
of Nepal (Khadka & Shakya, 2016b; Khadka, 2016). Realizing this miserable construction and
damage scenario followed by strong determination to bring good changes in construction practices,
GoN has formed NRA as the focal authority for reconstruction process. Officially, after 1 year of
2015 Gorkha Earthquake, the reconstruction project under NRA was started. Being officially working
under NRA, discussion with other official members and investigation to different earthquake affected
areas, it was found that GoN has provided financial assistance of NRs 300,000 (≈US $2600) for
1 State
Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, khadka.b92@gmail.com
2 Departmentof Disaster Mitigation for Structures, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University,
jhj73@tongji.edu.cn
282
constructing new earthquake resistant house and NRs 100,000 (≈US $865) for retrofitting damaged
houses. Along with NRA, there are involvement of several national and international non-
governmental organization (I/NGO), providing earthquake resistant trainings to technical persons,
guiding local masons and house-owner to construct earthquake resistant structures. As an output,
structures are becoming better (see Table 3 and 4) compared to past un-reinforced mud masonry
structure.
In spite of such a huge support and involvement, reconstruction work could not take its speed and
deficiencies as shown in Fig. 8, 10 and 11 were seen in structures due to lack of public awareness,
shortage of skilled masons, poverty, unsuitable housing design, poor management of resources,
difficult topography and poor transportation facility, etc. It is very essential to find out the exact
issues, challenges seen in this reconstruction and need immediate solutions in the form of better
strategy, implementation of strict rules and regulations to achieve the goal to develop trend of
earthquake resistant structure. This paper highlights the present construction techniques and changes
seen in local building designs compared to past structure, issues, challenges faced during
reconstruction and lesson learnt through these activities.
2. Overview of Historic Earthquakes in Nepal and Structural Damages

2.1 Historic earthquakes and its damages
Nepal lies along the Himalayan mountain range that has been formed by collision of the Indian
Subcontinent with Eurasian/Tibetan plates. The high rate of convergence i.e., 40-50 mm/year (USGS,
2015) and has ranked Nepal as the 11th most earthquake prone country in the world (UNDP, 2009).
Nepal has several evidence of historical earthquake, among which first human recorded was in 1255
A.D. of around Mw 7.7 and other recent recorded earthquakes are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Historic post-1934 earthquakes in Nepal

Magnitude Approx. damaged
Date Location Fatalities Reference
(Mw) buildings
(B.S.J.B., 1935;
15th Jan., 1934 Nepal-Bihar border 8.1 200,000 8,519
Rana & Lall, 2013)
29th July, 1980 Bajhang 6.5 40,000 178 (Bilham, 2004)
21stAug., 1988 Udaypur 6.6 66,541 721 (Thapa, 1988)
Data not (Bilham, Gaur, &
18thSept.,2011 Sikkim-Nepal border 6.9 8
available Molnar, 2001)
602,257 private (MoHA, 2015a;
25thApril,2015 Barpak, Gorkha 7.8 8,841
houses USGS, 2015)
2.2 Scenario of 2015 Gorkha earthquake damages
On 25th April 2015, at 11:56 am local time, Nepal was struck by devastating 7.8Mw earthquake which
affected 31 districts, killed 8,896 people, 198 missing, 22,302 seriously injured and rendered millions
of people homeless (see Table 2). Its epicenter was located near Barpak, Gorkha i.e. 28.231°N
84.731°E ± 7.3 km (around 80 km NW from Kathmandu) with focal depth about 8.2 km ±2.9 km
(USGS, 2015). The main shock was followed by 553 earthquakes of local magnitude greater than 4.0
within first 45 days (Adhikari et al., 2015) among which 7.3Mw on 12th May was the major
aftershock.
283
Table 2. Losses due to 2015 Gorkha earthquake (MoHA, 2015b; NPC, 2015)
S.N. Losses Total number
1. Death 8,896
2. Missing 198
3. Injured 22,302
4. Affected families 886,456
5. Displaced families 649,815*
6. Fully damaged houses 604,930
7. Partial damaged houses 288,856
8. Total Material Loss NPRs. 706 billion (US$7billion)
Apart from the miserable scenario as shown in Fig. 1, relating huge number of deaths, injuries and
structural damages, this earthquake has triggered several other common hazards like avalanche,
landslides, ground fissures, liquefaction as shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1. People’s sufferings during 2015 earthquake: a) structure damage and death (www.dailymail.co.uk); b)
pain and sorrow (time.com); c) homeless people staying in tent (thehimalayantimes.com)
Fig. 2. 2015 Gorkha Earthquake triggered hazards: a) ground fissures (Sindhuli); b) liquefaction (Sindhuli); c)
avalanche in Everest Base camp (abc7.com); d) landslide (Sindhupalchowk)
3. Mud Masonry Houses and Present Ongoing Reconstruction Activity

Mud masonry structure are predominant building type been constructed over long periods of time
with different religious, social and cultural aspects, illustrate the traditional architecture and
construction techniques adopted by our ancestors using locally available materials like mud, timber,
stone, brick and bamboo. According to the 2011 National Population and Housing Census, mud-
bonded brick/stone masonry buildings were the most common in all geographical regions of Nepal i.e.
44.2% (CBS, 2012). Traditional mud masonry houses can be considered as non-engineered because
most of them were constructed before the existence of building codes. In Nepal, mud masonry houses
commonly use following materials for several structural components:
• Stone or brick: Used as wall material and foundation.
• Mud: Used as plaster, mortar for wall and also as a flooring material.
• Timber & Bamboo: Used as structural member for flexible floor &roof, seismic bands & post.
• C.G.I. sheet, roof clay tiles, stone tiles and thatch: Used as a roof covering material.
Majority of local masonry houses constructed before 2015 Gorkha earthquake have used these
materials without seismic consideration. But now due to active involvement of NRA and other
I/NGO, several good construction changes like installation of seismic bands, less storey, light roof
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material, interlocking of masonry units, etc. (see Section 3.2) are seen in newly built mud masonry
houses.
3.1 Ongoing reconstruction activities
Realizing the fact that earthquake doesn’t kill people but poorly constructed structure does,
reconstruction was started under NRA with support of several governmental and non-governmental
organizations. After this earthquake, modifications in National Building Code (NBC) and building
bye-laws, development of technical guidelines for construction and retrofitting, have been made for
good construction changes in the entire nation. NRA and other non-governmental organization has
facilitated local people providing appropriate guidance for constructing safe structure, train masons,
develop public awareness. As per the available information from NRA (MOUD, 2018), present status
(till Dec. 3, 2018) of new houses in 31 earthquake affected regions are tabulated in Tables 3 and 4.
Table 3. Overall present status of reconstruction activities in 31 earthquake affected regions

Identified Total Building Entire Construction Houses not
Remark
Beneficiary construction started completed certified
Most of the remaining houses are
812,161 562,467 320,941 7,559 under construction, correction &
certification procedure
Table 4. Three phases of installment payment based on total claiming, and number of certified and uncertified
houses
Application for Certified Not certified and Works under certification
Installment payment
claiming houses needs correction (Review work)
1st installment (NRs.
714174 beneficiary received
50,000)
2nd Installment (NRs.
533,050 525,443 5,331 2,276
150,000)
3rd installment (NRs.
353,910 344,116 2,228 7,566
100,000)
3.2 Mud masonry structure after 2015 Gorkha Earthquake and their comparison with
structure before earthquake
Majority of mud masonry houses before 2015 earthquake were unreinforced without any seismic
consideration like lacking seismic bands, haphazard increase in storeys, mixed building materials, no
periodic repair and maintenance (Khadka & Shakya, 2016b). But after earthquake, due to strict
implementation of housing rules followed by several training campaigns, involvement of technical
staff in each earthquake affected regions, the newly built houses are considered better compared to
past construction technique. New houses adopted earthquake resistant features like interlocking
masonry units, seismic bands, corner stones, vertical reinforcement, light roofing materials, less
storeys which were hardly seen in large number of old local masonry houses during damage
assessment in 2015 earthquake (Khadka & Shakya, 2016b).
3.2.1 Foundation and DPC
Majority of foundation of new houses has followed criteria of minimum 3ft depth including DPC
band either timber (see Fig. 3b) or RC (see Fig. 3a) as a compulsion under supervision of technical
person. But in case of old masonry houses, absence of DPC band was major cause for fast
deterioration of mud masonry joints and excess dampness as shown in Fig. 3c.
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Fig. 3. DPC installation in masonry houses after (a & b) and before (c): a) RC DPC (Okhaldhunga); b) timber
DPC (Okhaldhunga); c) no DPC, erosion of wall near ground surface, wall affected by dampness (Sindhuli)
3.2.2 Wall system
Stone and brick are the major wall materials used, with thickness in range of 350mm to 450mm both
before and after 2015 earthquake. In new houses, masonry units are laid interlocking with each other,
horizontal bands i.e. RC (75mm to 100mm) or timber (65 mm to 75mm) installed at vertical interval
of about 915mm (see Fig. 4c&d), vertical reinforcement i.e. rebar (12mm) or timber post (85mm to
105mm) are installed in corners, junctions and edges of opening (see Fig. 4a&b) which has overall
hold the masonry building into single unit (structural integrity) and provided ductility.
Fig. 4. Wall construction and seismic consideration after (a, b, c, d) and before (e & f) 2015 earthquake: a)
vertical timber post (Okhaldhunga); b) vertical rebar (Okhaldhunga); c) new stone masonry with RC seismic
bands (Okhaldhunga); d) new stone masonry with timber bands (Okhaldhunga); e) old brick masonry without
any seismic bands (Bhaktapur); f) old damaged stone masonry (Sindhuli)
But before 2015 earthquake, absence of vertical reinforcement and horizontal bands, inappropriate
laying (no interlocking) of stone masonry with bulky mass of soil mortar were common (see Fig.
6e&f) as a result severe cracks and wall collapse were common failure during earthquake.
3.2.3 Floor and roofing system
Similar to past, flexible floor system are still in practice i.e. timber/bamboo (see Fig. 5a, b & c) used
as structural member with mud laid over it (see Fig. 5c). In case of roofing system, sloped roof with
timber or bamboo as structural member (see Fig. 5d) are used. But compared to past, new houses are
trying to reduce unwanted weight due to flooring and roof coverings for better seismic performance
like reducing use of mud laying in floor and replacing it with timber plank or bamboo strips, similarly,
reducing use of heaving roofing coverings like stone tiles and replacing it by C.G.I sheets.
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Fig. 5. Flooring (a, b &c) and roofing (d) system after 2015 earthquake (Okhaldhunga): a) timber arrangement
for flooring; b)bamboo strips fixed above timber structure; c)mud laying; d) timber arrangement for roofing
3.2.4 Gable wall system
Normally, past gable wall system used thick mud masonry without gable bands and height more than
1.2m (see Fig. 6c) as a result gable failure was common in 2015 Gorkha earthquake (see Fig. 6d).
Compared to the past, recent mud masonry gable wall system are of low height with installation of
bands (see Fig. 6b). Similarly, considering easiness, safety and cheapness, majority of recent gable
system has replaced masonry gable wall with light materials like timber and C.G.I. sheet (see Fig. 6a).
Fig. 6. Gable wall system after (a & b) and before (c & d) 2015 Gorkha earthquake: a) plane sheet used
(Okhaldhunga); b) low height masonry with timber bands (Okhaldhunga); c) high and thick walled masonry
(Thankot); d) gable failure of house shown in Fig. 8c after earthquake (Thankot)
3.2.5 House storey
As per the available guidelines and design provided by DUDBC for mud masonry, majority of mud
masonry houses in rural areas are one storey with small attic space (see Fig. 4c&d, 6a&b) which has
automatically reduced building weight and has ability to perform better during earthquake (Newton’s
Second law of motion, Force=mass*acceleration, i.e. lesser the mass, lesser the internal inertial force
generated). But in the past, usually two to five storeys with huge attic space (increase building weight)
and no any seismic bands (see 3c, 4e, 6c) were found, which ultimately lead to sudden collapse of
structure and created miserable scenario all over during 2015 earthquake (Khadka & Shakya, 2016b).
4. Issues, Challenges and Lesson Learnt during Reconstruction Activities

During the study, in spite of good construction practices seen under National Reconstruction program,
wide range of issues and challenges were observed relating national, regional and local level like
NRA’s co-ordination and commitment gaps amongst stakeholders, improper management of technical
staffs, non-uniform training facilities to masons, poor transportation, socio-economic status of people,
lack of public awareness, poor housing scheme, knowledge gap in building construction, delay in
proposed plan for retrofitting and rehabilitation. Hence, these issues since initial phase has slow down
reconstruction in all 31 earthquake affected regions. The study shows that still around 30% of the total
earthquake victim has not started their construction work. This section aims to investigate the ongoing
reconstruction phases after 2015 earthquake and summarizes the issues, challenges faced and lesson
learnt during reconstruction, so that necessary changes can be made as soon as possible.
287
4.1 Lack of public awareness
During study, it was found that although awareness campaign were launched in earthquake affected
regions but due to non-uniformity of campaign (most of the trainings launched near to road access
area), still now, people are staying in confusion regarding the earthquake resistant construction (see
Fig. 8 and 11) as a result, public are unable to play an active role in reconstruction process. There is
need of communicating earthquake-resistant designs among public so, that upcoming structure will be
safer.
4.2 Poor housing scheme with negligence of local life structure and culture
During 2015 earthquake, majority (more than 80%) of collapsed houses were mud masonry houses
(Khadka & Shakya, 2016b) but after earthquake, among 17 proposed earthquake resistant residential
building models by GoN, only two small models were mud masonry i.e. stone masonry (SMM-1.1)
and another brick masonry (BMM-1.1) as shown in Fig. 7 other all remaining were cement masonry.
Fig. 7. Proposed mud masonry design model (DUDBC, 2015): a) model of SMM-1.1; b) section design of
SMM-1.1; c) model of BMM-1.1; d) section design of BMM-1.1
This poor housing scheme and negligence in considering special requirements in rural areas, has
led to dissatisfaction among local people towards the available housing designs and developed trend
of constructing owner self-choice houses or repairing the old houses without following the appropriate
guidelines as shown in Fig. 11.
4.3 Knowledge gap in building construction and Shortage of skilled masons
Local building practices vary in huge order guided by availability of materials, owner’s requirement,
economic status, culture, geographical region and topography. Due to lack of detail knowledge about
this, the initial reconstruction activities like the prepared housing scheme, budgets estimated by
engineering community under GoN were not able to meet the specified target.
Fig. 8. Deficiencies seen in newly constructed mud masonry houses(Okhaldhunga): a) no vertical

reinforcement; b) inappropriate bending of steel; c) hybrid structure; d) excess trimming of timber beam ends; e)
using inappropriate timber spacers; f) discontinuity of timber bands; g) discontinuity in RC bands
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In another side, discussion with technical persons and local masons shows that majority of masons
in rural areas are not formally trained and have less access towards use of modern materials and
earthquake resistant construction techniques, as a result, shortage of skilled mason and several
construction technique problem like poor concrete work, excess grooving of timber beam ends, hybrid
structure, inappropriate installation of steel rebar, seismic band & their discontinuity were seen (see
Fig. 8). There is necessity of implementation of strict rules and better provision that guides for
conduction of uniform effective trainings in all region, so that concrete knowledge and decision can
be spread all over and safe structure are prepared.
4.4 Topography and poor transportation facilities
Earthquake area is spread over large area i.e. more than 12,000 km2 and most of those regions are in
very rugged, high altitude (2000m to 5000m from sea level), remote regions having poor accessibility.
For most of the villages of Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa, Gorkha, etc. at higher (more than 4000m)
altitude from mean sea level, takes more than 2 days by walking from the nearest road (see Fig. 9d).
Similarly, further difficulty in transportation was faced during monsoon (see Fig 9a and c) and winter
(see Fig. 9c). It has also been one of the triggering factor for slowdown of reconstruction work and
promoting several other challenges and problems like:
• Non-uniform mason training and less public awareness campaign in poor accessibility areas
• Difficulty in transporting good quality materials for construction has led to use locally available
poor quality materials.
Fig. 9. Difficult topography and poor transportation facilities: a) vehicle stuck in muddy slippery hilly road
during monsoon and people trying to help to get it off (Sindhuli); b) vehicle stuck due to slippery road due to
snow (Solukhumbu); c) people pushing motorbike due to road damage (Okhaldhunga); d) transporting goods
using animals (Okhaldhunga)
4.5 Poor material quality and its use without any treatment
Vernacular local construction materials like stone, mud and timber available in earthquake affected
areas are highly variable. Mostly due to lack of hardwood, commonly available softwood like pine
and uttis are used without any treatment as floor and roof structure, seismic bands, posts, which are
prone to termite attack. Similarly, due to lack of appropriate material (rebars above 10mm, good soil,
hardwood, etc,), people are using small size rebar, uncleaned mud mortar (mixed pebbles, grass), soft
porous stones, etc. as shown in Fig 10. Which has increased chances of fast deterioration of structure
(see Fig. 10d).
Fig. 10. Poor material quality and its use without any treatment (Okhaldhunga): a) course soil before preparing
mud mortar; b) use of course mortar; c) soft porous sandy stone used; d) decay of timber post due to moisture
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4.6 Delay in proposed plan for retrofitting and rehabilitation
Many existing structures including residential buildings located in devastated area survived 2015
Gorkha earthquake but they are in need of suitable maintenance in the form of planned retrofitting.
Although guidelines for retrofitting has been developed but, it’s nearly 3 years, still the works are
pending (see Fig. 11). One of the reason behind it was lack of sufficient trainings to masons relating
retrofitting techniques. It’s important to develop confidence among local community about necessity
of earthquake-resistant technology with a special focus on retrofitting at minimum additional cost.
Fig. 11. Haphazard maintenance of old damaged houses: a) demolition of upper storey but single storey still not
repaired (Sindhupalchowk); b) repaired very old house without any seismic consideration (Okhaldhunga); c) old
partial damaged house still lacking retrofitting (Sindhupalchowk)
4.7 Poverty, inequality and unemployment
Although government has declared to provide total amount of NRs. 300,000 equally to all the victims
for constructing earthquake resistant houses in three installment but due to insufficiency of provided
budget to pay for expensive modern materials including additional charge for transportation, people
having physical, social and personal vulnerabilities like Dalits, single women, children, handicapped
are not able to construct house and are finding difficulty in getting back to their normal life (see Fig.
12). So, government should provide special attention to such people in terms of additional supports
like employment opportunities, extra fund, skill development trainings, resettlement for people whose
land fall under hazard zone (like fault zone, ground fissures, landslides, etc.).
Fig. 12. Miserable scenario of poor people after earthquake: a) people residing in old damaged house (Sindhuli);
b) people residing in congested old tent (Okhaldhunga)
5. Conclusions
Nepal holding bitter experience in each and every earthquake has finally stood up to fight against it
and formed NRA as the focal authority for the reconstruction process with the support of line agencies
and other stakeholders. Several construction guidelines, modification in NBC, involvement of I/NGO,
deploy huge no. of technical staffs, free mason trainings have been proceeded by GoN with an aim to
bring improvement in building construction technique and prepare nation for upcoming seismic
hazards. In spite of such huge activities and investments in reconstruction, close study shows wide
range of issues and challenges relating national, regional and local level like NRA’s co-ordination and
commitments gaps amongst stakeholders, improper management of technical staffs, non-uniform
training facilities, difficult topography and poor transportation facilities, poverty, lack of public
290
awareness, manpower shortage, poor housing scheme, knowledge gap in building construction and
delay in proposed plan for retrofitting and rehabilitation. And finally, this slowed the reconstruction in
all 31 earthquake affected districts i.e. still around 30% of residential reconstruction work has not
been started. Apart from this, some people have started to repair their old cracked houses or construct
new without any seismic consideration due to their ignorance or dissatisfaction towards proposed
designs. To get rid of these entire drawbacks of ongoing reconstruction, there is need to learn lessons
from it, implement immediate modification in strategy focusing on preparing good designs
considering the local life, conduct uniform awareness campaign, provide seismic resistant
construction and retrofitting techniques training facilities to masons, special additional facilities to
poor, and implement strict rules and regulations regarding earthquake resistant practices. The
common issues, challenges and lesson learnt during several phases of reconstruction are highlighted
with an intention to make the respective authority and entire nation realize these ongoing scenario and
proceed possible steps to speed up reconstruction in appropriate order and make the dream of better
building the nation come true.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the support from National Key Research and Development Program of China under
Grant No. 2017YFC1500701.
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Nepal. International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disastor Reconstruction Planning,
Bhaktapur.
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Micro-tremor Measurement of Damaged Masonry Buildings in

Bhaktapur after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal
Hayato Hoshino1, Masato Takeuchi2, Yoichi Mukai 3, Naohiko Yamamoto4, Masaya Masui5,
Anri Miyauchi6, Yasuyuki Nagano7 and Ram Prasad Suwal8
Abstract
This study focuses on the historical construction-style masonry buildings in Nepal about their dynamic
vibration characteristics under ambient vibration. Most of these buildings are considered as non-
engineered structures because they did not have a proper design procedure based on structural analysis
and were not constructed under material quality control. Accordingly, it seems difficult to clarify
structural performance about the anti-seismic property of the general masonry buildings in Nepal,
especially the historical ones. Micro-tremor measurements to evaluate the vibration characteristic of
historical masonry buildings were carried out in 2017 at the residential buildings located in the
observation area in Bhaktapur. Total 22 structures of various conditions including destroyed and un-
destroyed ones and various construction-styles including a newly-constructed type with RC frames or
a traditional type without RC frames were measured for this research purpose. Through FFT analyses,
it was assured that most of the buildings have a similar predominant natural frequency around 3Hz to
5Hz, and similar response amplitude ratio around 2 to 4 times, regardless of structural construction-
styles or building damage conditions.
More detailed measurements at the residential buildings were carried out in 2018. Two historical
masonry buildings are selected for this aim. Micro-tremor measurements were carried out by using
two accelerometers, and the simultaneous dual-point measured data were obtained between each floor
and the top floor, between the front and rear sides on the top floor, between the right and left sides on
the top floor, between top and bottom of the masonry wall on the top floor. These results are used to
characterize plural vibration modes of historical masonry buildings and are referred to operate
numerical model analyses. The simplified multi-stories numerical model is used in this study, and
natural frequencies are compared between observed results and numerical results. The Fourier
spectrums of floor response show plural predominant peaks and some of these frequencies are
corresponded appropriately to the eigenvalues by numerical model analyses.
Keywords: Masonry building, Micro-tremor measurement, Non-engineered construction, Numerical analysis
1. Introduction
The 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal was one of the hugest recent earthquakes which caused severe
damage and collapse to many historical masonry buildings. The series of study linking to this report
has been started as the seismic-damage field survey since 2015. Field surveys were carried out in the
specified area in the east end part of the old town district of Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu valley of
Nepal. By observing and investigating the seismic damages of historical masonry buildings during the
Gorkha earthquake, the distribution map of damaged buildings in the surveyed area was shown clearly,
and typical damage pattern and mechanism of historical masonry buildings were investigated. Most of
the seriously-damaged buildings in this area were constructed with the traditional way and considered
as non-engineered masonry structures without RC frame.
1 Department of Architecture, Kobe University, Japan, 181T047T@stu.kobe-u.ac.jp

2 Department of Architecture, Kobe University, Japan, 177t038t@stu.kobe-u.ac.jp
3 Department of Architecture, Kobe University, Japan, ymukai@port.kobe-u.ac.jp
4 Faculty of Human Life and Environment, Nara Women's University, Japan, yamamoton@cc.nara-wu.ac.jp
5 Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University, Japan, masui.masaya.7c@kyoto-u.ac.jp
6 Hokuden Engineering Consultants. Co., Ltd., Japan, hush-hush@skyblue.ocn.ne.jp
7 Graduate School of Simulation Studies, University of Hyogo, Japan, nagano@sim.u-hyogo.ac.jp
8 Department of Architecture, Nepal Engineering College, Nepal, ramps@nec.edu.np
292
In this paper, the point of research is put on considering the anti-seismic property of historical
masonry buildings. Thus, this study was starting from assuring the features of the natural frequencies
of typical historical masonry buildings in the survey area. For this aim, micro-tremor measurements at
the existing masonry buildings for residence in the old town of Bhaktapur were carried out. In 2017,
22 structures were selected to measure, and these are classified three types; a historical masonry
building without RC frames, an RC framed masonry building which is already existing before the
earthquake and an RC framed building constructed after the earthquake including under-construction
one. Most of these buildings are located in the zone where severely-damaged buildings were majorly
concentrated in the surveyed area.2) The outlooks of some of these buildings are shown in Fig.1.
By FFT data analyses using these data of micro-tremor measurement for 22 buildings, it was
assured that most of the buildings have a similar predominant natural frequency around 3Hz to 5Hz,
and a similar response amplitude ratio around 2 to 4 times, regardless of structural construction-style
or damage situation. This result can be assured by observing Fig. 2. Moreover, a different feature
which commonly appears in the damaged buildings is also pointed out. As seen in Fig. 3(a), amplified
responses in high-frequency band range (around 10 to 30 Hz) appear on historical buildings which are
damaged severely at the roof or the top floor slab. In these buildings, a strong correlation between the
top floor's horizontal motions on the depth (X-axis) and the frontage (Y-axis) directions was also
recognized in this high-frequency band observing response amplification as seen in Fig. 3(b) and (c).
1 2 3 4 5
(a) Historical buildings (1, 2 3), (b) RC framed building (existing before the earthquake) (4),
(c) RC framed building (rebuilt after the earthquake) (5)
Fig. 1. Appearance examples of masonry buildings operating micro-tremor measurement (2017)
(a)
(a)
(b)
(b) (c)
Fig. 2. First natural frequencies (a; above) and Fourier Fig. 3. Example of Fourier spectrum (a; upper),
amplitude ratio at the first natural frequencies Correlation (b; middle) and Phase angle
(b; lower) of measured buildings (2017). (c; lower) at a high-frequency band
To make clear about more detailed structural vibration characteristics, for example, high-order
natural frequencies and modal vibration shapes, torsional vibration in a horizontal plane or brick wall
top's vibration, we selected two historical masonry buildings without RC frames in the survey area for
detailed measurement. By using two accelerometers, the simultaneous dual-point measurement was
carried out between each floor and the top floor, between the front and rear sides on the top floor,
between the right and left sides on the top floor, between the top and bottom of the brick wall on the
top floor. The simplified multi-stories numerical model is also used in this study and natural
293
frequencies and vibration modal shapes are estimated numerically. In this paper, comparisons between
detailed observation results and model-based eigenvalue analyses results are reported and investigated.
2. Detailed Micro-tremor Measurements of Historical Masonry Buildings
2.1. Feature of target buildings
Two historical masonry buildings for residence are selected to operate detailed micro-tremor
measurements. Measurements were carried out in September 2018. Two accelerometers (HM-0013,
made by IMV Corp.) are used for this research, and these accelerometers perform the synchronization
of time. Each accelerometer can measure the 3-directional components at the same time.
Frontage axis (Y) Frontage axis (Y)

Depth axis (X) Depth axis (X)
(m) (m)
Fig. 4. Exterior and a plan view of Building-1 Fig. 5. Exterior and a plan view of Building-2
(m)
(m)
Fig. 6. Sectional view of Building-1 Fig. 7. Sectional view of Building-2
Three patterns of sensor arrangements perform for measurement. Firstly, to estimate phase
correlation between stories along the height direction, two sensors are placed at the top floor and any
other one floor. Then, to evaluate floor slab motion in a horizontal plane at the top floor, two sensors
are placed at both ends of alongside peripheral walls along depth direction and frontage direction.
Moreover, to estimate out-of-plane vibration of the independent wall at the top floor, two sensors are
placed at the top and bottom of the peripheral masonry wall. At every measurement, data recording of
two sensors performs the synchronization of time. 16384 (= 214) sampling data obtained by every
continuous measurement are processed through FFT analyses, and then every spectrum data are
smoothed 50 times through Hanning window. The situation of the two measured buildings are the
followings.
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i. Building-1 is one of the buildings, which was also measured in 2017, and it is a historical masonry
building with five stories. Both sides of these buildings are contacted to the other adjacent
buildings, and the facade of the building is placed toward the courtyard. The top floor of this
building has been renovated to use for a living space, and its roof has been reformed to the
lightweight metal plate roofing. Exterior view and plan and section drawings of Building-1 is
depicted in Fig. 6
ii. Building-2 is a newly listed one for measurement in 2018, and it is a historical masonry building
with four stories. Both sides of these buildings are contacted to the other adjacent buildings, and the
facade of the building is faced toward the front road. This building is a half part of the occupation-
divided building, and this part and the next half were considered as a single building from a
structural point of view. The top floor of this building has been renovated, and its roof has been
reformed to the lightweight metal plate roofing. Interior walls on the 1st and 2nd stories in the
frontage wall direction have been removed to change from the time when it was built.
2.2. Comparison of the measurement results
2.2.1. Building-1
From Fig. 8.1 to 8.5 show the Fourier spectrum of ambient acceleration response from 5th (Top) to 1st
(Ground) floor levels of the Building-1, respectively. Every floor's data were taken by the
simultaneous measurement with the top floor, but the data acquisition was performed by apart four
events in turn by floors. Accordingly, Fourier spectrums of each floor from 4th to 1st is regulated its
level according to simultaneous-measured top floor's response's level. Regulation factors are
determined in the following way. Firstly, Fourier spectrum curves of the top floor, which are gained in
4 events, are integrated within all frequency range. Average values are calculated for all integrated
values, and then, the rate for this average value is considered as a regulation factor of each floor's
responses. In which, the 5th floor's Fourier spectrum curve (as seen in Fig. 8.1) corresponds to the
average of 4 events.
The left side figures from Fig. 8.1 to 8.5, which are labeling in (a), are the responses along the
depth axis of the building. The right side figures, which are labeling in (b), are the responses along the
frontage axis. As seen in Fig. 8.1(a) and (b), the first dominant peak at about 3.7 and 3.8 Hz can be
observed in the depth and frontage axes directions, respectively. By comparing every floor's responses,
response levels at mid floors excepting the top and bottom floors become large. Predominant peaks of
response amplitude of higher order modes are observed in these floors.
Fig. 9.1 and 9.2 depict Fourier spectrum ratio of the top vs. bottom of the wall placed on the top
floor of Building-1. These figures are corresponding to Fourier spectrums of responses on the walls
along the frontage axis and along the depth axis, respectively. As seen in Fig. 9.1(a), the amplified
response in a high-frequency range around 10Hz and 25Hz can be seen in the out-of-plane direction
(depth axis) of the wall along the frontage axis.
2.2.2. Building-2
From Fig. 10.1 to 10.4 show the Fourier spectrum of ambient acceleration responses from 4th (Top) to
1st (Ground) floor levels of the Building-2, respectively. Fourier spectrum of each floor from 3rd to
1st is regulated its level according to simultaneous-measured top floor's response's level by the same
way for the Building-1. The left side figures from Fig. 10.1 to 10.4, which are labeling in (a), are the
responses along the depth axis of the building. The right side figures, which are labeling in (b), are the
responses along the frontage axis.
As seen in Fig. 10.1(a), first dominant peak at about 4 Hz can be observed in the depth axis
direction. However, a clear peak in the frontage axis direction cannot be seen in Fig. 10.1(b). By
comparing every floor's responses, response levels at mid floors excepting the top and bottom floors
become large. Predominant peaks of response amplitude of higher order modes are observed in these
floors. These tendencies similarly appear in both measured buildings.
295
Estimated natural frequencies through numerical model analysis (see Table 1)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
(a) Depth axis (b) Frontage axis

Fig. 8.1. Fourier spectrum on 5FL of Building-1




Fig. 9.1. Spectrum ratio of frontage axis wall (top vs. Fig. 9.2. Spectrum ratio of depth axis wall (top vs.
bottom) on the top floor of Building-1 bottom) on the top floor of Building-1
296
Estimated natural frequencies through numerical model analysis (see Table 2)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th




Fig. 11.1. Spectrum ratio of depth axis of front wall Fig. 11.2. Spectrum ratio of depth axis of rear wall
(top vs. bottom) on the top floor of Building-2 (top vs. bottom) on the top floor of Building-2
Fig. 11.1 and 11.2 depict Fourier spectrum ratio of the top vs. bottom of the wall placed on the top
floor of Building-2. These figures are corresponding to Fourier spectrums of responses of the front and
rear walls along frontage axis, respectively. As seen in Fig. 11.1, the amplified response in a high-
frequency range around 8Hz, 10Hz, 15Hz and 28Hz can be seen in the out-of-plane direction (depth
axis) of the wall along the frontage axis. Likely, the amplified responses in a high-frequency range
around 8Hz and 28 Hz can be seen in Fig. 11.2. Building-2 is in the different condition from Building-
1, because the adjacent building is rebuilt by RC framed masonry building, recently. Fig. 12.1 and 12.3
depict the measuring positions and directions at the top floor (5FL) in the Building-1. Corresponding
Fourier spectrums to these measuring positions are shown in Fig. 13.1 and 13.3, respectively. Fig. 12.2
and 12.4 depict the measuring positions and directions at the top floor (4FL) in the Building-2.
297
Corresponding Fourier spectrums to these measuring positions are shown in Fig. 13.2 and 13.4,
respectively.
X- X-
Y- Y+ Y- Y+
X+ X+
Fig. 12.1. Location of data measuring position Fig. 12.2. Location of data measuring position
in the depth axis on 5FL of Building-1 in the depth axis on 4FL of Building-2
X-
X-
Y+ Y- Y+
Y-
X+ X+
Fig. 12.3. Location of data measuring position Fig. 12.4. Location of data measuring position
in the frontage axis on 5FL of Building-1 in the frontage axis on 4FL of Building-2
(a) Y- (a) Y-
(b) X- (b) X-
(c) X+ (c) X+
(d) Y+ (d) Y+
Fig. 13.1. Fourier spectrum in the depth axis Fig. 13.2. Fourier spectrum in the depth axis
on 5FL of Building-1 on 4FL of Building-2
As observed in Fig. 13.1, the Fourier spectrums of responses in the depth axis directions in
Building-1 are similar unless the measuring positions. At the front side position, the second mode of
the dominant peak (around 12Hz) can be clearly observed. In contrast, seeing Fig. 13.2, the Fourier
spectrum responses in the depth axis directions in Building-2 are different depending on the measuring
positions. The responses excepting for the position "Y-" where is at the building edge near the gable
298
side wall become larger level and the second mode of the dominant peak (around 12Hz) can also be
observed at these positions. On the other hand, as seeing Fig. 13.2 and 13.4, the Fourier spectrum of
responses in the frontage axis directions in both Building-1 and Building-2 are similar unless the
measuring positions. As the difference between Building-1 and Building-2, in the frontage direction,
the dominant response peaks around the 1st natural frequency (around 3.5Hz) can be observed in the
Fourier spectrum of Building-1, but there are no apparent peaks around the 1st natural frequency in the
Fourier spectrum of Building-2.
(a) X- a) X-
(b) Y- (b) Y-
(c) Y+ (c) Y+
(d) X+ (d) X+
Fig. 13.3. Fourier spectrum in the frontage axis Fig. 13.4. Fourier spectrum in the frontage axis
on 5FL of Building-1 on 4FL of Building-2
3. Modal Analysis Using a Numerical Model of Masonry Buildings

Modal analyses are conducted to investigate the mode shape and the natural frequency of each mode
about two measured buildings. Midas-iGen is used for numerical modeling and analysis. In this study,
to figure out the general vibration characteristics of the historical masonry buildings, a simple
modeling way is considered by arranging a single plate element for every single bay wall located in
each story. To consider the influence of the size of the openings on the walls, stiffness of the walls are
reduced depending on the opening rate according to the actual configuration of the wall facing the
passage, the wall of the back and the walls in the depth direction. In practical modeling, wall thickness
was modified according to the respective opening ratio.
The primary natural frequency of the numerical model was adjusted to match for the practically-
estimated value from the micro-tremor measurements, which was identified from the dominant peak in
Fourier spectrum on the top floor of the building. Adjustment of the model is made by changing the
value of an elastic constant of the model material of the wall. By this operation, Young's modulus of
plate element for the wall was used 600 N/mm2 in Building-1 and 275 N/mm2 in Building-2. These
values are not considered to be so far from real material's constants by comparing with one of the
299
experimental-test result obtained from the compression test of the brick wall which is mentioned in the
Reference 4). The weight of the masonry wall was adopted for the test results about 1600 kg/m3 as
estimated from the test specimen in Reference 4). Table 1 and 2 show the model shapes and the natural
frequencies from the 1st mode to the 4th mode for the numerical model corresponding to Building-1
and Building-2, respectively. Vertical lines in the Fourier spectrums of the micro-tremor measurement,
which are put on Fig. 8.1 to 8.5 for Building-1, and Fig. 10.1 to 10.4 for Building-2, also indicate these
natural frequencies of each mode obtained by numerical analysis.
Table 1. Modal shape and natural frequency evaluated by numerical model (Building-1)
Depth direction
First mode Second mode Third mode Forth mode
3.68 Hz 12.37 Hz 22.69 Hz 29.57 Hz
Frontage direction
3.76 Hz 11.44 Hz 19.72 Hz 25.50 Hz
Table 2. Modal shape and natural frequency evaluated by numerical model (Building-2)
Depth direction
3.85 Hz 11.42 Hz 18.70 Hz 22.43 Hz
Frontage direction
3.97 Hz 11.17 Hz 16.60 Hz 19.08 Hz
By observing Fig, 8.1(a), 8.2(a), 8.3(a) and 8.4(a), the analytical value of the 2nd mode natural
frequency has good correspondence to the position of the dominant peak of Fourier spectrums of the
depth axis direction of Building-1. Similarly, by observing Fig, 8.2(b), 8.3(b) and 8.4(b), the analytical
value of the 2nd mode natural frequency matches to the position of the dominant peak of Fourier
300
spectrums of the frontage axis direction of Building-1. By observing Fig, 10.1(a), 10.2(a) and 10.3(a),
the analytical value of the 2nd mode natural frequency has good correspondence to the position of the
dominant peak of Fourier spectrums of the depth axis direction of Building-2. However, in the
frontage axis direction of Building-2, the natural frequencies of higher order mode do not explicitly
appear as the dominant peaks on the Fourier spectrums.
By considering these results about Building-1 and Building-2, the predominant response
amplification corresponding to the 1st natural frequency is likely to appear on every floor over than
2nd floor, and the 2nd mode vibration is expected to be measured on the mid floors, especially just
below level from the top floor, in the historical masonry building structures. The higher mode than 3rd
natural frequency might not so strongly appear in these masonry building, in this study.
4. Conclusions
Micro-tremor measurements of historical masonry house buildings were conducted in the old town
area of Bhaktapur after the 2015 Nepal Gorkha earthquake. In 2017, by considering the results by the
measurement at the building top floor of 22 buildings, it was assured that most of the typical
residential buildings have similar values of the 1st natural frequency (around 3 to 5 Hz) and similar
values of the response amplification factor at the 1st natural frequency (about 2 to 4 times). Moreover,
some historical buildings damaged at the upper part of the buildings show large frequency-domain
response levels at the high-frequency band. Detailed measurements were carried out in 2018, and
Fourier spectrums of each floor, Fourier spectrum at the apart positions on the top floor and Fourier
spectrum of top floor's walls are investigated. As a result, it is assured that the high-order frequency
responses are mostly enlarged at the mid stories of these buildings. Moreover, numerical simulation
using a simple model and practical observation results are compared. The 1st and 2nd mode of natural
frequencies can be observed at the actual measurement as having similar values to the numerical
simulations.
Acknowledgments
A part of this survey was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15H05225. We acknowledge to Prof.
Mohan Moorti Pant of Khwopa Engineering College in Nepal for giving advice and assists in building survey.
We are also grateful to Mr. Sunil Jangam for lots of assistants to visit local buildings.
References
Mukai, Y., Yamamoto, N., Masui, M. & Miyauchi, A. (2016). Observation of Damaged Buildings and the
Distribution on the South East Area of the Old Town in Bhaktapur, Proc. of Intnl. Conf. on Earthquake
Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, 236-243, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Takeuchi, M., Hoshin, H., Mukai, Y., Yamamoto, N., Masui, M. & Miyauchi, A. (2018). On study for damage
detection of non-engineered masonry structures - Micro-tremor measurement of damaged buildings by the
2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal, Proc. of the 7th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring,
7WCSCM, 2517-2527, Qingdao, China.
Suwal, R. P. (2007). Newari Building Construction Technology - A case of Vernacular Residential Dwelling of
Bhaktapur city, Postgraduate Department of Urban Design and Conservation, Faculty of Science and
Technology, Khwopa Engineering College, Purbanchal University, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Ninomiya, Y., Yamaguchi, R., Miyajima, M., & Oba, F. (2010). Structural Analysis for Seismic Retrofit of the Historical
Tabriz Bazaar in Iran -Focusing on Finite Element Analysis of Models Extracted from the Bazaar-, J. of Architecture
and Urban Design, Kyushu University Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, 18: 53-60. (in Japanese)
Alemdar, B., Temel, T., Baris S., Ahmet, C., & Faruk, Y. (2009). Modal Parameter Identification of Hagia
Sophia Bell-Tower via Ambient Vibration Test, J. Nondestruct Eval. 28: 37–47.
301
Consideration of Resiliency in Reinforced Concrete Buildings

Susumu Kono1, Ryo Kuwabara1, Taku Obara1, Fuhito Kitamura1, Eko Yuniarsyah1,
Hidekazu Watanabe2, Tomohisa Mukai3, and David Mukai3
Abstract
A numerical procedure employed FEM analysis results on a real scale five-story reinforced concrete
frame building in order to simulate complete residual flexural crack profile simulation (crack spacing,
width, and length). The computed crack profile is compared to the experimental results through crack
area damage ratio, which is a proposed damage index. Although number of cracks and their width
were well simulated for different levels of loading stages, the crack area damage was hard to simulate
at this moment. Nevertheless, the discussion will be helpful to evaluate cost of repair after earthquake
damage. The paper describes a part of current research efforts on resilient reinforced concrete
structures in Japan by simulating damage of reinforced concrete members such as cracks and spalling
of concrete, or yielding and bucking of reinforcement for different limit states. It is interesting to see
how to utilize secondary RC walls to improve seismic performance for damage reduction by changing
their configuration and rebar arrangement. It can be seen that strength enhancement with ductile
detailing is one of the easiest and economical solutions to reduce seismic damage for ordinary
reinforced concrete buildings.
Keywords: Resiliency, Damage evaluation, Quick recovery
1. Introduction
The Building Standard Law in Japan allows multiple structural design procedures for buildings
shorter than 60m. They are, for example, “Lateral load carrying capacity procedure (LLCCP)”,
“Working stress design procedure”, and “Capacity spectrum design procedure”. Ordinary reinforced
concrete buildings are normally designed with LLCCP which comprises of two levels of procedure as
shown in Fig. 1. working stress design procedure for minor to intermediate earthquakes, and lateral
load carrying capacity procedure for major earthquakes. In the first level procedure, working stress
should be smaller than allowable stress for all structural components. In addition, the interstory drift
should be smaller than 1/200. The second level procedure confirm that the lateral load carrying
capacity of each story, Qu, is larger than the required lateral load carrying capacity for each story at
the formation of mechanism, Qun, as expressed in Eq. (1).
Qu ≧ Qun=Ds Fes Qud (1)
where,
Ds: Factor based on damping characteristics and ductility of each story
Fes: Factor representing stiffness ratio and eccentricity ratio for each story
Qud: Lateral force acting on each story from seismic force and expressed in Eq. (2)
Qud = Z Rt Ai Co (ΣWi) (2)
where
Z: Factor reflecting the extent of earthquakes within a range between 1.0 and 0.7. (Seismicity
zoning)
1
Inst. of Innovative Research, Tokyo Inst. of Technology, Japan, kono.s.ae@m.titech.ac.jp,
obara.t.ac@m.titech.ac.jp
2
Research fellow, Building Research Institute, Japan, wata_h@kenken.go.jp, t_mukai@kenken.go.jp
3
Associate Professor, Univ. of Wyoming, (Visiting Assoc. Prof., Tokyo Inst. of Tech.), dmukai@uwyo.edu
302
Rt: Factor representing vibration characteristics of building obtained according to the natural
period in the elastic range of building components and ground category. (Soil conditions and
fundamental period of building)
Ai: Factor representing vertical distribution of seismic story shear force.
C0: Shear coefficient for standard case. It should be no less than 1.0 for load carrying capacity
design procedure.
Fig. 1. Design flow of reinforced concrete buildings in Japan
Following the LLCCP, some buildings suffered repairable damage in series of earthquakes after
the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Then the Japanese engineering society started to notice the importance of
resiliency. Damage to non-structural (or secondary) members are as important as that to structural
members from the viewpoint of continuous post-earthquake functionality of buildings. Resilience of
building structures specifically means low or no damage of structural and non-structural (or
secondary) members and quick recovery of functions of buildings. In order to achieve resilient
building structures, it is important to develop low damage structural systems in a broader sense and
propose design procedures to advance the idea.
Engineers in National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM) and Building
Research Institute (BRI) designed and tested real scale five story reinforced concrete buildings to
study seismic performance of strength-based building system. Three universities and seven companies
joined the experimental works at BRI to observe damage closely at different loading stages. The
building introduced in this paper was tested in 2014 (Kabeyasawa et al., 2016 and 2017). The
designed concrete frame building had higher load carrying capacity by adding wing walls to columns,
or standing or/and hanging walls to beams. It was supposed to possess load carrying capacity
equivalent to C0=0.45 - 0.55 (C0: base shear coefficient) at mechanism formation with maximum
interstory drift as small as 0.4% - 0.8%. This implies that the building would have an elastic or nearly
elastic response even under large-scale earthquakes. Limited deformation would result in dramatic
303
damage reduction in columns, beams, and beam-column connections. This paper discusses features of
cracks from a numerical viewpoint. A crack simulation procedure is introduced by revising the former
strain based concept (Kono et al., 2017). The main content of this paper was published in the paper
(Kono et al., 2018) but some revisions were made.
2. Experimental Work
Fig. 2 shows configuration of a five-story RC specimen and typical section size with reinforcement
arrangement. It is noted that the building had structural slits (or gaps) between secondary walls as
shown by thick blue lines in Fig. 2(a). Cracks were traced and copied to transparencies and the
maximum width for each crack was recorded.
(a) Specimen configuration b) Column with a wing wall and beam with one side slab
Fig. 2. Configuration of the 2014 five-story specimen and typical section size (Fukuyama et al., 2015)
3. Simulation of Flexural Cracks

The paper aims to obtain complete residual flexural and shear crack profiles (crack spacing, width,
and length) using FEM analysis results. Fig. 3 introduces a procedure to evaluate residual cracks.
The flow has two branches; branch for residual flexural crack profiles and branch for residual
shear crack profiles. Yellow boxes (#3, 5, and 10) use predetermined values and a red box (#6) is
carried out from a regression analysis. Crack spacing (#3) is determined based on CEB-FIP Model
Code equation (1978) although the crack spacing in this code is not necessarily for seismic purposes.
Horizontal crack length, Lh(i), is taken into consideration (#7-1) when crack width is larger than visible
flexural crack width Wlimit =0.01mm (#5). Then actual diagonal and meandering crack length, Lf(i), is
obtained (#7-2) by multiplying correction factor, a, which is obtained from a regression analysis (#6).
From #3, #4, and #7-2, complete residual flexural crack profiles (spacing, width, and length) are
obtained. Similar procedure may be taken for shear cracks although this paper does not explain in
detail.
304
1: Nonlinear FEM analysis

Obtain strain/displacement at unloaded conditions
Branch for residual flexural cracks Branch for residual shear cracks
2: Extract axial strain at member 9: Extract shear deformation

3: Compute flexural boundary component 10: Compute shear crack
crack spacing Sf from spacing Ss from the 2004
CEB-FIP 1978) AIJ guidelines)
4: Integrate strain and obtain
11: Obtain mean shear crack width
flexural crack width
5: Set visible crack width
(Wlimit =0.01mm)
6: Obtain from existing data
7: Compute flexural crack length
(7-1: Horizontal crack length Lh(i))
12: Compute shear crack length
(7-2: Cruved and meandering crack length Lf(i) =KLh(i))
Complete flexural crack profiles (spacing, Complete shear crack profiles (spacing,
width, length) are obtained here. width, length) are obtained here.
8: Compute area of flexural cracks 13: Compute area of shear cracks
Fig. 3. Flow chart how to obtain complete residual flexural crack profiles
2.1 Numerical analysis with an FEM program. (#1 in Fig. 3)
Fig. 4 shows a 2D finite element mesh used in a commercial FEM program “FINAL” (ITOCHU
2016). Concrete was modeled as isoparametric quadrilateral elements with smeared reinforcement,
and longitudinal reinforcement was modeled as beam-column elements. Perfect bond characteristics
were assumed for all reinforcement. All degrees of freedom were fixed at nodes on the bottom face of
the foundation beams. Self-weight was applied as concentrated load at beam-column connections
based on a tributary area. Lateral load was applied at the central beam-column connections of roof and
fourth floor by 1:2 ratio to simulate the load conditions in experiment. Load was controlled by the
lateral displacement of the roof level and loading protocol followed the measured displacement
although the second cycle, which the experimental loading protocol had, was skipped to save
computational time. The numerical simulation was carried out up to R=1% since the resisting
mechanism of building changed when structural slits (or gaps) closed at R=+1.3% in experiment. The
elements employed default material models; modified Ahmad model (Naganuma, 1995) and Izumo
model (Izumo et al. 1987) were used for concrete and modified Menegotto-Pinto model (Ciampi et
al., 1982) was used for reinforcement.
Fig. 5(a) shows base shear force – roof level drift relation up to 1% drift. The numerical simulation
agrees well with the experimental results. Fig. 5(b) shows the base shear force – member rotation of
the north beam (2F). The deformation of each member directly influences the simulation of crack
performance. The simulated curves agree relatively well with the experimental results as can be seen
in the figure.
Fig. 4. Finite element mesh and loading condition in 2D finite element analysis (Kitamura, 2017)
305
5000
EXP 5000
4000 EXP
FEM 4000
3000 Yeilding at column(EXP) FEM
3000
2000 Yeilding at beam(EXP)
2000 Yeilding at longitudinal
Yeilding at wing wall(EXP)
Base shear(kN)
Base shear(kN)
1000 reinforcement
1000
(a) 2014 Specimen
0 (c) 2014 North beam
0
-1000
-1000
-2000 -2000
-3000 -3000
-4000 -4000
Roof drift(%) Rotation(%)
-5000 -5000
-1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 -1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
(a) Base shear force – roof level drift ratio relation (b) Base shear – 1F north beam rotation angle
Fig. 5. Typical results of finite element analysis (Kitamura, 2017)
2.2 Numerical simulation of flexural cracks. (#2〜7 in Fig. 3)
Most cracks were governed by flexure and crack simulation in this paper treated only flexural cracks.
An effect of some flexural-shear cracks was considered with conversion index, 𝛼 , which is explained
later. The first floor column is used as an example to explain how to obtain spacing, width, and length
of flexural cracks.
First, crack spacing and width (#2, 3, and 4 in Fig. 3) is explained step by step. Width of the i-th
crack, 𝑊% , was computed based on Eq. (3). It was assumed that concrete does not deform and
elongation of a member comes from crack openings. Hence, strain obtained from the finite element
analysis represents effects of smeared cracks. Based on this assumption, the flexural crack width of a
member can be obtained by integrating longitudinal tensile strain (𝜀'' ) over crack spacing (𝑆)* ). The
crack spacing is based on Eq. (2) proposed in CEB-FIP Model Code (CEB-FIP 1978). Eq. (4) is based
on the condition that the number of cracks reached saturated condition. The error of Eq. (4) was
studied beforehand and turned out to be reasonably small after R=0.25%.
/ 12 /5
𝑊% = ∫/ 062 3/5 𝜀'' 𝑑𝑧 (3)
0 3
;= BC=
𝑆7 = 2 9𝑐; + >?@ + 𝑘> 𝑘5 D=
(4)
where 𝑊% and ℎ% are width and height of the i-th crack, 𝜀'' is tensile strain in vertical (𝑧) direction, 𝑆7
is crack spacing. Other notations in Eq. (4) should be referred to in the original document. Fig. 6
shows accumulated crack width for the north column (1F) and the wing wall (1F). Crack width was
accumulated from the top to bottom in the figure. The accumulated crack width at the bottom is close
to the elongation measured by displacement gages, and measured elongation of member is expressed
by the vertical break lines in the figure. Fig. 6(a) and (c) show variations at the peaks and Fig. 6(b)
and (d) show those at the unloaded conditions. Each figure has comparisons between experimental
and analytical results for three drift levels at R=0.25%, 0.5% and 1%. Solid circles on the
experimental curves show the location of actual cracks and those for analysis show simulated points
with spacing, 𝑆7 . Simulated variations for peak load agreed relatively well with experimental results
for the column and wing wall. However, the agreement is not very good for residual crack width. If
the total elongation of the tension fiber in analysis does not agree with experimental results, the
simulation does not agree with the experimental results.
Secondly, crack length simulation (#5, 6, and 7 in Fig. 3) is explained. Crack length was computed
using FEM analysis results The crack is assumed visible when crack width of the i-th crack exceeds
the limit crack width, 𝑊F%*%G , which is a constant value and defined in Eq. (5). The projectected crack
length, 𝐿/(%) ,was computed based on the neutral axis depth, 𝑥L(%) , and invisible crack length, 𝑥F%*%G(%) ,
as shown in Eq. (6) and Fig. 7. In this paper, the crack opening profile is assumed triangular as shown
in Fig. 7(d) and the computing process is based on the edge opening, 𝑊% .
𝑊F%*%G = 0.01mm in this study (5)
306
𝐿/(%) = 𝐷 − 𝑥L(%) − 𝑥F%*%G(%) (6)
Elongation (0.25%)
Elongation (1%)
1/400(FEM)
Elongation (0.25%)
1/400(FEM)
Elongation (0.25%)
1/200(FEM)
2500 1/200(FEM)2500 2500 2500
1/100(FEM)
1/100(FEM)
1/400(EXP)
1/400(EXP)
1/200(EXP)
1/200(EXP)
2000 2000 1/100(EXP) 2000
1/100(EXP) 2000
Height from the base(mm)
Elongation (0.5%)
Elongation (0.5%)
base(mm)
Elongation (0.5%)
Elongation (1%)
1500 1500 1500 1500
(1%)
from the
Elongation
1000 1000 1000 1000
Height
500 500 500 500
0 0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Accumulated crack width (mm) Accum. crack width (mm) Accumulated crack width (mm) Accum. crack width (mm)
(a) North column (peak) (b) North column (residual) (c) North Wing wall (peak) (d) North Wing wall (residual)
Fig. 6. Accumulated crack width distribution
𝐿7(%) = α𝐿/(%) (7)

𝛼 = 𝛼> ∙ 𝛼5 (8)
[3(\]^)
𝛼> = 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 Z
[_(\]^)
` (from straight length to meandering length) (9)
[_(\]^)
𝛼5 = 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 Z
[a(\]^)
` (from horizontal projection to diagonal length) (10)
Conversion index, 𝛼 , was multiplied to obtain actual diagonal and meandering crack length, 𝐿7(%) ,
to take into account the fact that cracks are not smooth nor horizontal. Index, 𝛼 , was determined from
the experimental results and the values were 1.15, 1.28, and 1.51 for the column, wing wall, and beam.
Index 𝛼> and 𝛼5 were computed using regression analysis of experimental data using Eqs. (9) and
(10).
Since complete profiles of residual flexural crack profiles are obtained (Crack spacing in #3,
residual crack width in #4, and crack length in #7-2 in Fig. 3), they are validated with experimental
data. Fig. 8 shows crack area damage ratio, 𝛽c , which is the ratio of all visible crack area summation,
∑ 𝐴f)gfh(%) , to the concrete surface area, 𝐴;i)7gfj . It is a no-dimensional quantity as expressed by Eq.
(11). Crack area is defined in Fig. 7(d) as a blue trapezoid shape.
∑ cklmkn(0) ∑q?.r∙s0 ∙tu6vw(0)x6?.r∙sy0z0{ ∙vy0z0{(0) |

𝛽c = copl3mk\
= copl3mk\
(11)
Where 𝐷 is the total depth of a member. Based on the reference (JBDPA 2015), crack width is
categorized into four classes of crack width (0 ≤ 𝑤f) ≤ 0.2𝑚𝑚, 0.2𝑚𝑚 ≤ 𝑤f) ≤ 1𝑚𝑚, 1mm ≤
𝑤f) ≤ 2𝑚𝑚 𝑤f) ≥ 2𝑚𝑚 ) and 𝛽c for each category is expressed as a stack graph in Fig. 8.
Agreement is not very good but tolerable up to 0.5% drift and is not good at all at 1% drift. It can be
seen that the complete crack profiles such as crack damage area ratio is hard to predict even if
simulated crack width profiles in Fig. 6 are not very bad.
307
Fig. 7. Calculation of crack length
0.12% 0.12%
2.0mm- 2.0mm-
Crack area damage ratio, bA
Crack area damage ratio, bA

ひび割れ面積率(mm2/mm2)
ひび割れ面積率(mm2/mm2)
0.10% 1.0-2.0mm 0.10% 1.0-2.0mm

0.2-1.0mm 0.2-1.0mm
0.08% 0.08%
0.0-0.2mm 0.0-0.2mm
0.06% 0.06%
0.04% 0.04%
0.02% 0.02%
代表変形角(rad) 代表変形角(rad)
0.00% 0.00%
EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM EXP FEM
-1/1600 -1/800 -1/400 -1/200 -1/100 -1/1600 -1/800 -1/400 -1/200 -1/100
Drift ratio at roof (rad) Drift ratio at roof (rad)
(a) North column (b) Wing wall

Fig. 8. Comparison of experimental and computational variations of crack area damage ratio (Residual values
for north column and wing wall)
4. Conclusions
The Japanese design procedure for ordinary reinforced concrete buildings were first introduced. Then,
in order to assess damage state, complete residual flexural crack profiles (crack spacing, width, and
length) were simulated for the real scale five story reinforced concrete building specimen tested in
2014.
• Accumulated crack width show that crack width and spacing were well simulated for peak points
of each cycles.
• Crack length can be simulated by making two assumptions; concrete does not deform, and crack
is invisible if crack width is less than the limit crack width.
• Computed crack area damage ratio is not very good but tolerable up to 0.5% drift and is not good
at all at 1% drift. It can be seen that the complete crack profiles such as crack damage area ratio is
hard to predict even if simulated crack width profiles are not very bad.
• The authors hope that simulation of complete crack profiles improves damage evaluation for
serviceability and reparability limit states.
308
Acknowledgments
This study was carried out by a joint study of National Technology Development Project of MLIT
“Development of function sustaining technologies for buildings used as Disaster Prevention Bases” (2013-2016)
and Priority Research Program of BRI Development on Seismic Design Method for Building with Post
Earthquake Functional Use” (2013-2015). The efforts in measuring concrete cracking by Tokyo Institute of
technology, Tokyo University of Science and Tohoku University and seven participating companies are
gratefully acknowledged. A part of this study was conducted as Scientific Research A (PI: Susumu Kono) of
JSPS Grant-in-Aid program. Some financial support was also granted by the World Research Hub Initiative of
the Institute of Innovative Research and the Collaborative Research Project of Materials and Structures
Laboratory at Tokyo Institute of Technology.
References
Architectural Institute of Japan, (2004). Guidelines for Performance Evaluation of Earthquake Resistant
Reinforced Concrete Buildings (Draft).
CEB-FIP, (1978). Model Code for Concrete Structures, 15.2.3 Limit states of cracking, pp.156-160
Ciampi, V. et al., (1982). Analytical Model for Concrete Anchorages of Reinforcing Bars Under Generalized
Excitations, Report No. UCB/EERC-82/23, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Nov.
Fukuyama, H.(2015). Static Loading Test on A Full Scale Five Story Reinforced Concrete Building utilizing
Wing Walls for Damage Reduction, Summaries of technical papers of Annual Meeting Architectural
Institute of Japan. C-2, 2015, pp. 361-362.
ITOCHU (2016). Techno Solutions Corporation: Science and Engineering Systems Division: Final user’s
manual.
Izumo, J., Shima, H., & Okamura, H.(1987). Analytical Model for Reinforced Concrete Panel Elements
Subjected to In-Plane Forces, Concrete Research and Technology, 25(9), 107-120
JBDPA (2015). (The Japan Building Disaster Prevention Association), Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit.
Kabeyasawa, T., Mukai, T., Fukuyama, H., et al. (2016). A Full Scale Static Loading Test on Five Story
Reinforced Concrete Building Utilizing Columns with Wing Walls, Journal of Structural and Construction
Engineering, Transactions of AIJ. 81(720), 313-322.
Kabeyasawa, T., Mukai, T., Fukuyama, H., Suwada, H., & Kato H (2017). Full-scale static loading test on a five
story reinforced concrete building, 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Santiago Chile,
January 9 – 13, Paper No. 1242
Kitamura F. (2017). Damage evaluation of five-story building by nonlinear finite element analysis, Master
thesis of Tokyo Instute of Technology, 2017.
Kono, S., Kitamura, F., Yuniarsyia, E., Watanabe, H., Mukai, T. & Mukai, D. (2017). Efforts to develop
resilient reinforced concrete building structures in Japan, Proceedings of the Fourth Conference on Smart
Monitoring, Assessment and Rehabilitation of Civil Structures, Sept 13-15, Zurich, Switzerland, Paper ID
#KN30.
Kono, S., Kuwabara, R., Kitamura, F., Yuniarsyia, E., Watanabe, H., Mukai, T. & Mukai, D. (2018). Shear
Capacity for Full-Scale Precast Concrete Pile, 17th US-Japan-New Zealand Workshop on the Improvement
of Structural Engineering and Resilience, November 12-14, 2018, Queenstown, New Zealand, pp. ID 3-7.
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT) (2015). The 2015 guidelines of structural
design technology of buildings, 2015.
Naganuma K. (1995). Stress – strain relationship for concrete under triaxial compression, Journal of Structural
and Construction Engineering, Transactions of AIJ, 474.163-170.
309
2015 Nepal Earthquake and Earthquake Resistance Structure

Jagadiswar M. Shrestha1
Abstract
Nepal lies in one of the most earthquake vulnerable zone. Damage of structure is due to scale of
earthquake intensity at the particular location and quality of structural design & construction. The
former is totally dependent upon magnitude of earthquake, soil characteristics between epicenter and
structure as well as soil condition below the structure which is beyond the control of human beings.
The later one is due to quality of structural design and construction which can be enhanced so that
minimum damage will occur during earthquake. The earthquake of April 25, 2015 destroyed most of
the old historical structures along with weak structures due to construction method and weak soil
characteristics. Some temples/buildings have collapsed totally while the structures nearby are
unaffected whereas some poorly designed buildings have not been affected due to quality of design &
construction. Design of structures in earthquake prone areas should be based on the principles of
earthquake resistant design (ERD). Detailing of RC structure is necessary to supplement ERD.
Keywords: Earthquake; Magnitude; Intensity; Design; Detailing
1. Introduction
Nepal lies in one of the most earthquake vulnerable zone. The earthquake of April 25, 2015 destroyed
most of the old historical structures along with weak structures due to construction method and weak
soil zones. On inspection, even some poorly designed buildings have not been affected, due to this,
we have to analyze the nature and causes of damage during the earthquake. In general speaking, most
of the information says that Nepal got the earthquake at about every 100 years. But it is not true. From
the history, Nepal suffered many times by the earthquake and shown in table 1.
Table 1. History of earthquakes occurred in Nepal

Year (AD) 1254 1343 1467 1504 1688 1776 1833 1934 2015
Magnitude 7.8 7.9 8.0 8.7 8.0 7.9 8.0 8.2 7.6
Some people think that we do not necessary to worry within our life for the due to earthquake. It is
clear that the earthquake occurred several times but not in regular period and above table shows that
great earthquake occurred in the interval from 37 year to 176 year. So, we have necessary to
preparedness to less damage and loss due to earthquake at any time.
2. 2015 Earthquake of Nepal

Recently Nepal suffered from great earthquake of 7.6 Richter scale on April 25, 2015 which is about
four times (in log scale) less than that of 1934 earthquake. It is easy to collect and sharing information
as soon nowadays because of rapid development of communication worldwide. The human casualty
in this earthquake was 8,857 which was more casualty than in 1934 earthquake of 8,519 numbers. But
in considering overall population, 0.03 percent of the total population lost their lives in 2015
earthquake whereas in the 1934 earthquake 0.15 percent of the total population lost their lives.
Some of the less casualty of 2015 earthquake is due to following condition:
• Public holiday (Saturday) on April 25, 2015
• Being dry weather of April month
• More consciousness time on about 12 o’clock
1 Sustainable Infrastructure Development Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal, shresthajm@hotmail.com
310
• Only old and less quality constructed buildings were damaged

• Some of the buildings were constructed Earthquake Resistant
Fig. 1. Response of earthquake by the building
The accumulated energy due to movement of tectonic plate release time to time on the earth
surface and we called it as earthquake. When earthquake occurred, the surface of ground vibrates
around from epicenter and diminishes as it goes far away depend upon the soil characteristics. The
infrastructure will exert a force equal to the mass of the infrastructure times the acceleration due to the
earthquake. Mass of the infrastructure is more or less fixed for particular structure and cannot reduced
more by replacing light elements. Bigger the infrastructure more will be the earthquake force exerts in
the structure. The acceleration on the foundation of infrastructure depends upon three factors of
magnitude of earthquake, soil characteristics and distance between epicentre and the infrastructure.
Fig. 2. Building damaged by earthquake occurred in Hualien, Taiwan on Feb 6, 2018
All these parameters are beyond control of human being. In general, people think that the main
cause of destruction is the earthquake only. The vulnerability of structure is too high when epicenter is
near the surface even though the magnitude is less. The recent earthquake damage in Hualien, Taiwan
on Feb18, 2018 amply demonstrates this. The acceleration was 22 percent of acceleration due to
gravity with 6.4 Richter scale which is just 28km from epicenter and hence damaged more.
The damage of infrastructure could be reduced only by improving of quality of design and
construction. But people are very less aware about these things. This is due to level of consciousness
about earthquake, weakness of related government agency to strictly applying rules and regulation,
attitude of civil servants who apply the rules etc. Design of the infrastructure should comply with the
311
relevant standards/code requirements with comfortable, safe and economy. Architectural design of an
infrastructure means the fulfillment of the needs of the client along with being comfortable, safe and
economical. Preconstruction stage of design incorporates the design of architectural, structural,
electrical and sanitary. The former two parts accounts for more or less 80 percent of the total cost, and
therefore care shall be taken for every single design component. Secondly, the most important part is
the quality control during construction. Both knowledge and experience is required to achieve the
required/desired quality in construction. Supervision from only academically qualified persons
without relevant experience may not result in high quality in construction. There are many examples
of structures remaining safe/undamaged against the huge earthquake even though the structure was
not properly designed. This was possible only because of good quality of construction, i.e.; use of
good quality of materials and use of experienced skilled person during construction. For particular
location, acceleration due to earthquake will be same and the earthquake force will depend on weight
of the structure. Thus bigger the structure more will be the earthquake force exerted on the structure.
The damage level by the earthquake depends on quality of design and quality of construction. The
photographs of Fig.3 are from the same location of Kathmandu valley lying just opposite to each other
across a road proves this thing. The left building is very small (low mass) in comparison to the right
one (high mass), and hence the small building experienced lesser force due to earthquake than the big
Fig. 3. Effect due to earthquake at same location opposite to each other
building, but it (small building) collapsed at third floor, whereas the big building suffered no damage.
The structure design for commercial buildings is done with expectation of acceleration of about 36
percent of acceleration due to gravity (0.36g). The 2015 earthquake caused acceleration of 17 percent
of the acceleration due to gravity (0.17g) only which is nearly half of the design condition. So, there
was no damage to well designed and constructed buildings due to this earthquake. Some of the
improperly designed but well-constructed buildings also were not damaged from the 2015 earthquake.
That does not mean it is not necessary to design because there is probability of earthquakes occurring
with intensity higher than that experienced in 2015 earthquake in this location.
The quality of construction plays vital role to strengthen the structure. Proper selection of materials
and use of experienced human resources in supervising the construction are the key things for better
structure. Most of the residential buildings have been constructed without supervision by experienced
Engineers and thus the constructed buildings will sustain only the dead and live loads, and may not be
able to resist earthquake force. Drastically different quality of construction materials like cement, steel
bar and aggregates are used commonly. It is necessary to consult experienced Engineers for better
choice of materials before purchasing and proper supervision too. Most of the residential building
owners build the structure with contractor only. It may be fast in construction when supervision by
Engineer is not carried out. It is thus highly probable that such buildings are not capable of resisting
earthquake force. There are many such type of buildings that suffered damaged during the 2015
earthquake.
312
3. Principles of Earthquake Resistant Building

There were several major and moderate earthquakes in Nepal. Every building structure has been
expected to experience moderate to major earthquakes during, its life period. Design of building
structure should follow the principles of earthquake resistant design. A well designed earthquake
resistant building should be able to:
• Resist minor earthquake without damage.
• Resist moderate earthquake without structural damage but with some nonstructural damage.
• Resist major earthquake without collapse but with some structural as well as non-structural
damage.
Fig. 4. Building damaged due to 2015 Earthquake in Nepal
4. Failure of the Structures

It is not easy to generalize the common causes of failures of structural elements due to earthquake,
since the type of construction and materials used vary from place to place. Major causes of structural
failure or collapse are due to one or combination of following conditions:
• use of poor quality of construction material
• poor reinforcement detailing of the member and joint
• deficiency in structural design
• complicated configuration of the structure
• short column effect
• soft story effect
• differential settlement of foundation ground
Designing of the structure is not sufficient. Proper detailing is also very important for a structural
engineer. Due to lake of proper communication and checking of drawing or even by carelessness in
detailing may cause the failure of structures. Lack of proper structural design is the major causes of
failure. The structural failure includes shear failure, bond failure, flexure failure and instability of
foundation. There are different levels of design. It is quite natural that engineers may have diverse
views on structure design due to different levels of knowledge, study and experience. Minimum level
of concept for designing by following related code is necessary to avoid faulty design. Any confusion
should be clarified by consulting experienced senior designers.
313
Fig. 5. Slender buildings from different parts of world
The complicated configuration of the structure also causes failure. On analysis of the structure by
software, no problem in design can be seen, but the behavior of the structure is different in the field.
But in practice, structure does not function well due to this complicated configuration. The joint
system does not function well due to this complicated structure detailing because of congested joints.
An architect may introduce their special opinion by making complicated configuration for the
aesthetic views whereas the structure engineer prefers simple configuration. There may always be
some dispute regarding this factor. These two fields of engineering should work together from the
beginning so that overall performance is better.
Earthquake force affect easily to slender building. Building having small plinth area may slender
because of lack of area. If slenderness ratio (height to width) becomes more than one, it may or tend
to overturning of structure during earthquake.
Fig. 6. Building damage by Earthquake
Many of the buildings that collapsed during earthquakes suffered from the soft story effect.
Generally, partitions on the ground floor are not provided for the utilization of garages or shops
whereas upper stories have heavy partitions. Also, beams are provided in mid landing of staircases for
strengthening. Such type of structures causes short column effect, which attracts large stresses during
earthquake.
Failure may be because of poor quality in construction with inferior or inappropriate materials and
poor supervision. The construction materials used in the structure are steel, cement, aggregates, water
etc. that contribute to strength requirement. Supervising engineers should be as capable as designers
so that the later should not miss anything.
Even in well-designed structures, due to different behavior of soil strata, damage during
earthquakes is caused by the settlement of foundation soil. Differential settlement of foundation arises
mainly due to lack of proportionate design of foundation load. Such type of mistake causes the
increase in earthquake force much more than expected. Design of foundation in major structures
314
should be carried out based on soil investigation. But owner of each and every residential building
cannot get soil investigation data because of cost involvement in soil investigation. Then, structure is
designed based on the assumption of bearing capacity by soil, nature of soil and vicinity soil
investigation if available. Nature of soil may vary from one foundation to another in the same type of
building. So it is very difficult to accomplish appropriate foundation design, which may lead to failure
of the structure.
5. Codes Related to Earthquake Resistant Building

As time passes, additional codes are available to overcome the shortcomings in earlier codes. Some of
the Indian standard (IS) and Nepal standard (NS) codes related to seismic design and ductile detailing
is as follows:
i. IS:1893:2002(PART 1),Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures
ii. NBC 105:1994,Seismic design of building in Nepal
iii. NS 500: 2058, Seismic design of building in Nepal
iv. IS 4326: 1993, Earthquake resistant design and construction of buildings
v. IS 13920: 1993, Ductile Detailing of RC Structure subjected to seismic forces
vi. NS 501:2058, Ductile Detailing of RC Structure subjected to seismic forces
TORCARI , Fe500
600 fu
fu TMT , Fe500
fy fy fu
Tensile stress (N/mm2 )
500 TOR STEEL , Fe415

fy fu MILD STEEL , Fe250
400
300 fy
200
100
10 20 30 40
Elongation over gauge length ( 5.65ÖØ) %
VII. MILD, TOR, TORCARI & TMT
Fig. 7. Characteristics of different steel bar
NS 501: 2058, ductile detailing of RC structure subjected to seismic forces is referred from IS
13920: 1993. This code incorporates a number of important provisions, which were not covered in IS
4326:1993. Significant changes have been incorporated in this code. The requirements for detailing of
longitudinal reinforcement at joint faces, splices and anchorage requirements in beams have been
explained more explicitly. In this code, use of material has been specified. It is mentioned that for
clause 5.2 of IS 13920:1993, for more than 3-storey buildings, minimum grade of concrete shall be
M20. In designing of multi-storey buildings it demands higher grade of concrete to lower the size of
the member and to lessen the development length. Again as per clause 5.3, steel reinforcement
exceeding Fe 415 grade should not be used. However, amendment published on March 2002 allows
use of higher grade of steel (TMT bar) more than Fe 415 Which states that “However, high strength
deformed steel bars, produced by the thermo-mechanical treatment process of grades Fe500 having
elongation more than 14.5 percent and conforming to other requirements of IS 1786: 1985 may also
be used for the reinforcement”. As per this clause higher grade steel other than TMT such as Torcari
(Fe 500) cannot be used for the seismic resistant building because it is brittle in nature. This may be
elaborated from the graphs.
In the graph, flatter areas under curve denote ductility behavior of Torcari (Fe500) and Torsteel
(Fe415). Though design flexural strength is about the same, the post crack behaviour is different.
315
Torcari steel has less area under the curve after yield whereas Torsteel has more area under the curve,
i.e. Torcari (Fe500) has less ductility than low grade Torsteel (Fe500). Ductility in rebar is essential to
avoid the sudden collapse of buildings during a major earthquake. It is available the recently
developed TMT with more ductile bar Fe500D. The main benefit of using of this bar is having the
property of weldability with 10 times diameter and no need of lap length.
6. Detailing
The main function of detailing is to provide proper interaction between each and every structural
member such as foundation, column, beam and slab. Any design is said to be incomplete without
detailing of joints and other structural members.
Every structural element is strengthened completely by detailing as per design requirement. The
floor loads of slab will be distributed to beam through slab-beam joints and thus accumulated floor
loads will be distributed to the columns through beam-column joints. Column loads will be transferred
finally to the foundation through column-footing joints. Thus, each and every member is connected
with joints. If joints do not perform well due to lack of detailing, forces cannot transfer from one
member to another during intense earthquake shaking even though each individual member has
adequate strength.
Some improper detailing and preventive measures for Reinforced Concrete (RC) Structures:
Table 2. Improper detailing and preventive measures
SN Improper detailing Preventive measures

Insufficient hook in lateral
Provide 10 time diameter of lateral ties or stirrups or 75 mm whichever is
1 ties and stirrups in column
greater
& beam
Provide 10 maximum spacing of stirrup over a length of beam of twice
Insufficient numbers of
2 times effective depth (2d) at less than or equal to d/4 and at d/2 for rest
stirrups in beam
middle part.
#Special confining reinforcement shall be provided at each end of
Insufficient numbers of ties
3 column. This distance shall be greater of larger dimension of the member,
in column
1/6 th of clear span and 450 mm.
It is difficult to provide ties in joint practically. It is necessary to provide
Lack of hoops in beam-
4 ties through the joint at the column ends and minimum half of
column joint
confinement bars in joint at beam framing in all vertical faces.
Improper place of beam bar Longitudinal bars of beam shall be providing inside the longitudinal bars
5
in column of column.
Lack of stirrups or hoop in Provide maximum spacing of stirrup s or hoops at lap not more than
6
lap of longitudinal bar 150mm.
#Provide anchorage length of both the top and bottom bars of the beam
Lack of sufficient
7 beyond the inner face of the column equal to development length in
development length
tension.
Sometimes, there is significant variation in stiffness along its height due
to presence of bracing, a mezzanine floor or a RCC wall on either sides of
8 Short column effect
the column. In such cases, special confining reinforcement shall be
provided over the full height of column.
When secondary beam are rested on main beam, local stress will be
9 Lack of bar of local stresses developed on main beam. Provide minimum of two extra bars beneath the
secondary beam along the direction of main beam.
Provide lap of main bar in mid height of column. In the case of beam,
Lap of main bar in provide lap in the place of minimum stresses developed section. It is
10
improper places better to provide lap at center of top bar and 1/3 rd to 1/4 th beam span of
bottom bar. Not more than half of bars are lapped at a section.
316
SN Improper detailing Preventive measures
In slab, provide 0.15% of total cross sectional area for mild steel and
0.12% for high strength deformed bar. In beams, minimum tension
Lack of proper amount of reinforcement shall be, Ast=0.85bd/fy and maximum not more than
11
reinforcement 0.04bd. In columns, minimum longitudinal reinforcement shall be 0.8 %
of the cross sectional area and not more than maximum of 6% But to
avoid congestion of bar, provide not more than 4% in general.
Concrete cover should be provided sufficiently so that moisture stresses
will uniform around the bar and air moisture does not attack in the bar.
12 Lack of concrete cover Minimum clear cover should be provided 15mm,25mm,40mm and 50mm
for slab, beam, column and foundation respectively. Provide 25mm or
twice the diameter of bar whichever is greater at the end of each bar.
All hoops of the column and stirrups of beam must be linked will
Lack of linkage between
longitudinal bars of the member. Otherwise provided spacing has no
13 hoops and stirrups with
meaning as the cement slurry and fine sand will be fill in the gap between
longitudinal bar
longitudinal bar and stirrup and shear cannot transfer to longitudinal bars.
7. Development Length of Rebars for Different Grades of Concrete and

Steel
Equating the limit of bond in bar and tensile forces,
(1)
Ld = (𝜎s/4𝜏bd)∅ (2)
Where f is the bar diameter, Ld is the development length, tbd is the bond stress between bar and
concrete and ss is the stress in bar. Development of bar for different grade of concrete and steel bar is
given in Table 3.
Table. 3. Development length of bar
Steel grade, fy
Concrete Fe250 Fe415 Fe500 or Fe500D
grade, fck Mild Steel Deformed bar (Tor Steel) TMT
Tension Compression. Tension Compression. Tension Compression.
M15 54f 44f 56f 45f 68f 54f
M20 4f 36f 47f 38f 57f 45f
M25 39f 31f 40f 32 f 49f 39f
Development length reduces from above with hooks at the end also. It reduces with 4f, 8f,12f &
16f for 45o, 90o, 135o & 180o respectively.
8. Retrofit of Structure
Retrofitting of building is the process of modifying to the structure for strengthening the structure than
its previous state, regardless of the structure being damaged. Proper design by experienced Engineer
is required for retrofit of any structure; imitating retrofit of other building may lead to the failure of
structure. It is required to design and strengthen wherever necessary as per site condition. Retrofitting
of all the columns should not be done unnecessarily. Thus experienced Structural Engineer will give
the optimum solution for retrofitting. In general, retrofitting will be carried out only if the retrofitting
cost will not exceed about half of cost required to construct of same type of building.
317
Fig.8. Retrofitting of Building
9. Conclusion
Earthquake damage does not depend upon magnitude only, which is beyond the control of human
beings. The damage mainly depends on quality of design and construction. Design of structures in
earthquake prone areas should be based on the principles of earthquake resistant design (ERD).
Detailing of RC structures is necessary to supplement ERD. It is necessary to improve ductility of the
buildings so that the major damages that occur during an earthquake can be minimized and sudden
collapse can be prevented. Retrofitting of a structure shall be carried out as per the advice of
experienced Structure Engineer.
References
Dharam V. M., Protection Against Earthquakes, SAP Pvt. Ltd.
IS 13920, (1993). The Indian standard IS 13920, Ductile Detailing of RC Structure Subjected to Seismic Forces
IS 1893 (Part 1), (2002). The Indian standard IS1893, Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures
IS 4326, (1993). The Indian standard IS 4326, Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction of Buildings
IS 456, (2000). The Indian standard IS 456, Plain and Reinforced Concrete
James L. S., (1987). Manual of Seismic Design, Prentice-Hall international series in civil engineering and
engineering mechanics.
Murty, C.V.R.(2005). Earthquake tips, National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology Kanpur, India.
NBC-105 (1994). Nepal National Building Code 105: Seismic Design of Buildings in Nepal.
NS 500, (2002). Seismic Design of Buildings in Nepal-2058 BS
NS: 501, (2002). Ductile Detailing of RC Structure Subjected to Seismic Forces-2058 BS
Park, R. & Paulay, T., (1975). Reinforced concrete structures. John Wiley & Sons.
Varyani, U.H., (2002). Structural design of multi-storeyed buildings. MK Book Services.
318
Nepalese School Building Stock and Implications on Seismic

Vulnerability Assessment
Flavia De Luca1, Nicola Giordano2, Hayley Gryc3, Laura Hulme4, Charlotte McCarthy5,
Vita Sanderson6, and Anastasios Sextos7,8
Abstract
The last catastrophic seismic events in Nepal have shown that the Nepalese school building stock is
characterized by a high level of vulnerability with respect to seismic actions. According to different
post-event reconnaissance reports, thousands of schools have been destroyed by the 2015 earthquakes,
depriving the country of a fundamental social and economic asset. Within the SAFER (Seismic Safety
and Resilience of Schools in Nepal) project, a specific working task is dedicated to the assessment of
school structures in terms of probabilistic fragility functions. These curves will be included in a
comprehensive seismic risk management framework for the Nepalese community. However, the
derivation of fragilities has to be preceded by: (i) a meaningful subdivision of the total building
inventory in different structural typologies, (ii) a detailed investigation about the recurrent seismic
damage and failure modes of Nepalese constructions. These two aspects and their implications on the
selection of proper structural assessment methodologies are carefully discussed and mapped in the
present paper.
Keywords: Nepalese school building; Earthquake damages; Structural typology; Vulnerability assessment.
1. Introduction
It is nowadays common knowledge that the Nepalese school building stock is characterized by a high
level of vulnerability. According to a 2014 Asian Development Bank report (ADB 2014), 18% of the
nation’s schools require rebuild while 43% need major retrofitting interventions. The last catastrophic
2015 seismic event has unfortunately worsened this situation. Different post-event reconnaissance
reports (Aon Benfield, 2015; Build Change, 2015; EERI Earthquake Engineering Research Institute,
2016; Government of Nepal, 2015; Paci-Green et al., 2015) estimate that about 6,000-8,200 schools
have been destroyed by the 2015 earthquakes. Post-earthquake surveys carried out adopting the
inspection form from the National Society of Earthquake Technology (NSET) resulted in 6,000
school buildings tagged with a damage grade (DG) 4 corresponding to “very heavy damage” or DG5
(collapse) and 11,000 tagged with damage score DG2 or DG3 corresponding to moderate and heavy
damage, respectively. In terms of classrooms, 47,557 suffered structural damage. In details, 9.1% of
country`s classrooms experienced collapse, while 5.1% and 7.8% of the classrooms experienced
heavy and moderate damage respectively (Aon Benfield, 2015). In the areas close to the earthquake
epicentre, the consequences on school buildings were even more catastrophic. For instance, in the
Sindhupalchowk district, 99% of the classrooms suffered seismic damage while, in Gorkha district,
85% of the classrooms were destroyed by the earthquake event. The Government of Nepal have
estimated about $300-400M in damage and losses in the education sector (Government of Nepal,
2015; Paci-Green et al., 2015).
In order to reduce these dramatic consequences in case of future earthquakes, it is of paramount
importance to adequately estimate the seismic risk exposure of the school building stock. One of the
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, flavia.deluca@bristol.ac.uk

2 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, nicola.giordano@bristol.ac.uk
3 ARUP International Development, London, UK, hayley.gryc@arup.com
4 ARUP International Development, London, UK, laura.hulme@arup.com
5 ARUP International Development, London, UK, charlotte.mccarthy@arup.com
6 ARUP International Development, London, UK, vita.sanderson@arup.com
7 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, a.sextos@bristol.ac.uk
8 Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
319
main aspects of the risk assessment is the estimation of the structural vulnerability, which is usually
carried out through vulnerability or fragility functions (e.g., Rossetto et al., 2013; Pitilakis et al.,
2014). As underlined by Porter et al. (2007) the evaluation of these curves can be performed using
three main approaches: (i) statistical processing of post-quake observational data, the so called
“empirical fragilities”; (ii) analytical/numerical simulations, the so called “analytical fragilities”; (iii)
expert opinions, the so called “expert elicitation-based fragilities”. Excluding the last methodology,
which can lack of scientific robustness (e.g., Aspinall, 2010), the first two techniques have been
already adopted in the Nepalese context. For instance, Gautam et al. (2018) developed observational
fragility functions for three classes of Nepali residential buildings (namely reinforced concrete, brick
masonry and stone masonry) using survey data from 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake, 1980 Chainpur
earthquake, 1988 Eastern Nepal earthquake, 2011 Eastern Nepal earthquake and 2015 Gorkha
earthquake. Furthermore, Chaulagain et al., (2016) derived fragility functions for reinforced concrete
buildings by adopting a numerical approach based on finite element modelling. In order to have a
more comprehensive representation of the probabilistic seismic vulnerability of the school buildings
in Nepal, more systematic studies are required. These studies could be used to inform a new damage
surveying method, tailored to the Nepalese school building typologies, and meeting the needs of
disaster response and planning agencies. Starting from the various post-2015-earthquakes survey
reports available in literature, the present paper summarizes: (i) the taxonomy of the Nepalese school
building stock resulting from previous projects (e.g., ARUP, 2015); (ii) the recurrent seismic damage
observed for any structural typology; (iii) the most suitable analytical methodology to be used for the
vulnerability assessment.
2. School Building Typologies

Nepal is among the poorest economies in the world (Muzzini et al., 2013) and one of the less
urbanized nations in South Asia with 80.3% of the population living in rural areas (United Nations
2018). For these reasons, despite the large number of projects carried out on school buildings in Nepal
by international agencies and NGOs, an official and detailed database on structural typology
distribution over the country is still lacking. A recent study from the Asian Development Bank (ABD
2014) gives a rough indication of the building construction types in different areas of the nation. In
the Kathmandu valley 30% of the schools have a reinforced concrete (RC) frame bearing system
while 65% have brick unreinforced masonry (URM) supporting walls. In the plain area (Terai), the
RC framed structures are just 10% in favour of a more consistent presence of brick masonry (85%).
These percentage distributions consistently change in the hilly and mountain regions where most of
the buildings (respectively 87% and 97%) are recognized as “other type” i.e., stone masonry, adobe,
wooden or mixed-system structures. Similar data are reported in post-2015-earthquake survey reports.
According to Paci-Green et al. (2015), most of the school buildings in Nepal, i.e. 89%, are constituted
by unreinforced masonry (URM) material. Moreover, in mountain areas, because of the lack of
construction materials (such as fired bricks, cement and steel), 50% of these constructions are made of
dry/mud-mortar rubble-stone masonry. Contrariwise, thanks to the vicinity to industrial activities, the
distribution of school structural typologies in the Kathmandu Valley is slightly different from the rest
of the country.
A more detailed reconnaissance of the school structural taxonomy and distribution in Nepal dates
back to 2000 and was prepared by the Nepalese National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET)
and GeoHazards International (NSET 2000). In this report, the vulnerability of public schools in the
Kathmandu Valley is analysed. Particularly, the work gives an indication of the construction
techniques present in the region starting from a survey-based catalogue of 909 school buildings.
According to the study, at the time of the survey there were 643 public schools in Bhaktapur, Lalitpur
and Kathmandu districts with approximately 1 to 9 buildings for each institute. Table 1 reports the
number of school buildings subdivided by structural typology and the corresponding percentage with
respect to the total available data. For comparison purposes, in the same table, the general building
typology distribution of the Kathmandu Valley (i.e. Bhaktapur Municipality, Lalitpur Sub-
Metropolitan City and Kathmandu Metropolitan City) in 2011 is reported (Chaulagain et al., 2016). It
can be observed that according to NSET (2000), 68.1% of the school buildings were constituted by
adobe/masonry material, split in 16.7% of adobe/stone assemblage and 51.4% of regular bricks. The
second most recurrent school building type was the one-story metallic structure (also called
320
earthquake block). These schools were constructed under the World Bank - Earthquake Affected
Areas Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project (EAARRP) in the period 1992-1997. According to
NSET (2000), this typology represented 22.2% of the total school building stock. Lastly the RC
accounted for 8.1% of the school catalogue.
Table 1. School typology distribution in the Kathmandu valley in 2000 (NSET 2000) and comparison with
respect to the 2011 general building distribution reported by Chaulagain et al. (2016).
School building types in 2000 Building types in 2011
Acronym* Number of buildings Percentage Percentage Percentage Percentage
Typology
[-] [%] BMC** [%] LSMC** [%] KMC** [%]
A Adobe 34 3.7 3.0 3.0 2.0
Stone-mud
URM-SM 114 12.5
masonry
31.0 27.0 26.0
Brick-mud
URM-BM 281 30.9
masonry
Stone-cement
URM-SC 5 0.5
masonry
27.0 30.0 33.0
Brick-cement
URM-BC 187 20.5
masonry
Reinforced
RC 74 8.1 39.0 40 39
concrete
Metallic
S 202 22.2 - - -
(EAARRP)
Other 15 1.6 - - -
TOTAL 909 100 100 100 100
* Readapted from ARUP classification (ARUP 2015)
** BMC = Bhaktapur Municipality, LSMC = Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, KMC = Kathmandu Metropolitan City
It is worth highlighting that in 2000 most of the URM school constructions were constituted by
low-quality mud-mortar (43.4% mud-mortar versus 21% cement-mortar) while, looking at the data
reported in Chaulagain et al. (2016), it can be noticed that in the last decade the cement-mortar URM
increased, at least at global building inventory level. The same conclusion can be drawn for RC
constructions: in 2000 they accounted for 8.1% of the Kathmandu Valley school building inventory
while in 2011 they were 40% of the total building stock. Given the increasing urbanization of the
country (Ishtiaque et al., 2017), it is reasonable to assume that this construction trend is also affecting
the school building stock. Lastly, as a consequence of the ongoing post-2015-earthquake
reconstruction phase, it is likely that the percentage of metallic buildings will increase in future years
since this structural typology is among the structural designs approved by the Department of
Education of Nepal (DOE, 2016).
In Table 2, the main school building typologies are described starting from the classification
provided by ARUP (2015), NSET (2000) and considering the work by Gautam et al. (2018),
Chaulagain et al. (2016) and Adhikari et al. (2018). In this regard, it should be acknowledged that
often in Nepal schools are built incrementally (according to increases in demand and availability of
funding). Construction materials are readily changed between different increments, leading to
buildings that do not always fit neatly into typologies.
3. Recurrent Damage
Several post-quake assessment reports have discussed the typical damage of the Nepalese buildings
after the 2015 earthquakes (e.g., Brando et al., 2017; Paci-Green et al., 2015; Sharma et al., 2016;
EERI 2016; Build Change 2015; Gautam & Chaulagain, 2016; Chiaro et al., 2015). This information
is of fundamental interest for the seismic vulnerability phase since the damage evidence suggests
which assessment procedure should be used and under which precautions. Table 3 attempt to
summarize the main outcomes from the damage evidence provided in literature.
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Table 2. Nepalese school structural typologies adapted from ARUP (2015) and NSET (2000).
Type Description
[A] Adobe - Location: plain area (terai).
- Typical N. of stories: 1.
- Story height: 1.8–2.4 m.
- Wall thickness: 45–60 cm.
- Wall characteristics: sun-dried bricks in mud mortar; absence of
wall-to-wall connections (external walls are usually constructed before the
internal ones); lack of wall-to-floor connections (absence of anchor ties).
- Floors typology: mud layer on wooden planks and timber/bamboo joists.
[source: (NSET 2000)] - Roof typology: corrugated iron (CGI) sheets on timber joists (duo-pitch).
[URM-SM] Stone-mud URM - Location: hills and mountain area.
- Wall characteristics: the cross-section of the wall is usually composed by
two external wythes and an internal rubble core (no through-stones);
absence of wall-to-wall connections; lack of wall-to-floor connections.
- Floors typology: mud layer on wooden planks and timber/bamboo joists;
in some cases, traditional floors are replaced with RC slabs.
[source: (NSET 2000)] - Roof typology: CGI sheets on timber joists.
[URM-BM] Brick-mud URM - Location: rural areas and old cities.
- Story height: 2.7 m.
- Wall characteristics: lack of wall-to-wall connection; lack of wall-to-floor
connections, lack of through-stones.
- Floors typology: mud layer on wooden planks and timber/bamboo joists;
RC brick-concrete floors or concrete slabs.
[source: (NSET 2000)] - Roof typology: cast-in-situ RC roof; CGI sheets on timber joists.
[URM-SC] Stone-cement URM - Location: hills and mountain area.
- Wall thickness: 45 cm.
- Wall characteristics: lack wall-to-wall connection; lack of wall-to-floor
connections; significant number of openings.
- Floors typology: cast-in-situ RC.
- Roof typology: cast-in-situ RC roof is usually more common than CGI
[source: (NSET 2000)]
sheets on timber joists roof.
[URM-BC] Brick-cement URM - Location: urban areas (recent constructions).
- Typical N. of stories: 2-3.
- Story height: 2.7 m.
- Wall thickness: 20–23 cm (one brick thick).
- Wall characteristics: absence of vertical/horizontal bands; absence of ring
beams; large openings; lack or wall-to-wall and wall-to-floor connections;
usually do not respect building code regulations.
- Floors typology: cast-in-place RC brick-concrete floors or RC slabs.
[source: (NSET 2000)] - Foundations typology: strip foundation made of brick-cement masonry.
[RC-N] RC non-engineered - Location: urban areas.
- RC Frame characteristics: regular in plan; columns dimension 23 x 23
cm; beams dimension 23 x 32.5 cm; column spacing between 3 and 5 m;
inadequate load path (beams do not properly frame into columns); lack of
reinforcement detailing; low redundancy; quality of concrete is not
assured.
- Partition wall thickness: 23 cm (one brick thick).
- Floors typology: cast-in-place RC slabs (7-10 cm thick).
[source: Andreas Stavridis] - Roof typology: CGI Roof supported by steel structure or RC.
- Foundations typology: strip foundation made of brick-cement masonry
322
[RC-E] RC engineered - Location: urban areas (new structures).

- Story height: 2.7–3.0 m
- RC Frame characteristics: regular in plan; columns dimension 30 x 30
cm; redundancy and detailing according to IS 13920.
- Partition wall thickness: 23 cm (one brick thick).
- Floors typology: cast-in-place RC slabs (7-10 cm thick).
[source: http://www.gems.edu.np/] - Roof typology: CGI Roof supported by steel structure or RC.
[S] Metallic (EAARRP) - Location: rural areas (realized between 1992 and 1997 under the World
Bank - Earthquake Affected Area Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
Project).
- Story height: 2.4 m (minimum).
- Structure characteristics: light-gauge steel frame regular in plan; the
perimetric walls are realized with stone/brick mud/cement mortar
depending on the local availability of the materials; lintel bands for the
walls-roof connection are usually absent.
- Partition wall typology: variable (filed-stones/bricks in cement-mud
mortar depending on the availability); walls are not connected to the steel
[source: (NSET 2000)] frame
- Roof typology: CGI Roof supported by steel structure
Table 3. Damage types description of Nepalese buildings.

Damage types Description
[CC] Corner cracks
Corner cracks are more likely to develop when: (i) the masonry assemblage is
characterized by low-quality mortar and vertical alignments of the head joints;
(ii) there is a lack of connection with the horizontal structures. The development
of these cracks negatively affects the dynamic response of the building and may
lead to local collapse mechanisms.
[source: (Aon Benfield 2015)]
[DC] Diagonal cracks
Diagonal cracks usually affect masonry piers subjected to severe in-plane
horizontal loads. Particularly, when the stiffness/strength of the units is
considerably higher than the corresponding mortar’s values, shear actions
activate inclined diagonal cracks which follow bed/head mortar joints. On the
contrary, when blocks and mortar have comparable mechanical characteristics,
the inclined cracks follow the principal stress directions through joints and units.
[source: (Build Change 2015)]
[OOP] Out-of-plane failure
The out-of-plane failure is the most common type of damage for URM structures
in Nepal. As a matter of fact, most of the buildings lack of seismic detailing (such
as anchors, ties, ring beams) and out-of-pane displacements are not restrained.
The out-of-plane is more frequent for the non-loadbearing walls which: (i) are
intrinsically more vulnerable because of the absence of stabilizing loads; (ii) do
not benefit from the retaining effect of the beams.
[source: Rama Mohan Pokhrel]
[TSC] Top-story collapse
The upper floor walls are generally subjected to larger horizontal accelerations
due to the filtering effect of the supporting structure (e.g., Lagomarsino 2015).
Accordingly, in the post-earthquake phase, it has been observed that the walls
located at the last floor of adobe/URM buildings have been more severely
affected by in-plane and out-of-plane damage. The combination of these failure
modes has eventually led to the complete collapse of the top-story. The presence
of light roofs (e.g. Corrugated Galvanised Iron (CGI)) not adequately connected
to the walls has also intensified this damage pattern.
323
Damage types Description

[GF] Gable failure
Gable walls are extremely vulnerable to seismic actions especially when they are
not connected to the roofing structural system (Gautam et al. 2016). This damage
type is essentially out-of-plane and usually affects even a portion of the
perimetric wall below the gable. As for the top-story collapse [TSC], the
amplification of the horizontal accelerations negatively affects the stability of the
gable.
[MLF] Multi-leaf failure
When the structural walls are characterized by significant thickness (i.e., more
than 40 cm), they are usually constituted by multi-leaf masonry. It has been
observed that, in most cases, the layers are not connected with through-stones and
include an internal incoherent core. Structures of this kind are usually
characterized by the delamination and out-of-plane failure of the external layer.
The phenomenon is more accentuated when the mechanical properties of the
mortar are low (i.e., mud mortar).
[RC-J] RC joint damage
RC beam-column joints of Nepalese building have been interested by severe
damage. The main reasons of their weakness are: (i) the limited confinement of
the joint due to the lack of stirrups; (ii) the absence of seismic detailing, (iii) the
limited amount of longitudinal reinforcement in the columns; (iv) the presence of
surfaces of discontinuity due to consecutive concrete castings (EERI 2016).
[source: (EERI 2016)]

[RC-I] RC infills damage
According to Gautam et al. (2016) the most recurrent damage observed for the
infill panels was related to in-plane diagonal cracks. The absence of adequate
connections between the panels and the RC structure have also provoked a
consistent number of out-of-plane collapse. Lastly, masonry panels with high
thickness were also responsible of damage to the reinforced concrete columns
due to local interaction (e.g., Verderame et al. 2011).
[source: (EERI 2016)]
[SSC] Soft-story collapse Several reconnaissance surveys have pointed out that the soft-story collapse is
one of the most recurrent damage of RC buildings in Nepal. As reported by
Gautam et al. (2016) three are the main causes of this damage: (i) presence of
large openings at the ground level while the upper floors are characterized by
thick masonry infills (23 cm); (ii) non-fulfilment of the “strong column-weak
beam” capacity design criterium (e.g., Verderame et al. 2011); discontinuity of
the framing system (i.e. presence of floating columns) which generates additional
bending moment at the ground level columns and, eventually, provokes buckling
[source: (Gautam et al. 2016)] failures (Gautam et al. 2016).
4. Recommendation for the Seismic Assessment

From Tables 2 and 3 the following assessment suggestions for the different structural typologies are
outlined:
§ [A]: Given the low-mechanical performance of adobe material (Tarque et al., 2014), the most
recurrent damage for this category involve corner cracks, walls delamination, detachment of
portions of the walls and consequent out-of-plane failure. The numerical assessment of these type
of structures is, in general, a challenging task and could require complex finite element models
(e.g. Illampas et al., 2014). More recently adobe structures have been also analysed with the
discrete element technique (Mendes et al., 2018). Obviously, the aforementioned techniques
require a high implementation effort and computational cost. For this reason, they are more
suitable for the seismic analysis of specific case-studies rather than used for regional-scale
building stock assessments. On the other side, adequately simple techniques for the assessment of
324
adobe structures are usually based on the analysis of constituting walls through methodologies
based on the rigid-body theory (e.g., Doherty et al., 2002; Ferreira et al., 2015). It is worth
mentioning that some studies (Lagomarsino, 2015) suggest a reduction of the wall nominal
thickness to consider possible non-monolithic response.
§ [URM-SM], [URM-BM]: As for adobe constructions, stone-mud and brick-mud structures are
largely affected by out-of-plane failure. This damage mode mostly involves non-loadbearing
walls and gable walls. The assessment considerations outlined for adobe apply to these building
categories as well.
§ [URM-SC], [URM-BC]: The presence of rigid cast-in-place concrete floors usually increases the
dynamic box-behaviour of the structure and could lead to better wall-to-wall and wall-to-floor
connections. Under these conditions, URM walls are mostly affected by in-plane damage
(diagonal cracks, bed joint sliding or in-plane rocking). In terms of assessment, the equivalent
frame methodology (e.g. Roca et al., 2005) is the commonly-adopted technique for the
assessment of this building typology, but, once again, it appears more suitable for the analysis of
single buildings. Nevertheless, simplified techniques for the vulnerability assessment of masonry
at territorial scale have been proposed in the literature and are essentially based on a simplified
evaluation of the lateral capacity of the first storey of the building (e.g., Lagomarsino &
Giovinazzi, 2006).
§ [RC-N]: The assessment of these structures can be approached numerically, using nonlinear beam
elements for the frame and multiple equivalent struts for masonry infills. Both lumped plasticity
or smeared fibre discretization can be employed (e.g., De Luca & Verderame, 2015). For non-
engineered structures, lumped plasticity is generally more suitable since it allows including brittle
behaviour of RC structural elements and local interaction with masonry infills (e.g., Blasi et al.,
2018). Simplified spectral-based methods, more suitable for a regional-scale vulnerability
assessment, are also available in the literature (e.g., De Luca et al., 2015). They are essentially
based on a soft-storey collapse mechanism assumption and account for infills stiffness and
strength contribution. Nevertheless, proper calibration of the model parameters is required to
account for the typical material properties of the Nepalese building stock.
§ [RC-E]: The same assessment approach of RC-N can be considered for this category of buildings.
It has to be specified that Nepali engineered RC structures generally do not fulfil the same
ductility and high-specification requirements of advanced seismic code such as the Eurocode 8
(CEN 2004). Additionally, also in this case, masonry infill contribution can still play an important
role in the overall building capacity and lead to brittle failures for flexural-shear interaction (e.g.,
De Luca & Verderame, 2015). As per RC-N, even if ductile behaviour is more likely to happen in
the majority of the structural elements, a lumped plasticity model could be more informative with
respect to fibre modelling. In terms of simplified methods for rapid large-scale assessments, the
spectral-based approaches mentioned for RC-N remain a valid option adapting the analytical
formulation to estimate the capacity curve to the improved design criteria (e.g., higher seismic
design coefficient).
§ [S]: Thanks to their limited weight, single-story metallic structures are generally not affected by
severe damage. However, several cases of out-of-plane damage of the perimeter walls have been
observed during post-earthquake surveys. Therefore, the vulnerability assessment of these school
structures should include: (i) the analysis of the steel frame which can be executed with standard
linear response spectrum analysis or, given their structural regularity, with the lateral load method
(CEN, 2004); (ii) the out-of-plane assessment of the perimeter masonry walls as for A, URM-SM
and URM-BM.
A schematic flow-chart of the possible methodologies for detailed assessment (building scale) and
simplified assessment (regional scale) is reported in Fig. 1.
325
Fig. 1. Flow-chart of detailed (single building) and simplified (portfolio) assessment for Nepalese school
building stock.
5. Conclusion
An overview of the Nepalese school structural typologies and a summary of the recurrent damage
observed after the 2015 seismic events have been presented. This information has been combined to
outline some useful indications for the vulnerability assessment stage. Looking at the available data
on building type distribution over the country it is clear how URM structures play an important role in
the overall seismic resilience of the school building stock. For traditional mud mortar URM, the out-
of-plane failure seems the most critical type of damage: generally, is preceded by corner cracks and
involves non-loadbearing walls, gable walls or the external wythe of thick masonry panels. In absence
of specific post-quake damage data, the derivation of fragility curves with simplified rigid-body
methods seem a reasonable compromise between assessment accuracy and computational cost.
Additionally, it is pointed out that the poor construction quality of the walls can be accounted through
specific cross-section thickness penalizing factors. Similar conclusions are valid for adobe structures
that, anyhow, represent only a slight portion of the total school building stock. Cement mortar URM
can be instead estimated by accounting the in-plane capacity of the different walls of the building
through equivalent frame discretization or simplified mechanical-based formulations. For metallic
structures, a part of conventional linear elastic analysis for the frame (damage to the steel frames were
very rarely observed during recent 2015 seismic events), simplified out-of-plane vulnerability
assessment of the perimeter walls is still suggested for regional-scale applications. For what regards
RC structures, the typical analytical detailed FE lumped plasticity models are perfectly fitted as long
as the global and local interaction with masonry infills can be captured by the model. On the other
hand, also in this case, a rapid spectral-based methodology, accounting for contribution of masonry
infills to the seismic structural behaviour can work efficiently as long as it can be calibrated for the
context of Nepalese construction materials and building practices.
Acknowledgement
This work was funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) under the project
“Seismic Safety and Resilience of Schools in Nepal” SAFER (EP/P028926/1).
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Seismic Performance of Three Tiered Pagoda Style Bhairavnath

Temple
Sasin Prajapati1, Amit Prajapati2 , Chandra Kiran Kawan3 and Manjip Shakya4
Abstract
Nepal is a nation lying between the impacts of Indian to the Eurasian plate, moving persistently,
bringing about successive earthquakes within this region. The Gorkha earthquake of April 25th, 2015
and its aftershocks caused extensive damage to thousands of structures in Nepal. Traditional
structures including world heritage, temples, monuments and other indigenous residences were
extensively damaged by the ground shaking and its aftershocks. Such traditional monuments are
embodied to the indigenous construction trend especially originated in Malla reign (1200-1768).
Bhairavnath temple is one of the oldest traditional and monumental structure with historical,
cultural and archaeological importance. It is now a challenging issue to guarantee its seismic safety
from future earthquakes. In this paper, finite element analysis is carried out in a commercial software
SAP2000 in order to reflect the seismic performance of the temple and outline particular structural
fragility due to tensile and compressive stresses which affect its seismic performance. For the
evaluation of seismic performance, dynamic properties of the temple are required. The fundamental
time period of the temple is calculated using the free vibration analysis or Eigen method and the result
shows that the fundamental time period of Bhairavnath temple is less than 0.4 s. The stresses obtained
from the analysis shows the higher accumulation of stresses at the corners of the load bearing walls
and around the openings.
Keywords: Seismic performance; Indigenous construction; Structural fragility; FE analysis
1. Introduction
Bhairavnath temple is located in Taumadhi Square, Bhaktapur as a marvelous feat built in Pagoda
style temple. This temple with three tiered roofs is locally known as ‘Bhaila Dega’ as shown in Fig. 1
and is one of the important monument for people residing in Bhaktapur. The temple is one of the
major attractions in Taumadhi Square. Bhairavnath temple is originally believed to be built by King
Ananda Dev at the beginning of 11th century. This constructed temple had been modified at various
phases of reconstruction after serious seismic tremors occurred in the past.
In the present condition, the conservation and preservation of these historical and archaeological
valued heritage have become the fundamental issue in the cultural live of modern societies (Shakya et
al., 2012). Nepalese pagoda (multi-tiered) temples, built as a structure reserved for religious or
spiritual activities, began to appear around the middle of 14th century during the Malla Dynasty, who
ruled Kathmandu valley prior to its amalgamation into a United Kingdom of Nepal (Parajuli, 1986).
This period of Malla dynasty, also known as the medieval period, is the period when not only the
different multi-tiered roof temples originated but also almost all the stupas, patti, monasteries,
chaityas etc. belonged to this Malla period. These historic monuments were constructed at the period
when there lacked adequate research and technical facilities, rather were handcrafted in a vast quantity
without compromising its quality with available skills and resources at the time of construction
(Ranjitkar, 2006).
Following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, based upon the visual inspection, significant cracks were
observed in the masonry walls at various level and severe cracks were seen in several other structural
1 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal,

prajapatisasin@gmail.com
2 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal,
amit070khwopa@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Nepal, kawan.chandra1@gmail.com
4 Department of Civil engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, maanzeep@gmail.com
329
components in the temple. Outcomes of this research help to quantify the structural stresses in the
different structural components of the temple which eventually affects the seismic performance of this
temple. It also helps to outline the structural parameters for seismic vulnerability assessment. This
paper aims to outline the dynamic properties of the temple by carrying free vibration analysis and also
structural stresses like compressive and tensile stresses are examined using static equivalent method.
To understand the fragility of the load bearing structural components which are mostly thick brick
masonry walls reinforced with timber elements, numerical modelling tool- SAP2000 V20 is used. The
results of the analysis showed that the fundamental time period of Bhairavnath temple is 0.317 s.
Similarly, the stresses exceeding the permissible value were observed at various locations within the
temple structure.
The scope of this study is addressed towards preservation and reclamation of antiquated landmarks
for example, temples which is one of the significant worries so as to save our built heritage for future
age.
Fig. 1. Bhairavnath temple (Western Elevation)
2. Typology of Bhairavnath Temple

Bhairavnath temple is rectangular in plan configuration whereas the vertical configuration is three
tiered seven floored pagoda style monumental structure, reducing mass vertically upward as shown in
Fig. 2. Bhairavnath temple is a free-standing building which is crafted with the marvelous wood
carving and decorational brick claddings. The total plinth area of the temple building is 172.15 sq.
meters. The ground floor of the temple is 2.35 m high and sequentially the first, second, third, fourth,
fifth and top floors are 2.97 m, 2.72 m, 2.71 m, 2.48 m, 2.67 m, and 1.78 m high. As shown in Fig. 2,
the wall thickness varies from floor to floor. The central core wall rises with varying thickness up to
fifth floor. These thick mud masonry walls are the major load bearing unit within the structural system
of the temple. The floors are constructed using wooden beams, above which wooden planks are
placed in the direction perpendicular to the beams and a thick mud layer is used to provide the smooth
surface for the floor (Chalise et al., 2015).
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Fig. 2. Section through East-West
2.1. Foundation
The foundation of the Bhairavnath temple is grounded unlike other multi-tiered temples in that period.
So, the foundation is not exposed in the Bhairavnath temple. A two feet high plinth is exposed in the
eastern face of the temple. This indeed suggests that the foundation of the temple may have a stepped
footing according to the various literature reviews.
2.2. Masonry walls
Wall structure was always built with three layers, the outer face of wall is made of fired clay brick
with smooth finishing and inner face is made of sun dried bricks (Thapa, 2011). Brick masonry walls
constructed at longitudinal and transverse directions are the main load bearing system in these temples
(Shakya et al., 2012). The wall thickness varies from 1.18 m at the ground floor to the 0.93 m, 0.84 m,
0.76 m, 0.74 m, and 0.69 m at the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and finally at the sixth floor. These
thick mud masonry walls are the major load bearing unit within the structural system of the temple
and cover up most of the area of the floor. The ground floor section shown in Fig. 3 below depicts the
typical layout of the masonry walls (hatched portion) constructed with in the temple. Walls are
constructed with three layers in every wall section. Through the four faces of the temple is surrounded
by 1000 mm thick brick masonry walls where Dachi apa are used as the external brick and unburnt
sundried bricks are used inside all the rooms. The outer and inner walls of the temple were connected
with core wall through the timber members originating from the core. Though the bonding mortar are
not visible from the outside in those massive walls but plays significant role in the structural strength
and performance of the temple. In many temples yellow color clay mortar, mud mortar and rarely
lime-surkhi mortar is used (Ranjitkar, 2000).
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Fig. 3. Ground floor plan
2.3 Roof system
The roofing system of the Bhairavnath temple is three roofed built with pagoda style. Temple roofs
have symmetrical pitches springing from the central point of the inner masonry cell. The pitches are
constituted small rafters that spring from the corners in a radial arrangement (Ranjitkar, 2000). While
first two roofs are paved using jhingatis on the layer of thick mud mortar flooring over the wooden
planks, the topmost roof is constructed of metal plates foliated at certain gaps. The whole roof dead
load is supported by rafters, which are then laid onto the purlin and wall plate originating from the
core. Also, the inclined timber struts are responsible members to hold the roof by transferring load
from purlin to wall section but the connection between the strut with the purlin is not fixed.
2.4 Timber members
Mud on the wooden battens laid on wooden planks and flat bricks are used for flooring on the temple.
And wooden wedges are used to tie up the horizontal and vertical members. The system of connection
of the vertical and horizontal wooden members can be taken as Sal wood timber framing system. This
connection is made using wedges (timber peg) that fix the wall plate along the perimeter through the
joists that run inside and outside the building.
Given that Nepal is located in an earthquake zone, carpenters have developed their construction
techniques accordingly to provide additional bracing by linking the vertical and horizontal structural
components (Bonapace et al., 2003). This practice is indeed very effective in preventing the sliding
of the structural components and create box behavior response. A general connection system of timber
elements is shown in Fig. 4 below. The wall plate, which runs throughout the perimeter of the wall
constituting a type of ring-beam, allows a better distribution of the dead and live loads along the wall
length, also allowing a better in plane stiffness and stress distribution (Neves et al., 2011).
3. Structural Analysis
The structural performance of the multi-tiered temple is studied in terms of stresses developed in the
load bearing wall of the temple. For this free-vibration analysis is done to obtain the dynamic
properties of the temple using numerical model analyzed following equivalent static method. The
simultaneous lateral load calculations and the base shear distributions are calculated based upon NBC
105.
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Fig. 4. Beam-column joint (Bonapace et al., 2003)
3.1. Numerical modelling of Bhairavnath temple
Linear finite element modeling (FEM) in SAP2000 V20 was implemented to quantify and understand
the dynamic characteristics of the temple and the structural stresses induced in the load bearing walls
of the temple. Only those structural and non-structural elements that contribute to mass and stiffness
of structure at the amplitude of motion expected during earthquake are included in the structural
idealization. The modeling strategy for the analysis is implemented considering the mud-mortar
masonry walls and the heavy timber beams and columns as the primary structural elements. Struts,
and sloping roofs are considered as nonstructural components; hence, only their relatable masses are
calculated and considered in the analysis. The wall elements as well as the timber elements are
discretized into three-dimensional (3D), eight noded solid elements. At each floor level, rigid
diaphragm constraints to the horizontal the horizontal degrees of freedom were enforced due to the
high concentration of the timber elements that compose the floors (Wood et. al., 2017). The base of
the structure was considered fixed, and the dynamic responses of the plinths as well as soil interaction
effects were neglected. The pinnacle, door and windows are not included in modeling of the structure.
The natural periods and modes are computed from idealization of structure. The permissible
stresses for masonry structures are tabulated in Table 1 as mentioned in seismic performance study
done by (Jaishi et al., 2003). The materials of structural components are assumed homogeneous,
isotropic and linearly elastic. Similarly, the elastic properties of the construction materials used in the
analysis are tabulated in Table 2, which are considered by (Jaishi et al., 2003) and (Nienhuys, 2003)
in their works.
Table 1. Permissible stresses on masonry (Jaishi et al., 2003)
Failure mode Permissible stress (MPa)

Tensile 0.05
Compression 0.606
Shear 0.201
Table 2. Material properties used in numerical modeling of temple structure (Jaishi et al., 2003)
Density Young’s modulus
Material Poisson’s ratio
(kg/m3) (MPa)
Timber 800 1250 0.12
Roof (tile + clay layer) 1400 400 0.10
Mud-mortar brick masonry 2000 800 0.10
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3.2. Dynamic properties of Bhairavnath Temple
In order to determine the dynamic characteristics of the structure; natural frequencies, and
corresponding mode shapes, which gives valuable information regarding the dynamics of the temple,
modal parameter identification is carried out using FE modelling and analysis. When finite element
model is observed carefully, it is seen that the value of Young’s modulus of elasticity of brick mud-
mortar plays a significant role since the model is developed using solid elements. Correlating to the
value of Young’s modulus as 800 Mpa, the frequency difference obtained for various modes are
tabled in Table 3. It is clear that the first two modes are governing modes and will contribute to the
total response with similar significance. Results show that the fundamental time period of Bhairavnath
temple is less than 0.4 s.
Table 3. Mode shapes and identified frequencies of Bhairavnath temple from FE analysis
Frequency
Mode Mode shape
(Hz)
First mode (bending xx) 3.145
Second mode (yy) 4.905
Third mode (torsion) 6.688
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Frequency
Mode Mode shape
(Hz)
Fourth mode (Bending xx) 6.92
3.3. Equivalent static coefficient method
The seismic weight of Bhairavnath Temple has been calculated by considering lump mass at seven
levels, where each level is supposed to be rigid. The lumped mass has been calculated at 2.242 m,
5.366 m, 7.718 m, 10.756 m, 12.953 m, 16.027m and 18.146m level (see Fig. 2). Using IS code 1905-
1987, the properties of materials of masonry are taken. The unit weight of masonry wall is taken as 19
kN/m3 and 8 kN/m3 for timber members.
Temple structure was idealized as a multi-degree freedom system inter-connected by elastic
elements. The lumped mass at the nodal points (usually floor levels) represents the weight of temple
between the horizontal planes passing through the mid-height of successive floors.
Base shear has been calculated according to Seismic coefficient method as per NBC 105.
According to which the design horizontal seismic coefficient (Cd) has been calculated according to
equation (1).
Cd = C*Z*I*K (1)
Where,
C = basic coefficient factor = 0.08
Z = Seismic zone factor=1 (Zone 1)
I = Importance factor = 1.5 (monumental structure)
K= Seismic coefficient factor = 2 (Unreinforced masonry)
Cd = 0.08*1*1.5*2 = 0.24
Horizontal seismic shear force VD= Cd * W = 2212.05 KN
The horizontal shear force at each floor of bhairabnath temple is calculated by using equation 10.2
of NBC 105 as mentioned in equation (2). The horizontal shear force distribution is shown in Fig. 3.
%'
𝐹" = 𝑉 ∑+ )& & (2)
, &*&
Where,
Fi = Design lateral load at floor i
Wi = Seismic weight at floor i
hi = Height of floor i measured from base
n = No. Of storey in the structure
The calculated seismic weight and horizontal shear force at each floor of Bhairavnath temple is
shown in Fig. 5.
335
Fig. 5. Idealized Lumped Mass structure and seismic force and shear distribution

The stresses obtained at different levels and parts of Bhairavnath temple are compared with the
permissible values of Table 1. The stress outputs considering purely lateral load combination in X
and Y direction are shown as stress contour diagrams from Fig. 6 - 11.
While considering seismic load in positive X – direction, the stress diagrams shown from Fig. 6 –
8 depicts the variation of stresses in the temple structure. The maximum tension value of 0.3495 Mpa
was observed at the intersection of third floor and fourth floor near the central core wall (see Fig. 6).
This value of tensile stress is greater than the permissible limit. Since the wall rising upward from the
fourth floor level is rested upon the timber elements, these timber beams are subjected to greater load.
But the timbers are rested upon the central core wall of the temple. Such timber members are flexible
than the load bearing walls which might have resulted in the stress concentration at the intersection.
Also the tensile stresses at the corners of the load bearing walls of the structure are higher varying
from 0.0712 Mpa to 0.113 Mpa (see Fig. 6). This stress concentration at such corners can be due to
lack of reinforcing timber elements at such corners. Correspondingly, the maximum compressive
stress is accumulated at the corners of the openings. The value of 0.4 Mpa in compression was
observed which is indeed less than the permissible value. But this stress concentration may lead to
cracks during the vibration. Nonetheless, due to greater thickness of masonry walls, structure is safe
in shear. Similarly, as per the stress diagram observed from Fig. 9 – 11, while acting lateral load in
positive Y direction, maximum tensile stress of 0.308 Mpa was observed above the openings of the
third floor (see Fig. 9). And the compressive stress of 0.4 Mpa was induced at the internal face of the
walls of the sixth floor. Contemporary to the performance in X- direction, structure is safe in shear in
this direction too.
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Fig. 9. Bending stress (Horizontal S11) contours under seismic action in positive Y- direction
337
Fig. 10. Bending stress (Transverse horizontal S22) contours under seismic action in positive Y- direction
Fig. 11. Shear stress (Horizontal S13) contours under seismic action in positive Y- direction
5. Conclusion
The research was carried out step by step to draw conclusions about the seismic performance of the
Bhairavnath temple in Nepal. Suitable three-dimensional modeling was developed using available
detail architectural drawings and defining solid elements for various elements such as masonry,
timbers. Seismic analysis was performed using seismic coefficient method.
As per the FE analysis the fundamental time period is observed to be 0.317 s. The Young’s
modulus of elasticity of mud-mortar brick masonry considered is 800 Mpa which is consistent with
most of the traditional temples built with mud mortar brick. The stress contour diagrams showed the
fragility of the structure in term of stresses. The stresses observed at the openings, floor to floor
intersections and the corners of the load bearing walls in the structure generally exceeds the
permissible limit mostly in tension and lesser in compression. But due to the thick masonry wall, the
temple is observed safe in shear.
Thus, based upon the above identification of accumulation of stresses at the various locations
mentioned above proper sill and lintels bands can help to upgrade the performance of the load bearing
walls with openings. Similarly, the wooden wall bands and framings along every walls can greatly
limit the tensile cracks uprising at the junction of every floor.
Acknowledgement
We wish to thank to the steering committee, Bhaktapur Cultural Heritage Excavation and Reconstruction, for
the opportunity. We are grateful to the Ar. Rajani Joshi, coordinator of the technical committee and all of its
members for their continuous and invaluable support. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr.
Sudarshan Raj Tiwari and Prof. Dr. Prem Nath Maskey for their valuable suggestions.
338
References
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medieval town (1974-1985). Frankfurt: Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technisches Zuzammenarbeit (GTZ).
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Olsen, M. (2017). Damage Assessment and Modeling of Five Tiered Pagoda Style Nyatapola Temple.
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Shakya M., Varum H., Vicente R., & Costa A. (2015). Seismic sensitivity analysis of the common structural
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Chalise, B., & Suwal, R., (2015). Seismic performance of Load Bearing Masonry Buildings during recent
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339
Seismic Response Characteristics of Partially-Filled Spherical

Storage Tank
Nabin Raj Chaulagain1, Chang Ho Sun2 and Ick Hyun Kim3
Abstract
A three-dimensional simplified model is presented for conducting seismic analysis of the spherical
liquid storage tank. The simplified model consists of concentrated fluid mass assigned to the struct-tie
element through rigid links. Validation of simplified model is done by comparing seismic analysis
results from (fluid-structure interaction) FSI model. FSI model is considered as the rigorous model for
liquid storage tank that can exhibit tank wall flexibility and free surface sloshing effect.
At first, dynamic characteristics were evaluated for FSI and simplified model from 10% to 90%
filling state, with an interval of 10%. The results show that, fundamental impulsive frequency
decreases from lower to higher filling state whereas sloshing frequency increases from lower to higher
filling state. Seismic response is evaluated by applying an artificial ground excitation of intensity
0.154g from 10% to 90% filling state to compare seismic base shear and overturning moment results
of the FSI and simplified model. The study results show that the dynamic response and seismic
analyses results of the proposed simplified model agrees well with the results from the FSI model.
Overall study presents a state-of-art to generalize the complex FSI model to simplified struct-tie
model for seismic analysis of partially-filled spherical storage tank. The simplified model from this
study can be used to conduct probabilistic seismic evaluation of the spherical storage tank.
Keywords: Spherical storage tanks; Dynamic analysis; Seismic analysis; Fluid -structure interaction
1. Introduction
Liquid storage tanks are the major structures in the chemical plants, among them steel atmospheric
tanks, vertical and horizontal cylindrical tanks, and spherical tanks are most commonly observed
facilities (Paolacci et al., 2013). As spherical tanks are widely used in chemical plants to store
hazardous liquids and oils, they should be taken care for seismic performance else, the strong ground
motions may lead major damage to collapse of such structures. From past earthquake events and
consequences most spherical tanks were damaged due to shear failure of the supporting columns
(Campedel, 2008).Collapse of spherical tanks leads fire ball occurrence at the industrial site that is
responsible for fire hazard at the site (Zama et al., 2012). The stored material of spherical tanks is
mostly flammable and hazardous to environment therefore these storage tanks have more concerns for
seismic protection. To date number of studies has been done for the liquid storage tanks but most of
the studies are concerned with cylindrical and rectangular tanks.
This research focuses on the reliability check of the simplified model over the rigorous FSI model
for seismic analysis of the partially-filled spherical storage tank. The dynamic behavior and the time
domain seismic response of spherical storage tank is presented considering liquid filling ratios as the
parameter of the study. Comparative analyses result for natural frequencies, base shear and the
overturning moment is presented to check the validity the proposed simplified model.
2. Finite Element Model Formulation

In this study, two finite element formulations were made to represent partially filled spherical storage
tank, one with FSI model approach and the other with simplified lumped-mass approach. FSI model is
considered to represents the exact behavior of the storage tanks as it can incorporate the fluid structure
1 Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, South Korea, nabin2016@mail.ulsan.ac.kr
2 Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, South Korea, sunch@daum.net
3 Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, South Korea, ickhyun@ulsan.ac.kr
340
interaction effect efficiently. In FSI model spherical tank is modeled by four-node shell elements
called as Shell 181,supporting units as BEAM188 and liquid element is modeled by eight-node
FLUID80 acoustic elements and in FEM program ANSYS ( ANSYS Theory Reference, 1999). The
fluid elements have three translational degree of freedom at each node. These elements are suitable to
model the fluid inside the vessel without out regular flow rate. FLUID80 element is suitable to exhibit
hydrostatic pressure and fluid-structure interaction. Acoustic fluid element is considered as
incompressible, inviscid and irrotational. Lagrangian approach of fluid structure system is considered
where the determination of interface condition is required for couple interface condition between fluid
and tank wall (Wilson EL.,1983). In FSI model, the fluid shell interface is introduced by defining FSI
layer, acoustic-structural couple is set up with acoustic body and the sloshing on liquid surface is
executed by defining free surface on the liquid surface inside the tank.The finite elements for FSI
model is shown in Fig.1.
(a) (b) (c)
(d) (e)
Fig. 1. Finite elements used in FSI model (a) shell (b) fluid (c) contact (d) column (e) brace
(ANSYS Theory Reference, 1999)
Eurocode 8 suggest that for the model with the supporting units the two lumped mass system can
be considered to account the liquid mass. In the simplified model tank supporting units are modeled as
beam element and the liquid element as its respective convective and impulsive mass components.
(Tung et al.,1988) performed the reliability analysis of the rigid wall spherical tank taking the and
component to be zero because of the spherical geometry. and are stated in Fig. 2.
(Wieschollek et al.,2011) conducted the seismic analysis of spherical storage tank using single struct-
tie model with single equivalent load at center of gravity. The simplified finite element analysis was
performed in SAP2000 (CSI,2016). The supporting columns and bracings are modeled as beam and
truss member respectively. In this study we attempted to generalize the spherical tank system into
simplified model by assigning lumped masses at tank centroid for structural mass and liquid mass
center for the variedly filled liquid volumes.
3. Numerical Study
A spherical liquid storage tank with the braced column support is selected for the current study. The
steel storage tank is considered with fixed base condition. The investigated model is taken from the
Japanese recommendation for storage tanks and their support with emphasis on seismic design (Japan
AIO,2010) to ensure the design safety of the model. The model resembles the same geometrical
properties from the mentioned guideline. The mechanical model of the spherical tank is shown in
(Fig. 2) and the subdivision of the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) coupled system is shown in (Fig.
3). The storage system in (Fig. 2) shows the finite element and boundary element models which are
coupled using the equilibrium and compatibility conditions at the interface. The tank is supported with
12 vertical columns with cross bracings between each column. The tank wall consists of several
thickness course of 12mm to 15mm from top to bottom of the tank. The uniform thickness for this
tank is calculated by Malhotra’s procedure for equivalent thickness computation (Malhotra et
al.,2000). The equivalent thickness of 15mm is set by the weight average. The geometrical properties
341
of the tank are summarized on Table 1 and the material properties on Table 2. The content of the
storage tank is butane with density 625 kg/m3.
Equivalent simplified model formulation is made to resemble FSI model as shown in (Fig. 4). The
equivalent simplified model consists of beam elements of equivalent stiffness to represent column and
bracings cross-sections. The properties of the vertical members were determined by using simple
structural analysis calculation recommended by the Eurocode 8.
free surface (Φ) diameter 𝐾7: 𝐾𝑐:

2 2
FSI interface 𝑚7 ℎ7
c.g
ℎ6
𝐻4
𝑚6
𝐾<: 𝐾<:
2 2
Supporting structure
rigid base
_ _
Fig. 2. Mechanical model of the spherical tank
(a) Structure (FEM) (b) Liquid (BEM)

Fig. 3. Subdivision of the spherical storage system
Fig. 4. Simplified model
Table 1. Geometrical Properties of the tank
Parameters Values Units

Diameter 17.90 m
Equivalent Shell thickness 15 mm
Column height 11.36 m
Column cross -section 12# 609.6 X 14 mm
Cross bracings cross- section 267.4 X 7 mm
Length between columns 4.63 m
Bracing angles to the ground 62 degree
342
Table 2. Material Properties of the tank
Young’s Material Poisson’s Yield Stress Sonic

Material
Modulus (MPa) density (kg/m3) Ratio (MPa) Velocity(m/s)
Shell 2.0E5 7850 0.3 427 -
Column 2.0E5 7850 0.3 427 -
Braces 2.0E5 7850 0.3 235
Liquid - 1000 - - 1616
3.1 Modal analysis
Modal analysis was conducted to investigate the vibration behavior of the spherical storage system.
The effect of the liquid filling percentage on the modal response of the vessel was investigated. The
filling conditions from 10% to 90% are considered for the investigation. The natural frequency values
for impulsive and sloshing modes were found for the highest participation factors among all modes of
vibration. Regarding impulsive frequency calculation, the elevated liquid storage tank with the
column support, the system resembles an inverted pendulum. Further, the structural stiffness of the
storage system with multiple columns represents as a parallel system. To check the natural frequency
from general analytical calculation ( ), each individual structural stiffness of the columns
and braces are added to obtain the system structural stiffness (Newmark and Rosenblueth., 1971).
In our preliminary investigation we found the effects of SDOF simplification for the spherical
storage tank. We considered four possible cases for simplified models, (i) model with structure and
liquid equivalent mass at centroid of the tank. (ii) model with structure mass and liquid impulsive
mass at centroid of the tank. (iii) model with structure mass at tank centroid and liquid impulsive mass
at liquid center of mass. (iv) model with structure mass at tank centroid and equivalent liquid mass at
liquid center of mass. The fundamental frequencies were evaluated for all these four cases. The
normalized comparison is shown in Fig. 5.
3.5
Case I
3 Case II
Case III
2.5 Case IV
FSI
2 Analytical calculation
1.5
0.5
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Fig. 5. Normalized frequency differences for various model cases
Fig. 5 shows case (iv) agree well with FSI model’s fundamental frequency. Since the considered
simplified model neglect sloshing effect, the fundamental frequency here refers as impulsive
frequency. Therefore, case (iv) simplified model is considered for further analyses of the spherical
tank. In the braced frame storage structures, bracings are responsible to resist the compression and
tensile forces, simply behaves like a truss unit, hence total stiffness of the braced staging system is
computed by the relation from Eq. (1).
(1)
Where, represents the total stiffness of the staging which acts as lateral stiffness consisting column
stiffness (j) and bracings stiffness (k). E is the modulus of elasticity, is the moment of inertia of the
column, is the effective height of the column, is the cross-sectional area of the brace, is the
length of the brace, is the angle between the bracing and the ground and is the horizontal angle
between each brace.
343
The first three impulsive mode shapes of FSI model for the spherical tank with 80% filling
condition is shown in Fig. 6. In order to validate the proposed simplified model, comparative
analysis is done between the FSI model, simplified model and general structural analysis
calculation. The fundamental natural frequency is found out at different filling state. The mode
shape of the simplified FE model is shown in Fig. 7. The fundamental frequencies for FSI model,
proposed simplified model and simple structural analysis calculation values at different filling
percentage is shown in Fig. 8.
Fig. 8 indicates, for the filling conditions from 40% to 90% there are no significant variation in the
impulsive frequency of FSI model, simplified model and analytical calculation, as the filling
percentage decreases, that is below 40% to 10% the frequency variation increases. This implies that
when the tank filling is above 40% the simplified model will give reasonable results since its values
are nearer to FSI model results and analytical calculation procedure, therefore, it can be said that the
simplified model is valid for the filling range (H/R) of 0.8 to 1.4 for spherical tank.
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 6. First three impulsive mode shapes of FSI model (a)1st mode (b) 2nd mode, (c) 3rd mode
Fig. 7. Impulsive mode shape of simplified model

Table 3. Fundamental impulsive frequencies (Hz) for varying filling percentage
7.00
FSI model
6.00 Simplified model
Analytical calculation
Impulsive Frequency (Hz)
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Container filling %
Fig. 8. Variation of liquid filling ratios and impulsive frequencies
Sloshing behavior of the tank is characterized by performing the modal analysis with FSI model.
Fig. 9 shows the first three sloshing (convective) mode shapes for the FSI model. Fig. 10(a) present
the first three sloshing frequencies of the spherical storage system with the filling state from10% to
90% with 10% interval. The sloshing frequency from FSI model is compared with the one obtained
from the procedure defined by (Karamanos et al., 2006), procedure is adopted where the respective
modes of oscillation are characterized by Bessel function using corresponding wave numbers.
Convective frequencies were calculated from Eq. 2.
344
(2)
where, is the nth fundamental sloshing frequency, R is the radius of the tank, g is the gravity
acceleration and is the wave numbers component of the Bessel function. The variation of first
three sloshing frequencies with different liquid height are represented in Fig. 10(a). The results show
that the first sloshing frequency gradually increases with the increase of liquid volume in the
container. The second and third sloshing frequencies rapidly change on low filling and high filling
states which are below 30% and above 80 %. Furthermore, the sloshing frequencies are compared
between the FSI model and reference literature. The comparative results for first three sloshing
frequencies for 20% ,50% and 80% filling states are presented in Fig.10 (b). The result shows that the
analytical method from the reference study does not shows significant difference with the FSI model
sloshing frequencies.
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 9: First three convective mode shapes of FSI model (a) 1st mode, (b) 2nd mode, (c) 3rd mode
1.20
1st mode
1.00 2nd mode

3rd mode
Sloshing Frequency (Hz)
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Container filling %
(a) (b)
Fig. 10. Variation of liquid filling ratios and sloshing frequencies in FSI model (a) first three sloshing
frequencies, (b) first three sloshing frequencies comparison between FSI model and reference study
3.2 Time history analysis
The comprehensive finite element analysis is carried out with nonlinear time history analysis. From
modal analysis investigation it is confirmed that the simplified modal is preferred for higher liquid
filling state (40% and above), therefore time history analysis is performed for 80% filling state. The
artificial horizontal seismic excitation is used as an input ground motion for time history analysis.
Seismic ground motion compatible to the design response spectrum specified in common application
of Korean seismic design standards was generated. While generating the artificial ground motion, the
envelope function is used for minimum period of 0.06s and the maximum period of 3.0 sec. The time
step size is taken as 0.01 sec and the acceleration duration of 20 sec. Random ground excitation of 14
numbers were generated and matched with the Korean design response spectrum for rock soil site
( ). The median ground excitation from all the generated ground excitation is used for time history
analysis that has peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.154g which is suitable for the area of concern
study. The artificial earthquake was generated by SIMQKE program (Gasparini & Vanmarcke, 1976).
Fig. 11(a) represents the matched seismic response spectra of 14 random cases with the target
response spectrum. Fig. 11 (b) represents the simulated ground acceleration used in the time history
analysis of this study.
345
0.5 0.2
Target Spectrum
0.45 Random case1 0.15
Random case2
0.4 Random case3
Spectral Acceleration[g]
0.1
0.35 Random case4
Random case5
Acceleration (g)
0.3 Random case6 0.05
Random case7
0.25 Random case8 0
0.2 Random case9
Random case10 -0.05
0.15 Random case11
Random case12 -0.1
0.1 Random case13
Random case14 -0.15
0.05
0 -0.2
0 1 2 3 4 0 5 10 15 20
Period [sec] Time (s)
(a) (b)
Fig. 11. (a) Matched artificial response spectra (b) Simulated horizontal ground motion
The transient analysis using modal superposition technique was carried out for time history
analysis. In case of FSI model, the convective and impulsive analysis were performed separately and
summed with SRSS (square root of the sum of squares) method to obtain resultant base shear and
overturning moment of the system. Uni-directional ground motion was applied for the storage system.
The time history results in terms of base shear and overturning moment is presented in Table5 for the
considered filling percentage. To validate the simplified model, the quantitative results from FSI
model is compared with the time history results from simplified model and the Reference literature a
(Karamanous et al,2006) and Eurocode procedure.
The transient analysis using modal superposition technique was carried out for time history
analyses. It can be observed from modal analysis results that that the convective frequencies are lower
as compared to impulsive, the deformation of tank shell is not affected by convective phenomenon.
Therefore, the convective and impulsive analyses were performed separately and summed with SRSS
method to obtain resultant base shear and overturning moment of the tank. The base shear and
overturning moments result from the FSI model were compared with those from simplified models at
each filing state. The time history analyses result in terms of base shear and overturning moment
comparison are shown in Fig. 12. (a) and (b).
(a) (b)
Fig. 12. (a) Base shear results (b) Overturning moment results
3.3 Seismic evaluation with reference study
The base shear reactions were checked from the procedure defined in (Karamanos et.al, 2006). They
calculated seismic base shear from the SRSS combination method, as suggested by Eurocode 8 for the
convective and impulsive component. Taking the 80% filling state, dynamic properties and seismic
forces were evaluated as shown in Table 3. The convective and impulsive acceleration ( and (
) are taken for the ) response spectrum as described in section 3.2.The seismic design forces are
calculated through SRSS combination of convective and impulsive periods values and
respectively and is given by (Eq. 3).
(3)
346
In equation (3) and are the convective and impulsive masses, and are the
spectral acceleration corresponding to the convective and impulsive periods respectively, obtained
from Korean design response spectrum for highway bridges. Since the horizontal force passes through
the centroid of the spherical tank which is located at the height of 11.36m from the ground the
resulting overturning moment is given by 30704.71 kN-m.
Table 3. Dynamic properties and seismic forces of spherical tank based on reference study
80%filling Units
1500.00 ton
134.39 ton
189.12 ton
1310.88 ton
3.019 sec
0.88 sec
0.595 m/s2
2.06 m/s2
112.52 kN
2700.54 kN
2702.88 kN
The seismic base shear and overturning moment were also calculated based on Eurocode 8 part
1(2010), which states the lateral force method allows the structure with regularity in elevation can be
modeled as SDOF system. Therefore, equivalent total mass is applied to get horizontal seismic load.
If the fundamental natural period is less than and 0.5, when neglecting the
influence of sloshing, the horizontal base shear can be calculated as
. (4)
where, is the base shear force, is the acceleration from the design spectrum at period , m
is the equivalent total mass of the system and is the correction factor ( .Since the lateral force
passes through the centroid of the spherical tank, the overturning moment is calculated as the
product of horizontal force time to the height of 11.36m. The calculated values for base shear and
overturning moment using Eurocode 8-part 1 procedure are shown in Table 4. The comparative
results from FSI model, simplified model and analytical procedure are shown Fig 13.
Table 4 Dynamic forces based on Eurocode 8 part 1
80% filling Units

1248.898 ton
0.905 sec
2.011 m/s2
2511.53 kN
28530.98 kNm
The seismic result difference between the FSI model, simplified model, reference study and the
Eurocode 8 procedure are compared for selected filling state of 80%. The comparison charts are
presented on Fig. 13. It is noted that the difference between FSI model and simplified model is 4% for
base shear and 9% for overturning moment. However, for reference study and EC-8 procedure the
base shear result is similar with proposed simplified model, yet overturning moment are slightly
overestimated since they take tank centroid as the equivalent height whereas in proposed model the
equivalent height is taken considering the centroid of the storage tank and liquid.
347
40000
4000
Ot. Moment Ratio (SMR/FSIR) 1.4
Base Shear Ratio (SMR/FSIR) 1.4 35000
3500
1.2 1.2
3000 30000
Ot.M oment(kN-m)
1 1
Base Shear (kN)
2500 25000
SM R/FSIR
SM R/FSIR
0.8 0.8
2000 20000
1500 0.6 15000 0.6
1000 0.4 10000 0.4

500 0.2 5000 0.2
0 0 0 0
FSI model Simplified Reference EC-8 FSI model Simplified Reference EC-8
model study
model study
(a) (b)
Fig. 12: Comparison chart of FSI result (FSIR), simplified model result (SMR) and Analytical results (a)
Base shear chart, (b) Overturning (Ot.) moment chart
4. Conclusion
The conclusions drawn from the dynamic response and seismic analysis for the spherical storage tank
are outlined as follows:
• The modal analyses results show that the fundamental frequency of the simplified model agree
well with FSI model results and general structure analysis calculated results for filling percentage
from 40% to 90%. This allows the use of the simplified model with the filling range (H/R) of 0.8
to 1.4 in the spherical storage tank.
• The first three convective frequencies results were compared between FSI model and the
procedure from reference study, which agrees well with each other at 20% ,50% and 80% filling
state.
• The base shear and overturning moment results show good agreement for the filling state of 20%
to 90% with FSI model, simplified model, reference study and EC-8.
• The contribution of convective component in spherical tank was evaluated quantitively, which
shows its contribution is less than 10% in total base shear and overturning moment of the tank.
• The comparison results from FSI model, simplified model, reference study and EC8 agree well
for base shear and overturning moment results.
• The proposed simplified model can be used to find seismic fragility curves of liquid storage tank
above 40% filling state.
Acknowledgment
This research is supported by Korean Environment Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) under The
Chemical Accident Prevention Technology Development Project (2017002050001), funded by the Korea
Ministry of Environment (MOE).
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rules for buildings. European committee for standardization, Brussels.
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committee for standardization, Brussels.
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horizontal-cylindrical and spherical industrial vessels. Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, 128(3), pp.
328-40, DOI: 10.1115/1.2217965.
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197–201. DOI: 10.2749/101686600780481509.
Japan AIO: (2010) Design recommendation for storage tanks and their supports with emphasis on seismic
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Prentice-Hall.
Tung, A.T.Y., & Kiremidjian A.S. (1985). Seismic reliability analysis methods for elevated spherical tanks.
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Gasparini & Vanmarcke, E.H. (1976). SIMQKE: a program for artificial motion generation. Department of
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Wilson, E.L., & Khalvati, M. 1983.Finite elements for the dynamic analysis of fluid-solid systems. International
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Zama, S., Nihi, H., Hatayama, K., Yamada, M., Yoshihara, H. & Ogawa Y. (2012) On Damage of oil storage
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15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE).24-28 , Libson, Portugal.
349
SECTION 2
S.N. ID Title Page

1 1001 Behaviour of Affected Individual and Community in Disaster Situation 351
2 1035 Post-Earthquake perception and preparedness among undergraduate 359
students
3 1040 Suitability Analysis of Urban Emergency Shelters: The Case of Bidur 367
Municipality, Nuwakot
4 1049 Assessment of Land Use Planning From Disaster Management 380
Perspective: A Case of Bara, Nepal
5 1050 Post Disaster land Issues in Informal Settlements 390
6 1075 A Study on Urban Renewal of Golmadhi, Bhaktapur 398
7 1076 Post Earthquake Reconstruction in Tupche, Nuwakot 413
8 1086 Post Disaster Condition Assessment of Pujarimath, Bhaktapur 422
9 1100 Evacuation Space Use Scenario from Land Use Perspective in 432
10 1133 The Evaluation of Effect of the Solar Radiation in Different Courtyard 438
Forms of Bhaktapur Municipality
11 1157 Strategic Resettlement Approach in Accordance with the Socio- 443
economic Status of Earthquake victims: Preliminary study of
Thami Gaun, Bahrabise, Sindhupalchok
12 1162 Worker Health and Safety during Post-Disaster Reconstruction: A case 450
study in Bhaktapur
13 1163 Temporary Shelter and Reconstruction Status of Taulachhen Tole, 458
Bhaktapur.
14 1171 Observation of reconstruction situation in the old town area in 468
Bhaktapur damaged by the 2015 earthquake
15 1174 Post-Earthquake Housing Reconstruction in Rural Nepal: Strengths and 478
Weaknesses
16 1175 Transient Shelter Stages and Post-disaster Shelter Provision-A Case 488
Study of Bhaktapur
Behaviour of Affected Individual and Community in Disaster

Situation
Suraj Shah1, Prabesh Raj Lamichhane2, and Nirajan Adhikari3
Abstract
Nepal is a land of earthquake standing over Indian and Eurasian plate. Nepal is facing various types of
disaster over the years, but this paper generally focuses on Earthquake – an unpredictable disaster.
Over centuries, three major earthquakes have struck Nepalese by 1934,1988 and recently 2015 AD.
Disaster is a severe, relatively sudden and unexpected disruption of normal structural arrangements
within a social system over which the system has no firm control. Recent earthquake 2015 has
destroyed Nepalese properties as well as their emotions and left many as widows and orphans. It has
caused death of 9000 people and 22000 were injured. This paper enlightens behavior of people during
earthquake, as behavior totally depends upon time and condition. The methodology comprises
observation of participants and interviews with the people of Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha,
Nuwakot, Bhaktapur and people of Chitwan, which is least affected, and their answers are data for
analyzing the response or comfortment of people during a disaster. People are exposing behavior such
as Denial, Freezing, Inappropriate behavior, Memory failure, Holding it together until rescue. This
pattern of behavior has been mapped by use of GIS, so that future direction for people of that
particular region will be addressed correctly by behavioral scientist to meet model of reality if disaster
strikes again.
Keywords: Disaster; Earthquake; Human Behavior, Mapping; GIS
1. Introduction
Earthquake results from sudden energy release in the earth’s crust, which creates seismic waves and
that results in ground shaking. Earthquakes are usually caused by slippage on a fault due to build up
friction between tectonic plates but can also be caused by volcanic eruptions or manmade explosions
(US Geological Survey, 1997). Although Millions of earthquakes occur each year, only a small
proportion is strong enough to be felt and even fewer cause damage (US Geological Survey, 2009].
Earthquakes were responsible for an estimated millions of deaths in the 20 centuries with an average
of 2,052 fatalities per event affecting humans between 1990 and 2010 (Wisner et al., 2008]. The
magnitude 7.8 Gorkha earthquake resulted an average loss of 9 thousand people and huge amount of
loss in the infrastructure. Earthquake impact is assessed by the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale,
which describes the severity of damages from the event on a scale from I to XII, with I being no
damage and XII being complete destruction with no surviving structures (Doocy et al. ,2013].
Earthquake has been an old topic for scientific investigation of varied sorts. Earthquake problems and
efforts to address their mitigation stand out as one among a handful of national arenas in which
scientific theory and the practical are blended, drawing from a multitude of disciplines, an extensive
research literature and tradition in the social and behavioral science. generic conclusions about human
behavior learned from other disastrous events. The objective of this paper is to describe the impact of
earthquakes on the human population in terms of psychological aspect and behavior to cope the
situation and assemble, integrate and then draw some general conclusions about what is known. This
paper claims that this research is also applicable to every aspect of human life because it is deeply
rooted in human nature. And it focuses to address how individuals respond to an emergency situation
once they define it as serious or once they are engulfed by it. First, there has to be an arousal
increment (such as fear, tension, or excitement) due to the recognition of the seriousness of the
1 Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, shahsanap89@gmail.com

2Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, prabeshlamichhane.111@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, adhikarj.nirajan000@gmail.com
351
situation. The increased arousal itself, in turn, is likely to generate internal cues such as a
consciousness that am fearful. This requires heavy information processing capacity, so that narrowing
of the perceptual field ensues (Eysenck, 1982). If so, what kinds of behaviors are frequent or
prominent in the responses to emergency situation? What are their determinants? Coping Pattern
During Disasters Even in the worst of disasters, individuals make various coping responses. We
would like to enumerate some of the typical responses, discuss their pattern, then proceed to analyze
the psychological determinants of coping in general like typical Responses and their Pattern so we
have collected data from five district, four from affected district and one from least affected district to
measure the pattern. District are Nuwakot, Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, Bhaktapur and
Chitwan.
2. Methodology
2.1 Study area
Our study area covers six districts of Nepal (Fig.1) which are affected by 2015 Gorkha earthquake
namely Nuwakot, Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, Bhaktapur and Chitwan. Nuwakot and Chitwan
are near to Gorkha where as Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha and Bhaktapur lies in the east of Gorkha
epicenter. District with red color is Gorkha and other district are represented by green color in Fig. 1.
Fig.1. Map of Nepal Fig. 2. Study areas
2.2 Tool
We have used ODK (Open Data Kit) for survey of response within six districts which eases as it is a
paperless technique with digital input. We have used GIS (geographic information system), QGIS
software to map the response intensity of each district. We have used hierarchical analysis to reach
out the conclusion of normal to severe response to earthquake.
2.3 Data collection
Data collection method is primary since we visited six district and questionnaire were asked to people
of various age group. People of age 9 to 70 years were asked about the experience during earthquake.
List of questionnaires during data collection
1. What is your name?
2. Which district do you belong?
3. What is your age?
4. Location at the time of Earthquake?
5. First thing that came to your mind when Earthquake Occurred?
6. What feelings were occurring at the time of Earthquake?
7. Which assistance do you prefer during Earthquake that will make you feel secure.?
8. What was your action after first major Earthquake?
9. What was your response to immediate aftershocks?
352
10. What was your response to Earthquake of Baisakh 29?

11. What will be your response if Earthquake Strikes again?
12. What was your opinion for food, water, money during Earthquake and after the day of
Earthquake?
13. What was the condition of social harmony and interaction among?
14. people during post-Earthquake days in society?
3. Observation and Result
Fig. 3. Age group and number of participants

We have collected response of 252 people over six districts. We have divided age group into 8
categories and number of people contained by those groups are shown in the Fig. 3.
During survey, we mostly have made observation of age group 30-40 as in Nepal members of this
age group are head of the family and their reaction is the direction to other family member. We have
found that whole village is showing same response and destruction pattern. The behavior pattern of all
districts which are categorized into different groups are shown below:
Fig. 4. Behavior pattern of people of Gorkha
353
Nuwakot
10
number of response
8
6
4
2
0
12th 29th 12th 29th positive negative neutral open under
baishak baishak baishak baishak space structure
PANIC CONTROLLED SOCIAL HARMONY ASSISTANCE
different categories
9-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
Fig. 5. Behaviour pattern of people of Nuwakot
Dolakha
14
number of response
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
12th 29th 12th 29th positive negative neutral open space under
baishak baishak baishak baishak structure
9-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
Fig. 6. Behavior pattern of people of Dolakha
Bhaktapur
8
number of response
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
9-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
Fig. 7. Behaviour pattern of people of Bhaktapur
354
Chitwan
10
number 0f rresponse
8
6
4
2
0
9-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
Fig. 8. Behavior pattern of people of Sindhupalchowk
Sindhupalchowk
14
number of response
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
9-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
Fig. 9. Behavior pattern of people of Chitwan
When we merge overall reaction then following result occurs.
Table 1. Total number of people reacting to different earthquake situations (based on age group)
Panic Controlled Social Harmony Assistance

Age group
12th Baisak 29th Baisak 12th Baisak 29th Baisak Posit-ive Negative Open- space under -structure
9-15 14 11 0 3 12 1 12 2
15-20 13 12 12 13 25 0 21 4
20-25 16 16 14 14 26 4 30 0
25-30 32 23 10 19 38 4 39 3
30-40 37 39 17 15 49 5 47 7
40-50 19 17 10 12 27 2 29 0
50-60 24 17 10 17 30 4 31 3
60+ 23 11 2 14 22 3 18 7
355
Responses of all districts

60
number of response
50
40
30
20
10
0
12th 29th 12th 29th Posit-ive Negative Open- under -
Baisak Baisak Baisak Baisak space structure
15-Sep 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
Fig. 10. Response of people of all districts (based on age)
We have divided the age group into four categories.
Table 2. Reaction of people of age (9-20)
Adolescence
Age group
9-15 14 11 0 3 12 1 12 2
15-20 13 12 12 13 25 0 21 4
Early adulthood:
Age group
20-25 16 16 14 14 26 4 30 0
25-30 32 23 10 19 38 4 39 3
Mature adulthood
Age group
30-40 37 39 17 15 49 5 47 7
40-50 19 17 10 12 27 2 29 0
Table 5. Reaction of people of age (50-60+)
Old age
Age group
50-60 24 17 10 17 30 4 31 3
60+ 23 11 2 14 22 3 18 7
356
So, the severity of response on the basis of survey have been plotted and age group have been
categorized into four groups.
Table 6. Age group and severity
age group severity

Adolescence 3
Early adulthood 2
Mature adulthood 2
Old age 3
Fig 11. Severity of human response of all districts

Survey of 252 people over six districts shown in Fig2. shows that people of earlier adolescence and
old age are the most affected and that of age group from 20-50 (Fig.9) are the least affected. Gorkha,
Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha were the most affected whereas Bhaktapur and Nuwakot were in the
middle severity. Chitwan was least affected. On the other hand, we realized that people are preferring
open spaces but some people are using structures for support because of unavailability of open space
(as per interview) which caused death of many people. Social harmony is positive in most of the
society of all districts (Fig 4-8). After the major earthquake of April 25, many people also panicked
during the earthquake of May 12 because major number of people were not able to control their
panicness which shows people of six districts didn’t show controlled behavior to disaster and panic
was the result of their instinctive reaction. Behavior concluded from survey suggests that Gorkha,
Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha are the most affected districts with severity index 3 given by summing up
the all measuring criteria. This indicates that people of such districts were in panic during earthquake
of April 25 and May 12 where as people of Chitwan with index of 1 were in controlled state and in
correlation those districts have high earthquake intensity that might be the one of the strong reasons
for panic behavior. So, psychological treatment and recreational events must be provided in those
places immediately after any future disaster. However, 252 people were interviewed, but for a clear
overview number of populations must be increased and interview must be taken immediately because
there is higher chance of manipulation of answers by people and only certain parameters were
included in the questionnaire but other factors like provision of food, shelter and medicine and
economic factors also play major role in manipulating the behavior of people after disaster. So, the
concerned authorities should give attention to such behavior in near future.
357
References
Bandura, A. (1969). The principles of behavior modification. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 41.
Bisson, J. I., (1994). Psychological debriefing and prevention of post-traumatic stress. British Journal of
Psychiatry.
Britton (1986). Organized Behavior in Disaster. Psychological, social and legal perspectives. London, UK:
Routledge.
Doocy S, Daniels A, Packer C, Dick A, Kirsch TD. The Human Impact of Earthquakes: A Historical Review of
Events 1980-2009 and Systematic Literature Review. PLOS Currents Disasters. 2013 Apr 16. Edition 1. Do:
10.1371/currents. dis. 67bd14fe457f1db0b5433a8ee20fb833.
EM-DAT the International Disaster Database. (2011). Retrieved Mar 3, 2011 and July 28, 2011 from
www.emdat.be/
Hobbs, M., (1996). A randomized trial of psychological debriefing for victims of road traffic accidents. British
Medical Journal. 313-317.
Keane, T. M., (1985). A behavioral formulation of posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. 35-39.
Mikami, S. (1985). Human Response to Disaster. Japan.
358
2nd International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction
Planning 25 – 27 April, 2019, Bhaktapur, Nepal
Post-Earthquake Perception and Preparedness among

Undergraduate Students
Pukar Regmi1, Deepak Bikram Thapa Chhetri2, Tirtha Raj Budha3, Bilove Moktan4, Bal
Chandra Tiwari5, Tanoj Dulal6, and Bhanu Khadka7
Abstract
Preparedness is a key dependent variable for examining people’s response and experience for
perception. This study is aimed to investigate disaster preparedness and post-earthquake perception of
undergraduates studying in Kantipur City College, Kathmandu and to develop recommendations due
to obtained results. A questionnaire was designed so that an understanding can be drawn about the
level of preparedness of 234 students in before the earthquake, their situation at the moment of
earthquake, their response and finally, the changes in their preparedness level after the Gorkha
earthquake 2015. Higher percentage of students’ response was used for conclusion by preparation of
pie chart and bar graph. This research included a measure that assessed both low-level preparedness,
such as having an emergency kit, and high-level preparedness, such as altering home structures to
mitigate damage. This study showed that students are not much prepared and there is necessity of
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) training in academic institutions.
Keywords: Disaster preparedness; Risk Perception; Mitigate; Emergency kits
1. Introduction
Nepal lies in a seismically active region as it is located at boundary between Indian & Tibetan tectonic
plates (National Seismological Centre). Therefore, it is more vulnerable to earthquake. In the past 100
years, Nepal faced 4 destructive earthquakes in 1934 (ML 8.4), 1980 (ML 6.5), 1988 (ML 6.9) and
2011 (ML 6.1) Subedi & Paudel (2011). Nepal was recently hit by an earthquake of magnitude
7.8Mw or 8.1Ms on 25 April, 2015, known as Great Gorkha Earthquake that took 8857 lives, injured
21952, 755549 building destroyed (including 581 heritages) and caused a huge economic loss worth
about $513.38 (of different sectors) according to Centre for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction
Technology (CEDIM, 2015).
Past research and studies have shown that people’s experiences of earthquake directly contribute to
the level of preparedness and can be a strong motivator Becker et al. (2014). The study on earthquake
preparation conducted in Turkey showed a significant relationship between the place of living,
earthquake experience and preparation. The authors found people who had already experienced
earthquakes prepared more for future and even compared to those who haven’t experienced them Oral
et al. (2014). In communities that have experienced any kind of disaster it is easier to increase
awareness, preparedness and management and develop risk and crisis communication strategies Kung
& Chen (2012). In a study conducted on a group of people living in an area of North-West America
exposed to frequent earthquakes, Jackson (1981) reported that adoption of protective behaviours was
unrelated to expectation of future earthquake losses. Similarly, Lindell (2000), found no significant
correlation between adoption of seismic hazard adjustments and perception of earthquake risk among
a sample of university students living in California.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, pukarregmi@kcc.edu.np

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, deepakthapa@ kcc.edu.np
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, tirtharajbudha@ kcc.edu.np
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, bilovemoktan@ kcc.edu.np
5 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, balchandratiwari@ kcc.edu.np
6 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, dulaltanoj@gmail.com
7 Department of Civil Engineering, Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal, bhanukhadka@ kcc.edu.np
359
Government of Nepal has adopted different Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policies and strategies
over years shifting its focus from reactive to proactive form for disaster risk management. In this
context, Natural Calamity (Relief) Act 1982, Local Self Governance Act 2055 (1999), Building Act
2055 (1998), National Building Code 2060 (2003), National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management
2066 (2009), Climate Change Policy 2067 (2011), Land Use Policy 2069 (2013), Water Induced
Disaster Management Policy 2072 (2015/16), National Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Policy
2072 (2015), Guidelines for Settlement Development, Urban Planning & Building Construction 2073
(2015) are significant legal and policy level approaches at government level towards disaster risk
management (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal, 2018). National Society for
Earthquake Technology is working on to reduce impacts of future earthquakes, increase awareness
among people about earthquake disaster reduction, contribute to develop science & technology to
mitigate earthquake and implement earthquake resistant measures in construction.
Natural disaster like earthquake is unpredictable. Their losses and damages incurred can be
reduced through effective preparedness. Studying how people’s past earthquake experiences
contribute to their perception and level of preparedness for future disaster can be useful to various
agencies working in Disaster Risk Management to design effective programs and policies to reduce
the risks of earthquake. In order to explore the post-earthquake perception and preparedness of public,
this research paper intends to understand the experiences of the students and the change in level of
preparedness before and after the Gorkha Earthquake (2015) through questionnaire, taking the
undergraduate students of Kantipur City College as respondents. Based on the results of our study, we
try to establish how the level of post-earthquake preparedness is affected by the past earthquake
experience and determine how well the undergraduates’ student of Kantipur City College are prepared
for a prospective earthquake, based on the views of student from various provinces and academic
disciplines.
2. Methodology
Participants totalled 234 undergraduate students of Kantipur City College located at Putalisadak,
Kathmandu from different provinces of Nepal as shown in Fig. 1. The cohort of interest was
undergraduate students, comprising first, third, fifth and seventh semester students. No direct
recruiting occurred and all undergraduate students of various faculties were free to participate. Data
gathered from undergraduate students of various discipline includes Civil Engineering, Computer
Engineering, Computer Application, Information Technology and Business Administration as
represented in Table 1. This recruitment of students of various faculties helps to correlate the
earthquake experience and preparedness. Among the 234 participants 81.2% were male, 18.4% were
female and 0.4% others.
Table 1. Representation of participants from various disciplines
S.N. Discipline Total No. of participants Percent of participants (%)

1 Civil Engineering 131 56
2 Computer Engineering 26 11.1
3 Information Technology 43 18.4
4 Computer Application 22 9.4
5 Business Administration 12 5.1
360
Fig. 1. Participants representing different provinces
A set of questionnaires was provided to students of various disciplines from different parts of
Nepal. The questionnaire “Earthquake Experience 2015” consisted of three different sections. Section
first emphasized the respondent’s experience and situation during the earthquake which included the
questions like: What did you do after you felt the earthquake shock, where did you take shelter, how
long does it take the life to be normal, was there facilities of basic tools for survival such as food,
medicine and water, intensity of shock felt according to Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale and how
did you feel. Participants in this sample were asked ‘‘Do you think that you are prepared for a major
earthquake?’’. Sections second consisted of the questions to examine student’s earthquake preparation
and to check that the respondent had actually performed the preparatory action, each item was phrased
as ‘‘I have’’ followed by a verb (e.g., considered, fastened, ensured), followed by the action. Each
question was designed to be answered with a ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ response. Third sections included
‘‘mitigation’’ actions that are specifically intended to limit earthquake damage, and ‘‘planning’’
actions intended to facilitate survival following a major earthquake.
The questionnaire was prepared on google form and the link was provided to every student. Also
students were made to fill those questionnaires on computer lab of Kantipur City College. The
questionnaire was designed so that a conclusion can be drawn about the level of preparedness of
students in before the earthquake, their situation at the moment of earthquake, their response and
finally, the changes in their preparedness level after the earthquake. Earthquake preparation was
assessed using the Earthquake Readiness Scale by Spittal et al. (2006), with slight changes to fit the
Nepalese context. This research was limited to the perception and preparedness of undergraduate
students of Kantipur City College only.
3. Result
This result is mainly focused on the response of respondents relating to the perception and
preparedness toward earthquake without interrelating to various faculties from different semester.
Various studies in the past have shown that people's experiences contribute to their beliefs about
whether, and how, they should prepare for earthquakes (Becker et al., 2017). Direct experience of a
disaster can be a strong motivator of preparedness. Fig. 2 indicates percentage of the respondents who
have experienced earthquake as per Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.
361
Extreme (X) Not Felt(I)

8% 6% Weak(II)
Violent(IX) 7%
10%
Light (IV)
8%
Severe (VIII)
11% Moderate(V)
9%
Very
Strong(VII) Strong (VI)
20% 21%
Fig. 2. Percentage of respondent experiencing earthquake according to Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale
Above figure shows most of the respondents have experienced earthquake of intensity VI and VII
and about 6% have not experienced Gorkha earthquake 2015. According to Modified Mercalli
Intensity Scale, Intensity VI indicates the damage as “Felt by all; many frightened; some heavy
furniture moved; a few instances of fallen plaster; damage slight”, similarly Intensity VII indicates
damage as “Negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built
ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys
broken”.
50
45
40 Importance of training
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS
Importance of preparedness
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
10: Most Important, 2-9: Important, 1: Least Important
Fig. 3. Response related to the necessity of training and preparedness towards the natural disaster
362
Effects of earthquake experience have changed student’s perception, awareness and knowledge
which results in “yes” (91.9% responded) for the necessity of psycho-socio support. Experience also
leads to necessity. Here, we focused on the necessity of training for earthquake preparedness. Fig. 3
bespeaks response regarding the necessity where experiencing an earthquake has made students
realized that it is important to receive earthquake related training and be pre-prepared for any natural
hazards. This perception of students was measured from 1 to 10, where 1 indicates least important and
10 the most important.
Attending training courses for the disaster like earthquake is an important step in disaster
preparedness. So our study was determined how many students have attended an earthquake
preparedness training and we found that only 29% of the students have taken training classes (see
Table 2). Lack of such Disaster Risk Management (DRM) education in course curriculum might
account for low earthquake preparedness of students even after experiencing Gorkha Earthquake
2015. Thereby preparedness can be enhanced by including Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) training in
academic institutions.
From Table 2, adopted from Spittal et al., (2006), two different coherent activities have an effect
on the disaster preparedness, viz. activities undertaken solely for disaster preparation also known as
Factor 1 activities (e.g. Obtained working fire extinguisher, etc.) and other activities that could
potentially be undertaken for a number of reasons also known as Factor 2 activities (e.g. obtained
working torch, first aid kit, etc.). If activities are ordered from the lowest to the highest according to
the percentage of student who have performed them, items related to Factor 2 appear predominately at
the top of this list (most students have undertaken these activities) and items related to Factor 1 appear
at the bottom (few have performed them). Two items have been categorized that relate to the
earthquake preparedness as per Earthquake Readiness Scale (Spittal et al., 2006). First group of items
relate to survival facilitation (items 1-3, 14, 20) and second group of items relate to damage limitation
(items 4-10, 11-13, 15- 19) (Table 2). This shows majority of students 56% on average seems to focus
on the items that helps on the damage limitations.
Regarding to individual perception towards the earthquake preparedness, students were provided
with three options of preparedness scale i.e. not prepared at all, somewhat prepared and very prepared
Following response was obtained on Fig. 4, which revels only 8% of students were very prepared and
24% were not prepared at all.
In order to determine the immediate response of students, questions such as “What did you do
when you felt an earthquake shock?” and “How did you feel or react?” were mentioned and most of
the students have common reaction as indicated on Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 i.e. 50.9% were scared and
53.9% ran out of the building to open places.
Very prepared
8%
Not prepared
24%
Somewhat
prepared
68%
Fig. 4. Response related to the necessity of training and preparedness towards the natural disaster
363
Table 2. Percentage of participants undertaking each of the earthquake preparation activities listed in the
Earthquake Readiness Scale (Spittal et al., 2006).
Question
Items Yes (%)
No.
13 I have obtained a working torch 73.9
I have ensured that objects which contain water have not been stored on top of
6 67.1
electrical equipment
7 I have ensured that heavy objects are stored on the floor 66.7
14 I have secured movable objects in my home e.g. computer, television 66.2
2 I have fastened tall furniture to the wall 64.1
8 I have stored water for survival 63.7
I have either strengthened my house to increase its earthquake resistance or satisfied
3 58.5
myself that it will probably not fall down in a major earthquake
11 I have a supply of essential medicines for illness and allergies. 58.5
18 I have discussed a reuniting place with family after occurrence of earthquake 58.5
4 I have arranged cupboards so that heavy objects are stored at ground level. 54.7
I have considered the risk of a major earthquake when deciding to live in the house that
1 54
I do now
15 I have arranged a place to meet after an earthquake 53.8
17 I have obtained contact details of emergency services during earthquake 53
10 I have purchased a first aid kit 50
12 I have obtained a working battery also 48.7
9 I have obtained a supply of tinned food that could be used in an emergency. 47.4
5 I have securely fastened cupboards with latches 35.5
19 I have attended an earthquake preparedness training or classes? 29.1
16 I have obtained a working fire extinguisher 19.7
20 I have got "Jhat Pat Jhola" ready for emergency. 16.2
On the response indicated on Fig. 6 most of the students ran out of the building to open places and
least stood under the door frame but they were not sure which would be better. This confusion on the
response is lack of proper awareness, training and knowledge toward disaster risk reduction.
60
50.9
50
40
30
20.1 19.2
20
9.8
10
0
Calm Scared Panicked Didn't care
Fig. 5. Percentage of respondent on how they react during an earthquake
364
60
53.8
50
40
30
17.1
20 15.8
13.2
10
0
Hid under the Ran out of the Stood next to Froze/Didn't know
furniture building/Open place wall/Under door what to do
frame
Fig. 6. Immediate response from respondents at the time of earthquake jolt
4. Conclusions
This study is aimed to investigate disaster preparedness and post-earthquake perception among the
undergraduates of Kantipur City College located at Putalisadak, Kathmandu. A total of 94% (out of
234) of respondents experienced earthquake that struck Nepal on April 2015. The response of students
to that catastrophic event has been interpreted in percentage through pie chart and bar graph. The
maximum percentage of students’ response was primary focus of our study and was used for drawing
conclusions regarding earthquake preparedness and perception.
Experience and perception comes side by side. People's experiences contribute to their beliefs
about whether, and how, they should prepare for earthquakes. We considered perception of students
by the experience they had from the earthquake. Perception of the students was highlighted on the
basis of necessity of psycho-socio support and requirement of training related to disaster risk
management. Regarding the psycho-socio support everyone agreed on its necessity and experiencing
an earthquake had made students realized that it is important to receive earthquake related training
and be pre-prepared for any natural hazards.
This study developed and evaluated a questionnaire with reference to Earthquake Readiness Scale
(ERS), which was designed to assess students’ preparedness for a major earthquake. To check
whether the participant had actually performed the preparatory action, each item was phrased as ‘‘I
have’’ followed by a verb (e.g., considered, fastened, ensured), followed by the action (Spittal et al.,
2006). The preparedness level of students was considered by separating items into damage limitation
and survival facilitation where majority have focused on the damage limitation. Also, level of
preparedness was determined from the individual response. The participants were found to be
somewhat prepared in the event of an earthquake based on their individual response. This can be
further justified from Table 2 where the respondents were mainly focused on the Factor 1 activities
that helped on damage limitations such as (heavy objects are stored on the floor, objects which
contain water have not been stored on top of electrical equipment etc.).
From our study, the most common immediate response to sudden jolt from an earthquake was to
run out of indoors to open safe outdoors. Students were unaware about the response they should have
during earthquake. This lack of proper judgment was resulted from less emphasis to Disaster Risk
365
Management (DRM) education in course curriculum and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) training in
academic institutions.
This conclusion may not represent the overall undergraduate students of the country neither it
indicates their preparedness nor risk perception. If this type of study is conducted on large group of
students i.e. considering undergraduate of different universities, then it can be used to draw the
perception and preparedness of undergraduate students. Hence it only indicates the earthquake
perception and preparedness of the 234 respondents of Kantipur City College.
5. Limitations
The participation rates are low compared to those generally seen in traditional pencil and-paper
surveys. But the respondents freely chose to participate, which is a positive factor with regard to the
quality of the responses. There are certain limitations of the questionnaire we used for data collection-
lack of conscientious responses, dishonesty, differences in understanding and interpretation, hard to
convey feelings and emotions as well as lack of personalization. Also, effectiveness of the experience
preparedness can be affected by several other factors such as memory of the event, nature and content
of the experience, risk perceptions, cognitive biases, control beliefs, anxiety, fear, stress, tram and
concern.
This study has been focused at a small group (i.e. 234) of undergraduate students of Kantipur City
College from various faculties. Hence, it cannot completely ensure the risk perception and disaster
preparedness of the students. Thus further study can be made for proper justifications.
References
Becker, J. S., Paton, D., Johnston, D. M., Ronan, K. R., & McClure, J. (2017). The role of prior experience in
informing and motivating earthquake preparedness. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Vol.
22, 179-193.
Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM). (2015). Nepal Earthquakes –
Report #3. Available at: https://www.cedim.de/english/index.php
Oral, M., Yenel, A., Oral, E., Aydin, N., & Tuncay, T. (2014). Earthquake experience & preparedness in
Turkey. Disaster Prevention and Management, 24(1), 21-37.
Jackson, E. L. (1981). Response to earthquake hazard: The west coast of North America. Environment and
Behavior, 387–416.
Lindell, M. K. (2000). Correlates of household seismic. Risk Analysis, 13–25.
Kung, Y. W., Chen, S. H. (2012), “Perception of earthquake risk in Taiwan: Effects of gender and past
earthquake experience”, Risk Analysis, 32(9), 1535-1546.
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal. (2018). National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2018.
Ministry of Home Affair (pp. 1-40). Kathmandu.
Subedi, S., & Paudel, T. (2011). "A Report on Earthquake in Nepal". Paris: Développement et Civilisations -
Lebret-Irfed.
Spittal, M. J., Walkey, F. H., McClure, J., Siegert, R. J., & Ballantyne, K. E. (2006), "The Earthquake Readiness
Scale: The Development of a Valid and Reliable Unifactorial Measure", Natural Hazards,39, 15-29.
366
Suitability Analysis of Urban Emergency Shelters: The Case of

Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot
Sunita Duwal1, Atul Man Joshi2 and Anish Joshi3
Abstract
Pre-disaster mitigation planning has become a significant topic for disaster prevention and emergency
preparedness. Now a days, most of the contemporary planners have considered humanitarian open
spaces (Shelters) as an immediate necessity and strategy for improving earthquake disaster resilience.
Most often the case, these emergency shelters can behave as a lifeline for affected people. An
appropriate suitability analysis of such shelters can play a significant role in disaster prevention
planning. It will not only identify the suitable shelter area but also detect the sites where shelter
services need to be enhanced.
In this paper, an approach of suitability analysis is developed and implemented to identify the
suitable sites for shelter in order to play a good role during earthquake catastrophe in Bidur
Municipality of Nuwakot district. We assessed the level of suitability of urban emergency shelters
within maximum capacity, serviceability and certain travel time limit by employing GIS-Network
Analyst tool. The methodology include the distribution of emergency shelter demand, assessment of
actual capacity, level of accessibility and serviceability and present status. Combination of both
qualitative and quantitative evaluation criterion were used for suitability ranking using Multi-criteria
evaluation technique.
It is found that adopted methodology in this research could be a powerful tool in assisting to
understand the shelter capacity more accurately and establish future urban disaster preparedness
planning. Additionally, it provides the spatial location of areas underserved by open spaces that can
guide the decision makers and emergency planners to develop strategies for shelter placement.
Keywords: Suitability Analysis, Urban Shelters, Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation, Disaster Preparedness
1. Introduction
Nepal is among the 20 most disaster prone countries in the world (MoHA, 2018) due to its natural
environment, diverse topography and active tectonic plates (CEDMHA, 2017). Nepal is also the 11th
most earthquake prone country, and has been witnessing major quakes in almost every generation
(NPC, 2015). Every major earthquake has been accounting for huge loss of life and property. The
earthquakes of 25th April and 12th May 2015 proved that earthquake remains a large scale and most
devastative hazard. According to the Displacement Tracking Matrix assessed by CCCM-IOM (2015),
it was estimated that more than 117,700 Internally Displaced Persons across affected area remained in
409 spontaneous open air sites during Nepal Earthquake 2015. This shows that in an emergency
situation, humanitarian open space (hereinafter referred as Urban Shelter) plays a vital role for people
affected by natural hazards. Beyond survival, it provides security, personal safety and protection from
the climate (SPHERE Project, 2011) and behave as a lifeline for affected people (Anhorn & Khazai,
2015).
The scenario after 2015 earthquake showed the critical lack of emergency shelters and difficulties
endured by emergency responders to provide for the displaced population. There was also a wide gap
of public information on the provisions and the locations of designated Open Spaces (emergency
shelters) in disaster affected areas. Most of the emergency shelters were established at the
spontaneously formed open spaces in the neighbourhoods, along the roads, public grounds, crop
1
Genesis Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, Lalitpur, Nepal, suniarchi@gmail.com
2
Genesis Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, Lalitpur, Nepal, atul.genesis@gmail.com
3 Genesis Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, Lalitpur, Nepal, anish.genesis@gmail.com
367
fields, river banks and elsewhere closer to their damaged or collapsed houses. The affected population
chose to remain close to their dwellings in the fear of loss of properties due to theft and security
concerns. From this experience, it is apparent that the open spaces closer to the communities and their
houses are preferred for emergency shelters. However, providing humanitarian support for such
localized small scale open spaces and accessibility to these may pose a logistic challenge to the
humanitarian responders.
With this regard, Pre-disaster mitigation planning has become a significant topic for disaster
prevention and emergency preparedness. Now a days, most of the contemporary planners have
considered humanitarian open spaces (Shelters) as an immediate necessity and strategy for improving
earthquake disaster resilience. An appropriate suitability analysis of such shelters can play a
significant role in disaster prevention planning (Li, Liu, & Jiao, 2013). It will not only identify the
suitable shelter area but also detect the sites where shelter services needs to be enhanced. An
extensive body of research (for e.g. Da Silva, 2007; SPHERE Project, 2011; UN OCHA ; UNDRO,
1982) have developed standards, criteria and guidelines for shelter placement that are primarily based
on post- disaster assessments. Although these studies provide the basis for shelter placement, they
lack the combine approaches to investigate optimal site based on demand, suitability, accessibility and
capacity of the shelter. Anhorn & Khazai (2015) have proposed a methodology for Kathmandu city
that examines the capacity of shelter sites taking into account both how well a site meets demand for
public shelter as well as the level of accessibility of the site.
In this paper, an approach of suitability analysis is developed and implemented to identify the
suitable sites for shelter in order to play a good role during earthquake catastrophe in Bidur
Municipality of Nuwakot district. We assessed the level of suitability of urban emergency shelters
within maximum capacity, serviceability and certain travel time limit by employing GIS-Network
Analyst tool. The methodology includes the distribution of emergency shelter demand, assessment of
actual capacity, level of accessibility and serviceability and present status. Combination of both
qualitative and quantitative evaluation criterion were used for suitability ranking using Spatial Multi-
criteria evaluation technique.
2. Study Area and Methods

2.1 Data sources
Data required for the research were acquired from various sources. Administrative boundaries, DEM,
Settlement locations and River system were obtained from Topographic data of Survey Department.
Land system data was acquired from Land Resource Mapping Project (LRMP), Nepal. Google Earth
image 2016 was used for manual digitization of Shelter sites, Forest and Road Network. Field
verification was done to verify the potential sites identified from spatial multi-criteria evaluation.
2.2 Study area
Bidur municipality is headquarter of Nuwakot district which is situated at approximately 68 km north-

west of the Kathmandu city, the capital of Nepal. It was divided into 9 wards that spread across 33.48
sq. kilometres. The municipality consist of archeologically and religiously significant sites such as
Nuwakot Durbar dated back to 17th century and Devighat located at the confluence of Tadi and
Trisuli Rivers. (Important to sate is that this study was carried out in the existing Bidur Municipality
since the research was completed before designation of new municipal boundaries of Nepal).
According to District Profile prepared by UN OCHA, Nepal Earthquake 2015 claimed the loss of
1000 people with more than 1,100 injured and 30,000 building collapse in Nuwakot district. Bidur
Municipality was one of the highly affected area where there are a large number of casualties and
building damage. Moreover, being headquarter of the district, the municipality is expected to grow as
an urban centre. Owing to unplanned growth of the city, an earthquake similar to that of Nepal
Earthquake 2015 can results to significant increase in number of casualties and physical destruction.
Therefore, in order to improve the earthquake disaster resilient of the municipality, the emergency
shelters have to be planned in suitable location for better serviceability during disaster event. Fig. 1
shows the location of map of existing Bidur Municipality.
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Fig. 1. Location map of Bidur Municipality
2.3 Spatial multi-criteria evaluation
Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) approach was used to identify suitable areas for Shelter
location. SMCE is decision support tool for allocation of land to suit a specific objective on the basis
of a different attributes that the selected areas should possess. For identifying and assessment of
suitable areas for emergency shelter site, various spatial criteria were identified based on literature
review of the best practices used around the world and adapted to Nepalese context. Criteria’s were
classified as constraints (that limit analysis to particular geographic region) and factors (that define
some degree of suitability for all geographic regions). The constraints were subcategorized as suitable
areas (value 1) and unsuitable areas (value 0). The factors were also subcategorized into different
classes and assigned weights on the basis of degree of suitability.
2.3.1 Constraint
Forest and Protected areas: Forest and protected areas are the habitats of different floral and faunal
species; whose conservation is vital for balance in ecosystem. Therefore, it was taken as constraint in
the analysis. A buffer of 15 m was set from forest and protected areas as per DUDBC planning norms
and standard.
Water bodies: Shelter sites should not be located near water bodies as sites near water bodies are in
risk of flood and water logging problem, especially during rainy season. Therefore, International
Organization for Migration (IOM) has recommended a buffer distance of 25 m from water bodies for
emergency shelters (IOM, 2011).
Hazard: In this study, flood prone areas, areas vulnerable to seismic activity, and areas with
possibility of mass movement and erosion due to geomorphic and hydrological causes are considered
as hazard prone areas. These areas are highly vulnerable to hazard. Therefore, they are taken as
constraint for shelter location.
2.3.2 Factors
Slope: With increasing degree of slope, the probability of erosion and landslides increases (Akıncı,
Özalp, & Turgut, 2013). IOM has recommended slopes less than 5 degrees are suitable for shelter
location; however, considering the mountainous terrain and difficulty in finding slopes less than 5-
degree, slope less than 10 degree was identified suitable for shelter sites.
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Distance to Existing Roads: Shelter should be located in close proximity to existing roads
considering the accessibility. Closer the shelter from the existing roads, easier is for transportation of
relief materials (Anhorn & Khazai, 2015; Greaney, Pfiffner, & Wilson, 2011). Urban emergency
shelters should be located along the road, however distance up to 300m is acceptable as the walking
time is around 3-5 minutes (ECPFE-OASP, 2002).
Distance to Existing Settlements: Immediately after a disaster, people tend to evacuate to open
space that are in closer to their settlement area. Therefore, shelters should be located in close
proximity to existing settlement. According to the EFDLP (2016) and ECPFE-OASP (2002) shelter
sites should be located within 300m from a settlement.
Land System: Land system provides a frame work for the assessment of land quality for different
planning purpose. Land systems suitable for open space were identified based on slope, soil texture,
soil type, water depth and drainage.
2.3.3 Assigning weight to each factor
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) developed by (Saaty, 1988) is one of the most commonly used
approaches for Multi-criteria decision making processes (Bagheri, Sulaiman, & Vaghefi, 2012; Thapa
& Murayama, 2010; Triantaphyllou & Mann, 1995). It allows the users to assess the relative weight of
multiple options against given criteria. The relevant data for the analysis is derived by using pairwise
comparison which is then used to obtain the relative weights of different criteria. One of the strengths
of the AHP is that it measures the degree of consistency present in subjective judgment made by the
decision maker (Thapa & Murayama, 2010). The consistency ratio (CR) is a mathematical indicator
of the consistency of pairwise comparison. The standard tolerance of CR is less or equal to 0.10
(Saaty, 1987). Lower the CR more accurate is the ranking process. After the pairwise comparison
with the result of CR < 0.10, following weight were assigned to each factor:
Table 1. Weight distribution from AHP
Factor Weight
Slope 0.57
Distance to existing settlement 0.26
Distance to existing road 0.12
Land system 0.06
2.3.4 Weighted linear combination
Weighted linear combination (WLC), one of the most commonly used multi-criteria decision analysis
tool, was used to identify the suitable location for shelter sites. Suitability4 is identified by summation
of the weighted factors multiplied by the constraint to get the suitability map (Eastman, 1999).
2.4 Field verification
The sites identified from SMCE were verified in the field. Field verification showed that most of the
sites were private owned agricultural land, which could not be used for emergency Shelter. Similarly,
any open space which lies in unsuitable and low suitable areas were eliminated from the analysis.
Therefore, only 15 sites with public ownership and that lie in high and moderate suitable areas were
verified in the field. All sites were of small scale that could accommodate less than 20,000 people at a
time. IOM (2011) has categorized shelter sites with capacity less than 20,000 people as small scale.
2.5 Suitability Index
2.5.1 Developing Suitability Indicators/Sub-category
Emergency Shelter Suitability index (ESSI) was calculated using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
method, Weighted Linear Combination and Capacity Measure. Eight suitability indicators were
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identified based on literature review and key informant interview and the indicators were sub-
categorized as shown in Table 2 below. The sub categories were assigned weights from 0 to 0.9 based
on expert judgment.
Table 2. Indicators of Emergency Shelter Suitability
SN Indicators Score/Weight Sub-category

1 Existing use 0.6 Vacant plots
0.9 Parks
0.9 Playground
0.3 Institutional
0.3 Agricultural
2 Road Accessibility 0.9 Paved

0.6 Gravelled
0.3 Earthen
0 Not accessible
Nearness to Health 0.9 Hospital within less than 30 minutes distance

3 facilities 0.6 Hospital within more than 30 minutes but less than 60
0.3 minutes
Hospitaldistance
within more than 60 minutes distance
4 Hazard 0.9 Low

0.6 Medium
0.3 High
5 Ownership status 0.9 Public/Government

0.6 Private
6 Location of Water 0.9 Onsite

source 0.6 Offsite less than 20 minutes
0.3 Offsite more than 20 minutes
0 No source
7 Waste disposal 0.9 Available

method 0.6 No System
8 Latrine 0.9 Yes

0.6 No
2.5.2 Calculating weight for each Criterion
AHP method was once again used to determine the weight of each indicator. Pairwise matrix (Table
3) was created based on the importance of each indicator over another; and consistency ratio (CR) was
used to check the consistency of judgments. Since CR was acceptable (< 0.10), weights (as shown in
Table 4) were assigned to each suitability indicators:
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Table 3. Pairwise matrix of suitability indicators
Nearness to Location
Existing Road Waste
Hazard Ownership health of water Latrine
use Accessibility disposal
facility source
Hazard 1
Ownership 0.33 1
Existing use 0.25 0.33 1
Road
0.2 0.25 0.33 1
Accessibility
Nearness to
0.17 0.2 0.25 0.33 1
Health facility
Location of
0.14 0.17 0.2 0.25 0.33 1
water source
Latrine 0.12 0.14 0.17 0.2 0.25 0.33 1
Waste disposal 0.11 0.12 0.15 0.17 0.2 0.25 0.33 1
Table 4. Weights assigned to each suitability indicator

S.N Indicators Weight
1 Hazard 0.36
2 Ownership status 0.24
3 Existing use 0.15
4 Road accessibility 0.10
5 Nearness to health facility 0.06
6 Location of water sourcet 0.04
7 Latrine 0.03
8 Waste disposal method 0.02
2.5.3 Capacity Measure of Emergency Shelter (CAMES)
In this study, Capacity Measure of Emergency Shelter (CAMES) is calculated as the ratio between
population that can be accommodated in each emergency shelter and the shelter seeking population
within 1 km service area. A service area (also called maximum coverage) is a region that encompasses
all accessible streets (i.e. all streets that are within a specified impedance) to determine the
accessibility (ESRI, 2016). It was obtained from Network analysis module in ArcGIS environment.
Furthermore, shortest route between each settlement within the service area and emergency shelter
was also calculated using a multiple-origin, multiple-destination algorithm based on Dijkstra's
algorithm. To determine the travel time for a person to reach the shelter location, an average walking
speed of 5km/hr was used based on the average walking speed of adults and old age people (average
walking speed of old age people, above 60 years, is 4.5 km/hr, while that of young people is 5.5 km/hr
(Aspelin, 2005)).
2.5.4 Determining Suitability Index
Once weights were assigned to each suitability indicator, Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) and
Capacity Measure (CAMES) were used to identify the ESSI of each emergency shelters. WLC applies
weight to each indicator, whereas CAMES determines the pressure on each emergency shelter based
on the population that can be accommodated and shelter seeking population within 1 km service area.
(1)
where, li is the suitability indicator, Wi is the weight assigned to each suitability indicator by AHP
and CAMES is the ratio between population that can be accommodated in each emergency shelter and
the shelter seeking population within 1 km service area.
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3. Results
3.1 Suitable areas for Urban Emergency Shelter
The result from SMCE (Fig. 1) shows that around 7.89 sq. km of land in Bidur Municipality was
highly suitable for urban emergency shelters, whereas 3.51 sq. km was moderately suitable, and 8.43
sq. km of land was low suitable. Out of total area around 13.6 sq. km was not suitable for emergency
shelters (Table 5). The unsuitability of land is mainly attributed to high degree of slope, forested area
and potential high hazard area.
Table 5. Suitable area for Emergency Shelters

Suitability Area (Sq.km)
High 7.89
Low 8.43
Moderate 3.51
Unsuitable 13.64
Total 33.47
Fig. 2. Location of Shelter Sites Fig 3. Suitability map
3.2 Evacuation Routing
In Bidur Municipality, the Emergency Shelters could serve a total of 38 settlements and 22135 people
within a stretch of 1 km road distance (service area) which is lower than the shelter demand (Table 6).
The overall capacity of shelters was derived based on SPHERE Project (2011) which has
recommended the minimum area of 3.5 square meter per person to meet requirement of typical
household activities. Shelter demand was calculated based on service area of the shelter site assuming
that population within service area is shelter seeking population. It was found that total shelter seeking
population in the municipality is 27932 which is around 20% higher than the actual capacity.
Table 6. Capacity of Emergency Shelter in Bidur Municipality
Number of open space 15

Available open space (m2) 77475.65
Overall capacity (number of people @3.5m2 per person) 22135
Population demand (Shelter seeking population) 27932
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The time required for people of different settlements to reach nearest emergency shelter ranged
from less than a minute to greater than 15 minutes. Table 7 present the number of settlements with
respect to travel time in the Municipality. It shows that 17 settlement were within the distance of 5
minutes’ walk from the shelter sites while 10 settlements are within the 5 to 10-minute walking
distance. Other 11 settlement takes greater 10 minutes to reach the nearest shelter sites.
Table 7. Travel time of settlements to nearest Shelter Sites
Travel Time Count of Settlement

< 5 min 17
5-10 min 10
10-15 min 10
> 15 min 1
3.3 Urban Emergency Shelter Suitability index in Bidur Municipality (ESSI)
The result from ESSI shows that Site 12 i.e. Chawadi Public higher Secondary School has the highest
suitability Index of 0.90 followed by Site 15- Adarsa Bahumukhi Campus (0.52) and Site 11- Shree
J.D. Boarding School (0.46). Remaining shelters has lower index values indicating that those shelter
sites are less suitable in terms of criteria mentioned in Section 2.5.1. From the result it can be
concluded that the quality of shelter sites in the municipality is at the very most, low. This assessment
is very helpful for decision makers to make strategies for improving these shelter sites for emergency
evacuation. Table 8 shows the distribution of Suitability index in all shelter sites.
Table 8. Emergency Shelter Suitability Index in Bidur Municipality
Site Ward No. Settlement Name Name of Open Space Suitability Index
1 2 Indrachowk Indrachowk 0.20
2 2 Ashok Batika Shree Bhairavee Ucha Madhyamik Vidyalaya 0.21
3 2 Turkechaur Turkechaur 0.16
4 2 Bhutol Bazar Nuwakot Health Post 0.23
5 2 Nuwakot Durbar Park of Nuwakot Durbar 0.24
6 1 Indrenichaur Indrenichaur Open Area 0.11
7 9 Colony Trishuli District Hospital 0.11
8 9 Hattigauda Shree Bhairun Higher Secondary School 0.10
9 9 Hattigauda Post office 0.12
10 9 Hattigauda Post office 0.12
11 6 Devighat Colony Shree J.D. Boarding School 0.46
12 5 Chawadi Chawadi Public Higher Secondary School 0.90
13 10 Trishuli Bazar Tribhuvan Trishuli Bahumukhi Campus 0.12
14 11 Trishuli Bazar Tribhuvan Trishuli Bahumukhi Campus 0.11
15 4 Batar Adarsha Bahumukhi Campus 0.52

This paper has examined 15 shelter sites within Bidur Municipality for the Emergency Shelter
suitability by applying the combine approach of Capacity Measure of urban shelter (CAMES) and
Spatial Multi-criteria Evaluation (SMCE) method to achieve the qualitative and quantitative
information of Shelter condition. The proposed methodology has mainly considered three aspects:
first is the capacity of shelter area (to meet the demand of shelter seeking population), second is the
374
accessibility (both for people and for logistic or relief material distributers) and the third is potential
hazards. The selection of criteria for qualitative evaluation of shelter suitability was based on
literature review, however the sub-criteria and indicators were customized to fit the context of study
area.
Although the method used in this study can be easily applied to other municipalities, the result
could be improved with better existing database such as- high resolution satellite image, detail road
network database, land parcel data, social demographics, environment pollution and land use pattern.
This might also yield the different result in this study. In addition, the study has only incorporated the
existing open spaces for assessing the suitability index. With the help of suitability map, GIS tool in
combination with land parcel data could be utilized to identify the vacant land and underutilized
public land as potential shelter site.
In summary, it was found that adopted methodology in this research could be a powerful tool in
assisting to understand the shelter capacity more accurately and establish future urban disaster
preparedness planning. Additionally, it provides the spatial location of areas underserved by open
spaces that can guide the decision makers and emergency planners to develop strategies for shelter
placement.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by OXFAM International, Nepal under the project “Mapping Humanitarian Open
Spaces and Evacuation Routes in Nuwakot, Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk and Dhading Districts. We are thankful to
all individuals who provided expertise knowledge that greatly assisted the research.
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5. Annex
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Assessment of Land Use Planning from Disaster Management

Perspective: A Case of Bara, Nepal
Kapina Manandhar1 and Nab Raj Subedi2
Abstract
Lack of formal planning increases the adoption of informal ways of planning, which may or may not
be effective. Land use planning is an essential planning tool for successful and systematic disaster risk
reduction (DRR). Land use planning can reduce the vulnerability of people and infrastructure
identifying appropriate locations for settlement and construction by applying adequate building
standards during plan implementation. Using DRR into land use planning can reduce exposure of risk
hazard and vulnerability. The main objective of this study is to assess land use plan prepared by
Government of Nepal (GON) from disaster management perspective. This research is followed by the
study of land use mapping process in Nepal, field observation to collect people’s perspective and
flood modelling through riverine analysis system (RAS) in HECRAS. The flood model is visualized
in GIS environment. This is later followed by overlay analysis with land use zoning map prepared by
GON to find if the classified area lies under inundated area. Land use planning process in Nepal is
followed by the preparation of existing land use plan, soil map, land capability map which is finally
used to derive land use zoning map and later the superimpose cadastral database is prepared. The
study area for this research is Nijgadh Municipality located in Bara district. The land use zoning map
of this area has been already prepared by GON. According to the local people, it is found that the
study area receives frequent flood but the use of embankment has checked the flood to enter the
municipality. However, the bank cutting is found to be serious problem in the area and the
embankments are in ruining condition, which has created threat of entering flood to the municipality.
The municipality suffers due to water logging each year which shows that the settlement itself is set in
improper place. The flood model prepared for Bakaiya River when overlaid with land use zoning map
of Nijgadh, found that out of 10178.25 hectare of classified area, 1140.05 hectares of land will be
affected by flood. This shows that the land use zoning map prepared by GON has not addressed flood.
The resources invested to prepare this zoning map can go vain if not addressed this factor before
going through implementation.
Therefore, the findings of this research can reveal the necessity of flood hazard mapping before
going through the preparation of land use plan. This research strongly recommends government to
revise prepared land use map once again before going through its implementation.
Keywords: Flood; GIS; Land use planning
1. Introduction
The man made change in land use like urbanization, deforestation etc. has played catalytic role in
increasing flood. Today, the increased level of valuable assets in the vicinity of water bodies has
rendered with its potential damage. The flood damage can be limited consistently and quickly by
regulating land use alongside water bodies (EU, 2013). The European Floods Directive has identified
structural measures or non-structural measures for risk minimization. The structural measures block or
restrict the pathways of flood water, such as river or coastal defences by constructing dams, levees,
channel etc. while non-structural measures often aimed at reducing the vulnerability of people and
communities by adopting flood warning, hazard-zoning and flood-adapted spatial planning or land use
planning. Land use planning is very important tool for flood risk management (Herrera et al., 1999).
Its main focus is to avoid the hazard created by flood. Flooding poses one of the greatest natural risks
to sustainable development. Land use planning helps to balance the use of land resulting to
1 Architectonic and Engineering Consult, Banepa / Department of Architecture, Khwopa Engineering College,
Nepal, kmanandhar2@gmail.com/ kapin_na@hotmail.com

2 University of Southern Queensland,a Toowoomba, Australia, nabraj.subedi@usq.edu.au
380
sustainable development. Land use planning can significantly reduce hazard impacts(March & Henry,
2007).
About 6000 rivers and rivulets flow in Nepal. Flood and landslides has resulted 57.89% of the total
loss of properties in Nepal, between 1983 and 2008 (Manandhar, 2010). In terms of Vulnerability to
natural disasters, Wetland in Nepal has been shrinking because of people’s use and conversion into
farm land and settlements. Nepal has about 743,563 ha of wetland, of which 53.12 % is river, 0.67 %
is lake, 0.19 % is reservoir, 0.7 % is village ponds, 43.71 % is paddy fields, and 1.61 % is marsh
land(Complex, 2010). Over 90% of country is vulnerable to natural disaster (Charoenkalunyuta,
2011). 49 districts are prone to flood among 75 districts. By global standards, Nepal has been ranked
23rd position in terms of the natural hazard. It is in eighth position for flood related deaths
alone(Anemones & Cgatelaine, n.d.). Though the country suffers seriously due to flood, many
settlements are found to be in the vicinity of river without taking flood into account. This can create
devastating situation once the flood occurs. So, in order to discourage such settlements proper risk
sensitive land use planning should be performed taking disaster into account.
2. Research Objectives
The main objective of this research is to focus on the evaluation of land use planning of Nepal with
respect to land use plan based on the synergy of land use zoning and flood risk information.
Land Use Planning (LUP) is the systematic way to adopt the best land-use options safeguarding
resources for future. Need for change, need for improved management and the need for different land
use pattern in regard of changing circumstances are the main driving force that calls for planning
(Resources & Service, 1996). LUP is complex subject that combines physical, social and economic
aspects of land use assessing potential future needs. It is imperative to consider existing situation
during land use planning. LUP is a medium which can restrict people regarding the use of land. It can
create preconditions that are required to achieve environmentally sustainable, socially desirable and
economically fit land use type (Herrera et al., 1999). “Land use planning can contribute to achieve
important development goals such as food security, mitigating and adapting to climate change,
protecting biodiversity, initiating economic growth, protecting people from natural disasters or
initiating development in a drugs environment”(Herrera et al., 1999). Land use planning can prove to
be a powerful tool that can balance land use and the protection of people from possible natural
disaster (Planning & Mitigation, n.d.).
LUP can be applied at three broad levels i.e. national, district and local. The decisions on land use
planning regarding its methods differ in each level. However, land-use strategy, policies are needed to
indicate planning priorities, projects that tackle these priorities and operational planning to get the
work done. The better result can be obtained with the greater interaction with these three levels. At
each successive level of planning, the increased degree of detail and the direct participation of local
people are required.
3. 1 Steps used in land use planning
FAO Development Series 1 ISSN 1020-0819, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nation has developed ten steps for the preparation of Land Use Planning. The first step involves the
establishment of goal and terms of reference followed by ascertainment of present situation and the
need of people and government. The second step involves the selection of planning team to prepare
schedule of activities and outputs. Third step includes the study of the existing situation of land use
and identifies the problems and constraints of LUP. The fourth step includes the identification of the
opportunities and drafts a design for a range of land-use types followed by the presentation of these
options for public discussion. The fifth step includes the evaluation of land suitability for each
promising land-use type. The sixth step involves assessment of land use plan in regard to
environmental, economic and social impacts on response to land users and whole community. The
seventh step focuses on choosing the best option undergoing through the public and executive
381
discussions of the viable options and their consequences. In eighth step, land use plan for appropriate
land management is prepared. This phase draws up policy guidelines and prepare a budget and draft
any necessary legislation involving decision-makers, sectorial agencies and land users. The ninth step
is the phase of implementation. The final step is followed by monitoring and revising the plan.
3. 2 Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
“The increasing frequency of disasters, coupled with a number of emerging threats and trends, are
leaving more people vulnerable to the effects of disasters and inflicting greater damage, loss, and
dislocation on vulnerable people worldwide” (Federation, Federation, Goal, The, & Societies, 2010).
Disaster risk reduction is the systematic approach to minimize the adverse impacts of possible
disaster. This can be performed by using administrative directives, organizations, and operational
skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and improved coping capacities. (Directorate et
al., 2013). “Disaster risk management is a cyclical, dynamic process that requires continuous
adjustments, decision making and interaction at different yet interrelated levels and among a variety
of institutions and actors, including individuals, households, communities, non-governmental
organizations, market institutions, and government”(Pantoja, 2002)
The main aim of disaster risk reduction is to reduce potential losses from hazards. It helps to assure
prompt and appropriate assistance to victims when necessary and achieve rapid and durable recovery.
3. 3 Land use planning and disaster risk reduction
Land use planners consider FAO approach worth applying. However, in most cases, the sixth step that
involves assessment of land use plan in regard of environmental, economic and social impacts on
response to land users and whole community is found to be missing. The land use plan prepared
without considering environment can bring ad-hoc situation during disaster like flood, earthquake etc.
Land Use planning is an essential planning tool for successful and systematic disaster risk
reduction(DRR) (Directorate et al., 2013). It further clarifies that the use of policies, non-structural
measures and planning tools like LUP can reduce exposure of vulnerability of communities and assets
to hazards. Land use planning can reduce the vulnerability of people and infrastructure identifying
appropriate locations for settlement and
construction by applying adequate building
standards during implementation of plan.
LUP in corporation with DRR ,is a method
applied to achieve safer and more
sustainable development as it aids in
protecting communities, houses,
livelihoods, schools, hospitals and other
components from disaster (Directorate et
al., 2013).
Risk-sensitive land use planning is
useful for controlling main spatial exposure
to risk. The spatial exposure refers to
people, property, systems, or other
elements present in hazard zones.
Fig. 1. Distribution of land use on flood plain to reduce risk
LUP can reduce exposure of risk hazard and vulnerability as it involves policy and provisions
which target, and seek to reduce specific aspects of vulnerability such as poor construction, poor
transportation and road access, lack of evacuation routes and evacuation sites, poor drainage systems
and waterways etc. (Directorate et al., 2013).
3. 4 Land use planning in Nepal
The increasing population and haphazard urbanization has played a very important role in conversion
of agricultural land into respected purposes. Government of Nepal has gone through the series of
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efforts to make the effective use of land but no positive impacts as expected are seen. The worsening
situation of the land use practices around the country has drawn attention of Parliamentary Committee
on Natural Resources towards controlling the situation. Therefore, Ministry of Land Reform and
Management were instructed to draft land use policy on February 2010, (Magh 14, 2066). From the
history we can find that many efforts were being continuously made for the effective land use. The
realization of land use planning can be clearly figure out from the period of Late King Prithvi Narayan
Shah. During the period of late King Surendra Shah 1853, brought the provision of Civil Code
(Muluki Ain) on regard of Land which is later followed by many land related Acts like Measurement
Act 1963, Muluki Ain 1964, Land Administration Act 1967 and Land Revenue Act 1978. But these
acts were just limited in collecting land revenue. Land act 1964 has listed some provision relating land
use. This Acts didn’t address the proper management of Land. Later, with the realization of the
conservation of forest emerged with the forest conservation Act in 1967. Similarly, to control the
haphazard urbanization brought the town development Act 2005. Many efforts were made to control
the haphazard urbanization but due to various political conditions stopped the process. Today with the
strong realization of land use planning in Nepal brought the land use policy 2012(“land use policy,”
2012). The devastating earthquake of April, 2015 in Nepal has compelled Ministry of Land Reform
and Management to revise its National Land use policy 2012 in regard of natural disasters like
earthquake, flood, landslide and many other probable disasters. For the proper allocation of land use
to minimize vulnerability to natural disasters, Land Use Policy 2015 has been brought which has
classified land into eleven classes i.e. Agriculture zone, Residential Zone, Commercial Zone,
Industrial Zone, mining area, Cultural and Archaeological zone, Riverine and lakes, Forest Zone,
Public Use Zone, Building Materials (Sand, stones, pebbles) excavation area and Other Zones as per
the necessity.
Land use planning in Nepal comprises technical members from 11 organizations like National
Land Use Project, Ministry of Forest and soil conservation, Ministry of Irrigation, Ministry of
Industry, Ministry of Science Technology and Environment, Ministry of Physical infrastructure and
transportation, Ministry of Land reform and Management, Central Bureau of Statistics, Survey
Department, Dolidar and Nepal Army.
3. 5 Land use planning process in Nepal
Land use planning process in Nepal has been followed by the preparation of land use plan, preparation
of soil map, preparation of land capability map, preparation of VDC profile map, Disaster risk zone
identification in context of land use planning in the concern study area, preparation of land use zoning
map and the preparation of superimpose of cadastral database. According to the Land use report, the
process involved in land use planning is given in flow chart below;
Fig. 2. Land use planning process of Nepal

4. Case Study Area
The study area for this research is Nijgadh Municipality which is located in Bara district, Narayani
Zone. It lies towards northern part of Bara district. It shares its border with Kakadi and Sapahi VDC
to the south, Ratanpuri VDC and Dhimal VDC of Makwanpur district to the north, Pipara Simara
VDC to the west and Bharatganj sigaul VDC to the east. This municipality lies in between Bakaiya
River towards west and Bhamara River towards east. It covers total area of 101. 8Sq.km
i.e.10178.2ha. The maximum east-west and north-south extent of this VDC is about 16.9 km and 10.3
km respectively.
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Fig.3. Case study Area
According to National census report of 2011, total population of Nijgadh is 19,614 living in 3,982
individual households. This municipality is inhibited by Brahmin and Chhetri in majority followed by
Tamangs. Other ethnic groups like Kachadias, Damai, Tharu ,Kalwar, Gurungs ,Newar ,Magar,
Majhi, Kami, Rai etc. are also residing in this area. The people of this area largely depend on
agriculture.
Land use plan of this area has been prepared by GON and is now in implementation phase. This
research focuses on flood hazard mapping of Bakaiya River. This area is very much suitable for the
evaluation of land use plan on flood perspective as this area lies in between rivers and the preparation
of land use plan by GON has already been completed. The flash flooding from the Lal Bakaiya
watershed could result in the loss of fertile land, crops and infrastructure valued at USD 500 million.
It covers a total basin area of 868 km². Geologically, the watershed can be divided into three major
units – the Terai and Bhabar in the south; Chure including Dun Valley in the middle; and the
Mahabharat range in the north (Pokharel et al., 2013).
5. Data Collection
Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are adopted for data generation process. Primary data
was obtained using the method of interview with the people residing in flood prone area to get the
answer for the frequency of occurrence of flood and the methods they adopted to cope with.
The secondary data like Geo Eye-1 Satellite image, Topographic Maps and land use maps are
collected from National land use project (NLUP). Digital Elevation Model(DEM) was prepared from
the spot height and contour data from topographic map of study area which was provided by National
Land Use Project. The DEM was used to derive flow direction and flow accumulation which is used
to delineate watershed areas. The Watershed area is used for the calculation of water discharge for the
return period of 2 years and 100 years and finally flood simulation is performed but here in this the
return period of 100 years is only discussed.
6. Data Limitation
The limitation of data is given below;
• The quality of DEM, the basic information for flood model holds pivotal role, but we have
used DEM from NTDB (National topographic database) which is based on the source scale
of 1:25000. However, national specification for land use planning has given permission for
such use. In reality, this DEM doesn’t suffice in term of spatial resolution.
• The HEC-RAS model assumes that the canal geometry has a fixed boundary during the
runoff event to be modelled, which may not be true in real practices.
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7. Data Analysis and Assessment of Land Use Planning of Nepal

From the analysis of all the data acquired from local people using structured questionnaire, it is found
that Nijgadh municipality experiences regular flooding though it has not entered the municipality
except in the year of 1993. The conversion of agricultural land into river bank due to bank cutting has
warned the municipality from entering the flood. The municipality suffers due to water logging during
each rainy season which shows that existing settlement has not been developed in suitable place.
From the survey it is found that most of the people have their settlement near to the river which shows
that the settlement is flood prone. Many people have used embankment to check flood from entering
their settlement but are in ruining condition which has threatened the people from flood. The
maintenance of such embankment is found serious to avoid flooding in the municipality. The GON
has prepared land use zoning map of municipality but many people are still unaware regarding land
use zoning maps which can be hurdle during its implementation.
It was found that each member organization working as technical team for Land Use Project has
their specific roles and responsibility. They are responsible for the tasks like overall management of
land, Forest and water shed, Collection of disaster related information, preparation of different types
of maps. Though they are assigned with specific roles and responsibilities, sometimes there is
overlapping of their duties. From the interview, department of forest and department of irrigation
has somehow overlapping roles in water shed management. At the same time ministry of land 8and
responsibility.
7.1 Analysis of flood
The secondary data like satellite image, topographic maps, and Digital elevation model were used to
generate flood model by using the following software:
• Arc GIS 9.3
• Hec-GeoRas
• Hec Ras 4.0(Hydrologic Engineering Centre-River analysis system)
7.1.1 Analysis for watershed area determination and calculation of water discharge
In this phase, river Bakaiya was digitized from the Geo Eye-1 satellite image. Digital elevation model,
as grid model was prepared by using contour and station point from the topographic map. Water
discharge for return period 2years and 100years were calculated with the determination of watershed
area shown in figure 5 using Flow direction and Flow accumulation. The process involved is given in
Fig 4. Though this research has dealt with both return periods, here in this only the return period of
100 years has been dealt.
Fig. 4. Process for Watershed area determination and discharge calculation Fig. 5. Catchment Area
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Discharge calculation for return period 100 years is tabulated below:
River Catchmen 100yrs

Station t area (sq.km) (m3 /sec)
7200 201.18 970.236
7000 201.93 972.8815
1800 230.67 1072.405
200 233.37 1081.58
Fig.6. Water Surface Profile for return period 100yrs

Inundation mapping was performed with the generation of water surface which was later
followed by flood plain delineation as shown in fig7.
Fig. 7. Flood Model for return period 100yrs
8. Evaluation of Land Use Planning of Nepal

National Land use planning of Nijgadh Municipality has been already prepared by GON. This Land
use zone has classified 72.9%of total land as forest, 10.3% as public space, 10.41% as industry, 5.51%
as residential and remaining 1.01% as commercial area as shown in given table 1.
Table 1 Classified Land Use Zone in Nijgadh
ID Zone Type Area(m²) Area in hectare %

0 Agriculture 10036278.1 1003.627812 9.86
1 Commercial 1030752.39 103.075239 1.01
2 Forest 74206088.8 7420.60888 72.9
3 Industrial 413581.299 41.35812994 10.41
4 Public 10483465.6 1048.346563 10.3
5 Residential 5612420.19 561.242019 5.51
Total 10178.25864
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8. 1 Flood Hazard Analysis
Flood hazard map was prepared by intersecting land use map with flood area polygon. This has given
clear picture of possible flood that can affect land use of the area. The assessment has been done for
both periods but here only the assessment for return period 100 years is discussed which are
represented in given map.
According to flood assessment for return period 100 years, 1140.05 hectares of classified land use
zone of 10178.25864 hectare is found to be in flood prone area. Among which 6.2% of agricultural
land is found to be affected by flood. 7.4% of forest, 39.3% of industry, 48.7% of public and 0.44% of
residential area among the area of different zone types allocated by national land use project is found
to be in threat of inundation for return period 100 years. The land use zone that tends to be inundated
for return Period 100yrs is represented in figure 8. The data obtained for return period 100 years has
been graphically represented in Figure 9.
Fig. 9. Inundated area for return period 100years
Fig. 8. Inundation area for return period

100years
The land use zone classified by GON and the area among the classified zone liable to flood for the
return period 100 years is summarized in table 2.
Table 2. Land Use Zone classified by GON and area liable to flood for return period 100 years
Area in hectare as Inundated Area in in%(100

OID Zone Type
classified by GON hectare(100yrs) years)
0 AGRICULTURE 1003.62 62.40 6.2
1 COMMERCIAL 103.075 - -
2 FOREST 7420.60 549.85 7.4
3 INDUSTRIAL 41.35 16.27 39.36
4 PUBLIC 1048.34 511.08 48.75
5 RESIDENTIAL 561.24 0.44 0.078
TOTAL 10178.25 1140.05 11.20
8. 2 Flood Depth for return period 100 years
It is found that 60% flood depth is greater than 2m while 34% of flood is in between the depth of 1.1-
1.9m while 8% has the depth less or equal to 1. According to the overlay analysis of flood model with
Land use plan of Nijgadh , 62.4 hectares of agricultural land ,521.58 hectares of forest, 16.27 hectares
of industry, 511.08 hectares of public land use 0.041 hectares of residential area is found to be
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inundated with the flood depth of less or equal to one. 62.4 hectares of agricultural land, 549.85
hectares of forest, and 16.27 hectares of industry, 511.08 hectares of public land and 0.041 hectares of
residential area is found to be effected by the flood depth of 1.6-1.9m. Similarly, flood greater than
the depth of 2m is likely to affect forest of area 114.48 hectares and public land of area 39.83
hectares. This has been illustrated in the given chart.
1400
1200
Area in hectares
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Agricu Indust Resid
Forest Public
lture ry ential
>2 0 114.48 0 39.83
1.1-1.9 62.4 549.85 16.27 511.08 0.041
<=1 62.4 521.58 16.27 511.08 0.041
Fig. 10. Land use and Flood depth for return period 100years
9. Conclusion
This research has performed flood analysis of Bakaiya River for return period 100 years which is
gone through the overlay analysis with land use zoning map of Nijgadh prepared by GON.
10178.25864 hectares of land has been classified into different land use zone types. Out of which for
return period 100 years 1140.05 hectares of total land is found to be in inundated area. 5.47% of
agricultural land, 48.2% of forest, 1.43% of industry, 44.8% public and 0.04% of residential area are
found to be in threat of flood. The result is further validated from the analysis of all the data acquired
from local people using structured questionnaire which shows the municipality receives regular
flooding though it has not entered the municipality except in the year of 1993. It further shows that
there is immense chance of entering the flood as the agricultural land has been converted to river bank
due to bank cutting and the existing embankment are also in ruining condition. The existing
settlement is not even in proper place as it suffers from water logging problem in each rainy season.
The settlement near the river shows that its placement is flood prone.
Therefore, from the above study, we can say that the land use zoning map prepared by GON has
not addressed flood. The time and money invested to prepare this zoning map can go vain if not
addressed this factor before going through implementation. This research strongly recommends
government to revise prepared land use map once again before going through its implementation.
10. Recommendation
The evaluation of Land use plan of Nijgadh municipality has resulted that some part of the land which
are assigned for the specific land use are in threat of flood. Therefore, some of the recommendation
regarding this is given below:
• The land use plan of this area should be revised before going through the implementation.
• From the interview with local people it is found that the problem of bank cutting has created
threat to enter the flood in the municipality, so proper embankment should be provided.
• The technical committee of Land Use Planning has failed to manage co-ordination with
organization like DWIDP (Department of Water-Induced Disaster Prevention) which works
directly in the field of water induced disaster prevention. So, it is recommended that NLUP
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should manage to involve DWIDP in its technical team so that the prepared Land use plan can
incorporate flood information that are obtained from DWIDP.
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my supervisors Nab Raj Subedi and Uma Shankar Pandey
for their continuous support and guidance. My special thanks go to my father Er.Siddhi Gopal Manandhar ,
husband Er. Sujendra Manandhar and Sister Ar. Robina Manandhar for their continuous support and motivation
throughout my research. Last but not the least I would like to thank my whole family and friends who supported
me spiritually throughout writing this research.
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389
Post Disaster Land Issues in Informal Settlements

Robina Manandhar1
Abstract
Several land issues such as access to land, allocation to land and insecure land tenure are the critical
factors which come across in post disaster settings. Land tenure policies play a vital role to provide
right to access land for recovery after disaster and for the proper implementation of Disaster Risk
management. People who do not have legal recognition on their occupied land, the informal settlers
suffer most in post disaster recovery. Informal settlers tend to be the most marginalized group and
living to poor quality and hazard prone areas. This study aims to find the land issues faced by the
informal settlers in post disaster phase. In this study 2004Tsunami in Indonesia, 2010 Haiti
earthquake, 2001 Gujarat earthquake, 2012 Nepal earthquake were taken as cases to study about the
land issues faced by the informal settlers.
The study reveals that informal settlers are left behind in recovery and rehabilitation process in
post disaster phase due to lack of legal documents or lack of tenure security on their occupied land.
They are deprived from the financial and housing assistance as all recovery process are based on land
tenure. Proper land policies are very important for the efficient execution of post disaster recovery
setting. Thus proper recognition of land rights for informal settlers helps to improve their housing and
provide the opportunity to build back better.
Keywords: Land Tenure; Informal Settlement; Post-disaster
1. Introduction
Land is the ultimate resource without which life on earth is impossible as it provides shelter and food
to all living beings. Recording of rights and its transfer became essential so as to avoid disputes and
protect from third party. The world today is facing several complex challenges including climate
change, rapid urbanization, food insecurity, increase demand in use of natural resources etc. These all
challenges have clear land dimension like access to land, insecurity of tenure, unsustainable land use
etc (Palmer et al., 2009). Land is a fundamental requirement to the recovery in disaster. Disaster is the
result of natural hazards such as earthquake, land slide, flood, volcanic eruption etc. Land issues such
as access to land, allocation to land and tenure security is a critical factor while building resilience and
reducing vulnerability in post disaster settings. Thus land tenure policies play a vital role to provide
right to access land for recovery after disaster or for the proper implementation of Disaster Risk
Management (DRM) plan. (Charoenkalunyuta, 2011).
Informal settlements are the vulnerable and marginalized group in case of disaster. Informal
settlements are recognized by different names in different countries such as slum, squatter settlements,
bosti(India), gecekondo(Turkey) and sukumbashi(Nepal). Dwellers of such settlements lack public
services and legal recognition. Rapid urbanization, low socio-economic growth, unemployment and
poor governance are general causes for the development of informal settlements. The lack of legal
access to land or lack of tenure security of such settlements acts as the hindrances during the
reconstruction phase after disaster. Land tenure security acts as the essential component for durable
shelter and sustainable livelihood solutions.
2. Land Tenure Security and Natural Disaster

Land tenure is the way of holding or owing land by individuals and groups or the relationship legally
or customarily defined among the people with respect to the land. Simply land tenure is the
relationship between people and land. Land tenure security is defined as the degree of confidence
1 Department of Architecture, Khwopa Engineering College, Libali, Bhaktapur, Nepal
390
such that land users will not be deprived of the rights over the land. It is the degree of security that
protects people from forced eviction, harassment and other threats.
Natural Disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquake etc destroy and damages land and
peoples’ livelihood. Other than loss of life and impacts on national economies, natural disaster has
drastic impacts on land tenure system and property loss. Access to land and security of tenure are
affected by the natural disaster such that people become unable to access their land either for
production or for housing purpose. It also destroys all evidences on lands such as land registry
records, cadastre maps, land titles, identity cards((UN-HABITAT), 2010)
Determining and redistribution of land ownership after natural disaster is an important aspect in
between the short term humanitarian relief to the long term reconstruction of livelihoods and
communities. Population growth enables people to settle in marginal hazard prone areas affecting
more people and more land during disaster. Clear and equitable land rights help to improve planning
in vulnerable areas encouraging land owners to invest for better and safer home construction. People
feel secure and confident on their investments such that it will remain with them and can pass them to
their children. But insecure, inequitable and opaque land tenure system leaves people to live in
marginal and hazard prone area with natural threats by geography and climate. These marginal lands
occupied by the poor or low income communities are rarely surveyed and integrated into disaster risk
assessments(Crawford, 2006).
Other than humanitarian challenges in the aftermath of disaster, the issue of tenure is one of the
major issues. Thus, proper Land administration is necessary for the early recovery so as to support
tenure security, settlement planning and the transition to sustainable development. During disaster,
destruction of buildings and land records, damages to the boundary and loss of experienced land
professionals occur which makes difficulty in identification of pre-disaster land boundaries. The
proper land information is required to commence rebuilding activity during which decisions on rights
to each parcel of land is to be identified. Vulnerable groups of the community need to be protected
from the access of land and livelihood. Recognition of potential land issues are incorporated into the
national land policies as a part of DRM process. (Mitchell, 2011)
3. Disaster Risk Management

Natural disaster brings adverse effect on the livelihood. The damage from natural disaster is
increasing worldwide. According to 2014 report by United Nations, 4.4 billion of people have been
affected by disasters since 1994 and 1.3 million losses of lives and US$2 trillion economic losses.
The risk of damage created from natural disaster however can be reduced through its proper
management. Disaster Risk Management helps to reduce possible risks and to prepare for and initiate
an immediate response. DRM is a continuous process of interrelated actions which are initiated
before, during and after disaster. It focuses on the resilience of households and communities to protect
their livelihood with the measures to prevent or reduce effects of hazards so as to provide timely and
reliable reliefs. During the emergency response, relief agencies focus on the protection of lives and
property while the focus is on recovery and rehabilitation including the concept of “Building Back
Better” in post disaster(Steohan Baas, Selvaraju Ramasamy, Jennie Dey de Pryck, 2008).
The key Elements of DRM processes includes prevention/mitigation, preparedness planning,
response, recovery and risk assessment. Soon after the disaster, life of victims and the remaining
property needed to be protected as a response to the disaster. After this, need to recover back to
normal in a pre-disaster stage as a recovery. Risk assessment should be carried out in order to protect
the vulnerable group in future in prevention/mitigation, preparedness planning stage. The assessment
helps to reduce the risk to the vulnerable groups in case of similar disaster in future.
The key elements of the DRM framework are reflected in the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-
2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (HFA) which elaborates the
five priorities for action adopted by the World Conference on Disaster Reduction to achieve its
strategic goals by 2015. HFA prioritize disaster risk assessments in informal settlements and high risk
areas and focusing disaster preparedness on the most vulnerable areas and groups. The Sendai
Framework, HFA’s successor, was adopted in world Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. It
provides framework for research and advocacy on reducing and mitigating displacement risk. This
framework also recognizes the measures to reduce risk through land use planning and improved
building standards for people displaced by disasters(Barbara McCallin and Isabelle Scherer, 2015).
391
4. Informal Settlements and Tenure Security

Informal settlements have various definitions like slum which means lagging of basic infrastructure,
housing violating land use and building norms, land bought outside formal land transactions. UN-
habitat has defined informal settlements as residential areas where houses are constructed but do not
have any legal claim of occupied land (Paudyal, 2006). Such settlements are developed either on
private lands or on public lands and are rapidly increasing in the urban areas, basically in developing
countries (Fernandes 2011).The causes of informal settlements are mainly the rapid population growth
and urbanization, poverty, natural disasters, climate change, migration from other regions (Potsiou,
2014). Due to the lack of proper land use plan and the inappropriate implementation of land use plans
are the main causes for the growth of informal settlements in vulnerable zones such as flood plains,
fault lines, coastal zones etc. Further such settlements are increasing due to the lack of clear land
policies for informal settlements.
In regards to the tenure security of informal settlement, the settlement lags legal recognition. But
there are cases where these settlements managed to get utilities services from formal authorities itself.
Even though such settlements lack de jure but they feel secure because of de facto (Shrestha 2013).
Land regularization policies are implemented to respond the phenomenon of informal land
development by policy makers. Such policies includes different conceptual approaches and
corresponding institutional framework addressing security of tenure, legal rights for property owners
and provision of urban infrastructures and services (Fernandes, n.d.). Different regularization policies
are implemented so as to assure tenure security to the informal settlements. Individual land titling
cannot deliver complete tenure security to informal settlements and continuum of rights is needed
(Zevenbergen, Augustinus, Antonio, & Bennett, 2013). Individual land titling may not be feasible to
poor because they may not be able to pay land and property tax and also there is more possibility of
selling their land and squatting to other places(B. K. Shrestha, 2013). So, continuum of land rights
provides a series of tenure security which will be beneficial for securing tenure rights to poor.
Similarly, social tenure domain model is additional to land administration which provides the
recordation of social tenure relationships which is beneficial for people living in informal settlement.
5. Land Issues of Informal Settlements in Post Disaster: Case Studies from

Different Country Context
Informal settlements are the most vulnerable group during disaster because of population density,
related to their location and other social, economic and political factors which results to the high risks
of displacement. Informal settlements don’t have legal documentation on their occupied land so they
face discrimination receiving the reconstruction assistance. Also on the basis of their tenure status,
they are restricted to the provision of emergency shelter.
5.1 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia
In 26th Dec.2004, deadly Tsunami hit on the Indian Ocean which led to one of the greatest disasters
in the historical times. South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia were the affected area where around
280,000 people lost their lives. Among them Aceh province of Sumatra Indonesian Island was the
most affected area with the loss of lives of 167,000 people (Lavigne, 2013)
Reconstruction and rehabilitation of housing in the affected areas became a major effort of a large
number of international and Indonesian organizations. Reconstruction process was undergone through
numerous hurdles and has been slower down(Steinberg, 2007). Initially the disaster response for the
habitat sector was coordinated by National Development planning Agency (BAPPENAS), in
cooperation with the Ministry of Public works(MPW). Later after the establishment of Aceh and Nias
Rehabilitation and reconstruction Agency(BRR) in 2005, then it was handed over to BRR(Steinberg,
2007). During these project, the housing needs of about 70,000 displaced squatters and renters, many
of them living in informal settlements, were not figured out. Many were left homeless and with no
provision of being re-housed two years after the disaster. Squatters’ and tenants’ needs were neglected
and such issues were highlighted by the several national and international NGOs. This then led BRR
to allocate them cash grants. In 2006 government regulations issued to provide the tenants before
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tsunami around $2,800 and squatters $1,150. There was delay on disbursement and the value of the
grants was reduced significantly. Later with the major demonstration outside BRRs’ office, in 2007
the government announced the allocation of free land and housing for tenants’ and squatters’
relocation. (Barbara McCallin and Isabelle Scherer, 2015)
The reconstruction and rehabilitation programs mainly focused on the owners and renters,
squatters were left behind. Under the pressure of civil society, government initially provided
assistance to informal settlers but still they were on disadvantageous group compared to the owners.
Owners received a home while non owners received cash or were relocated, and tenants received
larger cash grants than poor squatters. This case shows the clear discrimination between the owner
and renters, squatters, on the basis of tenure status.
5.2 Haiti earthquake 2010
In January 2010, 7.0 magnitude of earthquake struck in Haiti which resulted huge loss of lives and
property. 200,000 people were killed and 1.5 million were displaced. The epicentre was located 22 km
from the capital city Port-au-Prince and 15 km from the closest towns. Port-au-Prince, Carefour,
Leogane and Jacmel were the most affected cities. 105,000 homes were completely destroyed and
more than 208,000 were damaged (Proyectos, 2011).
Many constraints came across in response to the Haiti earthquake shelter. Lack of proper civilian
registration, lack of urban planning, lack of proper land records were the major constraints in the
shelter response programs. Around 80 percent of the homeless people were informal settlers. They
were mostly affected because of their low cost and poor materials houses (Proyectos, 2011).
Government of Haiti lack clear legal system for registration, occupancy, ownership and transfer of
land which ultimately affected on the recognition of land rights of informal settlements that exist for
longer time. The landowners also became more vulnerable due to the loss of legal documents or heirs
lack proof of documentation of land rights due to death of legal land holders. Informal encroachment
on unoccupied land increased. Furthermore, informal settlers started to remain on the damaged houses
due to the fear to lose their occupied land(R. Shrestha et al., 2016). The living conditions of informal
settlements were worst and more than half of them were living in high risk areas, hazard prone areas.
Absence of formalized land market for low-income people, lack of reliable cadastre had negative
impacts on the government’s ability to organize and coordinate the international response. Many
international agencies and NGOs were mobilized to offer assistance after the earthquake.
Hundreds of informal camps were erected across Port-au-Prince within a week of devastating
earthquake. Those people who were displace by earthquake is termed as internally displaced
persons(IDPs). Most of the camps were located near the city centre, close to the airport areas to have
easy access to international aid and to be safe from further effects of the earthquake. Despites of huge
relief and recovery efforts, 1.1 million IDPs were still living in camps in ten months later. After two
years, the IDPs population was decreased from 500,000 to 64,700. It was difficult to determine how
many of them who no longer living in camp received durable solutions or have access to
housings(Barbara McCallin and Isabelle Scherer, 2015).
Government lack of leadership in guiding reconstruction efforts created a major hurdle to the
provision of adequate housing assistance for IDPs. Many internal disputes were created due to failure
of government in clarifying the roles and responsibilities of ministries and agencies and international
responders such as USAID, UN-Habitat, World Bank etc could operate housing assistance. The
inability of government to develop a housing policy limited agencies to emergency relief and
transitional shelter only. Again to obtain transitional shelter, IDPs should own land on which to set it
up. So this excluded the former tenant, holder which too small plots for the type of shelter offered and
those whose land was covered in rubble and couldn’t afford to clear. Transitional shelter (cost $500
million) had very much nominal contribution to decrease camp population in 2 years. Only 5 percent
of IDPs left camp receiving the transitional shelter.
Absence of housing reconstruction policy encouraged people to rebuild themselves in hazard prone
areas resulting unsafe and poor quality construction. Due to the lack of proper housing or
reconstruction policy and urban development plan, there was difficulty in providing durable housing
solutions. A clear policy would have guide and coordinate humanitarian recovery activities and urban
development plan addressing the issues of informal settlements and their possible upgrades and
regularization. Lack of national guidance also limited successful community driven reconstruction
project and also humanitarian interventions focused only on emergency and transitional shelter
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resulting delay on the achievement of adequate and durable housing solutions(Barbara McCallin and
Isabelle Scherer, 2015).
Port au Prince lacks clarity on land titles, reliable land records and evidence of ownership and no
any alternatives to identify genuine claims on land. So this became a large hindrance in
reconstruction. Other than these land issues the lack of land use zoning and regulation also became
another hindrance in reconstruction phase(R. Shrestha et al., 2016).
5.3 Gujrat earthquake 2001
In January 2001 Indian state Gujarat was hit by an devastating earthquake with epicentre at Bhuj, a
city and municipality in Kachchh district. According to Gujarat public administration authorities,
13,800 people around India was killed in the earthquake. More than 1.2 million houses were
damaged. Anjar, Bhachau, Bhuj and Rapar were the most affected cities (UN-HABITAT, n.d.).
Gujarat state has a policy to distribute land tenure called “Sanad” to informal settlers, on 1990s. It
refers to the type of tenancy title in which state provide right to occupancy to squatter on a piece of
public land but the title cannot be sold to third party i.e. non transferable. But still in the city like
Bhacau, very less number of informal settlers had” Sanad” based on the political back support. After
on with the changes in land tenure decision, informal settlers were left without any type of occupancy
documents (Mukherji, 2010).
More than 50 percent of the towns’ population were living in slums at the time of earthquake and
their tenure situation was very complex. Encroachment over the land was not mapped in land
registries. Squatter settlements on private, public in common grazing land was booming but still they
have municipal taxes bill, ration cards as a proof of documents. For housing reconstruction, Gujarat
state government provided financial support only on the condition that beneficiaries agreed to adhere
to building specification that included DRR measures. In response to the earthquake a new building
permit was introduced which gave more prior to the property owners while people with unclear tenure
were left behind. Later, on a survey was carried out by Nagarik Sahayog Kendra (NSK) citizen
support in collaboration with Bhachau Area Development Authority(BhADA) and the Gujarat State
Disaster Management Authority in which it stated the due to the lack of unclear land tenure 1,767 low
income families were unable to gain housing assistance. This survey also concluded that in absence of
a building permit and technical assistance many families who started rebuilding their homes did not
receive financial assistance. About 90percent of the households in this state were willing to pay for
their land to be regularized. Due to this survey result, NSK was able to regularize 1,300 families and
municipality issued them with title deeds for 50m2 of land.
Unclear land tenure creates complexities in the housing and financial assistance after earthquake.
Land regularization process can act as a broader policy in post-disaster recovery phase which would
have positive impact on informal settlers (Barbara McCallin and Isabelle Scherer, 2015).
5.4 Nepal earthquake 2072
On 25th April and 12th May 2015, a strong earthquake hit the central and eastern regions of Nepal in
which 604,930 houses were totally destroyed and 288,866 houses were damaged (Ministry of Home
Affair (MoHA)). Nepal faced a huge loss to private houses, public infrastructure, and heritage. About
8790 lost their lives and 22,300 people were injured. According to Post-Disaster Needs Assessment
(PDNA), NPR669 billion would be required in reconstruction of damaged properties and
infrastructures. In response to devastating earthquake, Government of Nepal initiated housing
assistance to the victims with the support of many international agencies such as UN-Habitat, IOM,
care Nepal etc. The housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform (HRRP) focused on housing
reconstruction from January 2016(HRRP, 2016).
Vulnerable communities suffer significantly during disaster and also in post disaster. In post –
disaster damage assessments vulnerable communities (urban poor, urban renters, squatters) were left
behind or the impact of disaster in them were not recorded (HRRP, 2016). Squatters and landless are
the most marginalized people in Nepal living on hazard prone area prior to earthquake. Due to the
lack of legal documents and land ownership they are prone to exclude from reconstruction efforts.
This will leave them to continue live on unsafe land and deprive opportunity to build back
better(OXFAM, 2016).Nepal reconstruction Authority (NRA) was established on 25th December 2015
with the aim to plan and coordinate implementation of the reconstruction and rehabilitation program.
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Despite of several challenges, NRA is being initiating several reconstruction activities. The
Reconstruction and rehabilitation policy 2072(2015) clarifies the roles and responsibilities of different
institutions working on reconstruction and rehabilitation(NRA, 2016). The Post-Disaster Recovery
Framework (PDRF) was prepared under the leadership of the NRA, in consultation with key
stakeholders, to provide a systematic, structured and prioritized framework for implementing recovery
and reconstruction. The framework has undertaken several measures to address the equitable access of
women and vulnerable groups to recovery and reconstruction services. Government of Nepal also has
the provision of Joint Land Ownership in 2012 in order to improve women’s land access. The
procedure if considers the needs of landless people then it would also help to ensure more equitable
and resilient reconstruction.
Nepal is facing a large undocumented land tenure. According to 2010 UN-Habitat, it was
estimated that about 7 percent of all urban households live without legal recognition on occupied land
either governmental or public land. About 20,000 people in Kathmandu city are living in informal
settlements. Government policies on reconstruction were mainly focused on documentation while
emergency relief was distributed without any legal document including landless people. It was carried
out largely through informal identification processes and networks, by both district governments and
INGOs/NGOs. Procedures for distributing cash grant Rs. 200,000 for house rebuilding requires land
ownership documents. Sukumbashi or landless victims suffered most as they didn’t have legal
recognition on their land such that they didn’t receive any governmental grants. NRA and MoLRM
also developed the procedure to provide land ownership certificates to those without formal land
documents. But the people who are squatter or landless still excluded from the procedure as their right
to land is disputed by the Government, so will continue to be excluded from reconstruction and
become further marginalized(OXFAM, 2016).
Nepal laws and policies has supported the rights of landless people such as 2015 land use policy
which included strategy to develop low cost settlements for landless citizens. Also 2012 National
Shelter policy included plans to allocate small plots of land or low cost housing to vulnerable
households. Later, NRA also recognized the landless quake survivors. NRA proposed to grant Rs.
200,000 to the quake survivors, living in public land and forest areas, who are on the beneficiary list
but do not own land anywhere in Nepal to buy land. The grant is in addition to Rs.300,000 housing
aid (NRA,2017).
6. Analysis from Case Studies

6.1 Recognition of land tenure rights
Informal settlers are those who occupy land on private, government or public land without any legal
recognition on their occupied. These groups are considered as the most vulnerable and marginalized
group in disaster. Most of the recovery and rehabilitation process mainly focused on documents or
ownership such that squatter or informal settlers were the deprived group. In each case studies show
the clear discrimination between the owner and renters or squatters. Post disaster assistance focused
mainly on the basis of tenure status. Thus proper land tenure right is an important aspect.
The reconstruction and rehabilitation program focused on the owners i.e. ownership documents
while squatters or informal setters were left behind in all cases mentioned above. In Haiti earthquake,
due to lack of proper land registration, the shelter response programs could not run efficiently. So a
clear legal system of registration, occupancy, ownership helps in housing assistance in post disaster.
During the Gujarat earthquake 2001, NSK was able to regularize 1,300 families and municipality
issued them title deeds for 50 m2 of land. Thus the informal settlers with no legal recognition were
also recognized for housing assistance along with the regularization of settlements. Unclear land
tenure creates complexities n in housing and financial assistance. In case of Nepal earthquake too, the
landless people were not included in the financial and housing assistance. The case studies clearly
show the need of legal rights on occupied land or tenure rights to bring all victims including informal
for the reconstruction and recovery processes of post disaster. Thus there is the need of regularization
of informal settlements.
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6.2 Strong government land policies
Government land policies are very important in order to reduce post disaster risk. Lack of clear
policies disables the national and international agencies for the post disaster recovery activities. In
case of Haiti earthquake, the inability of government to develop housing policies limited agencies for
the emergency relief and transitional shelter. Again in absence of housing reconstruction policy and
proper land use planning policy, people started living on same hazard prone areas. Lack of clear
policies act as a hindrance for humanitarian activities and urban development plans addressing the
issues of informal settlements and their possible upgrades and regularization. In case of Gujarat
earthquake, government policy for regularization of informal settlement helps to regularize 1,300
families in post disaster recovery phase. However, government initially didn’t address the informal
settlers but with the survey by NSK, it enabled for the regularization process. In case of Nepal, laws
and policies support the rights of landless people and later NRA proposed the financial grants for the
quake survivors who don’t have land or landless people. Thus, Strong government land policies are
very important to address financial and housing assistance program for all victims including informal
settlements.
6.3 Role of international and local authorities
The NGOs and civil societies play a vital role in post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery activities. In
the case studies, it is reflected that INGOs and NGOs managed to define the approaches to generate
land tenure in order to provide shelter assistance to the informal settlers. Many international agencies
and NGOs offers assistance after the earthquake. The case of Haiti earthquake clearly mentions about
the assistance from international agencies such as UN-Habitat, USAID etc. Informal settlements were
not recognized in the guidelines regarding the application of building codes during the reconstruction
of shelter in case of Gujarat earthquake. However, the agencies then found the way to overcome
weakness in the process and regularize the settlements. In case of Nepal earthquake, the donor
agencies like INGOs prioritized the marginalized groups: informal settlers, urban poor. Thus later
NRA recognized landless victims and included then in cash grants beneficiaries. Several case studies
show that informal settlements initially excluded from the assistance and later they were able to
improve their housing and tenure security through the pressure from civil societies and local agencies.
7. Conclusion
Informal settlements are the most vulnerable and marginalized group in post disaster settings.
The study reveals that lack of legal rights on the occupied land act as the hindrances to gain the
recovery and rehabilitation assistance. Most of the recovery and rehabilitation process mainly
focused on the documents and ownership such that landless and informal settlers were left behind.
Thus the tenure security of informal settlements should to be recognized. Pro poor land
recordation helps to extend security of tenure to the poor supporting continuum of land rights. Clear
Government land policies are very important for the smooth and efficient execution of post
disaster recovery process. Clear governmental guidelines for housing and shelter assistance help all
helping and donor agencies to run the assistance properly. Civil societies and NGOs/INGOs also play
a vital role to recognize informal settlements into the recovery and rehabilitation process and improve
their housing and tenure security.
Reference
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Barbara McCallin &Isabelle Scherer., (2015). Urban informal settlers displaced by disasters : challenges to
housing responses Report.
Crawford, A., (2006). Addressing Land Ownership after Natural Disasters, (July).
Fernandes, E., (n.d.). Regularization of Informal Settlements in Latin America.
HRRP., (2016). The Impact of the 2015 Earthquake on Housing and Livelihoods in Urban Areas in Nepal
Final
Report, (June).
Lavigne, F., (2013). The 2004 Indien Ocean Tsunami, (May).
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Mitchell, D., (2011). Assessing and Responding to Land Tenure Issues in Disaster Risk Management.
NRA., (2016). Post Disaster Recovery Framework.
OXFAM., (2016). BUILDING BACK, (May 2015).
Palmer, D., Fricska, S., Wehrmann, B., Augustinus, C., Munro-faure, P., Törhönen, M., & Arial, A., (2009).
TOWARDS IMPROVED LAND GOVERNANCE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
PROGRAMME TOWARDS IMPROVED LAND.
Paudyal, D. R., (2006). Pro-Poor Land Management System : A Study Considering Dynamic Aspect of Land
Tenure in Nepal Pro-Poor Land Management System : A Study Considering Dynamic Aspect of Land
Tenure in Nepal, 1–10.
Potsiou, C., (2014). Policies for formalization of informal development: Recent experience from southeastern
Europe. Land Use Policy, 36, 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.07.010
Proyectos, E., (2011). An Evaluation of the Haiti Earthquake 2010 Meeting Shelter Needs : Issues ,
Achievements and Constraints.
Shrestha, B. K., (2013). Squatter Settlements in the Kathmandu Valley: Looking Through the Prism of Land
Rights and Tenure Security. Urban Forum, 24(1), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-013-9189-x
Shrestha, R., Tuladhar, A., & Zevenbergen, J., (2016). Exploring land governance in post-disaster : a case of
informal settlement, (January 2016), 1–16.
Steinberg, F., (2007). Housing reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh and Nias, Indonesia—Rebuilding lives.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2006.11.002
Steohan Baas, Selvaraju Ramasamy, Jennie Dey de Pryck, F. B., (2008). Disaster risk management systems
analysis A guide book N AT U R A L systems analys i s.
UN-HABITAT. (n.d.). Scoping Report : Addressing Land Issues after Natural Disasters United Nations Human
Settlements Programme.
Zevenbergen, J., Augustinus, C., Antonio, D., & Bennett, R., (2013). Pro-poor land administration: Principles
for recording the land rights of the underrepresented. Land Use Policy, 31, 595–604.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.09.005
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A Study on Urban Renewal of Golmadhi, Bhaktapur

Neeru Shilpakar1, and Mohan Moorti Pant2
Abstract
This paper studies the existing situation of a typical Newari traditional residential quarter--Golmadhi
Tole of Bhaktapur. The survey is to understand the relationship between the present conditions of the
dwelling environment including the damage due to the Earthquake 2015, dwelling plot shape and size,
access to the dwelling units in the study area, aspects of built and cultural heritage, and the
reconstruction possibilities. A questionnaire survey was carried out in 2016 April for the rebuilding of
the houses in the study area with three alternate planning possibilities. The first one is to rebuild the
building in the existing plot whereas the second one is the readjustment of the plots and third is to
build in the form of cooperative units.
The paper identifies the major problems existing in the study area and proposes regeneration and
rehabilitation of residents while maintaining the traditional fabric of the quarter to create a habitable
environment for the residents such that the quality of life is uplifted and local culture of the place is
preserved.
Keywords: Urban Renewal; Regeneration; Housing; Alternatives; Gorkha Earthquake; Golmadhi; Bhaktapur.
1. Introduction
The study area is located on the way of main street of the historic city of Bhaktapur and is part of the
World Heritage site that links the palace at the west and Dattatreya Square at east of the city. The row
of the houses along the main street, the dwelling clusters forming lanes and courtyards at the inner
area is a good example of settlement form of typical Newar town. In addition, Golmadhi Square is one
of the major squares along the WHS zone. In medieval
times, Golmadhi Square was the center of Sivagal, one
of the three districts of Bhaktapur, the other two being
Bandimagal and Chanigal. Sivagal is named after the
shrine of Siva at the Golmadhi Square. The majority of
the dwellers of Golmadhi are of Jyapu community. The
community group are of Manadhar, Ranjitkar, Shakya,
Shilpakar. There are three chaityas in surveyed area
related to the community people. The combination of
Fig. 1. Location of study area Fig. 2. Survey study area in Golmadhi tole
1 Architect, Bhaktapur Reconstruction and Study Committee. Email: neerushil0@gmail.com

2 Professor, Postgraduate Department of Urban Design and Conservation. PhD. Email: sribahal@gmail.com
398
the buildings, streets, alleys, lanes, monuments, open spaces makes a complete Tole.
The dwellings are organizing in clusters with each cluster sharing a common entry. Such a cluster
is called nani. The combination of a number of such nanis forms a tole. A tole usually has a Ganesha
shrine where each household offers daily ritual worship. The Ganesha shrine located in the Golmadhi
square is the tole ganesha of our study area.
2. Methodology of Study
The study was conducted with the reference of the
cadastral map of 2040. This cadastral map is in 1:500
scale, and gives the built up area with plot boundaries.
A detail questionnaire survey is conducted on the
status of present occupancy, visual damage, household
units and occupation. Plot size and floor plans were
measured in April 2016. Interview with the local
residents was conducted in the period between 2016
April-September. The survey was done after the great
earthquake 2015. The damage assessment was
conducted through the visual observation. The survey
work also includes data from ward office and the local
people. The photographs of the past were collected
and compared with present scenario.
Fig. 3. Community shrine in study area
3. Basic Site Data

The survey data of the physical condition of the quarters was studied to analyse and assess the
existing living environment in terms of aspects such as light and ventilation, use of floor space,
typology of the partition of the building, occupancy and damage condition. The survey shows that
there is serious problem of light and ventilation which resulting a poor living condition. The study
area of covers 6593 sq. m with 104 dwelling units and a population of 905. The built up area is
50.78% and density 1373 pph. A detail survey study is done of 84 dwelling units to analyze the
existing living condition of the area.
Fig. 4. Monuments in the study area
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3.1. Damage condition
In the 84 dwelling units, 32% buildings suffered complete collapse, 46% partial collapse, 16%
suffered minor damage while 6 % (Fig 5) remained intact. At present, due to different degree of
damage to the house, 50.96% (Fig 6) houses are vacant due to the uninhabitable condition.
The inhabitable situation also occurred due to nature of accessibility. The study area is at the
northern side of the main street with a width of 4.6 m width. The dwellings that line the main street
are accessed directly from this street. Rest of the other houses are accessed through a system of street-
lane- courtyard. There are lanes of 2.5 m, 2.2 m and 1.5 m width (Fig 7).
Fig. 5. Spatial distribution of damage situation Fig. 6. Occupancy in household
Fig. 7. Dwelling accessibility pattern
Table 1. Spatial Distribution of Damage Situation
Damage Condition No. of Buildings %

Completely Damage 27 32
Partially Damage 39 46
Minor Damage 13 16
No Damage 5 6
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2nd International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning 25
– 27 April, 2019, Bhaktapur, Nepal
Table 2. Accessibility to building
Accessibility Pattern No. Table 3. Occupancy in buildings

Street 9 Occupancy No of dwellings %
Street-Lane 50 Occupied 51 49
Street-Lane-Courtyard 45
Vaccant 53 51
The survey shows that residents whose dwellings whose access is street-lane-courtyard type feel
unsafe compared to those of street-lane type. Even the residents of the main street also feel unsafe
because of the vulnerable structure. Majority of the buildings of the quarter is vulnerable in terms of
structural safety.
3.2. Existing problems- plot frontage and pot area
There are a number of problems that directly

affect the living environment of the study area.
This survey has made study on house partition,
plot segmentation, available plot frontage and
the plot size of the dwelling units. The
accessibility to the buildings and the narrow
lane are the main problems of the present study
area. The narrow lane and the building height
cause problems in the quality of light and
ventillation, which directly affect the living
environment of the dwelling. The small
window with insufficient natural light and
ventilation also adds to the unhygenic situation.
Further, plot segmentation, parking
problems which are more recent phenomena are
also significant in worsening the living
environment quality. In the present survey, Fig.8. Resident's perception on cause of vulnerability
51% of the households are of extended family
type which suggests further possiblity of dwelling partition or the division of the plot (Table 4). The
analytical study conducted by Pant and Shrestha (2016) on the minimum size of the dwelling gives a
requirement of a minimum of 2.4 m for frontage width and a built up area of 32 sqm. The selected
parameter of the minimun frontage of 2.4 m and the plot area 32 Sq. m is selected taking for reason of
the room layout in a unit of three bed room and one living room for a family of five- the average
household size in the core city area of Bhaktapur. A plot with less than this frontage, or with an area
in the frontage range of 3-4 m will have difficuity to provide enough rooms and living space. Below
this size, the house would have a number of problems from economy, circulation and interior layout
rendering the dwelling uninhabitable. This survey has assumed this minimum line to examine the
existing situation of the area.
Table 4. Family size

Minimun plot frontage and area No of dwellings %
< 2.4 m 15 14
2.4 -5m (<32 Sq.m) 51 49
2.4 – 5m (>32 Sq.m) 3 3
>5 m (<32 Sq.m) 7 7
>5m (>32 Sq.m) 28 28
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Table 5a. Plot area Table 5b. Plot area

Family size distribution No of households % Plots (frontage and area) No of dwellings %
Nuclear Family 22 26 <2.4 and < 32 Sq.m 73 70
Joint Family 19 23 2.4-5 m and >32 Sq.m 3 3
Extended Family 42 51 >5 and > 32 Sq.m 28 27
Table 5c. Plot area Table 6. Plot frontage

Plot area No of plots % Plot Frontage No of dwellings %
>32 Sq.m 50 60 < 2.4 m 15 15
<32 Sq.m 33 40 2.4 – 5m 53 50
>5 m 36 35
The above tables show that altogether 74 units i.

e., 70% of the plots are either of frontage less than
2.4 m or with area less than 32 sqm. There are 3 units
with frontage of 2.4-5 m and area larger than 32 sqm.
And there are 28 units with frontage greater than 5 m
with area exceeding 32 sqm. Given the trend on the
plot division, one can assume that these 28 units have
the possiblity of future vertical division.
15% of the plots have frontage less than 2.4m,
which makes difficult in the functional layout in the Fig.9. Distribution of plot area respectively in
rooms. In the plots with frontage between 2.4-5 m, present situation
above half are of multiple ownerships. Altogether,
when one consider the possibilty of the partitioning
of the plots now belonging to the extended household
units, 85% of the plots will have frontage less than
2.4 m. This shows how serious is the the problem in
the present dwellings and reconstruction situation.
The present congestion is relatively the recent
phenomena of the past half century. The following
figures (Fig 11-Fig 12) shows the addition of Fig. 10. Distribution of frontage respectively in
buildings within 50 years. The increase in dwelling present situation
units happened either in the vaccant lots or is caused
by the vertical division of the existing dwelling unit. A number of selected dwelling units were
studied measuring the floor plans (Fig 13, Fig 14, Fig 15). The example shows one of the dwelling
with a frontage of 1.8 m and a plot area of 11 sqm (Fig 13), frontage of 8.4m and a plot area of 21
Sq.m (Fig 14) and frontage of 5.2 m and plot area of 25 Sq.m(Fig15).
Fig. 12. No. of plot before 50 years: 28 and No. of plot

Fig. 11. Key map
at present day: 45
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Ground Floor Plan

Floor Area:11 sq.m First Floor Plan
FloorArea:11
Sq.m
Fig. 13. Dwelling 3 (Ref. Fig 11) with plot area 11 sq.m and frontage 1.7m
Ground Floor Plan

Floor Area: 20
Sq.m
First Floor
Area
Area:
Fig. 14. Dwelling 2 (Ref. Fig 20
11) with
plot area 20 sq.m and frontage 8.4m Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan
Floor Area: 25 sq.m Floor Area: 25 sq.m
Fig. 15. Dwelling 1 (Ref. Fig 11) with plot

area 25 sq.m and frontage 5.2m
4. Reconstruction Possibilities
A questionnaire survey on the resident’s preference on the three alternate possibilities of dwelling
reconstruction models. The survey covered 84 households among 104 dwelling unit in the study area.
The first one is to rebuild the building in the existing plot whereas the second one is the readjustment
of the plots, and third is to build in the form of cooperative apartment units (Fig 16). This alternative
model was worked out by Pant and Shrestha (2016) and studied in Taulachhen area of Bhaktapur
which is one of the settlement quarters suffering extensive damage in the Earthquake 2015.
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Fig. 16.
Source: Pant. M. M & Shrestha. S, 2016
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The survey shows that there is overwhelming preference to the second type which is the readjustment
of the plots. The residents are aware of the existing problems of the plots and are seeking solutions
from the new perspective (Table 7).
Table 7. Resident's choice in the three possible types of reconstruction
Choice in Reconstruction type Nos. %

A 15 18
B 62 746
C 6 7.2
4.1. Rehabilitation of households and community
Following the physical and social survey of the study area, a proposal of redevelopment on the area is
made that could provide necessary habitable space and a better living environment than what exists
now.
4.1.1. Plot size
The proposed planning is for habitable space with the minimum area and frontage of the plot. There is
a dwelling of minimum area of 11 sq.m with frontage of 1.74 m (Fig 13). People are living in a less
habitable space. So this study proposes for the readjustment of plot size and provides at least a
minimum plot size that is feasible within the given site constraints. The plan achieves a minimum plot
area of 28 Sq. m and a frontage of 3.2 m.
This plan also considers the future possible divisions of the extended households and
accommodates 130 units 26 units more than the existing ones. This is derived from the assumption
that 50% of the extended households, which is 52 in the survey, for various reasons, will move
elsewhere as is usually happening in the households of core historic area of Bhaktapur.
Fig. 17. Existing situation Fig. 18. Proposed readjustment of plots
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4.1.2. Area comparison

The plot area is planed with size 3.5 m x 8.0 m, and is examined with three alternate construction
possibilities. The first is planned in loadbearing wall structure (Fig 19). With individual wall 450 mm,
the inner living space in this plot size is 18 Sq.m, and if the structure is constructed with the partition
wall sharing it adjoining house, he clear floor space increases to 19.6 sqm.
Area: 18 sq.m Area: 19.6 sq.m

Fig. 20. Floor Area comparison between
Fig. 19. Floor Area comparison between detached detached unit and semidetached with shared
unit and semidetached with shared wall frame
The third plan (Fig 20) is in RCC frame structure. With individual column and wall 230 mm, the
inner living space is 22 sqm. If column and wall are shared with two adjoining lots, the clear floor
area in individual plot will be 23 sqm. The sharing of wall and column increases the inner living space
making the structure sound, while the expenses for construction can be shared. Further, there is 30%
increase in floor space from the first plan to the fourth one. Altogether, there is a possibility that the
cost of construction will go down by 40%.
5. Reconstruction and Conservation Issues

Both from our analysis of the existing physical condition of the locality and the opinion of the
residents has shown that the reconstruction of the place can’t upgrade the living environment through
individual effort but should consider the development in a community scale. On the other hand, the
basic principle of the proposal plan is that the redevelopment should not disturb the physical and
social fabric of the locality. Rather the redevelopment should enhance the community bond and
preserve the essential quality of the place. The traditional elements should be considered to maintain
identity of the place. Both the aspects--maintaining of the urban fabric of the residential quarter, while
upgrading of the housing environment supposes the following major principles:
• Conservation of historical features and social character
• Rehabilitation of households
• Redevelopment for a better living environment.
5.1. Conservation
The physical structures within the site are categorized on the basis of types of conservation to be
done.
• Preservation
• Façade Restoration
• Remodeling of dwellings
• Redevelopment
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5.1.1 Preservation
The study area is part of a historic settlement and contains important socio-cultural artifacts, which
needs to be preserved. Temples, patis, dhungedhara, dyocheen, chaitya, Ganesh dyoheen well, etc.,
are such elements. The nani community, ritual festival routes are intangible heritage. Further,
courtyards, and the access lanes are spaces that knit the community in a particular way and is a
cultural pattern. (Fig 21-Fig 22a-Fig 22b) shows such physical and socio-cultural aspects of the area
that are identified for preservation in the redevelopment work.
Fig. 21. Existing Urban Fabric and identification Fig.22a. Proposed Urban Fabric and identification
of conservation and Redevelopment areas of conservation and Redevelopment
Fig. 22b. Proposed Urban Fabric and identification of conservation and Redevelopment
5.1.2 Façade restoration
The building on the main street forming the west wing of the Golmadhi Square is an architecturally
important structure which now is completely damaged by earthquake. Likewise, the square and the
segment of the main street belong to WHS. Houses along this street are to be restored or confirm to
the traditional townscape. Some of the existing buildings have changed their form that require façade
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treatments. The existing building by-law limits the skyline in the area is limited to four stories and
streetscape is to be maintained accordingly (Fig 24- Fig 25).
5.1.3 Remodeling
The buildings that has to be preserved or restored require adaptive reuse. It will require certain
remodeling inside the buildings. The building with high profile of architectural and traditional fabric
is planned for remodeling and proposed for uses such as guest house or gallery or for some local
cultural activities (Fig 22).
Similarly, some of the courtyards, backyards and other open spaces such as backyard vegetable
garden--kiba, are remodeled to get more comfortable open space and lighting environment.
5.1.4. Adaptive re-use
Besides the use of dwellings in suitable location and traditional form proposed for guesthouse or other
such community use, there are craftworks such as traditional windows, columns and artifacts that can
be reused as it shall help to reduce the cost of the buildings and conservation of the precious
craftwork.
5.1.5. Redevelopment
Since a great number of plots are less than the required minimum plot size and frontage with problems
of light and ventilation, a plan is proposed for plot readjustment that gives at least a minimum plot
size to each household. This is also the opinion of the residents. A few apartments are also proposed.
Further, to use the cultural and commercial potential of the area, shops are proposed that service the
tourist community. The proposal also provides working and display area for the traditional carpenter
community.
Fig. 23. Existing Streetscape of section A (Ref. Fig 22a)
Fig. 24. Proposed Streetscape of section A (Ref. Fig 22a)
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6. Cluster Planning Features and Street Pattern

Nani community has been maintained such that the residents of a particular nani are accommodated
in the same cluster of the new development as they exist at present. The plan maintains the present
entry point to the nani community and the existing street-lane pattern is also maintained. There is
some resizing of courtyard in order to admit direct sunlight to the houses.
Commercial spaces have been increased. At present there are shops only in the ground floor. The
proposal adds shops in first floor and in the adjacent street lane so as to increase the economic
oppurtinity of the locality.
There is an area for carpentary work for the commnuity on the way from Golmdhi Square to
Yachen at north, and this is as an attracion for the visitors. A tourist route passing through the lane to
this area is proposed in order to promote and develop the local economy of the production
community. There is also provision of shops targeting tourist along the lane.
While maintaining the street-lane-courtyard pattern, existing narrow lanes are widened and the
courtyards are interconnected that can serve in emmergency situations. Alternative access points are
conducive in other daily communication among the resident community.
Fig.25. Existing Nani Cluster Fig. 26. Proposed Nani Cluster
7. Progress of Reconstruction
While this paper is prepared the reconstruction work
by individual household is going on. With no resident
mobilization and without community and municipal
initiatives, the opinion of the residents that the plot
should be readjusted has turned out to a fruitless
appeal. This proposal though worked out two years
back in 2016 has been a theoretical exercise.
Table 8. State of Reconstruction

Description No of plot % Fig. 27. State of reconstruction
Constructed 13 12.5
Under Construction 4 4.8
Same Condition 79 75.96
Dismantled 7 6.73
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Fig. 28. Reconstructed buildings
During this period of four years, only 13 houses have been constructed and 4 houses are
in construction phase. The greater number of dwellings remains in the same state of damage,
which is also a reason for continued physical and social vulnerability in the community.
Lack of financial resource is the biggest challenge for reconstruction. People not being able to
rebuild their houses, are living in the same house after dismantling and repairing damaged parts, while
some are staying in rent.
The extended family structure, which is about half, brings a conflict in the ownership among the
members in the family. Yet another reason is that some of the households own another house outside
the historic settlement thus giving less for the reconstruction in the present locality where various
problems do exist. People have moved out from this core area to the new urban areas like
Suryabinayak, Kamalbinayak, Libalibi, Sallaghari and some went to Kathmandu and Patan. People
are moving to the place with more facilities. In peripheral areas like Suryabinayak, Kamalbinayak,
Sallaghari, and Liba-libi, (Fig 29) the market value is higher with better facilities such as
transportation and water supply.
Sallaghari Kamalbinayak
Golmadhi
Libalibi
Suryabinayak
Fig. 29. New residents of the moved out people
The reconstructed houses now built in the same plot, however small, had overcome the existing
problem of light and ventilation to some extent. Earlier, the opening of the rooms of the dwellings was
rather small in size, and floor height low which was one of the cause for the insufficient natural light
and ventilation (Fig 30- Fig 35).
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Fig. 30. Floors plan before reconstruction Fig. 31. Floorplans after reconstruction
of dwelling 3 (Ref. Fig 10) of dwelling 3 (Ref. Fig 10)
Before After
Before After
forefor
e Fig. 32. Before and after reconstruction
Such reconstruction partly solves the problem of light and ventilation. However, the problem of
street and lane and courtyard not only remain unchanged but become further narrow due to increased
height of the buildings casting shadow to the neighboring houses. Access from courtyard and under
pass remain unsafe structurally as the surrounding buildings are still in vulnerable condition (Fig 33-
Fig35).
Fig. 33. Area covered before reconstruction Fig. 34. Area covered after reconstruction
Fig. 35. Present context regarding increase in floor height and open space
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8. Conclusion
The Gorkha earthquake affected the area more structure are damaged and parts are in vulnerable
condition. But earthquake is not only the degradation and the problem in site. The existing problem of
the site is to understand and the solution is to be done.
The resident’s rehabilitation should be done in the area and problems to be solved. The
conservation and preservation is to be done in historical cities so that the community could have
habitable living space.
In the site more building with less habitable space so the planning is done for providing the
minimum habitable space in the dwelling. The problem of light and ventilation is also taken in this
study.
So there is an urgent need of rehabilitation of the original residents and the solution for this is also
to be considered.
References
Bhaktapur Municipality, Bylaws (2009), second revised (2011).
Wolfgang, K. (1976). The Traditional Architecture of Kathmandu Valley.
Pant, M. M. & Shrestha, S. (2016). Perception of Residents on Housing Alternatives in the 2015 Gorkha
Earthquake Post Disaster Reconstruction: A Case Study of Bhaktapur.
Shilpakar, R. (2015). The Courtyard of Newari Artifacts, Khauma, Bhaktapur, B.Arch Thesis report,
Department of Architecture, Khwopa Engineering College.
Shrestha, S. (2013). Urban Regeneration Taulachhen tole, Bhaktapur, B.Arch Thesis report, Department of
Architecture, Khwopa Engineering College.
Shrestha, S. D. (2016). Urban Regeneration of Taulachhen tole, Bhaktapur.
Shrestha, S. (2015). Conservation and Development of Ason, B.Arch Thesis report, Department of Architecture,
Khwopa Engineering College.
412
Post Earthquake Reconstruction in Tupche, Nuwakot

Shahasan Kayastha1, and Sarita Dhukhwa2
Abstract
This paper makes a study on the perception of the households towards the reconstruction of their
dwellings damaged by the tremors of Gorkha Earthquake 2015. The study area is focused on one of
the rural settlement, ward no. 6 and 8 of Tupche VDC, Nuwakot district. The research analyses the
post disaster damages and explains the reconstruction system of the settlement pattern. The main
objectives of the research is to find out the recovery process, challenges and their mitigation on the
reconstruction after an earthquake through the relevant data. The study also attempts to analyse the
process of mason trainings to contribute in the long-term recovery of earthquake-affected households
and build disaster resilience of vulnerable communities.
Keywords: Earthquake; Reconstruction; Tupche; Community; Mason Training.
1. Introduction
In Nuwakot district, Tupche VDC was highly damaged by earthquake 2015. In January 2017, Habitat
for Humanity Nepal (HFHN) launched a five-year program, Nepal earthquake assistance program
(NEAP) was designed to support disaster preparedness and post-earthquake recovery in the housing
sector as well as promote affordable and environmentally-friendly housing technologies with a
community (owner)-driven approach. This program was held in Salme VDC- wards 1 to 9 and
Tupche VDC- wards 6 and 8 of Nuwakot district and the project was committed through owner driven
approach and handled by Habitat for Humanity Nepal (HFHN) as donar organization and Architecture
San Fransisco (ASF) as partner organisation.
In an owner driven approach, the prioritization of needs and the decision-making are in the hands
of the affected families, giving them ownership of their project. Owner driven does not imply that the
affected family should provide construction labour, but it requires that they manage the reconstruction
with technical assistance.Owner driven projects are defined by three fundamental requirements: (1)
participatory process of decision-making, (2) adequate technical support, and (3) adequate financial
assistance.
2. Study Sites and Study Methodology

2.1. Tupche village, Nuwakot
Tupche VDC is situated at northern part of Nuwakot district which was greatly affected by the
earthquake 2015. Tupche is connected with vehicular gravel road. There are total 968 households with
a population of 5462 (census 2011). This village is divided among 9 wards. The study is focused in
ward nos. 6and8 which consists 228 households. It is inhabited by Brahman, Chettri and lower caste
group (Sarki) community. Now the ward no. 6 and 8 of Tupche is ward no.6 of Bidur municipality of
Nuwakot district. Almost all the houses of this village were completely destroyed or severely
damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Tupche VDC is connected with the vehicular gravel road. The time
taken approximately 45 minutes with vehicle from Bidur, headquarter of the district.
1 Department of Construction and Design, Habitat for Humanity Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal,
kayasthashahasan333@gmail.com
2 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Committee, Khwopa college of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
dee.sareetaz@gmail.com
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Ward 6
Ward 8
Fig. 1. Map of Tupche VDC, Nuwakot
2.2. Settlement pattern
The study area consists of total 228 houses; 149 houses in ward 6 and 79 houses in ward 8 of Tupche
VDC. The ward no. 6 includes of 3 villages; Bhairamkot, Gairathok and Bhyagute tole and ward 8 of
2 villages; Gagate and Jafati tole. The settlement pattern is in cluster form according to the caste
groups community. The lower caste groups, Mijar and Sarki are inhabited in Jafati tole. The Chettri
and Khadka community found in Gagate tole whereas Bhairamkot, Gairathok and Bhyagute tole is
inhabited by mixed community like Brahman and Chettri. Mostly 1 or 2 and half story buildings with
rectangular in shape were found before the earthquake constructed with mud ,brick, stone, timber and
rarely RCC structure in terms of materials.
Table 1. Total nos. of houses in ward 6 and 8, Tupche

Name of villages S.N. Name of Villages (Tole) No. of houses
S.N. No. of houses
(tole) 1 Bhairamkot 116
1 Gagate 44
2 Gairathok 25
2 Jafati 35
3 Bhyagute 8
Ward no.6 Ward no.8
Gairathok Bhairamkot
Jafati
Bhairamkot
Gagate
Gairathok
Bhyagute
Fig. 2. Distribution of houses in wards 6 and 8, Tupche, Nuwakot
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2.3. Housing typologies in Tupche before earthquake
Fig. 3. Stone masonry with mud mortar building Fig. 4. Brick masonry with wooden band
5% Stone masonry with mud mortar

15%
Stone masonry with wooden band
20%
60% Brick masonry with mud mortar
Brick masonry with cement mortar
Fig. 5. Housing typologies before earthquake
2.4. Damage caused by earthquake 2015 in Tupche
The Tupche VDC was reported as highly destroyed and damaged as the houses were affected by the
earthquake that resulted fully and partially damaged the buildings. Almost all the houses were in
vulnerable condition. The partially damaged buildings were at grade 4 vulnerability so that the
damaged buildings demolished than repair or retrofitting.
Fully damaged building

30%
70% Partial damaged building
Fig. 6. Damaged buildings by earthquake 2015(Nepal Earthquake Response, Shelter recovery assessment, 21
May-26 May 2015)
2.5. Reason for destroy buildings
The survey found multiple reasons behind such massive damage. First, houses were mostly
constructed with the stone masonry with mud mortar. The lack of tie at corner walls was seen in
connection and joints between walls. Secondly, houses are vulnerable due to adding storeys in
existing building and loads of store room at top. Another reason was not used of dressed stone in
buildings and insufficient knowledge about earthquake resistance techniques due to lack of skilled
masons and insufficient labours.
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3. Reconstruction Process
The HFHI received National Reconstruction Authority approval to carry out the reconstruction work
through local partner in wards 6 and 8 of Tupche VDC, Nuwakot district. The supporting
organizations with local partners was implementing an owner-driven approach, in keeping with the
National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) guidelines that stress community-led approach to helping
families rebuild earthquake-destroyed homes.
3.1. Community (owner) driven reconstruction approach
Almost all the houses were selected to reconstruct with the help of organisation and Government of
Nepal (GoN) through Nepal Earthquake Assistance Program (NEAP).Through a community-based
reconstruction approach, NEAP empowered communities to make informed choices about house
construction, water, sanitation and other shared resources. The main goal/objectives of this program
was to:
Ø Assist in the reconstruction and recovery of earthquake affected populations.
Ø Disaster resilience by empowering communities through participatory methods.
Ø Provide technical support through housing support services and increase local knowledge of build
back safer methodologies, enabling communities to self-recover.
Ø Facilitate self-recovery of earthquake affected households through tired support as per
vulnerability index according to GoN guidelines.
Ø Strengthen access to quality construction materials and labor.
Nepal Earthquake Assistance program focused on the objectives of building; a self-sustainable,

disaster resilient community. All the activities were fallen within 4-pillars that defined programmatic
approaches; social mobilization, technical assistance, tiered assistance and market development.
When implemented in combination, these pillars were contributed to long-term recovery of
earthquake-affected households and build disaster resilience of vulnerable communities.
Table 2. Programs for reconstruction
Pillar 1 Pillar 2 Pillar 3 Pillar 4

Social Mobilization Technical Assistance Tiered Assistance Market Development
Ø Project Briefing Ø TOT Mason Training for Ø Goods in Kind Ø Housing market
Ø Beneficiary Enrollment Engineers (GIK) Support (as supply chain
Ø Participatory Ø Mason training for Skilled building material) Ø Construction
Methodology (PASSA) and unskilled mason Ø Skilled labor support equipment
Ø Housing Support Service for vulnerable library
Centre households
3.2. Pillar 1: Social mobilization
Before the reconstruction process, the list of vulnerable houses, financial status and income source of
the community and reasons for damaged houses was found through site survey by community
mobiliser. The social mobilization was engaged with the ward officer, social site supervisor and
community mobiliser and the community for briefing of the project.
3.3. Enrollment
The data collection such as households, family structure, damage grade and casualties was done
which helped the process of enlisting households eligible for government grant. The tiered assistance
for households through enrollment between government and households were occurred according to
vulnerable conditions of households. The total 217 households was enlisted for enrollment in ward 6
and 8 of Tupche village. The enrollment with government was done under office setup including 1
engineer, 2 technical supervisor and 1 community mobiliser.
Tiered Assistance:
Ø Support families through Financial/GIKs/Labor Support
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Ø Each earthquake affected families will receive Nrs. 300,000/-

• 1st instalment: Nrs. 50,000/-
• 2nd instalment: Nrs. 150,000/-
• 3rd instalment: Nrs. 100,000/-
Ø Top up to most Vulnerable families: Nrs. 50,000/-
Ø Additional support to families:
• Goods in kind (materials, manpower, Labor Support) worth Nrs. 50,000/- (for selected vulnerable
households)
3.4. Participatory approach for safe shelter awareness (PASSA)
Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA) groups were formed in this areas; wards
6 and 8 of Tupche to strengthen a community’s disaster response and preparedness. PASSA groups
was central approach to prepare communities to work effectively together, manage reconstruction in
their community successfully and to be prepared for future disasters. Under the technical assistance of
Nepal Earthquake Assistance program (NEAP), the mason training was conducted at the Tupche
VDC through community group form i.e. Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness
(PASSA) in both wards 6 and 8.
The major objective of this mason training was:
• Enhanced the knowledge of the masons for newly constructions.
• Familiarized masons with new techniques and materials.
• Introduced masons about alternative materials, repairing &retrofitting process.
• Prepared the masons to take the lead in the new construction.
3.5. Mason training on earthquake resistant building construction
The training for mason was occurred with two types of curriculum i.e. (1) urban curriculum- brick
with cement mortar and (2) rural curriculam- stone masonry with mud mortar. With the reason of the
scarcity of the dressed stones and rise price of wood, community prefered the urban curriculum as the
various numbers of brick factories available within the nuwakot district. 26 masons were trained on
the group of each 7 days mason trainings. 26 masons were selected through the practical, objective
test & interviews out of 36 participants which is provided by the Participatory Approach for Safe
Shelter Awareness (PASSA). Gender equality and social inclusion are also promoted through
community training under the Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness. The PASSA group
empowered youth, teachers, masons and eldered people for mason and electrical training under
CTEVT curriculum. The allowance and other facilities are provided for the trainers by the
organisation.
The Housing Support Service Center (HSSC) was office set up in the project area with 1 engineer,
2 technical supervisor and 1 community mobiliser. The Housing Support Service Centre served as a
hub where people can come for advice on house designs, information about government building
codes and NRA’s guidelines to families seeking grant for building new homes.
Fig. 7. Process of selection of mason
417
The goods in kind (GIK) was provided for the vulnerable families in term of skill labour and
goods. The international and local group of volunteers was involved during the construction process.
The market development of this area regarding the materials for construction was done by surveying
the market of the Bidur, Batar and Trisuli. This process helped finding out the list rate of material and
market value of the materials.
Fig. 8. Training to the locals
4. Reconstruction and Changes in Built Form

The reconstruction of houses was based on owner driven project. The houses were reconstructed or
repaired according to the vulnerability assessment and the individual dwellings were designed on their
own needs and desires. Mostly the houses are one or two storied with two or three rooms. The
materials like stone, wood, brick, mud, CGI sheets, reinforced bar, concrete etc. are used for
construction. In some houses, chiseled stone was reused in foundation of the buildings and the super
structure built with bricks with earthquake resistance techniques. The reconstruction was done using
locally available material and technology or imported materials but techniques of earthquake
resistance was applied. The houses were constructed under the supervision of the community group
form (PASSA) of each ward.
The total 217 houses were enlisted with enrollment in both wards but later 23 households were
migrated from the village. The reconstruction of remaining 194 houses has been completed. The stone
masonry, brick masonry, RCC structure buildings are constructed in ward 6 and 8 of Tupche VDC,
Nuwakot focusing on the earthquake resistance techniques. The building and farmland are located at
the same zone. The construction of model unit has also demonstrate the techniques during the
training.
Fig. 9. Construction of typical stone masonry building
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10%
20%
Stone masonry with mud mortar and wooden band
Reinforced cement concrete

70%
Fig. 10. Building typologies after reconstruction
4.1. Earthquake resistance techniques in load bearing buildings
Fig. 11. Wooden key on sill and lintel band Fig. 12. Double framed door
4.2. Housing typologies after reconstruction
Fig.
13. Stone masonry building
Fig. 14. R.C.C. building
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Fig. 15. Brick with cement mortar building
5. Reconstruction and Changes in Built Form

The reconstruction of houses was based on owner driven project. The houses were reconstructed or
repaired according to the vulnerability assessment and the individual dwellings were designed on their
own needs and desires. Mostly the houses are one or two storied with two or three rooms. The
materials like stone, wood, brick, mud, CGI sheets, reinforced bar, concrete etc. are used for
construction. In some houses, chiseled stone was reused in foundation of the buildings and the super
structure built with bricks with earthquake resistance techniques. The reconstruction was done by
using locally available material and technology or imported materials but techniques of earthquake
resistance has been applied. The houses were constructed under the supervision of the community
group form (PASSA) of each wards.
The total 217 houses were enlisted with enrollment in both wards but 23 households were migrated
from the village. The reconstruction of remaining 194 has been completed focusing on the earthquake
resistance techniques. The stone masonry, brick masonry, RCC structure buildings are constructed
with supervision of technical team in ward 6 and 8 of Tupche VDC, Nuwakot. The model unit was
demonstrated the technique using rural and urban curriculum. The constructed model house, people
used to construct their individual dwellings in this study sites. The house complete certificate was
contributed by the organizational team to households after completion of construction.
10%
20%
Stone masonry with mud mortar and wooden band
Reinforced cement concrete
70%
Fig. 16. Housing typologies after reconstruction
6. Conclusion
The study shows that the construction of houses will be better through the trainings and knowledge to
the locals. To improve the performance of rural houses during and after earthquake, local masons and
engineer work together. It will help to exchange their knowledge. The newly constructed buildings are
not all of vernacular form and material. The maximum number of houses were constructed using brick
masonry with cement mortar according to the study data. This will decrease the value of the
420
vernacular architecture and their built culture but improves the knowledge of earthquake resistance
techniques in both vernacular and RCC structure.
The mason trainings to locals helped to prepare the masons to take in the new construction and
techniques. The overall construction process was communicated with the community. The designs of
the dwellings follow the byelaws and building code of government that could guide the design,
supervision and approval of new structure. The owner driven approach helped to construct their
dwelling unit in terms of financial assistance and technical support. Thus the reconstruction of study
sites focused on disaster resilience by empowering communities through participatory methods. It can
be concluded that good governance, integrated information, addressing technical issues, public
participation along with short term and long term strategies to tackle with technical issues are some
crucial factors for timely and quality reconstruction in context of Nepal.
References
Assessment report, supply chain of construction materials in earthquake affect districts, Practical Action South
Asian Regional Office, Nepal.
Bagale, M. (2016). Post earthquake development in rural area of Nepal. Proceedings on ICEE-PDRP, 2016.
DUDBC, Seismic vulnerability evaluation guideline for private and public buildings, 2012, Kathmandu:
Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Programme, UNDP in Nepal.
Earthquake relief, recovery and reconstruction (2015), Nepal Earthquake Assistance Program.
NPC (2013). Compact rural settlement development strategies for Nepal: a policy brief, Kathmandu:
Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission support from UN-Habitat,
Nuwakot district shelter recovery assessment 2015, Nepal Earthquake Response.
Yoshiteru, M. (2016). Post disaster reconstruction in the world and their lessons. Proceedings on ICEE-PDRP,
2016.
421
Post Disaster Condition Assessment of Pujarimath, Bhaktapur

Sushamna Shrestha1, Rabita Shilpakar2, Pramila Silpakar3,
Tripti Twayana4 and Eurika Rajbanshi5
Abstract
The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake greatly affected Bhaktapur, wiping out large number of buildings and
monuments, forcing the residents to relocate to other less affected areas. Though not completely
destroyed, the Pujarimath also suffered considerably from this earthquake. This paper mainly studies
the condition of math following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, identifying the major problems that need
to be resolved. This research also makes a brief study on the history of the math, the damages it
suffered from the past earthquakes and also the renovations and repair works carried out thereafter.
It proposes an alternative design by making minor applicable changes to the interior so as to make
proper use of the abandoned areas in the building. It attempts to provide solutions to restore and
maintain the religious and cultural integrity of the place and also introduces other functions that may
help in making efficient and judicious use of the space available without destroying the identity of the
place.
Keywords: Post Disaster Condition; Pujarimath; Bhaktapur
1. Introduction
Pujarimath is the oldest Math in the valley originally built in the fifteenth century in Dattatraya Square
of Bhaktapur as a priest house for Mahanta of the Dattatraya temple, to manage and implement various
religious and social functions related to the temple. Pujari Math is registered as Chhut-Guthi (semi-
private trust). This means the landed property under this trust can neither belong to the government nor
to the Mahanta, but solely to the temple and the Math. The Mahanta is the owner of considerable
landed property and has considerable amount of income. The four storied math is arranged around three
courtyards and covers an area of 600sq.m. This is the most beautiful Math in the kingdom of Bhaktapur
which is rich in wooden carved art and architecture.
Pujarimath was restored on different time periods. First restoration recorded in history was during
the reign of Viswa Malla (1548-1560 A.D.) in mid sixteenth century since the math was badly damaged
during an earthquake. Next restoration was done in nineteenth and eighteenth (1763 A.D.) when
Loknath Giri and Kripala Giri were mahantas in pujarimath. 1934 earthquake caused extensive damage
to whole of Nepal including many important monuments. The critically damaged areas were repaired
immediately following the earthquake. Successive restoration was done in 1950's, also in 1972 A.D.
with funds from the German Government the math as was restored the first Nepalese-German
restoration campaign which was the foundation of Bhaktapur Development Project in 1973/74. Another
restoration was done after the major earthquake in 1988.
The recent earthquake occurred on April 25, 2015 with a magnitude of 7.8Mw. Its epicentre was east
of Gorkha district at Barpak. It was the worst disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 earthquake.
Continued aftershocks occurred at the interval of 15-20 minutes, with one shock reaching a magnitude
of 6.7Mw on April 26. Major aftershocks occurred on 12 May 2015 with a magnitude of 7.3Mw. 2015
Gorkha earthquake caused huge damages to heritages and many people lost their lives, many were
injured and many were left homeless. Apart from the earthquake, math also suffered an unfortunate
natural calamity like fire on October 31, 2016 at midnight on the day of Laxmi Pooja, Tihar a great
auspicious occasion of Nepalese people. It occurred on second floor of math where the statue of
1 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, sushamna@gmail.com
2 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, mail2rabii@gmail.com
3 Bhaktapur Reconstruction Study Committee, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, Prasilmila@gmail.com,
ambi.duwal@gmail.com
4
5
422
mahanta Guruvakshya Giri was placed. Statue was fully caught on fire which has been replaced while
the adjoining window was partly damaged and can still be seen till present date.
Fig.1.View towards the north-east during restoration 1971-1972

(Niels Gutschow, private collection)
2. Methodology
The math was visited a number of times starting from the second half of the year 2016 for preliminary
observation and inquiry as well as measurement. During the visit, residents, shopkeepers and
representatives of the local development body were interviewed to document the current scenario of the
site as well as the recent usage and the damages suffered during the 2015 earthquake.
Photographs, and map from Kathmandu Valley Mapping Project (KVMP) etc. are also used.
Physical measurement of the entire math using measuring tape and laser was also done for detailed
measure drawings. Apart from the data and information collected from the above primary sources,
various articles, research papers available were referred and used for this study. Survey drawing 1971
by Wolfgang Korn, autocad drawings from Bhaktapur municipality and German Development
Cooperation report ‘Detailed Damage assessment and concept for reconstruction’ were referred.
The main purpose of the site survey was to obtain an understanding of the existing situation of the
math following the earthquake and observe the various problems there while finding suitable possible
solutions to overcome them.
3. Damage Assessment after 2015 Gorkha Earthquake

After the 1972 earthquake, most of the walls, floors, ceiling were rebuilt, so there aren’t any severe
damages to the math due to 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Still, the structure suffers from many problems
due to the rising damp and efflorescence all around the ground floor; the timber members like pillars,
door and windows frames are rotten and need to be replaced. Eastern wall of the room partly damaged
during the earthquake and was later built with ordinary brick laid in lime-cement mortar.
Due to earthquake, there are many cracks seen in first floor in the painted room. The paintings on
the wall, ceilings are to be preserved as they are deteriorating. The beams are slightly separated. Damp
rises in the store room as well.
In second floor, there are minor cracks in the northern room which is used to store the grains and
cooking utensils for priests. Besides this, due to terrace level above, the south eastern room have been
badly affected by the leaking water through the terrace.
The western wall in third floor was not rebuilt during 1972 restoration, so there are many cracks due
to earthquake. Besides this, there was no any severe damage but the room need to be repaired as there
are serious water leakage problems through the roof as the timber elements are severely deteriorated.
Due to earthquake soft mud plaster was damaged in many places. The walls are heavily damaged in
fourth floor during 2015 earthquake.
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Fig. 2. Damage of wall due to earthquake Fig. 3. Damage of wall due to Fig. 4. problem of leakage
2015 at the East earthquake 2015 at the East through the roof
3.1 Structural Survey
Expert team of Engineers from Khwopa Engineering College in collaboration with MIE University of
Japan was prepared for checking the strength of masonry wall. For structural survey, compressive
trength estimation using flat jack test and double flat jack test were done. Flat jack testing is a versatile
and powerful technique that provides significant information on the mechanical properties of historical
constructions. This method is used to determine the in situ stress and compressive strength of masonry
structures. This method was carried out on the wall of west part inside store room in the ground floor
which is constructed with burnt brick with mud mortar. Same process was done upto 2nd floor. As a
result of this method, the average existing compressive strength of masonry wall for Pujari Math is
1.602 Mpa at ground floor and subsequent increase on the walls of other two floors too which is greater
than permissible compressive stress. This means it has high compressive strength. Similar is the case in
flat jack test.
Fig. 5. Insertion of flat jack into the slot Fig. 6. Pressurization to flat jack
4. Documentation of Pujarimath
After completion of damage assessment and structural survey works, it is concluded that the building
requires intensive maintenance work, repair and restoration of its artistic components and structural
upgrading in order to increase resistance to future seismic hazard. Thereafter, on November 2016, we
started to prepare detail measure drawing of Pujari Math. During this month, we found that the partially
collapsed south east wall of Pujari Math was rebuilt as a temporary solution using sundried brick and
lime-cement mortar. For additional safety of the structure, the room’s ceiling were shored up using
timber post, beam and horizontal braces. Site visit for measure drawing was continued till March 2017
in different time frame.
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Fig. 7. South east wall After Fig. 9. South east wall Before
Fig. 8. After Earthquake 2015
Earthquake 2015 Earthquake 2015
C
B
Fig. 10. Ground Floor Plan
Ground floor of Pujari Math consists of 3 courtyards. The small courtyard A at the north-eastern
corner of the building is the oldest one. Courtyard B, the centre of the math, was probably built at the
beginning of the 18th century and is the most functional one. The courtyard displays the finest wood
carvings in the windows and the post in all direction. Courtyard C is the largest, and most likely the
domestic courtyard. This floor houses two small rooms in the north wing providing living quarters for
the police, two shiva shrine rooms on the eastern side for performing pujas and stores and dark room in
the west wing. A number of rooms facing the east alley have been rented out as retail and storage
spaces.
Courtyard A Courtyard B Courtyard C

Fig. 11. Courtyards of Pujarmath
425
Fig. 12. First Floor Plan
Fig. 14. Storage of clay pots and Fig. 15. Repaired interior in
Fig. 13. Painting Room straw eastern part after earthquake
First floor of Pujari Math consists of painted room in the north which is inaccessible to the public. The
walls and ceiling are panelled and highly painted which is believed to date from 1763 AD. Other rooms
in this floor are used as storage, toilet and kitchen. Some are left unused after the earthquake.
Several rooms on Second floor of Pujari Math are used by the priest for storage. The large hall
facing north have idol of a priest looking out of the window. This room has cooking utensils, food
grains and other belongings. Many rooms in this floor are remained unused for many years.
Fig. 16. Space used by priest Fig. 17. Repaired interior in eastern Fig. 18. Verandah space
part after earthquake
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Fig. 19. Second Floor Plan
Third floor is occupied by wood carving museum. The museum is comprised of 6 galleries and
administration offices for the director and staffs. The museum extends from north to east wings.
Fig. 20. Gallery area
Fig. 21. Longitudinal section at AA
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Fig. 22. North Elevation
Fig. 23. East Elevation
5. Proposal
The proposals for Pujarimath, presented by KFW on workshop held on May 2016, was put up for
discussion with the experts from different institutions including Bhaktapur Municipality. It was
concluded that the modern technology incorporated into the proposed design did not suit the built
environment of the core city of Bhaktapur; that it would not uphold the originality of the math as the
proposal has provided structural solution to seismic activities with the use of concrete and stainless
steel structures such as steel plate connecters, pins, straps, rods and so on.
At a glance, this solution may seem highly favourable in the perspective of earthquake safety, but
we must also keep in mind that Bhaktapur has been declared as the cultural capital city of Nepal. Steel
is a foreign element when it comes to Newari architecture, so its use must be discouraged to preserve
the structure’s original character and value. Thus, we must protect its identity and focus on our local
indigenous technology and materials. It has been proven time and again from previous earthquakes, that
our traditional Newari construction technology is very much capable of withstanding them with timely
maintenance such as the five storeyed Nyatapola temple. During one of the past restorations, lime
cement mortar had been used to reconstruct the damaged walls and repair the leakage of the terrace and
roofs but was proven to be an ineffective solution as efflorescence, dampening of walls and leakage of
roofs could be observed soon after. So use of modern materials does not guarantee a better result.
Reconstruction and conservation of Pujari Math is necessary but in doing so, the function, public
sentiments, rituals and values of the place must not be displaced. Keeping this in mind, an alternative
proposal of the math was prepared by making minor applicable changes to the existing interior and
428
introducing other activities so as to make proper and efficient use of the abandoned areas in the
building without destroying its identity.
Fig. 24. Proposed Ground Floor Plan
In the ground floor plan, the existing main entrance in the north will be used to enter the math with an
office and ticket counter to its west. Most of the rooms on the periphery bordering the roads will be put
on rent as present. The rooms surrounding the smallest courtyard in the north east corner will hold a
café continued to the first floor. Seating for visitors of the math are to be placed in the dalans of the
central main courtyard. The majority of the rooms surrounding this space hold socio-cultural and
religious importance and are not accessible to the general public. An electrical room is to be provided
in the south east corner of the courtyard for museum and institution purpose. The area surrounding the
largest and south most courtyard will mostly be for residential purposes for the police, guards and the
caretaker along with a rest room which is redesigned in its current location. All three levels of the south
most block has been utilized by introducing the running of the master’s course of urban design under
Khwopa Engineering College.
Fig. 25. Proposed First Floor Plan
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The painted room and religious rooms in the first floor in its vicinity in the northwest portion will be
closed off to the public to preserve them. The rooms in the south east corner adjacent to the urban
design class will hold visual galleries to feature a selection of work produced by the students of the
Masters' courses in recent years with an adjoining library to its north made accesible to the public.
Control/electrical room is provided here as well. The rooms in the south west portion will be used as a
part of the museum mainly for the collection, maintenance and storage for the display items with an
internal stairway leading to the floor above which will also have storage space along with museum
archives. The second and third floors will be dedicated to the museum holding fixed and temporary
galleries. The south east part of the third floor has separate rooms for workshop and exhibition with an
internal stairway leading to the open terrace and a pantry in the top floor.
Fig. 26. Proposed Second Floor Plan
Fig. 27. Proposed Third Floor Plan
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6. Conclusion
2015 earthquake made it clear that knowledgeably and timely maintained and renovated structures,
such as the 55-window palace in Bhaktapur, suffered only minor damage but those neglected for a long
period of time suffered heavy damage. Historic buildings are a very sensitive matter and any
interventions should be carried out with utmost caution and thorough research.
Pujarimath is the oldest Math in the valley with significant cultural and religious value which falls
under the World Heritage Site. It is one of the prime examples of Newari architecture which must be
conserved. Thus any repair works or renovation on the structure should focus on indigenous traditional
construction technology.
In conclusion, this paper mainly studies the condition of Pujarimath following the 2015 Gorkha
earthquake identifying the major existing problems and proposes an alternative design by making slight
changes to the interior so as to make proper use of the abandoned areas in the building in the course of
retaining and preserving the original function and identity of the place.
References
Amatya, S. Pujari Math: the Background history of the Bhaktapur Development Project. Ancient Nepal. 1-7.
Cooperation, G. D. (2016). Detailed Damage Assessment and Concept for Reconstruction. Bhaktapur.
Korn, W. (2010). The Hindu Priest House. In W. Korn, The Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley,
(pp. 61-70). Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
Shakya, M. (2018). A Report on In Situ Compressive Strength Estimation Using Double Flat-Jack Test of Pujari
Math. Bhaktapur: Khwopa Engineering College.
Shakya, M., & Nhemaphuki, G. R. (2018). A Report on In Situ Compressive Stress Estimated Using Flatjack
Measurement of Pujari Math. Bhaktapur: Khwopa Engineering College.
431
Evacuation Space Use Scenario from Land Use Perspective in

Kshitij Dahal1, Bishwadeep Tamang2 and Sunil Duwal3
Abstract
Evacuation space is crucial for saving many lives during any kinds of disasters. After the two major
earthquakes, the need for evacuation spaces and their proper management was felt in the context of
Nepal. The evacuation and refuge process last from a few hours to days. This is the most decisive
time which determines the scale of losses. During the post disaster period, prompt evacuation is very
important and the location of the evacuation spaces nearest as possible plays a vital role. For
generating the information about the evacuation spaces nearby the affected residence, various
geographical studies and analysis are carried out. To analyse the availability of evacuation spaces in
the nearest possible area is an important issue in emergency disaster mitigation plans especially
during the earthquake. For this analysis use of satellite remote sensing including the geographic
analysis is done. Available satellite images, maps and google images of Bhaktapur municipality, are
used for digitization to prepare land use map and then use of the images for network and other
geographic analysis is done for generating the service area nearest to the dense population pockets
within Bhaktapur Municipality. Similarly, this study proposes a method for evaluation of evacuation
and rescue capabilities of evacuation spaces.
Keywords: Earthquake; Evacuation Space; Geographic Information System; Network Analysis; Bhaktapur
Municipality.
1. Introduction
Emergency evacuation planning of the densely populated cities has become a major challenge during
the disasters like an earthquake, accidents, etc. Evacuation is the common strategy for handling
emergency situations. Evacuation is a process in which Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) are
rescued from dangerous places to safer places in order to reduce health and life vulnerability. During a
disaster response, evacuation should be conducted very fast and accurately which needs the proper
evacuation plan for disaster preparedness. However, evacuation planning is a very complex problem
involving many behavioral and management facets. Evacuation planning system in the major cities of
Nepal lacks evacuation spaces along with the proper route of approach (Saadatseresht et al., 2009).
The dense population elevates the inadequacy of evacuation capacity of the existing spaces. Planning
for interim locations and evacuating population towards them is always challenging that pampers the
post disaster scenario. Rapid population growth and unmanaged settlements have worsened the
scenario in many cities of the country. Bhaktapur municipality known as “Khwopa” in local Newari
tongue undoubtedly is the cultural capital of Nepal. Shaped like a flying pigeon (Fig. 1), the city
spreads over an area of 6.88 sq. km with the latitude and longitude of 27.6710° N and 85.4298° E
respectively. Standing at an elevation of about 1300 meters above the sea level Bhaktapur provides
shelter to almost 100 thousand people. Such a dense population (Fig. 2.) with historical settlement
within a small area represents the best example of cultural ethnicity, however, during any disaster
response, it is very difficult to ensure the minimum loss in such densely populated cites. Earlier in the
2015 earthquake, the irrevocable loss of lives and properties engulfed the life of 252 persons and 397
persons got severely injured (Bhaktapur Municipality, 2018). The severity of such a condition could
be minimized if there is an early disaster preparedness with reliable evacuation planning. So, it is
important to study and simulate the evacuation scenarios timely. This will help in realizing the
severity of the disaster within the densely populated cities. The geospatial analysis using the satellite
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, kshitijdahal3@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, bishwadeep.tmg@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal, duwal.sunil@gmail.com
432
images and maps can be used to simulate the post disaster scenario for the available evacuation
spaces.
Fig. 1. Bhaktapur Municipality

This study aims in using the geospatial approach for scenario analysis in the emergency evacuation
of Bhaktapur municipality during any disaster occurrence. The simulation of the evacuation scenario
is based on a network analysis technique. The network model works on the algorithm of fastest route
of approach analysis that is helpful for the study of accessibility through the fastest route and
evacuation capacity of Evacuation Spaces (ES). Accessibility of ES depends on many factors like the
mindset of Internally Displaced People (IDP), the distance between home and ES, road network,
travel time, etc. (IOM; GoN, 2015). But in this scenario analysis, only road network and travel time
are considered. The area that can be evacuated within 0-5 and 5-10 minutes of walk time through road
network are computed as a service area for IDPs. The road network of Bhaktapur Municipality is
analyzed for the walk-time of 5 minutes and 10 minutes considering 50m/min as the average walking
speed of IDPs.
There are various methods for the evacuation scenario analysis. (Ramaguru & Pasupuleti, 2016)
has developed a simple two-dimensional tool which calculates the total evacuation time for a given
scenario that will help the planners to choose the locations of temporary shelters so that, people are
equally distributed. The existing road networks and evacuation points are analysed through geo-
spatial approach using Dijkstra's algorithm (ESRI, 2018) to generate the service area for the IDPs. For
locating the evacuation points within Bhaktapur Municipality, google image and an openstreet map
are processed. Reports and papers (IOM; GoN, 2015; Bajracharya & Shakya, 2016; USAID, IOM, &
GoN, 2018) have located the various open spaces which can be used as evacuation space in
Kathmandu Valley. Based on governmental and community ownership 24 open spaces are found
usable as ES within the Bhaktapur municipality (Table. 1). Google image was used for locating and
calculating the capacity of the open space to be used as ES during the emergency period. The capacity
of the ES is calculated on the basis of Sphere Standard as 3.5 m2 per person during the peak period
(The Sphere Project, 2004). Population data analysis is performed through the spatial approach by
digitizing the household points within the municipality. An average of 6 persons per household
(Bhaktapur Munipality, 2018) is kept into account for the anlaysis such that the service area for IDPs
is computed using the Network Analyst Tool in Arc GIS (ESRI, 2018) from the fastest route of
approach analysis within the walk time of 0-5 minutes and 5-10 minutes.
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Table 1. Evacuation Spaces in Bhaktapur Municipality

S.N. Evacuation Space Ownership Area (sq. m)
1 Khwopa Poly Technique Bhaktapur Municipality 600
2 Khwopa Engineering College Bhaktapur Municipality 5874
3 Khwopa College Bhaktapur Municipality 11029
4 Maheshwori Khel Maidan Ministry of Education and Sports 8246
5 Adarsha Aajad HSS Ministry of Education 2261
6 Shree Padma HSS Ministry of Education 4095
7 Bhaktapur Multiple Campus Ministry of Education 15108
8 Sainik Aawasiya Maha Vidhyalaya Nepal Army/ Ministry of Defense 81892
9 Bhaju Pukhu Bhaktapur Municipality 13876
10 Bhaktapur Mini Buspark Bhaktapur Municipality 2306
11 Ganesh Primary School Ministry of Education 1173
12 Sallaghari Tinkune Open Space Bhaktapur Municipality 55943
13 Bhelukhel Bhaktapur Municipality 3073
14 Basu School Ministry of Education 2578
15 Bhaktapur Durbar Square Department of Archeology 3667
16 Taumadi Square Guthi Sansthan 1691
17 Nasamana Bhaktapur Municipality 616
18 Talako Bhaktapur Municipality 725
19 Dattatreya Guthi Sansthan 1312
20 Suryamadi Bhaktapur Municipality 463
21 Saraswati Bidhya Griha Ministry of Education 2734
22 Kwathandu Guthi Sansthan 781
23 Vidyarthi Niketan Ministry of Education 3208
24 Bagiswori College Bhaktapur Municipality 1192
2. Evacuation Scenario of Bhaktapur Municipality

Based on the Governmental and community ownership 24 open spaces within municipality boundary
is digitized as ES for the scenario analysis. Among them 5 are large open space (>10000 sq. m), 2 are
medium open space (5000-10000 sq. .m) and 17 are small open space (<5000 sq. m) categorized on
an evacuation area basis as classified by NSET (Nepal Society of Earthquake Technology). School,
College, Playground, Chowks, Bahal, Bahi, Parks are enlisted as the ES (Table. 1).
Only 0.225 sq. km out of total 6.88 sq.km area of Bhaktapur municipality can be used as ES during
any disaster response. Out of 17698 households in Bhaktapur municipality 16280 households have
been digitized from the spatial approach. As per census 2011, an average of 6 persons per household
confirms the total of 97680 persons as IDPs to be evacuated in the peak period as per this scenario
analysis. The population distribution is uneven in Bhaktapur municipality (Fig.2). The core area is
densely populated such that there are very fewer open spaces left to be utilized as ES. The Western
and Northern part of the municipality are loosely populated, and the land use is prior to agriculture.
Also, the road network does not encircle those parts properly. The existing road networks with the
correct topology being analyzed with 24 ES as the service area for IDPs, the service area is generated
based on the fastest route and closest ES from the individual households. From the analysis of 5
minutes and 10 minutes of walk time interval, keeping on account the worst-case scenario during any
peak period with an average walking speed as 50m/min of IDPs, accessibility coverage map is
generated as Fig. 3. The total area that can be evacuated within 0 -5 minutes and 5-10 minutes are
computed and presented in Table 2.
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Fig. 2. Points representing the digitized houses and road network of Bhaktapur Municipality
Fig. 3. Accessibility mapping within the time interval of 0-5 minutes and 5- 10 minutes of walk-time
435
Table 2. Accessibility Coverage

S.N. Time (From) Time (To) Accessible Area (sq.km)
1 0 minute 5 minutes 1.65
2 5 minutes 10 minutes 2.30
IDPs from 1.65 sq. km and IDPs from 2.30 sq. km can be evacuated to their closest ES within 5
minutes and 10 minutes of time respectively in quick rescue attempts (Table 2 and Fig. 3). If the
present scenario is considered, within 10 minutes of time interval 14300 households, out of digitized
16280 households can be evacuated to their closest ES i.e. 85800 out of 97680 IDPs would get the
safer place to rehabilitate. The Capacity of ES is defined based on Sphere Standard, by the allocation
of 3.5 m2 floor area per person during the evacuating peak period. In this scenario, the capacity of ES
to hold the IDPs is found 64127 which is less than the projected possible IDPs in the evacuation
spaces within 10 minutes of time interval i.e. 85980.
A comparative study between the capacity of ES and possible IDPs explains the evacuation
scenario (Fig 4). Number of IDPs is interpreted as a function of population density i.e. flow
accumulation will be maximum where population density is maximum. This study implies the non-
uniform distribution of population within Municipality. For example; In Fig. 4(c), Vidyarthi Niketan
as ES has evacuation capacity of 917 people but during the peak period 9264 people can be
accumulated within 10 minutes time interval and in fig. 4(d) Sainik Awasiya Maha Vidhyalaya as ES
has a capacity of 23398 people but even in worst case scenario, only 1128 people can be accumulated
within the time of 10 minutes. The densely populated area suffers more in the emergency phase, also
the accessibility route claims to increase the extent of the loss.
4(a) 4(b)
4(c) 4(d)
Fig. 4. A comparative study between Capacity of ES and IDPs prior to different ES within 10 minutes interval
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3. Conclusions
Evacuation spaces are vital in any kinds of disasters. Bhaktapur is the smallest municipality of Nepal
and is sheltered by around 100 thousand people within 6.88 sq. km. The culturally rich city with such
a dense settlement needs well studied disaster preparedness plan for proper evacuation during
disasters so the human loss can be minimized as far as possible. This study used the fastest route
algorithm for the location of the nearest evacuation space using the geospatial techniques might be
stepping stone for the further organized study for well-organized disaster preparedness. The sparse
distribution of the evacuation space within the city and dense population within a small area created a
difficult situation in the evacuation however a good planning can be done for the optimum use of the
available evacuation spaces. Similarly, in the new development plans, the availability of the adequate
open space for the evacuation during the disaster must be considered. This study since based on worst
case scenario might not occur as this it shows, however, helps a lot in visualizing the scenario. Further
studies and analysis of the evacuation scenarios are essential for better disaster preparedness planning.
References
B.Rimal. (2011). Application of Remote Sensing and GIS, land use/land cover change in Kathmandu
Metropolitian City, Nepal. Journal of Theoritical and Appllied Information Technology, 80-86.
Bajracharya, A., & Shakya, N. (2016). Evacuation Space - a Field Study in Bhaktapur. International Conference
on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disastor Reconstruction Planning (pp. 76-86). Bhaktapur, Nepal:
Khwopa Engineering College and Khwopa College of Engineering.
Bhaktapur Municipality. (2018, 11 23). Retrieved from Bhaktapur Municipality:
http://bhaktapurmun.gov.np/en/publications
Capote, J., Alver, D., & Cuesta, A. (2018). Designing behaviourl scenarios for the evacuation analysis of a civic
centre. Retrieved from Researchgate: https://www.research.net/publication/264843488
ESRI. (2018, 11 09). Retrieved from ArcGIS Desktop: http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/
extensions/network-analyst/algorithms-used-by-network-analyst.htm
IOM; GoN. (2015). Report on identification of open spaces for humanitarian purposes in Kathmandu valley.
Kathmandu, Nepal: International Organization for Migration; Government of Nepal, Ministry of Home
Affairs.
Papakonstantinou, D. (2016). Analysis of the crowd evacuation modeling approaches for the case of urban
underground spaces. Procedia Engineering, 602-609.
Ramaguru, G., & Pasupuleti, V. (2016). A Tool for Planning Evacuation Procedure during or After a Disaster.
International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disastor Reconstruction Planning (pp. 331-
340). Bhaktapur, Nepal: Khwopa Engineering College and Khwopa College of Engineering.
Saadatseresht, M., Mansourian, A., & Taleai, M. (2009). Evacuation planning using multiobjective evolutionary
optimization approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 305.
T.Katada. (2013). Scenario anlaysis for evacuation strategies for residents in big cities during large-scale
flooding. Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineers, 71-82.
Thapa, R., & Emurayama, U. (2008). Spatial Structure of Landuse Dynamics in Kathmandu Valley. The
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 11-16.
The Sphere Project. (2004). Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Distaster Response. In The
Sphere Project (p. 220). Musumeci, Aosta, Italy: The Sphere Project 2004.
USAID, IOM, & GoN. (2018, 12 05). Kathmandu Open Spaces. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/site/kathmanduopenspaces/home
437
The Evaluation of Effect of the Solar Radiation in Different

Courtyard Forms of Bhaktapur Municipality
Rameswor Shrestha1, Bibek Sahi2, Dipesh Bhattrai3, Pramit Rajkarnikar4, Rabina Deuja5, and
Anita Rimal6
Abstract
Courtyard is the enclosed space surrounded by houses in all four or three directions, that space can be
used for different activities like drying serials, clothes, arranging different rituals. Also, courtyard
provides close secure area for playing children. The size of space differs according to community and
their purpose; in case of Bhaktapur, Nepal. The size is bigger for mass production work like pottery,
while others are small. The length to width ratio and width to height ratio provides remarkable
information for gaining solar radiation in courtyard. To analyze these values, the 495 numbers of
courtyards with size and height were recorded. Result shows that the courtyard aligned along North-
South direction were highly efficient in gaining solar radiation for subtropical region. Ratio of 2:1 is
the efficient ratio for the passive solar design on courtyard building.
Keywords: Courtyard; Bhaktapur; Insolation; Thermal performance; Subtropical region.
1. Introduction
Courtyard housing is the system of construction of houses providing a common open space at the
center of surrounding house (Shrestha & Prajapati, 2015). Courtyard house is a fundamental form of
construction found in the Islamic as well as the Hindu regions of India and also in China and the
orient, also in Nepal and Newari architecture, this type of building developed, most probably, very
early on legend and chronicles alike rever to such building and in the early Malla period it manifests
itself asa teo storey, square complex with central courtyard which functions in Buddist monastries as
an internalized and is used by the Hindu, high-cast family as living accomodation (Scheibler, 1982).
At the beginning of the eatablishment of Buddist institution in Patan as well as other settlement of
Kathmandu valley, the vihars were located outside the existing settlement where Bahil/Bahi-First
monastric institution in Kathmandu were known as Bahil and linguistic relationship shown that Bahil
is the close derivative from the Sanskrit word Bhaya and then the Pali-“Bahira” whereas Bahal/Baha-
Is only the later evolution from Bahil when monks begans to settle their family life (Tiwari, 2001).
Mohan Murti Panta (1990) had distinguished the difference in Bahal and Courtyard. Bahal is located
within the square surrounded by houses of Bahal community with formal gate which regulates the
flow within bahal. Pati, shrine and court were content in Bahal. Shrines of Shakyamuni or tathagatas
with other deties of Buddist pantheon were found in Bahal. Hindu shrines were secondary. The
community were well defined community with clan social status and religion ( Buddist). The property
and administration were governed by community. Where, Courtyard is located within the square
which is surrounded by houses of several families and narrow tunnel like ascess regulates the flow
within courtyard. Pati is not the element. Deities may contain and depends on the community. Chaitya
in Buddhist community, shrines of hindu dities like Shiva, Vishnu or Ganesh etc. in hindu
community. Several family of the courtyard from community. Administration and property of
courtyard is private.
1Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, rameshwor.sth@gmail.com

2Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, thakuribibek0@gmail.com
3Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, bhattaraidipesh10@gmail.com
4Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, pramitrajkarnikar4@gmail.com
5Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, deujarabina123@gmail.com
6Department of Civil Engineering, KhCE, Bhaktapur, Nepal, ennitarimal@gmail.com
438
Along with these compositions Nani and Chuwaka are also terminology found in community.
These Nani and Chuwaka had its square surrounded by buildings. Nani is surrounded by buildings of
heterogeneous family. Chaitya may present in the square. Where Chuwaka is surrounded by houses
of homogeneous family. The houses are constructed only who share blood relation and the square
contain common Pikhalakhi (Deity). The courtyards are oriented in due North-South and East-West
direction. The orientation helps in passive solar design. The kathmandu valley of lies in the Latitude
27°42’ N and Longitude 85°22’ E with the average altitude of 1337 m. So the valley lies in the
temperate warm zone of the Himalaya with a well balanced climete (Korn, 1976). Nepal lies in the
humid subtropical climate; climatic zone of hot and humid summer, and mid to chilly winter (Peel et
al., 2007).
In Bhaktapur Municipality urban planning is well managed with urban design elemnts;
arcchitecture, water bodies, green spaces, historical structures, landscapes, lighting, monuments,
pocket neighborhoods,public space, public buildings etc. The streets and buildings are orientes in due
North-South and East-West direction, which helps in managing one aspect of the passive solar design.
This paper deals with the efficiency of the courtyard of the Bhaktapur Municipality in passive solar
design in term of solar heat. For the analysis, dimension of all residential courtyard were measured
along with the height and number of household. Software based Solar Insolation (radiation) study was
done for summer and winter season.
2. Methodology
Bhaktapur Minucipality map was taken as the reference to access the location of courtyard (Fig. 1).
The size of the courtyard along North-South (NS) and East-West (EW) direction were measured.
Number of houses along with storey height in each direction was noted. Special features like deties
and wells were also collected. Number of courtyards which is oriented in North-South direction and
East-West direction were distinguished. Software, Autodest REVIT was used to analyze the solar gain
of the building according to their orientation. From 14th April to 16th June (Baishak, Jestha and Ashad)
were taken for summer season while from 17th November to 12th Feburary (Mansir, Poush and Magh)
were taken for winter season. For uniformity of solar gain, the time of solar exposure was fixed from
7AM to 5PM for both seasons. During simulation only the courtyard and courtyard faced walls were
taken into consideration. Roofs of the building were considered flat and uniform. Average height of
each floor was measured to be 6’6” with total height of 26’.
Fig. 1. Plan of Bhaktapur Municipality. (Source: Bhaktapur Municipality)

The number of residential courtyard within the Bhaktapur Municipalities counted were 495 numbers.
The dimension of courtyard range from 6 ft. to greater than 60 ft. But for the analysis the range of 15
439
ft. to greater than and equal to 60 ft. was taken. For the design of courtyard the minimum length and
width of courtyard shall be 15 ft. along with the minimum area requirement of 120 sq. ft. per dwelling
(West Hollywood Municipal Code Patent No. 19.36.265). It was also recommended that for the wide
courtyard which will permit sufficient daylight and ventilation, the width to height ratio should be
greater than and equal to 0.6 (Tablada, 2013). So, only wide courtyard was selected with
corresponding average area of courtyard which will ensure sufficient daylight and ventilation is
shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Area of courtyard according to the size of courtyard.
S.N. Length to Width (in range) Total Number of Courtyards Average Area (sq. ft.)
1 15 ft. to 29 ft. 215 529.167
2 30 ft. to 44 ft. 95 1061.13
3 45 ft. to 59 ft. 15 1603.63
4 >60 ft. 4 1943.25
From the above dimensions two common (base) dimensions are chosen; 20 ft. and 30 ft. Using
these dimensions, different aspect ratios (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1) were chosen which represents the real field
size and ratio of the courtyards. East-West was taken as long axis. Also the buildings were rotated in
90° to calculate the effect of orientation. Number of courtyard according to ratio of alignment were
shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Ratio of courtyard according to alignment
S. N. Range of Ratio (NS by EW) Number of Courtyards %

1 0 – 0.8 72 21.88
2 0.8 – 1.2 169 51.37
3 >1.2 88 26.75
From the Table 2, the courtyard of square shape is majorly populated. Courtyard oriented in EW
direction are slightly in minority. Referring base dimension eight combinations were prepared and
solar analysis was done using Autodesk Revit. Representative solar insolation analysis of courtyard
for the dimension of 60 ft. EW by 30 ft. NS summer and winter (Fig. 2a.and 2b.), and courtyard for
the dimension of 60 ft. NS by 30 ft. EW summer and winter (Fig. 3a. and 3b.) is shown here under.
The tabular results of the analysis were shown in Table 3.
a. b.
Fig. 2. Summer and winter Sun in courtyard dimensions 60 ft. EW by 30 ft. NS
440
a. b.
Fig. 3. Summer and winter Sun in courtyard dimensions 60 ft. NS by 30 ft. EW
Table 3: Solar insolation analysis on the basis of base dimension
Area of Cumulative Insolation in Season On the Basis of Total Energy % on the Basis
Solar Summer (4/14 - 7/16)Winter (11/17 - 2/12) Orientation Difference in Six of Base Ratio
Months (On the
Direction Analysis Total Insolation Total Insolation % change
% change Basis of
Selected insolation per sq insolation per sq in Orientation) Summer Winter
in Winter
(sq m) (kWh) meter (kWh) meter Summer (1kWh=1 unit)
20 ft. by 20 ft. 230 20467 89 14366 62
40 ft. NS by20 ft. EW 364 36885 101 26836 74 1.48 0.75 -345 13.48 19.35
40 ft. EW by 20 ft. NS 364 37431 103 27037 74 15.73 19.35
60 ft. NS by 20 ft. EW 498 55142 111 38412 77 1.19 -3.05 -1826 24.72 24.19
60 ft. EW by 20 ft. NS 498 55796 112 37240 75 25.84 20.97
30 ft. by 30 ft. 373 41186 110 28774 77
60 ft. NS by 30 ft. EW 602 77394 129 54403 90 -1.03 0.68 1168 17.27 16.88
60 ft. EW by 30 ft. NS 602 76596 127 54773 91 15.45 18.18
Slight percentage change was noted in solar gain while change in the orientation for the courtyard.
For the courtyard of basic size 20 ft. courtyard elongated in EW direction gain more solar radiation in
summer and less in winter. Major of the courtyard dimension is categorized under this basic
dimension and ratio of 2:1 and 3:1. From the total energy difference in six months, 2:1 ratio courtyard
is more efficient. While the courtyard basic size of 30 ft. the result is reverse. That is due to higher
amount of exposure of the courtyard to solar radiation in summer. The courtyard elongated EW
rectangular courtyard had higher solar percentage of solar gain (Berkovic et al., 2012). When
evaluating the effect of courtyard design shape on solar heat gain along with the efficiency for
different climatic region, the amount of heat energy gained in building is directly proportional to the
length of the courtyard (Ok et al., 2008).
4. Conclusion
Courtyard is a thermal organizing geometry which enhance solar passive design for sustainable
energy efficient building strategy. Results shows that the courtyard’s solar gain is affected by its
various geometrical properties and orientation. With the increase in aspect ratio the solar gain also
increases. Thermal comfort in building can be enhanced in courtyard of subtropical region by aligning
elongated North-South direction. Only 329 buildings among 496 buildings were analyzed which is
66.46%. Other courtyard will also provide passive ventilation and lightening to the houses along the
courtyard.
441
References
Berkovic, S., Yezioro, A., & Bitan, A. (2012). Study of Thermal Confort in Courtyards in a Hot Arid Climate.
Solar Energy.
Korn, W. (1976). The tradiational Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley.
Ok, V., Yasa, E., & Ozgunler, M. (2008). An Experimental Study of the Effect of Surface Opening on Air Flow
Caused by Wind in Courtyard Buildings. Architectural Science Review, 263-268.
Omar, A.-H., Satish, B. K., Simon, B., & Pieter, d. W. (2017). The Impact of Courtyard Parameters on its
Shading Level an Experimental study in Baghdad, Iraq. ELSEVIER.
Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate
classification. Hydrology and Earth System Science.
Scheibler, G. (1982). Courtyard Architectur of the Earky Malla Period (Vols. Report No. 522R-06).
Shrestha, R., & Prajapati, R. S. (2015). Performance Analysis of Masonry Building with Courtyard . Journal of
Science and Engineering, 54-62.
Standards, S. P. (n.d.). West Hollywood Municipal Code Patent No. 19.36.265.
Tablada, A. (2013). Design Recommendations for New Courtyard Buildings in Compact Historical Centre of
Havana. Sustainable Building 2013 Hong Kong Regional Conference. Hong Kong: Urban Density and
Sustainability.
Tiwari, S. R. (2001). The Ansient Settlement of The Kathmandu Valley.
Tablada, A. (2013). Design Recommendations for New Courtyard Buildings in Compact Historical Centre of
Havana. Sustainable Building 2013 Hong Kong Regional Conference. Hong Kong: Urban Density and
Sustainability.
Tiwari, S. R. (2001). The Ansient Settlement of The Kathmandu Valley.
442
Strategic Resettlement Approach in Accordance with the Socio-

Economic Status of Earthquake Victims: Preliminary Study of
Thami Gaun, Bahrabise, Sindhupalchok
Bishwadeep Tamang1, Kshitij Dahal2, Raju Miyan3 and Rameswor Shrestha4
Abstract
After the devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes on April 25th, 2015, Nepalese people felt a
sudden jerk on their livelihood and were compelled to accept the changes on their day to day life. The
damage and loss of lives and properties are irrevocable. But, then the implementation of best possible
ways which leads people to the new and proper living standard incorporating their culture, tradition,
norms and values is very important work to be performed at present. The main objective is to promote
socio- economic restart. The possible resettlement strategy for the people of Thami Gaun,
Sindhupalchok has been proposed. The objective can be fulfilled by rebuilding their 18 houses in
united colony, a health post, a school and a community hall with proper transportation, electricity,
water supply and sanitation facility as per the Nepal Reconstruction Policy. Irrigation facility from the
nearby river would help to increase the productivity of the land. Cash crop could be developed, which
enhance the life standard of the people.
Keywords: Earthquake; Sindhupalchok; Reconstruction; Resettlement
1.Introduction
The Gorkha earthquake of April 25th, 2015 deteriorated the living standard and life style of the
Nepalese people. People from the most victimized 14 districts of Mid-Hilly and Himalayan region,
namely: Gorkha, Kavrepalanchok, Dhading, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchok, Dolakha,
Ramechhap, Okhaldunga, Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, got the
required aids and rehabilitation supports form Government of Nepal, Government of different
countries, NGOs and INGOs. Governmental aids provided relief to the victims making them able to
rebuild the houses for them once again, following Reconstruction Policy (NRA, 2015). But, still many
of them are not flowing through the main stream of government policy for rehabilitation and
reconstruction. Various social organizations such as Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation, Shweta Shree
Foundation, JICA Nepal, and UNICEF Nepal are still working in various districts for the
rehabilitation and resettlement of the earthquake victims. (Dhurmus, Suntali, 2018) has innovated the
United Model Colony concept in Nepal at present. This has made a positive impact in Nepalese
society and somehow developed the ethics of being united and fights with the problems together
during the post disaster phase.
Amongst the needy, people of Thami Gaun, despite being near to capital (Fig. 1.), were still under
tents and temporary houses fighting with the nature and daily life making procedure (Fig. 2. and Fig.
3.). Thami Gaun is located at about 60KM East of Kathmandu in Sindhupalchok district with the
latitude and longitude of 270 47` 35`` N and 850 53` 43`` E with an elevation of 900 m. (Fig.1.). There
were all together 18 houses, 14 temporary houses of Thami community and other 4 houses of
Tamang’s with sparse population distribution. The place there was mainly inhabited by the indigenous
Thami people with agriculturally based life style. This work aims to provide the possible resettlement
strategy with earthquake resistant physical infrastructures and well managed transportation,
electricity, drinking water and irrigation facility after the collection and analysis of data from the
relative fields.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal bishwadeep.tmg@gmail.com

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal kshitijdahal3@gmail.com
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal rajumiyan@hotmail.com
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal rameswor.sth@gmail.com
443
Fig. 1. Location of Thami Gaun
2. Methodology
A questionnaire was developed covering the information of main components such as social services,
facilities situation, existence of infrastructure, potentials of natural resources and depiction of
economic status prevailing. The site was visited several times for preliminary observation and inquiry.
During the visits, residents, shopkeepers and farmers were interviewed. The responses of the
interviewees were incorporated in a survey form for more detail data designed to document the
present situation of the site. Further studies, booklets, district profiles and web pages were reviewed to
understand the background of the issues of socio-economic condition in target area and existing
challenges for livelihood. For documentary evidences we captured photographs. We performed
Topographic survey by GPS5 of Thami Gaun. The collected topographic data were analyzed by using
Geographic Information System (GIS) software (ESRI, 2018). The soil sample was collected from the
site. Both in-situ and lab test were performed. Water of nearby Adheri Khola was tested using
ENPHO6 water testing kit in field. Possible suitable site for residential area and agricultural land was
examined based on socio-economic survey and prior technical observations.
3. Findings Associated to Resettlement

3.1 Socio-economic scenario
The questionnaire survey (Fig. 5.) in Thami Gaun led us to findings of socio-economic status of the
dwellers. Thami people being the indigenous nationalities of Nepal, embracing Hindu religion, were
good enough in self-living purpose of lesser quality of life than average. People with low economic
status encircled the Thami Community. In general, people preferred one story house with four rooms
and a latrine outside the house. People were still under the rehab tents, temporary hut and bamboo-
built houses (Fig. 3.). People of age group 30- 70 years were found, especially women. Less
facilitated children were playing with mud and sand collected for construction purposes instead of
going to school. Agriculture and animal husbandry were major occupation in practice. (Fig. 4.)
Income is generated by selling some domestic animals and agricultural product, which is very little to
5 Global Positioning System

6 Environment and Public Health Organization
444
sustain quality life. The transportation facility was not good enough for transporting agricultural
products to nearby Bahrabise Bazaar. Lack of health post was defying them from getting medical
facilities. Drinking water was being fetched from the water distribution plant situated in Ekle Besi.
The electricity distribution was operated from nearby Sunkoshi Hydro Power Project.
Fig. 2. Tents and Temporary Houses Fig. 3. Locals in their house
Fig. 4. Interviewing with the local Fig. 5. Field ready for vegetable cultivation
3.2 Reconstruction Aspect
People of Thami Gaun were still unaware and not facilitated about the modern reconstruction
techniques and policies of Nepal government regarding reconstruction and resettlement. Traditional
ways of construction were being followed. They were using the wreckage of their old houses for
making the new ones (Fig. 6. and Fig. 7.). Mud masonry building techniques were being practiced.
Lack of skilled manpower was compelling them to practice and use the same old techniques for
reconstruction works. The earthquake resistant building techniques were not being followed since
they were lacking the knowledge of it.
Fig. 6. Wreckage of the house Fig. 7. Locals collecting the reusable wreckage
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3.3 Technical Aspects
3.3.1 Examination of Soil
After field and lab investigation water content and plastic limit of the soil is found to be 27.92% and
38.6% respectively. The Liquid limit test performed with the help of standard Casagrande apparatus
concluded with the 40% liquid limit value (Fig. 8). Also, the unconfined compressive strength test
gave the value of strength of soil as 39.72 KN/m2 (Fig. 9).
Fig. 8. Liquid Limit Chart Fig. 9. Unconfined Compressive Strength Curve
From the above data and observations, classification of the soil is done using USCS7 (Murty,
2007) and other properties of soil are adopted according to the type of soil obtained (Azad Koliji,
2018). Detailed properties are presented below in Table 1.
Table 1. Properties of soil

S. N Properties Observed Values Remarks
1 Type of Soil Sandy Clay Loam According to USCS
2 Unit weight of Soil (γ) 16.78 KN/m3 For sandy clay loam
3 Cohesive Resistance (c) 11 KN/m2 For sandy clay loam
From relationship between principle stress
4 Frictional Resistance (Փ) 32.036o
at failure: σ1 = σ3 NՓ + 2c (NՓ)1/2
5 Shear Strength of Soil (τ) 35.854 KN/m2 τ = c + σ tanՓ
6 Bearing Capacity of Soil (qnu) 1091.327 KN/m2 From Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Theory
7 Approx. Load on Soil (q) 146.108 KN/m2 Considering general dead and live load
Considering minimum depth of foundation
8 Factor of safety 7.4 (sufficient)
0.9 m according to Rankine’s Theory
This bearing capacity of soil is enough to facilitate all kind of single-story building structures
proposed there.
3.3.2 Examination of Water
Following observations were obtained by testing the water sample of Adheri Khola, about 450 m
away from proposed settlement site, using ENPHO water testing kit in site.
7
Unified Soil Classification System
446
Table 2. Drinking water properties and comparison with NDWQS8-2062

S.N. Description Observed Value NDWQS-2062
1 Dry Season Discharge 0.0117m3/s -
2 Temperature 13.3 °C -
3 pH 7.96 6.5 - 8.5
4 Electrical Conductivity 89.3 µs/cm <1500 µs/cm
5 Total Dissolved Solid 59.7 mg/l <1000 mg/l
6 Ammonia 0.1 mg/l <1.5 mg/l
7 Iron 0.3 mg/l <3 mg/l
8 Phosphate 0.05 mg/l <0.3 mg/l
9 Nitrate 0 <50 mg/l
10 Coliform Absence 0 in 95% of sample
According to NDWQS-2062 (Ministry of Water Supply, 2005) the water was found drinkable
naturally and it is enough to supply the water for this colony for next 20 years, as the water demand
after 20 years is smaller than the dry season discharge of the stream. Forecasted population and water
demand scenario is presented below in Table 3.
Table 3. Scenario of water supply

S.N. Description Obtained Values Remarks
1 Dry Season Discharge 0.0117 m3/s Obtained from Velocity Area Method
2 Current Population 80 nos
Taking 20 years’ time, 1.35% annual
3 Forecasted Population 102 nos population growth rate (CBS 2011) with
Arithmetic Increase Method
4 Total water demand 0.00015 m3/s Taking all demands
3.4 Agricultural scenario
The adequate average monsoon precipitation index of 2500 mm (DHM, 2018), fertile Sandy Clay
Loam soil and irrigation scheme possibility from nearby Adheri Khola ensures the high agricultural
potential of Thami Gaun. Despite these odds farmers were struggling to produce adequate quantity of
food because of limited access to improved seeds, ignorance about modern farming technologies and
unfacilitated market opportunities. Commercialization and professionalization of agriculture is yet to
be thought. The educated youth do not wish agriculture as a career due to lacking farm mechanization
policy. Farm mechanization i.e., Process of applying engineering and technology in agricultural
operations to improve productivity should be introduced as it also deals with the cost reduction, better
crop management, increase in cropping intensity, diversification and post-harvest processing which
results in increased economic return to farmer and prosperity of the community. Grass plantation is
suitable commercially, which helps for self-sustainable animal husbandry. The existing potato, wheat,
paddy and vegetables farming should be enhanced through farm mechanization. Altitude and soil type
are suitable for the Orange and Lemon farming, thus generating the income source for people
reducing the partial unemployment. The mechanical technology should be practiced in varied farming
operations like, sowing, levelling, watering, weeding, harvesting, threshing, etc.
3.5 Resettlement Strategy
For finding the best possible way to reconstruct Thami Gaun and make it sustainably functional
reviving the original ethnicity, we had proposed two resettlement strategy viz, original layout system
and readjustment of plot as united colony. The socio-economic survey confirmed the inapplicability
of the original layout system as they do not possess land ownership. Indigenous Thami families were
8 National Drinking Water Quality Standards
447
there since early 90s working for their landlords as farmers. Resettlement strategy based on united
colony concept results as economical alternative for them when providing the basic facilities like
transportation, water supply, electricity, health facility, education, etc., because 80% of total families
voted for readjustment of plot as united colony. Furthermore, stability of slope, enough bearing
capacity of soil, adequate water supply, electricity facility and easy accessibility to the Arniko
highway assures the relevancy of united colony concept. United colony comprising total 18 number of
single-story residential buildings with latrine alongside, a school, a health post, a waste water
treatment plant near Bhotekoshi River and a composting plant for solid waste management amid of
agricultural field with transportation linkage to Arniko Highway is proposed as the best alternative for
their resettlement (Fig. 10). Also, the physical model of proposed resettlement plan was exhibited on
20th National Earthquake Safety Day, 2018 (Fig. 11) which received admirations from general people
as well as experts with some expertise suggestions which further aided on assurance for sustainability.
Fig. 10. Proposed resettlement Plan of Thami Gaun Fig. 11. Physical Model of proposed
4. Conclusion
The proposed resettlement strategy for Thami Gaun is found technically and economically feasible for
implementing plan with basic facilities considering socio-economic and technical aspects.
Transportation facilities can be provided by connecting Arniko Highway nearby. The construction of
united colony makes their life easier by enhancing their social security and less economic effort for
the reconstruction. A health post would be enough to give them the basic medical facility. The site is
found to be technically sound for both residential and agriculture purpose. The model we propose can
be enhanced by new smart city concept installing modern technological advancements with further
research and studies.
Acknowledgements
Authors would like to express their gratitude to Er. Sunil Duwal, Principal and Er. Ratna Shova Prajapati, Vice-
Principal, Khwopa College of Engineering, Bhaktapur, Nepal for sharing their expertise knowledge. We are
indebted to our friends Manish Dhakal, Indra Dev Ray and Khagendra Kumar Pandey for their regular support
and encouragement. We would also like to thank Mr. Binod Bhujel and Mr. Surendra Lopchan for their
indelible help during the field surveying works. The friendly behavior of Thami people led us to these findings’
despites their hardships. We owe the completion of this work to the Thami people of Bahrabise, Sindhupalchok.
References
Azad Koliji. (2018, September). Soil Parameter. Retrieved from geotechdata.info:
http://www.geotechdata.info/parameter/
DHM. (2018). www.dhm.gov.np/publications-list/. Retrieved from Government of Nepal, Department of
Meterology and Hydrology: www.dhm.gov.np/publications-list/
Dhurmus, Suntali. (2018). Dhurmus Sutali. Retrieved from Dhurmus Suntali Foundation:
https://dhurmussuntali.com/en
448
DUDBC. (2015). Nepal National Building Code 203. Kathmandu, Nepal: Departmant of Urban Development
and Building Construction.
ENPHO. (2017, 12 30). Retrieved from Environment & Public Health Organization: http://enpho.org/research-
and-development/test-kits/
ESRI. (2018, 11 09). Retrieved from ArcGIS Desktop:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/network-analyst/algorithms-used-by-network-
analyst.htm
JICA. (2013). The Study of Reconstruction Processes: JICA's Support for Reconstruction . Capital Region
Comprehensive Planning Institute Co.Ltd, Regional Planning International CO. Ltd.
Ministry of Water Supply. (2005). National Drinking Water Quality Standards, 2062. Kathmandu, Nepal:
Ministry of Water Supply.
Murty, V. (2007). Textbook of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (1 ed.). India: CBS Publishing.
NEA. (2015). A Report on Nepal Earthquake-2072. Lalitpur, Nepal: Nepal Engineers' Asssociation.
NPC. (2015). Nepal Earthquake 2015 Post Disaster needs Assessment, Vol A: Key Findings. Kathmandu,
Nepal: Government of Nepal, Nepal Planning Commission.
NRA. (2015). Reconstruction Policy. Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal Reconstruction Authority.
Punmia, B., Jain, A., & Jain, A. (2010). Water Supply Engineering: Environmental Engineering-I (Reprint ed.).
India: Laxmi Publications (P) Ltd.
Ratna, B. (2013). The Great Earthquake in Nepal-1934 A.D (English version translated by Lall K. Kathmandu,
Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar).
449
Worker Health and Safety during Post-Disaster

Reconstruction: A case study in Bhaktapur
S M Jamil Uddin1, Jeetendra Prajapati2 and Nipesh Pradhananga3
Abstract
In the post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) phase, several factors may affect the health and safety of
workers involved. Not distinguishing PDR from regular construction can be one of them. Additionally,
factors such as use of personal protective equipment (PPE), safety training, and involvement of
immigrant workers can play vital roles in the health and safety of workers. This qualitative study
investigates the safety situation of construction workers through an in-depth semi-structured interview
conducted with different stakeholders at Bhaktapur in the context of Nepal Earthquake 2015. Although
Nepal is in recovery and reconstruction phase for more than three years now, no study or statistics are
available pertaining to workers’ safety and health in Nepal in the current context. To fill this gap, the
interviewees included owner, general contractors, engineers, supervisors and workers. A questionnaire
was formulated and interviews were conducted in a way that the respondents represent a wide range of
perspectives. The respondents expressed their opinions within the context of the study and revealed the
current scenario of health and safety of construction workers. This paper also represents the perspective
of respondents on the difference between PDR and regular construction while shading light on situation
before and after the disaster. Finally, the findings of this study introduce workers’ health and safety as
an important factor in post-disaster reconstruction planning. It will potentially help the authorities to
integrate it in disaster preparedness, planning and loss calculations. In a country like Nepal, where the
Labour Act is yet to be ratified and consideration of occupational health and safety issues are still in
infancy, the paper highlights the importance of occupational health and safety in general infrastructure
planning and construction. It also guides the authorities to prioritize their actions towards improving
occupational safety by targeting the factors reported by this study.
Keywords: Post-Disaster Reconstruction; Workers’ Health and Safety; Case Study; Bhaktapur
1. Introduction
Construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries in the world. Both the number of people
employed and death rates are higher in construction industry compared to others. The construction
industry of Nepal is no different from the rest of the world, where construction constitutes the fifth
highest population in terms of occupation in Nepal (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2008). Joshi et.al.
(2011) identified construction to be one of the most hazardous industries in the terms of health and
safety for the workers in Nepal. However, there is no specific statistics available on the rate or number
of accidents of construction workers in Nepal.
Nepal is passing through a post-disaster recovery phase now after the disastrous impact of 2015
earthquake. However, the reconstruction process is very slow and the country is facing many problems
including lack of workers, unavailable resources and others (The Conversation, 2017). Only 14% of the
structures has been rebuilt in last three and a half years (NRA, 2018) which indicates that the
reconstruction phase will last for several more years in Nepal. During these three and a half years of
reconstruction works, no statistics or data has been generated nor has any study been done to investigate
the health and safety of the construction workers. Many studies show that post-disaster reconstruction
(PDR) is risker and more prone to construction hazards than regular construction (Grosskopf & Hinze,
1 Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability, Florida International University, Miami, USA,
suddi004@fiu.edu
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, prajapati.jeetendra@khec.edu.np
3
Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability, Florida International University, Miami, USA,
npradhan@fiu.edu
450
2008). Since the reconstruction is expected to last several more years engaging construction workers,
their health and safety is a major area to focus on.
This paper investigates on the construction workers health and safety situation after Nepal
earthquake 2015. This study is based on the case study of Bhaktapur, Nepal. The adopted methodology
is qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and is exploratory since no study has been done on
the workers’ health and safety during post-disaster reconstruction in Nepal before.
2. Bhaktapur, Nepal and Earthquake of 2015

Nepal is one of the most earthquake prone country in the world. On April 25, 2015, a major earthquake
hit Nepal with a magnitude of 7.8 Richter scale at Gorkha. The earthquake was followed by numerous
aftershocks. Around 9,000 people lost their lives, hundreds of thousands lost their houses and the
estimated economic damages was around $10 Billion (NPC, 2015)
Bhaktapur is one of the most severely affected cities by the earthquake in Nepal. Bhaktapur is an
ancient and historic city, located along the eastern margin of the Kathmandu valley. Many iconic
heritage sites of this city for instance Durbar Square and Vatsala Durga Temple were severely damaged.
Structural damage was extensive to the mostly unreinforced brick structures. The Nepal earthquake
caused heavy brick facades to collapse into the narrow alleys within the historic areas of Bhaktapur
(Hazarika et al., 2016). The magnitude 7.3 aftershock on May 12, 2015 was located approximately 40
km east of Bhaktapur and caused significant additional damage to already weakened structures
(Hashash et al., 2015). Along with the historic temples and monuments, people also lost their houses
and shelter due to this major earthquake. The Himalayan Times, (2017) reported that even after 2 years
of the earthquake, debris and rubbles were seen at many places. Structures were still damaged, some
being held up by temporary supports (Nepali: teka) while some others were being demolished. They
also reported the reconstruction works of the damaged structures was going at a full speed.
Bhaktapur being one of the major cities where reconstruction works are going on in full swing,
authors perceived that Bhaktapur could be good case study for the analysis of construction workers’
health and safety during post-disaster reconstruction.

The objective of this study is to understand the health and safety condition of construction workers
during post-disaster reconstruction in Bhaktapur, Nepal. This paper studies how the health and safety
of construction workers are affected by the disaster in the context of 2015 Nepal earthquake. This
qualitative study is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews. It investigates the different aspects of
workers’ health and safety in PDR; for instance, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), safety
training, involvement of immigrant workers, differences between regular construction and PDR, and
situation before and after Nepal earthquake 2015 from the perspectives of different stakeholders.
4. Methodology
This study is done following a qualitative and exploratory method. An exploratory study is appropriate
when little or no previous information exists about the study subject. This study aims to capture and
describe the perspective of different stakeholders of PDR phase in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The respondents
were selected and interviewed strategically to represent a wide range of perspectives.
Table 1: Participants type and number
Participants’ Type No of Participants
Owner 1
General Contractor 2
Engineer 4
Supervisor 3
Worker 4
451
As shown in Table 1, one owner, two general contractor, four engineers, three supervisors and four
construction workers, in total fourteen stakeholders were interviewed following a semi-structured
questionnaire to understand their perspective on construction workers health and safety during PDR.
The participants were well informed of the aim of the interviews and they were willing to participate.
All the interviews were conducted in the area of Bhaktapur, Nepal. The respondents were asked to
describe their perspective in as detail as possible. Semi structured questions allow the respondents to
choose the direction in which they want to answer the questions. Follow up questions were also posed
to encourage the respondents to reflect further upon their responses and to clarify their concerns.
The interviews were conducted in Nepali though the questionnaires were formulated in English. Two
of the authors of this paper being native Nepali speakers and one of them being situated in Bhaktapur,
Nepal, it was convenient for the authors to lead and supervise the interviews in local language. The
responses were recorded using an audio recorder. The interviews were transcribed in Nepali and
subsequently translated to English by the person conducting the interviews. All the respondents’
identities were kept anonymous during the process by assigning the respondents with a user ID. The
transcribed responses were initially analysed independently by each of the three authors, each pointing
out and identifying information that are directly relevant to the context of this study. The questions and
responses were divided in five different categories by the authors independently and subsequently
collectively to get the most out of this study.
The semi-structured questionnaires were designed to extract information from the respondents in
several categories. The questions were divided into five categories each having sub-categories and
follow up questions. Table 2 shows the categories of the questionnaire, their sub categories and the
description of the content.
Table 2: Category and sub-category of questionnaire

Category of
SN Sub-category Description of Content
Questions
The questions associated with this category
Difference between
were asked to identify the different
Category Regular Construction • Major Differences perspective of different stakeholder on the
1 and Post-Disaster
differences of these two types of
Reconstruction (PDR)
construction.
PPE is one of the most effective ways to
deal with possible hazards on construction
Category • Importance site. The associated questions with this
PPE in PDR
2 • Availability category revealed what the respondents
think about the use of PPE on both regular
and reconstruction sites.
Nepal being a multilingual country, the
• Language issues
questions from these categories revealed
Category Involvement of • Understanding of the involvement of stakeholders from
3 Immigrant worker Instruction different regions of the country and their
• Labor Rights associated issues.
Safety training has been proved to be one
• Importance of the most effective ways to prepare
Category people for preventing possible hazards.
Safety Training • Occurrence
4 Questions were asked about the safety
• Frequency training and its importance according to
different respondents.
• Safety situation Questions associated with this category are
Safety Concerns
Category before disaster meant to reveal the before and after
before and after the
5 • Safety situation situation of safety culture and measures on
Earthquake
after disaster construction sites in Nepal.
452
5. Discussion
5.1 Differences between regular construction and PDR
Respondents were first presented with the definition of PDR to clarify their concept. PDR was defined
to the respondents as “Construction works taking place after a disaster within the disaster-affected area.
The works might include debris management, repairing, retrofitting and restoration of structure,
demolition of structures and construction of structures until full recovery is achieved”. After clarifying
the concept of PDR and regular construction, respondents were asked about their opinions if they think
PDR is different from regular construction in terms of workers’ safety and health.
All the respondents agreed that PDR works are different from regular construction works and
pointing out the risks associated with PDR works. One of the engineers, Engineer-01 responded, “Yes,
post-disaster reconstruction is very different from routine construction site. PDR sites are risker to
work as compared to regular construction site” and Supervisor-03 responded similarly saying “Yes, It
is risker. We have to think about many things in PDR that we do not consider in regular construction”
thus stating the potential risks of PDR. One of the workers, Worker-01 expressed his concern regarding
the available working space and stability of the affected structure in repairing and restoration works
after a disaster. He responded, “It is risker. It is because we do not get the proper spaces to work on the
structures. There is debris here and there. The structures are not stable. We are always at risk”. Another
worker Worker-02, despite having no experience of working in the PDR sites, said, “There must be
significant differences. I think PDR sites are risker to work but I don’t have any experience working on
PDR sites”. Another engineer in charge, Engineer-04, expressed his concern in more detail figuring out
issues such as time constraints, workers shortage and poor management in PDR sites. Upon asking what
he thinks about the possible differences between regular and PDR, he said, “It sure is different. We
faced more risks while working on PDR than regular construction. We had issue with time, worker
shortage and poor management. It’s really difficult and risky to work on PDR”. While Supervisor-02
pointed out issues with emergency demolition since he was assigned to the demolition works in
Bhaktapur. He said, “Yes, they are different. Generally, in the PDR sites, old houses are built really
close and it becomes difficult to demolish one house without affecting the house attached to or nearby
it. And sometimes arguments may arise among the owners”.
5.2 Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
According to OSHA (2016), Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is one of the most effective ways to
deal with many construction hazards. About 2 million workers at risk of work related injuries each year,
of which 25% are head, eyes, eyes, hands and feet related, can be protected using PPE. Construction
workers are at great risk if they don’t use PPE or they use damaged PPE. Absence of PPE or not using
PPE has been identified as one of the major factors for Construction accidents in the literature over the
years (Williams et al., 2018). Not only PPE, but equipment without safety devices are also a major
reason of construction accidents (Abdul Rahim et al., 2008).
Authors wanted to explore the scenario in Bhaktapur, Nepal regarding the use of PPE in
construction works. It seemed that all the respondents are aware of PPE though not by the term PPE but
they know about the safety equipment that can be used while working. Upon asking about what do they
know regarding the PPE, they randomly named certain PPEs such as hard hats, safety boot, gloves and
glasses. Their responses revealed that despite being aware of the safety issues and use of PPE, nobody
cared to use PPE or provide PPE in the construction sites. Worker-02 replied on the question whether
they are provided with PPE on reconstruction sites, “No, only big companies provide safety equipment.
We don’t get such equipment in reconstruction sites”. On the other hand, two other workers stated they
do not get PPE even in the bigger construction sites or while working with bigger companies. When we
asked the question to owner and contractors about providing PPE to the workers, they replied in the
negative. The owner responded, “We don’t provide any PPE. Boots and gloves are provided only if
required.” and he added upon a follow up question on the importance of PPE, “It is necessary for
everyone involved in construction sites but we haven’t provided any PPE yet. We never compel the
workers to work putting themselves on a physical risk. There might be chance of accident but one should
always be careful”. Contractor-01 also agreed that they usually do not provide safety equipment to the
worker saying, “No, we don’t provide other workers with the safety equipment or any other equipment”
453
while Contractor-02 understood the importance of PPE and said, “Safety is the must. It is necessary for
all workers & me. But, no attention has been paid to safety. Just like there is no provision of PPE
(helmets, boots)”. When the same question was asked to the engineer in charge, Engineer-04 expressed
his concern regarding safety issues and stated, “Obviously PPE is important. PPE can save from many
unwanted injuries and hazards. But unfortunately we were not provided with any. I wish we could make
the use of PPE mandatory on construction sites”.
5.3 Involvement of immigrant workers
Importing workers from other countries or regions is not a new scenario. Whenever there is a shortage
of workers in the local market or there is huge demand of workers in a place, the trend of immigrant
workers has been observed over the years. For instance, after Hurricane Katrina, involvement of a huge
number of immigrant workers was observed in Lousiana (Fletcher et al., 2006). Sometimes the workers
are reported to be skimped on their regular wages and rights (Lyons, 2009) and sometimes they are seen
to be having issues understanding the instruction due to different languages (Fletcher et al., 2006).
Nepal is a diverse country in terms of ethnicity and language. There are 125 ethnic groups in Nepal
having around 123 languages (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2011). Nepal being a multilingual country,
authors thought the involvement of immigrant workers in PDR sites might shade light on some of the
issues related to safety of the workers. One example can be not understanding the instructions in local
language or misinterpreting the meaning of the instruction thus putting themselves into risky situations.
Keeping that in mind, workers were asked about their origin and if they belonged to the area where they
are working. Three of the workers (Worker-01, Worker-02 and Worker-03) replied negatively and said
they were immigrant to that area. They also added that they moved to that area because there was need
of workers and they came looking for jobs. Upon asking about their language and if they were having
any difficulty understanding the instructions, Worker-01 replied, “I haven’t faced such issues till date.
As everyone working here speaks Nepali, I can clearly understand the instructions from the engineers
and contractors” and Worker-03 also replied in the similar fashion saying “"Nepali" is used so, no case
of language issues”. When the interviewer brought up the topic of immigrant workers being skimped
of their basic rights and discrimination in wages in comparison to local workers around the world,
Worker-04 responded “No, not really. We are not discriminated and the local workers and immigrant
workers work together as friends”. The other respondents also responded in a similar fashion stating
that there is generally no language issue even if the workers are from a different region having different
language. Supervisor-01 answered all the associated questions and said, “Yes I have worked with
immigrant people from other region. Recently some of our workers were from Terai Region but we did
not have any issues regarding language. Everyone understands Nepali. And all the workers are paid
equally”.
Usually owners and contractors are the stakeholders who hire workers, pay them and interact with
them the most. When we asked the owner and the contractors regarding the issues involving immigrant
workers, they also responded indifferently. The owner said, “There are immigrant workers in my site.
But there is no issue with interacting with them. And all the workers are equally paid. I pay all the
workers on the basis of what work they do not on their origin or language”. One of the contractor,
Contractor-02, himself being an immigrant responded that he has not faced any issues communicating
with anyone around him. His response was, “As I am a Newar, I have my own language. But, I do work
with any people where I have faced language issue. As we have common language "Nepali". So, there
is very rare case of language issue”. But Engineer-02 gave his response in difference to the others. He
responded that he had faced some language issues while working with the immigrant workers but only
if they don’t know Nepali. His response was, “Sometimes it is difficult as workers coming from Terai
speak only hindi or maithaili”. Therefore, when there is at least one common language among the
stakeholders, Nepali, they can overcome the issues associated with immigrant workers and their
language. But if they only understand other languages such as Hindi or Maithaili, issues might arise
regarding the understanding of instructions and the means of communication.
5.4 Safety training
The importance of safety training extends beyond a worker's introduction to the job. It helps a worker
when his/her job changes or when working conditions change. Without an understanding of safety
practices related to his/her job, a worker will be at a higher risk for workplace injury, illness or death.
454
According to OSHA, training is an important tool for informing workers about workplace hazards and
controls so they can work more safely and be more productive; needless to mention, to provide workers
with a greater understanding of the health and safety
Usually all the professionals get some sort of training related to their field of work at some point of
their career. Considering that, our questions regarding safety training were very specific. Respondents
were asked if they have received any training on safety in their career or prior to joining a PDR site. All
four workers responded in the negative that they haven’t received any kind of training prior to start
working on PDR site neither there was any requirement for training. National Society for Earthquake
Technology – Nepal (NSET) has been providing training to the masons and construction technicians
but none of them on safety issues. One of the engineers, Engineer-04 responded, “Yes. I got training
from NRA (Nepal Reconstruction Authority). But not on safety. I was trained on building earthquake
resistant houses and training the masons” but Supervisor-02 said, “No, I was not given any special
training for PDR works. However, we worked together with the Red Cross Society and I got the basic
safety education there”. When we asked the workers and supervisors about their opinion on training
and whom they think should provide them with the required safety training, Supervisor-03 pointed out
that the Municipality and government organizations should provide them with the training and Worker-
03 thought the Contractor should be liable for providing them with necessary safety training. When the
interviewer brought this to the contractor’s attention, contractor was seemed reluctant about the
thoughts of the worker. He said, “No, we do not give any special training to workers. However, I have
got basic safety training from Khwopa College few years ago”.
5.5 Safety concerns before and after the earthquake
Construction workers’ health and safety has always been an important matter of focus. Rigorous studies
have been done on new methodologies, technologies and trainings to enhance the safety at construction
sites. However, in Nepal, for some reason, workers’ health and safety has not been addressed properly.
No significant training on safety of workers has taken place in Nepal either. Contractor-01, having 30
years of experience in the field, reported that there has not been any significant activity regarding the
construction workers health and safety during his career. Upon asking what happens if there is any
accident and who is liable for the compensation, he replied, “The contractor and the owner both provide
with the medical need when a worker faces any accident”. The owner also supported the idea saying
on the same note, “I, being an owner should be responsible for whatever accident happens at my site”.
When the interviewer asked the engineers about the safety concern before and after the disaster took
place, Engineer-04 pointed out a significant point, which may be affecting the safety issues after the
disasters. He explained that after the disaster there is a rush to build the houses back. Owners and
contractors both want the work to be done quickly and that may put the workers into a situation where
they prioritize speed of work over their well-being. He said, “Yes there is actually a rush to finish the
work. And you know what, may be that is another reason which makes the PDR sites more risker to
work on. Everybody is in a rush to complete the work. And when you rush for something, it’s not going
to be perfect and you are exposed to hazards more often.” When the interviewer asked the workers if
they are being pushed by the owner or contractor to finish the jobs early or ahead of schedule, three of
the workers replied in the affirmative. But they said they are also being paid additionally for their extra
hour works.
6. Conclusion
The analysis of these semi-structured interviews we conducted with the Owner, General Contractors,
Engineers, Supervisors and Workers from Bhaktapur revealed the construction workers safety situation
in Bhakapur, Nepal. This analysis showed a picture not only of Bhaktapur but also of Nepal in terms of
workers’ health and safety. From the discussions we had with different stakeholders of PDR, they
presented their different perspective on the same issues. The questionnaires were divided into five
categories based on the topic of discussion. Following the main discussion topic, follow up questions
were thrown at the participants and in some cases their perspectives were found to be similar and they
agree to certain issues, for instance, all the respondents agree that PDR is different than regular
construction. And they identified some key factors how PDR sites are different. Factors such as lack of
455
workers, time constraints, poor management, lack of proper working space, and hazardous debris are
some of the main contributor that makes PDR different from regular construction.
Using immigrant workers and skimping them from their basic rights has been reported in several
cases all over the world (Fletcher et al., 2006). But our study revealed a different scenario in Bhaktapur,
Nepal. The immigrant workers reported to be treated equally as local labors and in some cases they
even get paid more than the local workers. Despite of having different native languages, they did not
face any problem communicating with the other stakeholders because of a common national language.
The owners and contractors both stood by to say that there is no discrimination between local and
immigrant workers irrespective of the circumstances.
The respondents also agreed upon the importance of using personal protective equipment (PPE)
and having safety trainings prior to joining any construction work, especially PDR. The workers and
supervisors expressed their concern saying they receive neither any PPE nor any safety training. The
stakeholders who are responsible (owner and contractors) for providing PPE and safety training also
concurred to the fact that they do not provide any of those to the employees. While according the Nepal
Labour Act 2074 (2017) chapter 12, employers are responsible for providing necessary safety
equipment and training to the workers and they are completely responsible for the safety and well-being
of the workers. Our study reveals a lack of enough PPE usage in Bhaktapur, Nepal. It is also worthwhile
to note that there is no specific safety training guide or a list and specification of PPE available to be
provided to the workers. According to the Nepal Labour Act 2074, the employers (owners and
contractors) are supposed to come up with rules and regulations to ensure the health and safety of the
workers based on the nature of the work. Authors believe that a concrete formulation of safety training
and guideline for providing safety equipment would definitely help the employers to follow the new
Labor Act of Nepal, thus ensuring safety of the workers.
The previous Labor Act of Nepal did not have any provision of the health and safety of the workers,
which reveals why there no attention has been given to the health and safety of the workers. The
respondents of this study also reflected upon the fact that safety of the workers was never a concern for
the employers before the disaster. Now, after the disaster, though there is a new Labor Act in Nepal,
the concern for the safety of the workers remains unchanged. The Government of Nepal and the people’s
concern is majorly towards the robustness and resilience of the structures after the disaster. However,
there is no provision for the safety of the workers during PDR (NRA, 2016). While the government
looks at the bigger picture of creating a more robust and resilient Nepal, we look at the smaller pictures
where lives are still at stake on the construction sites during the reconstruction phase. We believe every
accident is preventable and every life is worth saving. Paying attention to the workers’ health and safety
during post-disaster reconstruction is as important as making the structures more resilient.
7. Limitation and Future Works

There are several potential limitations of this study. These data represent the views of a few individuals
at a specific time and place. Limited qualitative data are not usually generalizable to larger populations
(Roelofs et al. 2011). Additional limitations of the study include: uneven respondents from alternative
perspectives, possible errors of translation from Nepali to English, lack of verbal cues for interpretation,
possible lingual and cultural misinterpretation, and unreflected bias of the interpreter on the results.
The authors look forward to keep exploring the workers’ health and safety during PDR in Nepal.
Interviews need to be conducted at different places to support or disprove the findings of this study.
After identifying the contributing factors to health and safety of the workers in PDR, a safety guideline
can be proposed to the government and the concerned organizations to make the workplace safer for
the construction workers.
Acknowledgement
Authors would like to thank Ms. Kiran Shilpakar, Ms. Anjana Karki and Mr. Shairan Twanabasu, undergraduate
students of the Department of Civil Engineering at Khwopa Engineering College for conducting and interviews
with the local participants and transcribing the interviews.
456
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Temporary Shelter and Reconstruction Status of Taulachhen Tole,

Bhaktapur
Srijana Prajapati1, and Mohan Moorti Panta2
Abstract
This project presents the condition of shelter environment following the event of earthquake April
2015 (2072 Baisakh 12) and the present reconstruction status of Taulachhen Tole, Bhaktapur. Many
people are still staying at damaged house or temporary shelter. It is found from the present survey that
most of the affected households didn't have good shelter at the first emergency stage. Most of the
households moved to permanent type houses which is their own second home or of their relative’s.
The data shows 33% of damaged houses are yet to start reconstruction. The major reason for not
reconstructing the house is lack of financial resource. The households who have done reconstruction
either sold their land or mortgaged their fixed property. This study shows that reconstruction pace is
much slower than it was expected.
Keywords: Nepal earthquake 2015; Reconstruction status; temporary shelter; Bhaktapur; Taulachhen
1. Introduction
The present study area-Taulachhen, which is located at the eastern part of Bhaktapur is one of the
quarters that suffered serious damage during the Gorkha Earthquake-2015. The area of study with 230
houses had 52% full damage and 24 % partial damage. After two years of Nepal earthquake 2015,
many people are still living in temporary shelter. To know how they lived during two years this
survey was conducted to know the state of living environment in temporary shelters. An earthquake of
magnitude 7.6 with epicentre at Barpak, Gorkha district, struck Kathmandu Valley on April 25 at
11:56 local time. It made serious impact to rural and urban areas of central east region of the country
including Kathmandu valley causing 8,970 deaths and 22,302 injuries. In addition, 773,095 buildings
were fully damaged and 298,998 buildings partially damaged. In Bhaktapur Municipality, 333 people
died and 2,101 were injured. 28,508 buildings were fully damaged and 9,054 buildings partially
damaged (Gorkha Bhukampa, 2016). Government of Nepal accepted relief materials like food, cloths,
medicines, and tents and tarpaulin sheets from foreign countries. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry
of Local Development and Ministry of Urban Development also arranged relief materials. Tents and
tarpaulin sheets were distributed to all affected districts of the country. Inside Bhaktapur, 350 tents
and 40,174 tarpaulins were distributed (Nepal earthquake, 2015). These were the arrangement for the
immediate shelter after earthquake. Not long after, two types of cash grant namely, for the
construction of temporary shelter (Nrs. 30,000 for those who lost a member, NR. 15,000 for ‘red card’
holder and Nrs. 3,000 for ‘yellow card’ holder) and winter cash grant (NR 10,000) was provided for
the affected households. For reconstruction of the fully damaged houses, the owner was eligible to
receive a grant assistance of 200,000 rupees which in course of time increased to 300,000
(reliefweb.int, 2015). This grant was to be in three-instalments. First instalment was disbursed at the
initial agreement, the second after completion of the plinth beam of the building, and finally the third
instalment was to be given after completion of the building.
1
Department of Urban Design and Conservation, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur,
Nepal, jane3sp@gmail.com.
2
Postgraduate Department of Urban Design and Conservation, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur,
Nepal, sribahal@gmail.com
458
2. Existing Studies on Evacuation and Shelter

Records on the houses that suffered different degree of damage are available from local governments
such as rural and urban municipal administration. The data were primarily required to administer the
financial assistance to the affected households. However, studies on the shelter situations following
the earthquake are not extensive. One of such initial studies is of Bajracharya and Shakya (2016) on
evacuation sites in Bhaktapur. The study showed the gap between the reality of shelter sites used after
the 2015 earthquake and the classified evacuations sites by the government in the city area. In
addition, the study also gives a picture of different degree of facilities available in the respective site
that varied considerably affecting the comfort and livelihood in the temporary shelter environment.
The government both the central and the local, have not so far developed any standard with respect
to the size and quality of the temporary shelter and the environment facility. Soon after the earthquake
various types of shelter could be seen sprouting in the open fields and in the courtyards and squares of
the city quarters. Government offered 15,000 Rs. specially to build the temporary shelter, and it
specially focused on the one room CGI box shed. This was meant to be the shelter until the rebuilding
of the damaged house or until the affected household chose to shift to another accommodation. How
such temporary shelters were used and how long the households utilize this temporary facility remains
to be studied.
A study of Byasi, Bhaktapur was done by Sukupayo (2017). At the time of her survey (after one
and half year), she found thirty sheds at Indrayani evacuation space. But this evacuation area
accommodated more than 2000 people at the time of earthquake. Initially there were used two types
(Fig 1a and 1b) of tents donated by Red Cross and Nepal Army. Later they added CGI sheets over the
tent roof. Layout of the space was done linearly and toilet services were provided at the periphery of
the land.
Fig.1(a). Type A shelter at Indrayani, Bhaktapur (Sukupayo,2017)
459
Fig. 1(b). Type B/C shelter at Indrayani, Bhaktapur (Sukupayo, 2017)
3. The Survey Study

The purpose of survey work was to know about the state of reconstruction and temporary shelter
of the earthquake affected households. For the sample survey, a neighborhood quarter
in ‘Taulachhen tole’ was selected. The quarter is located at the eastern end
of the core city of Bhaktapur. This site has been mapped in detail and studied
in the recent past providing information on physical and social environment of the locality (KhEC,
2012). A study conducted immediately after the earthquake on the proposed reconstruction
models in the area was published (Pant & Shrestha, 2016). This data served
as the base map for the present survey.
For the present study, a questionnaire survey on the affected households was conducted
accompanied by interview with people inquiring the situations of shelter following the event of
earthquake. Since this survey was conducted in 2017 August, two years later following the event of
earthquake, the perception of the residents at present might differ with what could have been
at the time when the affected residents were living in shelters. Nonetheless, it
is assumed that the survey reflects the situation of the time without much distortion. The physical
aspects such as shelter location, shelter type and the shelter facilities should be a reliable data that
can be compared and checked with the evaluation by the residents on the shelter situation of that time.
4. Shelter Environment
4.1. Damage situation of Taulachhen
The study of KheC, 2013 records that in the study area, 26.3% of the houses were of traditional
construction in brick and mud, 56.7% that underwent certain modification in
opening, partitions and floor addition, 14.7% of modern construction material that used cement
mortar, and 2.3% ruins (Bajracharya et al., 2016) . The study further shows that
many of the buildings were in need of maintenance. Most
of the old traditional buildings were damaged by earthquake.
In present survey of the study area 52% of the houses were fully damaged, 24% suffered partial
damage and 13% were repairable. 11% of the building stock that included RCC framed structure and
some with traditional construction remained intact. It is to be noted that the old traditional houses of
more than a century old but which were maintained well and did not break old
configuration for property division survived the present earthquake.
4.2. The temporary shelter phases and their environment

The day of earthquake was Saturday; Most of the residents were busy in their own home. Our
460
survey shows 38% staying at home or surroundings. 10% were celebrating dewali feast (Fig:
2). Following the earthquake people were afraid to stay at their own house. But gradually, after
some month they returned to their own house though damaged. There are households who already had
a new house at other places moved there. But those who didn’t have houses to go back are still
staying at temporary shelter.
N= 223
Fig. 2(b). Resident's activity location prior to the event of 2015 April 25 earthquake.
For a few days immediately after the earthquake, 70% households had their shelter arrangement
made in individual manner. The rest of the 30% households lived in collective shelters. Most of such
shelters at open space had only tarpaulin roof over the head.
Following the emergency period, the affected households of Taulachhen shifted their shelter
either near to their house or to their own house if intact. Nepal Government initially offered tent but
which was very much limited. It later gave Rs. 15,000 for red card holders that are those whose house
was rendered as inhabitable. This money was supposed to cover the expense to buy CGI cover sheets
for a box of size 12’X13’ (Abstengineering.com, 2015).
Fig. (3a) Surveyed households of Taulachhen living in the 1st Fig (3b). Surveyed households of Taulachhen
shelter type. living in the 2nd shelter type.
E
G D C
B
F
Fig. 3(c) Surveyed households of Taulachhen living in the 3rd
shelter type. Fig. 3(d) Collective Emergency shelter locations
used by residents of Taulachhen.
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Fig. 3(e). Shelter location of earthquake victim of Taulachhen (during 1st, 2nd and 3rd shelter)
Fig. 4. Types of material used for shelter during (during 1st, 2nd and 3rd shelter)
Because of poor performance of CGI sheet in summer most of the people shifted to more
permanent type of shelter, which was either at their own permanent house (25.6%) outside of the core
town or at the ground floor of their own damaged house (36%), demolishing upper floors. Those
whose house were fully collapsed and couldn't rebuild the house either shifted to the rented place or
are still staying at temporary shelters of CGI sheets (fig: 3c and 3e). A classification on shelter type
and time period spent by the affected households is given by Pant & Prajapati, (2019).
4.3. Temporary shelter and basic facilities

Since there was no preparation for emergency shelter, people stayed out in places open to sky. Most
of the people spent more than a week. Soon sheds of tarpaulin and tent were arranged as a measure for
temporary shelter. But because of the poor living environment, the affected households moved from
such shelters to the second type and then to the third type. Some of the stories of earthquake victims
were published by local newspaper 'Majdoor Daily' 10. Jayaram Koju told his experience of an
earthquake. His house was inside a small alley of Taulachhen tole. But he was staying at
Chyamhasing (nearby market place), felt shaking & saw a row of houses collapsed by the earthquake.
A road of core city of Bhaktapur was blocked by debris of collapsed buildings. He ran over the debris
where he could hear people from debris, “please save me”. He found his family were safe at the
ground floor. Feeling unsafe inside the house, they went to nearby chowk. Again feeling the
aftershock, they went to the larger nearby Dattatraya Square and then
went to the premises of Khwopa Engineering College, Libali. They spent their night
within the college compound Jayaram then returned back to help other
earthquake victims inside of the core city (Majdoor Daily, 2015).
The present survey makes inquiry to the residents on the availability of the basic facilities such
as electricity (fig: 5a, 5b), water supply (fig: 6a, 6b) and sanitation (fig: 7) on the shelters they lived
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at the time after the earthquake, or continue their life in these shelters.
Fig. 5(a) electricity facility at 1st, 2nd & 3rd shelter Fig. 5(b). lack of electricity at tent
Following the earthquake, the power was cut off for three days in earthquake affected areas. Nepal,
even in normal times was under load shedding due to which in the dry season such as April-May the
country remained dark for even up to 18 hours. The power shortage affected not only the lighting
condition to the shelter but also to the supply of water. Since the main line supply was meagre,
drinking water was served by private sector that drew water from deep boring and transported to the
individual households and localities. In the areas surveyed, before earthquake household had private
tap (KhEC, 2012). For those who don’t have piped line to their home, there was traditional place—
the stone water spouts (lohahiti) and well. But after earthquake the residents suffered from getting
drinking water. Residents continued to get water from nearby community taps, nearby houses or went
to their own well besides the collapsed house to draw water.
Fig. 6(a). water facility at 1st, 2nd & 3rd shelter Fig. 6(b). lack of water at tent
Toilet facilities were also not available to about one third of such affected households during the
immediate emergency shelter phase. The situation however improves in the second stage of the
shelter. Some people made temporary type toilet and some used own damaged building’s toilet at
second and third phase of shelter.
Fig. 7. Toilet facility at 1st, 2nd & 3rd shelter
4.4. General perception of the shelter and seasonal environment
The Gorkha Earthquake happened in April - a warm and dry season in Kathmandu Valley. In the first
type of emergency shelter, people (43%) had bad condition due to the fact that they had no safe place
to take shelter. The place lacked electricity, water, and toilet. Later, they overcome the bad situations
by protecting themselves from weather by shifting the shelter to their damaged houses. Following
chart shows the condition of people in summer, rainy and winter season.
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Fig. 8- Condition of people in summer at 1st, 2nd & 3rd shelter
According to Thehimalayantimes.com (2015), in August 27, after four months of the earthquake,
Hanumante river flooded the southern plains of Bhaktapur. The shelter at Maheshwori football
ground which has been a home for over 850 quake survivors living in over 46 tents was a pool of
water one meter deep (fig: 9b). The inmates fled at early morning hours when aware of the situation.
Such situation could have been be forestalled if due consideration was taken of earlier flood history of
the area. The flood only exasperated the miserable situation of the affected families.
Fig. 9(a) Condition of people in rainy season at 1st, 2nd & 3rd shelter
Fig. 9(b). photo at maheshwori ground during flood (THT,2015)

Comparing to summer and rainy season most earthquake victim suffered more in winter season.
While the shelter gets substantial improvement from the first transitional one, the environment is
perceived as worse than the first shelter in the cold winter. The reason is the indiscriminating use of
CGI sheet enveloping the shelter from its side and the top.
Fig. 10(a) Condition of people in winter at 1st, 2nd & 3rd shelter Fig. 10(b). CGI sheet shelter shows bad
condition of victims
Provision of food is an important aspect of consideration for a good shelter environment. At initial
stage of earthquake food supply was managed in communal manner. Later the households began to
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manage in individual way.
Fig. 11. Management of food during 1st, 2nd and 3rd shelter
The chart (Fig: 12) shows overall perception of the shelter environment of earthquake affected
families of Taulachhen quarter. The opinion of the residents ‘adjust’ expresses that the residents
accepted the situation as a compulsion. Half of the households express the need of much improvement
in their shelter environment. Yet, it is interesting to note that despite apparently the poor shelter
situation, one third of the households in the first emergency shelters, and a half in the second and third
stage do make a positive evaluation of the shelter situation.
Fig. 12. Shelter Residents’ opinion on facilities in 1st, 2nd and 3rd shelter
5. Present Status of Temporary Shelter

There are fifty-six households (25.11%) still staying at temporary house or ground floor of
damaged three years after the earthquake. Inquiry was made to the neighbor on the present mode of
accommodation of the households if not available at the time of survey.
Since the households were also using their damaged house in other ways, the inquiry focused on
the place used for sleeping. The people who answered that they stay in their existing house were
staying at fully damaged houses. These houses were not totally collapsed but suffered considerable
damage requiring reconstruction, whereas 8 households dismantled upper floors and lived in the
ground floor. And there were 41 partially damaged houses of which twelve were used for sleeping
purpose, while seven of them have rented house to others for the same purpose.
In a total of fully damaged 115 dwelling units, partially damaged 53 and repairable 29 houses, only
44 houses are under reconstruction, 11 are on the process of repair and 6 are planning for
reconstruction and 8 are planning for repair (Fig: 13 and 14 ).
N = 63
N= 85
Fig 13 : Reconstruction status of Damaged houses Fig 14 : Present status of Damaged houses
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The survey of approximate cost of reconstruction of the dwelling unit is costly compared to the
economic status of people at Taulachhen. The survey shows that the people who had done
reconstruction either borrowed loan or mortgaged their property, or sold land for the reconstruction of
their houses.
Fig 15a, 15b : Photos of reconstruction status of houses.

The grant from government is nominal and one cannot start the reconstruction if they do not have
any extra financial resource such as bank loan or the selling of their landed property. The approximate
cost , according to the survey, is one to 2 million Rs spent by five house owners (19%), two to three
million by nine house owners (33%), three to four million by four house owners (15%), and four
million spent by nine house owner (33%). As the total grant given by government is 300,000 Rs.
seemed to be very less in the proportion of the dwelling reconstruction cost. Another data on income
source shows only nine (27%) owner spent their reconstruction expenses by their own resource;
otherwise remaining twenty-three (72%) took loan for reconstruction. 17 owners (63%) mortgage
their land or other property. Those who didn't mortgage \did sell their property. Among thirty such
owners eighteen (60%) sold the land. Among the owners who started the reconstruction, 50 (65%)
had taken first instalment from government. Second instalment is taken by 14 households and nobody
has so far received the third instalment in this area. Thirteen owners who already started the
reconstruction did not take any grant from government.
In our inquiry on the reason for not reconstructing the damaged houses, 62% replied the lack of
financial resource and other issues such as unsettled boundary, property division and plot size and
shape. Fig 16a and 16b shows certain issues that require solution if the reconstruction is to take place.
N = 45
Fig 16a: Percentile distribution of damaged houses facing problems on reconstruction
Fig 16b: Spatial distribution of damaged houses facing problems on reconstruction

Most of the households (43 unit- 25.6% of the full and partial damaged houses) who are not
staying at existing house have had their own house prior to the event of earthquake. This is one reason
that this group of household is not interested in reconstruction. Only nine owners had reconstructed
the house after earthquake at new place. Still twenty households in this group (Fig: 17a, 17b) are in
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temporary structure.
Merging all of the data we can get the total state of reconstruction. Fig 17a shows how many
people have reconstructed their houses at new place or at existing place. Fig 17b shows the locations
of them.
N=230
Fig 17a: Percentile distribution of present state Fig 17b: Spatial distribution of present
state
6. Conclusion
Most of the affected households moved to permanent type houses either in their own second home or
found accommodation at their relative’s home before they could move to their own rebuilt house. The
situation and shelter facilities were improved gradually. Those who are still in temporary structure
managed facilities like electricity, water and sanitation at temporary structure.
In the study area of Taulachhen altogether 76 houses has to be rebuilt, 146 household have
permanent houses by the time of this survey study. Most of the people either sold their land or
mortgaged their landed property to reconstruct their damaged house. A major reason on not
constructing the house is lack of financial resource; the next is legal issues on ownership.
References
Abstengineering.com. (2015). Abst. 10 May 2015. Retrieved from http://abstengineering.com/corrugated-sheet-
vault-transitional-shelter-for-earthquake-victim-in-nepal/.
Bajracharya, A. & Shakya, N. (2016). Evacuation Space– A Field Study in Bhaktapur.
Proceedings of International Conference on Earthquake and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, 24-
26 April, 2016, pp 76-86, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur.
Gorkha Bhukampa, (2016). Anubhab ra Sikai. Nepal Sarkar, Griha mantralaya, Bipad byabasthapan
mahashakha, 2073VS Baisakha. Retrieved from http://drrportal.gov.np/document.
KhEC (2012). Conservation study of Taulachhen Neighborhood. Conservation Studio Report, Department
of Architecture, Khwopa Engineering College.
Koju, J. (2015). “Sabai Drisya Bhayanak Sapana Jastai, Bhukampa Samsaran.” Majdoor Daily 16 Baisakha
2072VS.
Nepal. Ministry of home affairs, (2015). Nepal earthquake 2072: Situation update as of 11th May. Retrieved
from http://drrportal.gov.np/document/category/reports.
Pant, M. M. & Shrestha S. (2016). Perception of Residents on Housing Alternatives in the 2015 Gorkha
Earthquake in Proceedings of International Conference on Earthquake and Post Disaster Reconstruction
Planning, 24-26 April, 2016, pp 116-126, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur.
Pant, M. & Prajapati S. (2019). Transient Shelter Stages and Post-disaster Shelter Provision—
A Case Study of Bhaktapur in Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Earthquake and
Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, 25-27 April, 2019, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur.
Reliefweb.int. (2015). Report from Government of Nepal. 01 Jun 2015. Retrieved
from https://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/post-earthquake-relief-rehabilitation-and-reconstruction-measures-
undertaken-government.
Sukupayo, M. (2017). Study Of Condition Of People Living In Ward -10 Byasi After Earthquake. MSc field
study, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur. 2017. (Unpublished document)
Thehimalayantimes.com. (2015). THT online. 27 August 2015 2:03 pm on: Kathmandu. Retrieved
from http://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/early-morning-rain-inundates-at-least-60-houses-in-
bhaktapur/.
467
Observation of Reconstruction Situation in the Old Town Area in

Bhaktapur Damaged by the 2015 Earthquake
Yoichi Mukai1, Masato Takeuchi2, Hayato Hoshino 3, Naohiko Yamamoto4, Masaya Masui5,
Anri Miyauchi6 and Ram Prasad Suwal7
Abstract
This paper reports about the reconstruction situation of the damaged buildings in the eastern part of
the old town area of Bhaktapur as of October 2018, about three and a half years after the Gorkha
Earthquake in 2015. Authors have been conducting an annual observation of residential buildings
placed in this area after the earthquake. The first field survey to observe damage state of about 2,000
buildings in this area was carried out in October 2015. As a result of this damaged buildings survey,
there were some particular zones where lots of severely-damaged buildings concentrated, in the
eastern end part of Bhaktapur. The latest field survey in 2018 focused on quantifying the
reconstruction situation from the earthquake-destroyed buildings in this area; thus buildings
corresponding to a new category of "rebuilt building" in the damage level classification were
observed. The survey area was divided into ten blocks along the streets to consider area-specified
differences in reconstruction situations. As a result, it is assured that the reconstruction situation was
different in brock by block regardless of the damage rates.
Moreover, from the building observation in the rebuilding process, serious issues to produce
vulnerable structures were found out. As one of the typical problems, there were not a few buildings
constructed in very narrow frontage areas regardless of the surrounding building exists or not. Some
of these structural issues about new constructions are also discussed in this report.
Keywords: masonry building; reconstruction situation; damage level classification; earthquake damage
1. Introduction
About half a year after the Gorkha Earthquake in 2015, the authors conducted a building damage
observation in the eastern area of the old town in Bhaktapur. This field survey could clarify the
existence of particular zones where lots of seriously-damaged buildings concentrated. This locational
feature was depicted as the damaged-buildings distribution map, where the colors of the buildings on
the map corresponded to each category classification about the damage degree of the building. The
most seriously-damaged zone was placed from the east-end part to the south-end part in all the
observation area. In October 2018, three years after the earthquake, to investigate the reconstruction
situation in the same area, reconstructed buildings of a new category "rebuilt building" were observed
and the recovering degree in the area from the damage due to the disaster in 2015 was evaluated. The
quantitative survey of the reconstruction situation as of October in 2018 seems to contribute to
discussing how much buildings are required to rebuild and how much housings are needed to supply
for the local people. In this series of the survey, we counted the buildings to classify into each
category and reserved the configuration of each building by taking photographs. The comparison of
building photographs taken in each year is also useful to consider and investigate building
reconstructing process in the area. In this paper, reconstruction situations of damaged-buildings and
the related issues to produce vulnerable structures are also discussed.
1 Department of Architecture, Kobe University, Japan, ymukai@port.kobe-u.ac.jp

2 Department of Architecture, Kobe University, Japan, 177t038t@stu.kobe-u.ac.jp
3 Department of Architecture, Kobe University, Japan, 181T047T@stu.kobe-u.ac.jp
4 Faculty of Human Life and Environment, Nara Women's University, Japan, yamamoton@cc.nara-wu.ac.jp
5 Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University, Japan, masui.masaya.7c@kyoto-u.ac.jp
6 Hokuden Engineering Consultants. Co., Ltd., Japan, hush-hush@skyblue.ocn.ne.jp
7 Department of Architecture, Nepal Engineering College, Nepal, ramps@nec.edu.np
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2. Observation of the Damaged Buildings in 2015

On April 25 in 2015, the Mw.7.8 Gorkha earthquake occurred in Nepal. About half a year later, the
authors conducted the first survey to observe damaged-buildings distribution for most of the buildings
placed in the eastern area of the old town in Bhaktapur. Each building in the survey area is estimated
and classified its damage degree, and then these are marked on the area map using the different colors
according to the categorization which is the four damage categories as shown in Table 1. The
damaged-building distribution map is depicted in Fig. 1. In this survey, the target buildings to observe
damage situation are limited to ones having two stories or more; thus buildings of flat houses or
warehouses and pergola-type "Pattie" were excepted from this survey.
In general, for determining damage-degree of masonry buildings in an earthquake, the Damage
Grade of the EMS-98 (European Macro-seismic Scale 1998) is well-known as one of the standard
indicates. In our survey in 2015, the authors used the simplified indicates of damage degree modifying
the EMS-98, because an available time for the field survey was limited; thus items of inspection were
necessary to narrow down. Correspondence of this study's categorization to the Damage Grade of the
EMS-98 is considered as follows; Category-A = Grade 5, Category-B = Grade 4, Category-C = Grade
1-3, these are for ordinary masonry buildings without any RC frames. Besides, Category-D = Grade
1-2 is introduced to classify reinforced concrete frame (RCFM) building (including every type of RC
frame-supports for masonry buildings, in specific, slabs, beams, columns or those combinations).
Table 1. Categorization of damage grade of buildings in the survey in 2015

Collapse completely or remain less than three stories in the lower parts of the
Category-A
building (Destroyed at the upper parts than the third story).
Remain more than three stories in the lower parts of the building (Destroyed at
Category-B any story or roof at the upper than fourth story).
Remain whole original stories before the earthquake and the roof (regardless of
Category-C
structural damages, i.e., Severe / Slight / Moderate / Negligible damages).
New masonry buildings with a reinforced concrete frame (RCFM) (including
Category-D
Moderate / Slight / Negligible structural damages).
Table 2. Number of buildings in each category

Category Colored in Fig. 1 Number of buildings Ratio to a total number
A Red 772 39.0%
B Orange 171 8.6%
C Green 745 37.7%
D Blue 290 14.7%
Total - 1978 100%
The building numbers classified to each category are summarized in Table 2. It is assured that
about a half of buildings surveyed in this area were the state of severely-collapse (Category-A and B)
and the other half could keep whole original stories before the earthquake (Category-C and D). As
seen in Fig. 1, it is found that some zones located through the east-end part to the south-end part in the
surveyed area, where lots of severely-damaged buildings concentrated.
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：Category-A
：Category-B
：Category-C
：Category-D
Dattatreya Square
Jella Galli path
Suryamadhi Square
Tahamalla Galli path
Zhhabo Galli path
Pukhuchha way
Fig. 1. Distribution of damaged-buildings in the survey area
3. Categorization of Building Condition for the Survey in 2018

In October 2018, about three years after the first survey for the damaged-buildings distribution, the
reconstruction situation survey was conducted in the same area. Categorization of building state is
proposed for this aim as mentioned in Table 3. This classification is considered by adding a new
category of "rebuilt building" to the damage situation classification used in the survey in 2015.
Category-A0, A1, and A2 are the modified classifications of damaged-buildings which were
mentioned as Category-A (as defined in Table 1) during the survey in 2015. The subscription numbers
0, 1, and 2 in these categories correspond to the number of remaining stories at the time of 2018 and
include the buildings dismantled after 2015. Category-B3 is the modified classifications of the other
all buildings which remain three or more stories after the earthquake, and these were classified as
Category-B, C, and D (as defined in Table 1) during the survey in 2015. On the other hand, Category-
R corresponding to buildings rebuilt after the earthquake is newly included to classify both under
construction and completed-construction ones. In the same way with the previous survey in 2015, the
buildings of flat houses or warehouses, pergola-type "Pattie" and temporary tents are also excluded
from this survey.
4. Investigation for Reconstruction Situation

4.1 Consideration of current situation about the entire area
The results of the building situation survey as of 2018 are depicted in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Fig. 2 shows
the distribution map by the building reconstruction situation survey in 2018. Fig. 3 is the bar graph
representing the building numbers in each category. The total number of observed buildings is 1813,
but it is just less than the number at the time of the damaged-building survey in 2015. Because some
buildings were rebuilt newly across the adjacent sites where plural buildings placed initially, or the
temporary flats or tents installed in the area where the buildings collapsed are not counted from the
survey in 2018. In all the area of the survey in 2018, there were 310 reconstruction buildings. The
reconstruction ratio to the total observed buildings was 17.1%.
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Table 3. Categorization for reconstruction situation survey in 2018
Description of Category-A0
Example of buildings classified as Category-A0
(Category-A in the survey in 2015)
The current state is the vacant lot where the building
has been already removed, including the state of
dismantling after the earthquake due to severe
building damage.
The building which collapsed at the part upper than
the second story and only the first story remains
currently, including the building that has been
removed its damaged-part leaving the first story.
The building which collapsed at the part upper than
the third story and only the two bottom stories remain
currently, including the building that has been
removed its damaged-part leaving the lower two
stories.
Description of Category-B3
Example of building classified as Category-B3
(Category-B, C and D in the survey in 2015)
All buildings that remain three or more stories during
the earthquake regardless of their damage grade,
including RC-framed masonry building constructed
before the earthquake. The temporarily rebuilt
buildings by traditional way, which have currently
three or more stories but were classified to Category-
A just after the earthquake, is also included in this
category.
Description of Category-R
Example of buildings classified as Category-R
(New category for the survey in 2018)
Buildings rebuilt after the earthquake as the RC-
framed masonry construction, including both under
construction and construction-completed buildings.
Category-B3 in this survey include the buildings in the negligible or moderate damage condition,
which seem to be a low necessity of reconstructions. The other damage-level buildings of the
Category-B3, even if the upper part of the building was partially damaged, the urgent requirement of
reconstruction seem to be slightly light rather than the building condition which is classified to
Category-A0, A1 or A2. In practical cases, lots of severely-damaged buildings whose roof or upper
part stories were destroyed are temporarily repaired using tin roofs. From this viewpoint, Category-A0,
A1, and A2 are regarded as the buildings of the high priority for reconstruction. Thus the
reconstruction ratio is also estimated among the buildings of the Categories -A0, A1, A2, and R. Fig.
4 shows the results about the bar graph of the building numbers of each category except for buildings
of the Category-B3. As seen in this figure, the reconstructing buildings are accounting for around 30%.
471
Major cases to rebuild buildings are the reconstruction from the severely-collapsed buildings
remaining less than two stories including destroyed ones during the earthquake. However, a few
minor cases that the buildings remaining three or more stories are also dismantled and reconstructed
could be observed. Actually, among 310 buildings classified to Category-R in 2018, the buildings of
the Category-A in 2015 occupy 69%, but the other minor cases reach to 31%.
Fig. 2. Distribution map by the building reconstruction situation survey in 2018
Fig. 3. The rate of buildings classified to each category
Fig. 4. The rate of buildings classified to each category excluding Category-B3
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4.2 Current situation by the divided block
The survey results in 2018 are compared by blocks which are divided into ten parts by street or path in
all the survey area to investigate the locality of the reconstruction situations. These ten blocks are
named by the character through "a" to "j" as depicted in Fig. 5. The rate distribution by the building
situation category in each area is shown in Fig. 6(a). As the same viewpoint for the buildings in the all
survey area, the rate distribution by the building situation category except for Category-B3 is also
shown in Fig. 6(b). Concentrating zones of the severely-damaged buildings which were clarified by
the damage distribution survey in 2015 correspond to the blocks d, f, h and i in Fig. 5. Among these
blocks, the reconstructing buildings in the blocks d, f, and i are reaching to nearly 40%, while the
reconstructing buildings in the block h only constitute about 24% according to Fig. 5(b). The block h
is the zone which is considered the most severely destroyed one in all the survey areas.
When considering the reconstruction buildings in the blocks placed in the north part, the
reconstruction ratio is not so many in the block a, b and c as seen in Fig. 5(a). However, the
reconstruction buildings in the blocks a are occupying about 40% without the number of Category-B3
as seen in Fig. 5(b), and this situation is different from the block b and c. As like there results, there is
a variation of the reconstruction ratio among blocks. The most substantial value of the ratio is
observed at the block f, and the smallest value of the ratio is observed at the block c. There is about
three times difference of the ratio between at the block c and f.
(a) The rate of buildings classified to each category
(b) The rate of buildings classified to each category excluding Category-B3

Fig. 6. Current building situations by divided block
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Fig. 5. Blocks division in the survey area (giving character through "a" to "j")
5. Individual Issues and Specific Examples in Reconstruction Processes

While taking statistics about the reconstruction situation of buildings in the survey area, the temporal
repairing processes of the damaged buildings are also observed. These state changes are investigated
by comparing photographs of each building taken by depending on progress. For example, Fig. 7
shows the comparison of the building states before and after starting reconstruction. As like this
example, most of the damaged buildings rebuilt in the past three years until 2018 were constructed on
the place where the original buildings were destroyed by the earthquake (these buildings are classified
as Category-A0, A1 or A2) and their debris has been removed. Majority of the other buildings which
were slightly damaged (these buildings are classified as Category-B3 in this survey) were used as
before.
(a) Before reconstruction (b) After starting reconstruction

Fig. 7. Before and after the reconstruction of the damaged building
However, there were a few cases of the reconstruction for the buildings which remain three or
more stories. Fig. 8 show the case that the new building was rebuilt after dismantling the building
classified Category-B3. As seen in Fig. 8, this building highlighted with the yellow square box was
dismantled and then was newly rebuilt as the RC-framed masonry structure. In this case, dismantling
and constructing buildings are done within the premise of the original building's occupation. As
shown in Fig. 9 (a) and (b), a new building was rebuilt after dismantling the old buildings, but this
new building took the partial premise in the original building's site. In this case, a site of narrow
474
frontage was left between the buildings. In contrast to this case, as like in Fig. 9 (c), it was also
observed the case that a single building was constructed in the narrow frontage site because of the
property on their land. The case like this, which not a few buildings were constructed in very narrow
sites regardless of the surrounding buildings were existing or not, is pointed out as one of the typical
problems accompanying to the reconstructions.

Fig. 8. Before and after the reconstruction of the damaged building
(a) Before reconstruction (b) After starting reconstruction (c) Narrow frontage building
Fig. 9. Example of reconstruction to produce narrow frontage buildings
There were several cases as seen in Fig. 10, which only half part of the original building was
rebuilt and the other part was left. This case occurs when the different owners individually hold the
divided parts of the single building, and one of them reconstructs only his house part independently.
In general, it seems that the remaining part is still-damaged and structural stability must be
deteriorated because the structural condition for the leaving part is not enough considered. This case is
thought about one of the serious issues to produce vulnerable buildings.
Furthermore, there were several buildings which were repaired by piling up bricks for repairing the
upper story while leaving the lower part remained during the earthquake. These cases are considered
as the temporary repairs of the damaged buildings, and these buildings were usually repaired by the
traditional ways. However, some buildings using different construction type for repairing part were
observed as seen in Fig. 11. The collapsed upper part was removed, and the lower story of the
historical masonry structure part remained, and then, the new upper part was rebuilt by RC-framed
structure. Thus this building has come to take different structural systems by the border at the middle
floor level. If this type of rebuilt buildings, which has un-reinforced masonry structure in the lower
part and RC-framed structure in the upper part, remain permanently in the future, these buildings
would become the vulnerable structures to be careful about their brittle fracture. Table 4 is the list of
the numbers of buildings which are observed as this kind of reconstructions, the case of partially
475
rebuilding with RC-framed structure or the case of RC-framed structural part piled up on un-
reinforced masonry structure, by the divided blocks mentioned in Fig. 5.
(a) Rebuilt only left side (b) Rebuilding process for the part of the single building
Fig. 10. Example of the partially reconstructed building by the different construction type
Fig. 11. Example of reconstruction by piling up the upper story while leaving the lower part
Table 4. Number of buildings which are partially rebuilt or piled-up

Block a b c d e f g h i j
Partially rebuilt 0 1 3 1 3 1 1 0 2 1
Piled-up 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
6. Conclusion
In this paper, the results of the field survey to observe the building reconstruction situation in the east-
end area of the old town in Bhaktapur, which were carried out in October 2018, are reported. While
considering the past reports of the previous field survey to observe the distribution of damaged-
buildings carried out in 2015, the rebuilding process of the damaged buildings is also investigated. As
of 2015, about half of the number of buildings in this survey area had collapsed severely by the
earthquake. The later survey in 2018 reveals that about 30% of those damaged-buildings have been
newly rebuilt within three and a half years after the earthquake. However, investigating the locality of
the reconstruction situations, there were some blocks which the rebuilt buildings among the severely-
damaged ones have not been reached to 20%. It is assured that there is a considerable difference in the
degree of progress of reconstruction depending on the block.
Besides, various issues to produce vulnerable structures were pointed out as the typical problems
accompanying to the reconstructions. One of the common issues is about buildings constructed in a
narrow frontage site. When new building takes the partial premise in the original building's site, a site
of narrow frontage tends to be left between the buildings. Alternatively, a single building is
constructed in the narrow frontage site because of the land property. The other case which only half
part of the original building was rebuilt and the other part was left is also observed. The remaining
part is still-damaged, and its structural stability must be deteriorated in this case; thus this is also
considered as the significant issue to produce vulnerable buildings.
Furthermore, several buildings which were repaired by piling up bricks for the upper stories while
leaving the lower part remained during the earthquake. Some buildings, in this case, use different
476
construction type for repairing part, which is constructed by RC-framed structure. If this type of
rebuilt buildings would remain permanently in the future, these buildings seem to become the
vulnerable structure. These kinds of reconstructed buildings existed widely across the survey area
regardless of the locality of the damage-severity.
Acknowledgments
A part of this survey was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15H05225. We acknowledge to Prof.
Mohan Moorti Pant of Khwopa Engineering College in Nepal for giving advice and assists in building survey.
We are also grateful for lots of assistants to visit local buildings from Mr. Sunil Jangam.
References
European Seismological Commission. (1998). European Macroseismic Scale 1998: EMS-98, pp.14-15.
Mukai, Y., Yamamoto, N., Masui, M. & Miyauchi, A. (2016). Observation of Damaged Buildings and the
Distribution on the South East Area of the Old Town in Bhaktapur. In: Proceeding of Intnl. Conf. on
Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, 236-243, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
477
Post-Earthquake Housing Reconstruction in Rural Nepal:

Strengths and Weaknesses
Bijaya K. Shrestha1
Abstract
Caritas Nepal (CN) with financial support from Caritas Internationalis has been implementing shelter
project under Nepal Earthquake Recovery Program (NERP) in three districts namely Dolakha,
Sindhupalchowk and Kavrepalanchowk in coordination with National Reconstruction Authority
(NRA), local governments (VDCs and Gaupalikas) and communities. Integrating with livelihood,
water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and protection and psychosocial components of NERP, the
shelter project has three interlinked components: capacity building, grant and technical support and
cash for work. Innovative project concept design, formation of different committees at site, village,
and district levels through mobilisation of local residents and CN’s effective coordination between
beneficiaries and government agencies have resulted in good progress in safer house construction.
However, failure to consider the shelter project at settlement level and adaptation of pre-designed
housing models have numerous negative consequences – demise of vernacular architecture and
townscape, degradation on family and social bonding due to distribution of family members into
different house units, reduction of family income from farm lands and above all formation of non-
functional housing units. Consideration of social aspects of family and future needs, local
architectural character and protection of community spaces through a holistic urban design approach
is recommended for future shelter program of such scale. A mechanism is to be developed before the
closure of the program for effective utilization of community institutions and their capability and
networking in maintenance of public infrastructure and construction of safer houses in future.
Keywords: Shelter project; Caritas Nepal; Gorkha earthquake; capacity building; fund and technical support
1. Contextual Background, Study Objectives and Methodology

The Gorkha earthquake of 25th April 2015 with the strike of M7.8 rector scale together with four
major aftershocks of greater than 6 rector scale, with M7.3 on 12th May 2015 caused total death of
8,898 person and injured 22,309 person in Nepal (NDRR, 2015). Millions of people became
homeless. Numerous buildings and monuments were either completely collapsed or damaged; others
have developed cracks on walls and roofs. Economic losses has been estimated as high as NRs. 706
billion (US$ 7 billion) (NPC, 2015). Private sector lost has been calculated as NRs. 540,362 million
(76%) compared to public sector loss of NRs.166, 100 million (24%) (ibid). Social sector loss
accounts 58% of total loss and housing sector alone covers 86% of social sector loss (ibid). Around
508,724 houses were destroyed and another 270,000 were damaged.2 The impact was greatest in rural
and remote areas, where the earthquake destroyed communities’ livelihoods and basic infrastructure
(NRA, 2016).
For sustainable recovery and reconstruction, the government of Nepal (GON) has adopted ‘top-
down’ mechanism by establishing a powerful National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) at the center
with central and district level project implementation units. Post-Disaster Recovery Framework
(PDRF) was prepared with a recovery vision of ‘establishment of well-planned, resilient settlements
and a prosperous society.’ ‘Owner-driven’ approach has been adopted by giving choices to owners
themselves for reconstruction with their own resources. They are provided financial and technical
assistance so that people can rebuild safer permanent shelters as early as possible. NRA has been
implementing reconstruction works through government’s various ministries and departments in
1 Post Graduate Department of Urban Design and Conservation, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur,
Nepal, bkshrestha@hotmail.com
478
coordination with public, private, non-government and community organizations, international

donors, political parties and civic society.
Nearly after four years of the earthquake, varying degree of progress has been seen in post-
earthquake reconstruction works, implemented in different modality in urban and rural areas. Among
them, works done by Caritas Nepal (CN)3 under Nepal Earthquake Recovery Program (NERP)4 in
earthquake hit villages are comprehensive and context-specific approach under a participatory
process. Shelter project under NERP covers 4,825 households for housing reconstruction with
housing grants and technical support. Additional 3,000 households receive only technical support. CN
has made a notable endeavour to support 13 villages of Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and
Kavrepalanchowk for shelter reconstruction. This paper aims to review the shelter project5 only
focusing housing reconstruction carried out by CN in three districts. It has three objectives. First, it
elaborates shelter project within Nepal Earthquake Recovery Program (NERP) and then analyses its
project planning and implementation mechanism. Second, it identifies various strengths and
weaknesses of the housing reconstruction works. Third and last, it draws a conclusion and proposes
some key recommendations.
The study methodology combines different techniques and uses both qualitative and quantitative
data. Numerous reports associated with NERP and various documents related to the shelter project
were critically reviewed to understand project planning, background, objectives and implementation
techniques. Construction sites were visited to check ongoing works and to observe completed houses.
Beneficiaries and trained masons were consulted. Discussion was also done with technical staffs of
CN and NRA, and chairpersons of the participating wards. Before visiting the sites, staffs from the
central office of CN briefed on various activities of the shelter project and work progress.
2. Planning and implementation mechanism of the shelter project

While doing significant relief work6, CN undertook post disaster need assessment study and
formulated NERP for the period of three years. This program in accordance with GON’s post-disaster
need assessment policies and guidelines was also recommend by CN’s stakeholders meetings at
village and district levels. CN has committed to bring fund of NRs. 1,561,803,203.00 from Caritas
internationalis for shelter project. It is one of the top contributors to post-earthquake reconstruction in
Nepal, both financially and in terms of the number of staff assigned to earthquake response and
community development projects. The main goal of shelter project of NERP is to ensure earthquake
affected communities rebuild safer and dignified lives. It enables people of Nepal who were most
affected by the Gorkha earthquake to rebuild their houses, restore access to safe water and sanitation
3 As of July 2018, 509,418 houses were under construction out of 807,486 eligible households for reconstruction (NRA,
2018). Though 721,736 household has already done agreement, 208,043 household has received third instalment for
reconstruction.
3 Caritas Nepal (CN), a social arm of the Catholic Church in Nepal has been engaging in Nepal almost for three decades.
During this span of time, it has engaged in numerous programs such as education for refugees, emergency relief work,
integrated pest management, climate change, cooperatives, women and children, and peace building in different parts of
country (Caritas Nepal, 2016). It is registered as a non-government organization at Lalitpur District Administrative Office
(Reg. No. 85/047/048) and affiliated to Social Welfare Council (SWC) (Reg. No. 248-356) in 1989.
4 NERP covers 15 villages of Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk and Sindhuli districts of Nepal with total
beneficiaries of 9,409 households. Targeting key sectors like shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), livelihoods,
disaster risk reduction (DRR), protection and psychosocial support, and health and education, CN is working towards a
sustainable recovery. About 75% of these households receive support in two or more sectors. The total population
receiving benefit is about 46,640 people: 49% male and 51% female and about 30% children.
5 Caritas Internationalis, Palazzo S. Calisto-00120 Vatican City, Rome is the donor agency for funding this project. It
obtained approval from SWC on 21st July 2016 for shelter project. The project was approved from National Reconstruction
Authority (NRA) on 5th June 2016 based on the tripartite agreement between NRA, Ministry of Urban Development
(MUD) and CN on 2nd June 2016 to implement the project. The project duration is from July 2016 to April 2019. This
paper is based on the evaluation of the project for the period covering July2016 to March 2018.
6 With support from Caritas Internationalis (CI) and its member organizations (CIMOs), Caritas Nepal immediately went to
action after the Gorkha earthquake. It reached more than 70,000 households across 168 villages in 15 districts, providing
them with temporary shelter materials, corrugated iron sheets, water and sanitation items, food, and unconditional cash
grants as emergency relief (Caritas Nepal, 2016). From 26th April to 31st December 2015, it distributed basic shelter items
(Tarpaulin, blankets etc.) to 70,036 households, food and seed materials to 23,534 households, water and sanitation
materials to 37,690 households and received corrugated roofing iron sheets to 24,584 households. The beneficiaries have
noted that these relief items helped them to live through the past winter and monsoon seasons.
479
facilities, restore livelihoods and enhance their resilient to future disasters. To fulfil this goal, the
project has set three interrelated goals:
a) to build capacity of households and to mobilize them for construction of earthquake resistant
houses by utilizing local resources;
b) to provide fund and technical support as per NRA guidelines for helping earthquake victims in
constructing earthquake resistant houses; and
c) to provide cash for work to households for improving community infrastructure as part of
developing model villages.
The shelter project is grouped into two parts: 4,7697 households receiving full shelter package
linking to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), livelihood and protection and psychosocial parts
whereas 3,536 households get only technical support with livelihood and protection (Table 1).
Table 1 Shelter project in different locations of three districts

Shelter full package, WASH,
Shelter technical support,
Livelihood, Protection &
Livelihood and Protection
District Location Psychosocial
Households Households
Population Population
(HHs) (HHs)
Orange, Bigu - 2 565 2801
Orange, Bigu - 3 759 3762
Dolakha
Sailung – 6 550 2,726

Sailung - 7 580 2,875
Total 1,324 6,563 1,130 5,601
Kalika, Sunkoshi -3 656 3252
Sindhupal
Thokarpa, Sunkoshi -1 and 2 1178 5839

chowk
Sunkhani, Sunkoshi-5 771 3822

Yamunda, Sunkoshi - 4 473 2345
Total 1,834 9,091 1,244 6,167
Chandenimandan, Mandan
1065 5279
Kavrepalancho
Deupur - 10
Balthali, Panauti -11 546 2706
Sanowanthali, Chaurideurali -1 277 1,373
wk
Nagregagarche, Chaurideurali - 2 389 1,928

Majhifeda, Chaurideurali -3 498 2,469
Total 1,611 7,985 1,162 5,770
Grand total 4,769 23,639 3,536 17,538
Source: Caritas Nepal, 2018
CN has adapted GON’s owner-driven for house construction in communities with the slogan ‘Let
us build safer house ourselves’ (Surakshit Awas Afain Banau). The shelter project has three
interrelated activities namely empowering and capacity building of community members, funding and
technical support and cash for work program (Fig. 1). They have been linked with other sectors –
WASH, livelihood and protection and psychosocial support. All these activities are carried out in
accordance with NRA’s policies and guidelines ensuring coordination with NRA and Department of
Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC)’s district office and Social Welfare
Council (SWC).
Fig. 1 Caritas Nepal’s approach on shelter project of NERP
7 The number of household getting CN’s support is increasing based on grievances passed by National Reconstruction
Authority. Hence, the target household fixed in the first year of project design has been changed and it is even increasing
as of July 2018.
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In the planning phase, CN prepared a ‘logical result framework’ (LRF) with clear project
objectives, defined ‘objectively verifiable indicators’ of achievements, identified ‘means of
verification’ and outlined various risks and assumptions for different objectives, results expected and
activities proposed (Fig. 2). ‘Activities’ are the main elements of project component which produce
the ‘results.’ ‘Results’ are the deliverables through which the ‘objectives’ are achieved. Fulfilment of
‘objectives’ leads to achieve the main goal. The horizontal rows represent three objectives, expected
results and proposed activities with prescribed set of indicators and means of verification for each
row. Vertical columns represent three objectives set for shelter project only.
Fig. 2 Simplified form of logical result framework prepared for Shelter project
To build capacity of households and to mobilize them for safer house reconstruction’ (objective I),
various activities have been successfully completed. Against the target of training altogether 400 no.
of masons in three earthquake affected districts, CN has already trained 729 masons (25 female)
through 7 days program and 86% of those trained masons have been working full time in construction
of safer houses (Caritas Nepal and Caritas Internationalis, 2018) (Fig. 3). About 250 shelter groups
have been formed in 13 locations (ibid). So far 7,300 households have been oriented towards
earthquake resistant shelter construction using local materials such as stone, mud, wood and bricks.
For effective orientation, different committees of beneficiaries were formed: shelter group with 20-35
households, community reconstruction committee with 7-9 households and advisory committee with
11 households in three districts (Fig. 3). At least one dozen of demonstration houses have been built
for the most vulnerable families in three districts (Fig. 3). Information, education and communication
(IEC) materials on earthquake safer construction were also developed. It distributed 8,000 piece of
one type of brochures and different kinds of posters in the three districts by June 2017 (Caritas Nepal,
2017).
There has been completion of house construction for vulnerable families: 321 out of 402 single
women and 69 out of 75 households with disability. As of July 2018, 4,682 persons received the 1st
tranche distribution of NRs. 50,000.00 and 4,456 households got 2nd tranche disbursement (NRs.
150,000.00). Similarly, 3,434 households have taken the last tranche of NRs. 100,000. Also, 3,083
household in Kavrepalnchowk and Sindhupalchowk and 1,249 households in Dolakha have received
extra NRs. 50,000 as transportation support. Though some small community development works were
carried out in the initial stage of project implementation, it was abandoned due to limitation of the
budget. Its budget was transferred into housing grant support, which was increased from NRs.
200,000.00 to NRs. 300,000.00 as per government’s decision.
Trained persons leading construction work in Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and Kavrepalanchow
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Shelter group meeting in Kavrepalanchowk district
Demonstration houses for most vulnerable families in Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and Kavrepalanchowk
Fig. 3 Activities associated with training, community orientation and construction of demonstration houses
With all these activities, significant progress is seen in housing reconstruction works (Table 2).
Among 4,778 enrolled households, 4,530 (95%) households started house construction and 3,590
(76%) already completed constructing earthquake resistance house. In Orange, Bigu-2, 95% of the
enrolled households have completed their new houses whereas 82% of the targeted household have
built new houses in Bulung, Bigu-3 of Dolakha district. In the case of Sindhupalchowk, 66% of
shelter construction is done in Kalika Sunkoshi-3 whereas this figure is 52% in the case of Thokarpa
Sunkoshi-1 and 2. Shelter construction work is somehow slow in Kavrepalanchowk district: 40%
completion in Candenimandan Mandan Deupur -10 and only 35% in the case of Balthali-Panauti 11.
Most of the households in these locations have alternative house and businesses in other parts of
Nepal and showed less enthusiasm in constructing their damaged structures.
Table 2 Status of house construction in different districts
Village/ Shelter progress Village/ Shelter progress

SN Enrolled Constructe Completed SN Enrolled Constructed Completed
Municipality HH d units units (%)
municipality HH units units (%)
Dolakha district Kavrepalanchowk district
Candenimandan,
1 Orang, Bigu-2 565 537 95% 5 1035 410 40%
Mandan Deupur-10
2 Bulung, Bigu-3 734 600 82% 6 Balthali, Panauti-11 520 183 35%
Sindhupalchowk
Kalika,
3 655 435 66%
Sunkoshi-3
Thokarpa,
4 1,171 610 52%
Sunkoshi-1 & 2
Note: % of house constructed calculated is out of the total enrolled household number in each village. 4680 households have
been enrolled and Caritas Nepal will still support additional 145 households if grievances are approved. In this way, Caritas
Nepal will support a total of 4,825 households.
3. Strengths and Weaknesses of Post-earthquake Housing Reconstruction

3.1 Strengths of the shelter project
Integrated and innovative project concept

The concept of shelter project is innovative and integrated. Various activities are systematically
coordinated: first orienting and educating the beneficiaries, then changing their mind-sets and
behaviours and finally engaging them for safer construction of their houses. Improvement of access
road and distribution of poly tanks for storage of water in some location under ‘cash for work’ activity
482
have facilitated construction work. Many communities have done labour sharing (parma system) to
help each other construct houses. The families and communities have worked together to access
resources such as tone, bricks, wood, cement, iron rods, and water for construction of the houses.
Construction of demo houses has been found effective educating communities over earthquake
resistant construction. Integration of shelter project with livelihood, WASH and Protection and
Psycho-social support means the earthquake victims get both safer houses and dignified lives. CN has
not only mobilized huge amount of fund but it was also able to convenience NRA and SWC in
implementing integrated project.
Combined technical and financial support through mobilisation of local people

CN has mobilised its staffs and local residents by forming committees at different levels (Table 3). In
each district, it has mobilised at least 21 staffs: 2 senior engineers at project management unit, 1
district shelter coordinator, 8 assistant junior civil engineers and 10 social mobiliser. Acknowledging
the need of proper social mobilisation and local leadership in the project, CN appointed local people
as VDC coordinators and 5 local mobilisers in each site. Local residents’ familiarity of the local
geography, their ability to convey earthquake victims by speaking local language, and their
knowledge of vulnerable households were essential for effective implementation of the project. Local
shelter committees formed in each neighborhoods met regularly to ensure availability of construction
materials, water and human resources. These committees have also encouraged people to share labour
to help each other build houses. Labor sharing in Orang and Bulung, and Chandenimandan has
reduced at least 1/5 to 1/4 of the housing cost.
Table 3 Formation of community reconstruction committees at different levels

Community reconstruction
Committees Shelter group Advisory committee
committee (CRC)
No. of participants 20-35 households 7-9 households 11 households
No. of meeting 149 54 6
Frequency of meeting Monthly Quarterly Quarterly
Approach & level of
Participatory group Ward level Village level
meeting
Source: Caritas Nepal, Head office, 2018
CN’s technical team has supported beneficiaries in many ways. The beneficiaries get suggestion in
selecting appropriate building type design and its tentative cost estimate. Once it is decided, then the
team helped in layout of foundation and construction supervision particularly at foundation, damp
proof course (DPC) and superstructure including roofing ensuring timely completion with quality
work. Supports also include in model house construction, masons training and individual guidance.
The social mobilisers have visited door to door level of beneficiaries to aware them of NRA’s
policies and guidelines, earthquake safer construction and CN’s roles. They have been supporting in
filling up of the grant application forms at different stages and taking those documents to various
government agencies including NRA’s district office for necessary approvals. Once all these
formalities are completed, CN transfers the instalment amount to beneficiaries’ accounts8 and informs
to the beneficiaries. As a result, they are able to receive payment of each tranche without any
problem. In this way, communities are able to build safer houses using local construction materials
and human resources.
8 A tripartite agreement called ‘Private shelter grant payment and coordination agreement’ is executed amongst Caritas
Nepal, District Coordination Committee (DCC) and following financial institutions approved by NRA for the distribution
of grant to the beneficiaries:. As per agreement with and approval of National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), housing
grant has been provided in three tranches on the basis of their eligibility to receive the same. (a) Each beneficiary gets
selected and approved by DCC and NRA to be eligible to receive first tranche of NRs. 50,000 per household. (b) After
completion of level 1 construction up to DPC level, each beneficiary has to present the evidencing document to the
District Office and such beneficiary is eligible for second tranche amounting to NRs. 150,000.00 per household. (c) The
3rd tranche for NRs. 100,000.00 per household on completion of required standard as required by NRA and other
concerned authority. The transportation cost charge of NRs. 50,000.00 per households has been distributed in Orang and
Bulung VDC of Dolakha District as requested by NRA.
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Bridging between earthquake victims and government agencies

CN has been coordinating between government agencies and earthquake victims in various
activities at different levels. Coordination is required empowering local communities and capacity
building through different trainings, orientations and construction of demonstration houses. Grant
distribution to beneficiaries in time without any hassle is possible only through effective coordination
with NRA and DDC office in each district. Understanding among beneficiaries through facilitation
from CN is required for effective use of ‘parma’ (sharing labor) system. CN also managed
coordination with government line agencies, especially the NRA and SWC, both at national level and
within the districts and villages.
Numerous outcomes as a result of various activities carried out are able to bring tangible
changes at different levels. Beneficiaries have gained skills and knowledge on earthquake safer
construction. Economically weak family and single women were benefitted from the project.
Behaviour changes can be seen among the trained masons, engineers, local leaders and households.
Trained beneficiaries have acted as ‘change agents’ by transferring their knowledge and skills to their
neighbourhoods and communities. During site visits and meetings, members of different committees
have developed strong bonds among themselves. Members of social institutions have developed a
network with government officials working at local and district levels, local leaders and CN. Trained
masons have developed network with masons from neighbouring districts.
The livelihood component of NERP trained 10,000 persons to improve their livelihoods. Each
household was given choice to select support either on agriculture or livestock. Material support (cash
or kind) and training were given them. Around 6,047 households were benefitted through established
8 cooperatives. About 3,062 households have improved access to safe and hygienic water from 49
drinking water system. Under protection project, school child club members were trained and
different able persons got disability cards.
3.2 Weaknesses of the Shelter Project
Owner driver approach in a single house vs community driven strategy at settlement scale
Pre-earthquake houses in these settlements were unique and reflect the socio-cultural setting of
communities. Houses were clustered around community spaces (Fig. 4) and those community spaces
(either public or private ownership) linked clusters of settlements. Semi-covered veranda was the
family gathering place and working area, which also acted as a buffer space between public realm
(community space) and private life inside the house. Housing in the rural setting was not limited to
the house alone but it also comprised of other units such as toilet block, animal shed and storage. The
front community space and backside farm land was also part and partial of housing typology. This
setting was also the outcome of agriculture base society of village people and fits on their lifestyles.
Housing units connected by community space Housing unit with animal shed, toilet, farm land
Fig. 4 Features of houses in villages of three districts
Houses were generally two story plus attic space on the top (Fig. 5). Veranda on the ground floor
and balcony on the first floor with sloped slate roofs represented vernacular architecture. Local
building materials and construction technology were predominated. Interior spaces of the ground floor
was often divided by only wooden posts thereby creating larger flexible spaces for different uses in
different time. It allows women working in the kitchen observe their children and gossip with other
484
family members living nearby spaces. It had strengthened family bond among members of joint
family system.
Pre-earthquake houses with balcony and veranda Newly built house without balcony and veranda
Pre earthquake unit with temporary spaces Newly built unit with rigid space
Fig. 5 Newly built houses different from pre-earthquake housing units
However, the adapted reconstruction approach focused structural safety of individual house only
rather than considering community at settlement scale. The government has prepared ready-made
design catalogue for rural areas and the earthquake victims have to select out of them. Such provision
has failed to acknowledge salient features of community spaces, socialization patterns, lifestyle of the
inhabitants and local climate and mountain topography. Most of the newly built houses do not have
veranda on the ground and balcony on the first floor, which are necessary for socialization and drying
out agriculture product. Replacing the locally available slates or thatched roofs by corrugated
galvanized iron (CGI) sheets has negative consequences. Occupants have felt cold under CGI in
winter and noisy during rainy season.
A single big house has been replaced by many single story (two rooms) units scattered around the
farm land. The earlier joint family system is forced to disintegrate and family members are dispersed
into two or three units. Two units are not sufficient for daily living. Conversion of earlier temporary
shelters into animal shed or kitchen has changed the earlier socialization pattern and linkages of
different hierarchy of spaces. It has resulted in close proximity of kitchen, toilet and animal shed
thereby impacting on family health and hygiene. Family income has also been reduced due to
occupation of earlier farm lands by different small housing units.
Inadequate detailing and future expansion

Some of the newly built houses have inadequate detailing for safer construction (Fig. 6). They
have failed to appraise site condition fully. Few houses built along the edge of the ridge in Balthali are
vulnerable to land slide. Other houses constructed adjacent to the existing stone masonry structure
has problem in foundation layout. Attaching two structures of different mass and construction
technology each other is vulnerable to ‘pounding effect’ during earthquake shaking. Some of newly
built houses lack bracing between wooden battens below CGI sheets in the roofs. Wooden ties
between flooring and stone masonry are also missing in few houses in Bulung and Balthali.
485
Poor foundation of new structure adjacent to old house

Vulnerable site on sloped area
Lack of wooden bracing in roof Lack of wooden lock between floor stone masonry
Fig. 6 Inadequate consideration of site and detailing of structure
4. Conclusion and recommendations

The concept design and implementation modality of shelter project of NERP implemented by
Caritas Nepal in three earthquake affected districts (Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and Kavrepalanchowk)
has been found innovative. This single project of three year implemenation period has combined both
theory and practice. Its various activities include public awareness, capacity building through training
and orientation and application of those knowledge and skill through construction of safer houses.
Shelter project has been integrated with other themes for sustainbale development. Local people has
been mobilised and various committees have been formed at site, VDC and district levels. Caritas
Nepal has been acting as a coordinating agent between beneficiaries and government agencies
particuarly NRA and local government. As a result, the work progress has been found satisfactory.
However, adaptation of ‘owner driven approach,’ relying on ready-made design of houses and above
all failure to consider post-earthquake housing reconstruction work at settlement level has constrained
the strengths of the project. The following recommendations have been suggested.
Safer and prosporous community building rather than focus on individual house
While implementing shelter project of such project in future, the strategy should consider wider areas
at settlement scale with integrated infrastructure. Community driven approach is recommended
against owner driven process. With such strategy conservation of vernacular architecture and
townscape is possible by incorporating present day needs amenities. This is an opportunity too to
rectify the past mistakes in planning and building construction. Engagement of urban designer is
essential.
Long term sustainbaility: capacity buildings of social institutions and trained masons
For long term sustainability, the formed community institutions and their networking with local
governments and Caritas Nepal should be continued. This together with the beneficiaries skills and
knowledge should be utilsed for mainteance and operation of community infrastructure and individual
houses as well as for future earthquake safer construction by developing a mechanism at local level
before closing the project in 2019.
486
Improvement of detailing by mobilising senior staffs in the sites

Some of the defected constructon detailing found in the site visit should be rectified by mobilizing
senior technical persons before closing of the program. Such technical auditing should also trained the
staffs and beneficiaries involved in the construction. Systematic documentation of project : planning,
design and execution is essential as a knwoledge which should be disseminated through publications
for larger mass.
References
Caritas Nepal (2018). Report on Nepal Earthquake Recovery Program: Shelter, Power point presentation by
Caritas Nepal on June 2018 at https://www.caritasnepal.org/related-to/Publication/
Caritas Nepal and Caritas Internationalis (2018). Achievement, Good Practices and Case Studies of Nepal
Earthquake Recovery Program (NERP). Rising from the rubble. A testament of the resilient spirit of
earthquake affected Nepali people and communities. (https://www.caritasnepal.org/related-to/Publication/)
Caritas Nepal (2017). Shelter Construction Support to Earthquake Affected Households for Existing Six VDCs in
3 Districts (Shelter Section). Nepal Earthquake Recivery Program. Document submitted to Social Welfare
Council, Lainchour, Kathmandu Nepal for the time period of 3rd June 2016 to 2nd June 2017 (unpublished
document).
Caritas Nepal (2016). Annual Report 2016 at https://www.caritasnepal.org/related-to/Annual_Report/
NDRR (Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal). (2015). Situation Report of Earthquake 2015. Government of
Nepal in http://www.drrportal.gov.np/home.
NPC (National Planning Commission) (2015). Nepal Earthquake 2015. Post Disaster Need Assessment. Vol. B.
Sector Report. Government of Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal
NRA (National Reconstruction Authority) (2018). Government of Nepal. National Reconstruction Authority.
Reconstruction update at http://nra.gov.np/en/content/pres/0
NRA (National Reconstruction Authority). (2016). Rebuilding Nepal. Build Back Better. NRA Newsletter. Oct
2016 - Jan 2017. Nepal Reconstruction Authority. Government of Nepal in
http://nra.gov.np/uploads/docs/84LdZ2BkQ8161026092851.pdg
487
Transient Shelter Stages and Post-disaster Shelter Provision

A Case Study of Bhaktapur
Mohan Moorti Pant1 and Srijana Prajapati2
Abstract
The paper makes a study on the types of shelter provision following the Nepal Earthquake 2015. This
is a case study of one of the most affected quarters--Taulachhen, of Bhaktapur, a historic city of
Kathmandu Valley. The study finds three stages in the transient shelters before moving to more
permanent arrangement, and that the need of shelter following the emergency period is managed
primarily by the resident themselves. The government’s role, limited to an assistance of Rs 15000 or
the CGI sheet this amount could buy in providing the shelter, almost ends following the emergency
period. The damaged houses are adapted as shelters by most of the affected households till now while
the rest live either in a shelter built in their field or at their relative’s home. The second home of the
family built prior to the earthquake has been an important factor in relieving the need of temporary
shelter.
Keywords: Reconstruction; Bhaktapur; Taulachhen; Shelter.
1. Introduction
Provision of proper temporary shelter environment and housing reconstruction are two necessary tasks
with respect to the rehabilitation of the affected population following large scale disasters such as that
of earthquakes of high magnitudes. With respect to the provision of temporary shelter, there are a
number of stages before the victims move to their permanent house. These stages—emergency relief,
temporary shelter, rehab and long term rehab, are related to the disaster mitigation and management
that serves from few days following the disaster to a long term period until the household moves to
their respective permanent house. Depending upon the degree of damage suffered by the inhabitants,
various degree of emergency assistance is required from emergency shelter to provision of food and
basic sanitary facilities. In present day state governance, such provision is expected to be provided by
government and community organizations. But the extent of relief work reaching to the affected
population is limited given the massiveness of the scale and the lack of sufficient pre-disaster
preparation.
In the same manner, the rehabilitation work is also expected to be primarily the responsibility of
the government to the extent which at least assists the affected population to recover their pre-disaster
state of livelihood. However, the mode of assistance by the government to rebuild the damaged
houses varies to a great extent---from integrated planning with ‘build back better’ approach to
providing certain amount of financial assistance, which is nominal and can’t encourage the
rebuilding task, especially evident in the urban context.
In this paper, we report the survey of a locality of Bhaktapur on the shelter situation of the affected
households following the 2015 April 25 Nepal Earthquake before they can move to permanent
arrangement.
2. The Damage of the Earthquake 2015

The earthquake damage of 2015 in Kathmandu Valley is more pronounced at east and southeast
direction. Bhaktapur, one of the historic cities in the Valley (Fig. 1), has one third of its houses
collapsed and another 12% rendered uninhabitable.i Another aspect of the damage distribution is that
1 Postgraduate Department of Urban Design and Conservation, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal,
sribahal@gmail.com
2 Department of Urban Design and Conservation, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, jane3sp@gmail.co
488
the concentration is primarily in the historic town areas. These areas have had aged structure in brick
masonry and timber frames of complex combinations with different floor mass added over the top
floor in later times.
The living environment and the physical state of the housing stock in the historic town area has
been documented in earlier studies. The extensiveness of the damage was not unexpected.
Fig. 1. Damage assessment of Bhaktapur. UNOSAT, 2015 Apr 27.
TAULACHHEN
Fig. 2. The study area – Taulachhen, Bhaktapur.
The present study area; Taulachhen, is at the eastern sector of Bhaktapur (Fig. 2). The area is
selected partly because there has been extensive study on physical and socio -cultural aspects of the
area prior to the earthquakeii, and in recent context Taulachhen and its neighboring areas suffered
greater damage compared to other areas in Bhaktapur (Fig. 3). The area covers 1.26 ha with 230
dwelling units and a population density of 670 p/ ha. A study on the damage situation and
reconstruction models was conducted by Pant and Shrestha immediately following the earthquake of
2015.iii
The quarter is part of the Taulachhen neighborhood (tole), and most of the population is of
Prajapati community, who traditionally work in pottery making while also doing farm work. Within
the quarter, there is a considerable space, both open and built, used for production of pottery and
489
paper craft.
Fig. 3. Damage situation (survey: 2017 Dec), and Construction Style before Earthquake 2015 (KhEC, 2012).
The survey conducted in January 2016 following the earthquake finds that 82% of the units
suffered either full or partial damage while another 18% were either intact or suffered minor damage.
The present survey, conducted two years later in 2017 Dec essentially verifies the previous data with
the present record being 77%. The degree of damage of Taulachhen is fairly consistent with the ward
scale municipal records, which gives 53% dwellings suffering full damage and another 16% partial
damage. At present, most of the affected households are living in various types of transient shelters
from temporary make- shift sheds of CGI sheet to seeking accommodation at relative’s home or in
rent. This study outlines the stages of transient shelters and their types adopted by the affected
households and the state of reconstruction since 2015 earthquake.
3. Post Earthquake Shelter Situation

3.1 Transitional shelter—Phase I (Emergency phase)
From the day of the earthquake event the residents has gone through a number of temporary shelters
till they are able to build their own house. For a couple of days, there was no one living in their own
home even though the house was intact. 70% of the affected households had their own shelter
arrangements made in individual manner. Half of such households took shelter in their fields located
nearby at the periphery of the town or in traditional community spaces such as patiiv and courtyards
(chowk), and the other half went to their relatives or friends’ house. 30% of the affected families lived
in collective shelter space. Most of such shelters in the fields were open at sides with only tarpaulin
roof over the head while different households lived together under one roof without partition. The
weather of April-May in the Valley is warm and dry which permitted such a living in the open
environment possible. Most of the households took shelter in areas at the east of the town, a distance
of within 10 minutes from their neighborhood. The area is a new settlement of the past 15 years, and
is inhabited largely by the community members of Taulachhen and its neighboring localities. 52% of
the households living in emergency shelters shifted to their next shelter within a week (Fig. 4).
Emergency shelter is one among the 11 area clusters concerned with the management of the post
disaster temporary rehab process.v There were three sites in Bhaktapur which were organized by the
District government of Bhaktapur—Palace Square, Open ground in Sallaghari and Saraswati High
490
School for immediate shelter. But following the situation of the emergency relief period and later, the
community of Taulachhen used their own farmlands nearby their town quarter or community spaces,
and not those identified by the government for emergency relief purpose. Rs. 54 million was allocated
for the arrangement of shelter environments to Ministry of Urban Development, the line ministry to
look after the physical environment of the emergency shelters. But, with most of the population of the
affected region seeking shelter for several days following the recurring aftershocks, the nation was
unprepared for such large scale emergency situations. The Ministry of Home Affairs’ report “Gorkha
bhukampa 2072—One month Preliminary Report on ‘search, emergency rescue operation and relief
support’ released one month later following the earthquake gives an assessment on various aspects of
the relief work where it admits the shortage of such open spaces for shelter provision.vi
Fig. 4. Transitional shelter place—Phase I
3.2 Transitional Shelter—Phase II:
With the frequency of tremor subsiding, the people had the courage to go back to their home if not
damaged, or seek other possibilities for a better living environment. The survey shows that a
considerable number of households did have their second home built at the peripheral area outside the
historic town prior to the earthquake. Most of them were built in the past 15 years and were in RCC
structure. These houses were intact, and therefore, such households moved to their second home. This
group consists 32% of the total households of our survey. The next group seeks their relatives or finds
a place in rent (26%), while the third group returns to their damaged home (13%). The collective
shelter covered only 10% of the households. Those who couldn’t return to their home or didn’t go for
rent or to the collective shelter (19%) built their own in their fields (Fig. 5, 6). The shelter initially
offered by the government or assisting organization was primarily in the form of tents. The assistance
of Rs. 15,000 to build temporary shelters for the individual households who suffered heavy damage
was announced at the end of the first month of the earthquake. Models of one-room CGI box appeared
at this time in a variety of forms. The amount of monetary assistance was just enough to buy the CGI
sheet roofing for a unit of 12 m2. CGI sheets were distributed to each affected family, and most of the
shelters at this stage were thus either of CGI sheet or built with brick walls and CGI roofing. It was
common that such individual shelters were only of one room type of around 10 m2. In our survey,
491
33% of the households were of extended families and 46% joint family. This situation further
highlights the degree of problem faced by the affected households in their shelter accommodation.
Fig. 5. Transitional shelter place—Phase II
To complicate the matter, many of the collective shelters of this stage housed multiple families and
without partition. 50% of such households lived for six month in this type of shelter moving either to
permanent home or transient shelter of the third type. Shelter types and shelter facilities in collective
shelters of this transient phase II have been studied by Bajracharya and Shakya (2016) which
describes basic types of shelters and the availability of basic facilities such as water, sanitation and
electricity.
The ubiquitous CGI shelter box adopted for its quick fabrication, and brought into fashion by
donors and the government evidently was bad in its thermal performance. The summer temperature
inside the room reached 38° when outside temperature was 32° Celsius, and in winter, water drops
condensed inside of the ceiling. Gradually in later year, many households added ply board at the
interior surfaces of roof and wall, and straw cover was spread over the roof. This correction largely
relieved the temperature extremity. While the CGI box became the fashion, there was considerable
diversity in shelter form used in this phase by certain individual households, from bamboo to earth
bag to steel framed structures and recycled materials.
3.3 Transitional Shelter—Phase III
At this stage, and which includes the present date of survey, there are only 12% households in shelters
erected out in the fields, while 41% have their permanent home outside of the town built before or
after the earthquake (Fig. 7). A significant number of households (36%) are living in the lower floors
of the damaged house. Most of the shelters at this stage excluding those of damaged house are either
of CGI sheet or built with brick walls or bamboo with CGI roofing.
The survey shows that the requirement of transitional or temporary shelter has greatly been
relieved by the second house built earlier before the earthquake, and also by the adoption of the
damaged house by dismantling the upper damaged floors (Fig. 8). The houses built in brick and mud
mortar and with timber have been of great help in this process of adaptive use for the transitional
shelter. In fact this use of the lower floors of the damaged house provided the households a better
living environment than the one available in the collective shelter. The collective shelter was of CGI
sheet without thermal insulation, and the space with one room for a family was difficult to run the
492
daily household life. The study of Bajracharya and Shakya on the evacuation sites has shown that
such sites differed considerably in the availability of basic facilities. Further, the residents when living
in their own home and in their own neighborhood locality might get a bit of mental relief at such
stressful times. Most of the households moved to their damaged house by around six month period
when the debris of the site was cleared up and the neighborhood gradually recovered to be habitable.
Fig. 6. Phase II shelter constructed from Fig. 7. Transitional shelter place-Phase III. The upper floors
bamboo. Fl area: 36 sqm, Cost 60,000 Rs. damaged by earthquake is removed and given flat CGI roof
(Pant, Suwal & Maharjan, 2015)vii over the joists, and the house is used for dwelling purpose.
Fig. 8. Most common transitional shelter is the damaged house. The upper floors damaged by earthquake is
removed and given flat CGI roof over the joists, and the house is used for dwelling.
The physical quality of the shelters gradually improves from Phase I to Phase III. The shift is from
tent to CGI one-room box to rooms with brick walls. The sanitary and electricity doesn’t reach to
around half of the households in the first stage shelter which improves much in the second one. The
poor state of the shelter is more pronounced at the time of rainy and winter seasons. The state of
physical facility of the shelter coincides with the comfort assessment given by the households living
there. The difficulties in the make shift shelters appears to have been psychologically accepted by the
residents.
4. Conclusion:
From the survey of Taulachhen quarter of Bhaktapur, three stages of temporary shelter for the
transition period are identified. The first is the period of seismic shock and most of the households,
including even those without damage, required such shelters. The affected households themselves
made their shelter arrangements and sites were close to the quarter - in the fields where they worked
or in traditional community activity places. Most of the households shifted within a week from the
493
emergency shelter to more enduring transient shelter or to permanent ones which were either one’s
own second home or relatives’, or rooms on rent. By the end of the year, the households in transient
shelter outside are much less. The most notable in the shelter accommodation is that the households
returned to live in the lower floors of their damaged house than seeking the transient shelter, though
the vulnerability of such houses are not assessed. And that a significant number of households did
have their own second home. The relatives of the affected households, who had their house intact,
contributed in no small degree in solving the problem of temporary shelter. In spite of the fact that the
households living in temporary shelters had a poor living environment in terms of space and facilities,
the complain is not to the degree as would be expected.
Endnotes:
i. Bhaktapur Municipality, 2072 VS (2015).
ii. The study was conducted in Conservation studio and neighborhood planning studio (2012), and in graduate
thesis work by Shrestha (2013).
iii. Pant and Sujan, 2016.
iv. Pati is a wayside shelter of single storey open towards the street or square. Residents of the neighboring
community use it as an informal meeting place. Most of them are also linked to shrines located nearby and
are settings for religious functions as well.
v. Ministry of Home Affairs, 2072, p 9.
vi. Ibid, p 6.
vii. This is an unpublished document. This temporary shelter design was worked by the first week of the
Earthquake 2015. The shelter was intended to accommodate a household of five members for a period that
could serve for years till the household moves to their permanent arrangement. The building material to be
used in constructing this type of shelter could be of recycled material or of other alternate local ones. Its
major principle is that such a shelter should sustain a family for all seasons and for several years satisfying
the basic socio-psychological needs of various age categories and gender.
References:
Bajracharya, Alina and Nirajan Shakya, 2016. Evacuation Space—A Field Study in Bhaktapur. Proceedings of
International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster Reconstruction Planning, 24-26
April, 2016, pp 76- 86, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur.
Bhaktapur Municipality, 2072 VS (2015). Bhaktapur—mahabhukampa vishesa (Bhaktapur—earthquake special
issue)
Jabara, Bramha Samser, 1991 VS (1935). Nepalko mahabhukampa 1990 (The Great Earthquake 1935 of Nepal),
3rd ed, 2072 VS (2015), Kathmandu.
KhEC, 2012. Conservation Study of Taulachhen Neighborhood. Conservation Studio Report, Department of
Architecture, Khwopa Engineering College.
Ministry of Home Affairs, 2072. Gorkha bhukampa 2072—khoj,uddar tatha rahatko ek mahinako prativedan
(One month Preliminary Report on ‘search, emergency rescue operation and relief support). Ministry of
Home Affairs, Government of Nepal.
Ministry of Home Affairs, 2073. Gorkha bhukampa 2072— anubhav ra sikai (experience and learning). Disaster
Management Unit, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal.
National Reconstruction Authority, 2072. rastriya punanirman tatha punarsthapana niti, 2072 (National
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Policy, 2015), Government of Nepal.
Pant, Mohan and Sujan Shrestha, 2016. Perception of Residents on Housing Alternatives in the 2015 Gorkha
Earthquake in Proceedings of International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post Disaster
Reconstruction Planning, 24-26. April, 2016, pp 116-126, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur
494

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Conference Proceedings

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International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Post

ISSN 2505 – 0737

Price: NRs. 1500/- (US $15)

Copyright: © KhEC & KhCE 2019

1. Assoc. Prof. Sujan Maka, Principal, Khwopa Engineering College

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S.N. ID Title Page

1 1006 Comparative Study on the Properties of Coarse Aggregate being used in 1

24 1097 Analysis of Timber Reinforced Masonry in Historic Monuments 181

Comparative Study on the Properties of Coarse Aggregate

Keywords: Post-Disaster Reconstruction; Aggregate Properties; ACV; AIV; LAV.

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur, Nepal, prajapati.jeetendra@khec.edu.np

2. Objective and Scope

3.1 Source identification and sample collection

Table 1. Coarse Aggregate Sample

Sample Name Source

Fig.1. Sources of coarse aggregate

3.2 Geological, physical and mechanical properties

4. Result and Discussion

Fig. 2. Gradation curve of sample coarse aggregate

Fig. 3. Aggregate specific gravity Fig. 4. Aggregate water absorption %

Fig. 5. Flakiness Index Fig. 6. Elongation Index

4.2 Mechanical properties of coarse aggregate

Fig. 9. Aggregate Los Angeles Abrasion Value (LAV) test

Volume of Loose Materials and the Analysis of Possibility of

2. Geological Background of Zhamunong Gully

Fig. 1 Geographic location and terrain of Zanunong gully

3. Material Source Quantity

3.1 The volume of BH01 and BH02 potential landslide

Fig. 2. Photo of the BH01 and BH02 potential landslide

3.1.1 FLAC numerical simulation method and model calculation parameter

c' = c RF ， f ' = arctan(f RF ) (1)

Fig. 4 The model profiles of BH01 and BH02 potential landslides

3.1.2 Volume calculation results of potential landslide

3.2 Other material sources in Zhamunong gully

Fig. 5. The landslide stability simulation of BH01 and BH02

Table 2. Total volume of potential landslides in BH01 and BH02

4 Possibility Analysis of Landslide Triggered by Debris Flow Blocking

4.2 Estimation results of motion parameters of landslide triggered by debris flow in

Table 4. Motion parameters of landslide triggered by debris flow in 2000

4.3 Three-dimensional numerical simulation results of accumulation form of landslide

Fig. 6. Accumulation depth under four situations

Study of Non-Linear in-Plane Behavior of Traditional Masonry

Fig. 1. Response of concrete to uniaxial Fig. 2. Response of concrete to uniaxial

Fig. 3. Typical traction separation behaviour

4. Validation of the Modelling Strategy

5. Simplification for the Simulation of Multi-leafed masonry

Fig. 4. Simplification process for the simulation of multi-leaf masonry

6. Finite Element Modelling of Brick Masonry in Mud Mortar

Analysis of Abutment Foundation Using Conventional Method

Keywords: Bridge; Abutment; Foundation; Modulus of subgrade reaction; FEM; SAP2000

2. Material and Methods

Fig. 1. General arrangement of the bridge

Fig. 2. Elevation of the abutment

Table 2. Load combinations.

3. Results and Discussion

Table 3. Responses (Bearing Pressure and Settlement) from SAP2000 model.

Settlement of Foundation, ks = 24,000 Settlement of Foundation, ks =

Non-Seismic Seismic Non-Seismic Seismic

(a) Non-seismic case (b) Seismic case

(a) Non-seismic case (b) Seismic case