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Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The recent earthquakes in Christchurch have made it clear that issues exist with current RC frame design in New Zealand. In particular, beam elongation in RC frame buildings was widespread and resulted in numerous buildings being rendered irreparable. Design solutions to overcome this problem are clearly needed, and the slotted beam is one such solution. This system has a distinct advantage over other damage avoidance design systems in that it can be constructed using current industry techniques and conventional reinforcing steel. As the name suggests, the slotted beam incorporates a vertical slot along part of the beam depth at the beam-column interface. Geometric beam elongation is accommodated via opening and closing of these slots during seismically induced rotations, while the top concrete hinge is heavily reinforced to prevent material inelastic elongation. Past research on slotted beams has shown that the bond demand on the bottom longitudinal reinforcement is increased compared with equivalent monolithic systems. Satisfying this increased bond demand through conventional means may yield impractical and economically less viable column dimensions. The same research also indicated that the joint shear mechanism was different to that observed within monolithic joints and that additional horizontal reinforcement was required as a result. Through a combination of theoretical investigation, forensic analysis, and database study, this research addresses the above issues and develops design guidelines. The use of supplementary vertical joint stirrups was investigated as a means of improving bond performance without the need for non-standard reinforcing steel or other hardware. These design guidelines were then validated experimentally with the testing of two 80% scale beam-column sub-assemblies. The revised provisions for bond within the bottom longitudinal reinforcement were found to be adequate while the top longitudinal reinforcement remained nominally elastic throughout both tests. An alternate mechanism was found to govern joint shear behaviour, removing the need for additional horizontal joint reinforcement. Current NZS3101:2006 joint shear reinforcement provisions were found to be more than adequate given the typically larger column depths required rendering the strut mechanism more effective. The test results were then used to further refine design recommendations for practicing engineers. Finally, conclusions and future research requirements were outlined.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

Lincoln University and CBRE, a commercial real estate service provider, have conducted research to investigate the impacts of the Canterbury earthquake on the commercial office market in Christchurch. The 22 February 2011 Canterbury earthquake had a devastating impact on Christchurch property with significant damage caused to land and buildings. As at January 2012, around 740 buildings have either been demolished or identified to be demolished in central Christchurch. On top of this, around 140 buildings have either been partially demolished or identified to be partially demolished. The broad aims of our research are to (i) examine the nature and extent of the CBD office relocation, (ii) identify the nature of the occupiers, (iii) determine occupier’s perceptions of the future: their location and space needs post the February earthquake, and the likelihood of relocating back to the CBD after the rebuild, and (iv) find out what occupiers see as the future of the CBD, and how they want this to look.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The context of this study is the increasing need for public transport as issues over high private vehicle usage are becoming increasingly obvious. Public transport services need to compete with private transport to improve patronage, and issues with reliability need to be addressed. Bus bunching affects reliability through disruptions to the scheduled headways. The purpose of this study was to collect and analyse data to compare how travel time and dwell time vary, to explore the variation of key variables, and to better understand the sources of these variations. The Orbiter bus service in Christchurch was used as a case study, as it is particularly vulnerable to bus bunching. The dwell time was found to be more variable than travel time. It appeared the Canterbury earthquake had significantly reduced the average speeds for the Orbiter service. In 1964, Newell and Potts described a basic bus bunching theory, which was used as the basis for an Excel bus bunching model. This model allows input variables to vary stochastically. Random values were generated from four specified distributions derived from manually collected data, allowing variance across all bus platforms and buses. However the complexity resulted in stability and difficulty in achieving convergence, so the model was run in single Monte Carlo simulations. The outputs were realistic and showed a higher degree of bunching behaviour than previous models. The model demonstrated bunching phenomena that had not been observed in previous models, including spontaneously un-pairing, overtaking of buses delayed at platforms, and odd-numbered bunches of three buses. Furthermore, the study identified areas of further research for data collection and model development.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

4th September 2010 a 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city of approximately 370,000 people. This is followed by a 6.3 magnitude quake on 22nd February 2011 and a 6.4 on 13th June. In February 181 people died and a state of national emergency was declared from 23 February to 30th April. Urban Search and Rescue teams with 150 personnel from New Zealand and 429 from overseas worked tirelessly in addition to Army, Police and Fire services. Within the central business district 1,000 buildings (of 4,000) are expected to be demolished. An estimated 10,000 houses require demolition and over 100,000 were damaged. Meanwhile the over 7,000 aftershocks have become part of the “new normal” for us all. During this time how have libraries supported their staff? What changes have been made to services? What are the resourcing opportunities? This presentation will provide a personal view from Lincoln University, Te Whare Wanaka o Aoraki, Library Teaching and Learning. Lincoln is New Zealand's third oldest university having been founded in 1878. Publicly owned and operated it is New Zealand's specialist land-based university. Lincoln is based on the Canterbury Plains, 22 kilometres south of Christchurch. On campus there was mostly minor damage to buildings while in the Library 200,000 volumes were thrown from the shelves. I will focus on the experiences of the Disaster Team and on our experiences with hosting temporarily displaced staff and students from the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Library, Learning & Information Services. Experiences from two other institutions will be highlighted: Christchurch City Libraries, Ngā Kete Wānanga-o-Ōtautahi. Focusing on the Māori Services Team and the Ngā Pounamu Māori and Ngāi Tahu collections. The Central library located within the red zone cordon has been closed since February, the Central library held the Ngā Pounamu Māori and Ngai Tahu collections, the largest Māori collections in the Christchurch public library network. The lack of access to these collections changed the way the Māori Services Team, part of the larger Programmes, Events and Learning Team at Christchurch City Libraries were able to provide services to their community resulting in new innovative outreach programmes and a focus on promotion of online resources. On 19th December the “temporary” new and smaller Central library Peterborough opened. The retrieved Ngā Pounamu Māori and Ngai Tahu collections "Ngā rakau teitei e iwa”, have since been re-housed and are once again available for use by the public. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. This organisation, established by the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Act 1996, services the statutory rights for the people of Ngāi Tahu descent and ensures that the benefits of their Treaty Claim Settlement are enjoyed by Ngāi Tahu now and in the future. Ngāi Tahu are the indigenous Māori people of the southern islands of New Zealand - Te Waipounamu. The iwi (people) hold the rangatiratanga or tribal authority to over 80 per cent of the South Island. With their headquarters based in the central business they have also had to be relocated to temporary facilities. This included their library/archive collection of print resources, art works and taonga (cultural treasures).

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A sign on the fence of a red zoned property in Lower Styx Road. The sign reads, 'Browlee an (sic) Sutton R Clowns. Haven't got it right! $75 He rip off'. Many of the homeowners in this area believe that their homes should not be red zoned as the damage is much less than in other red zoned areas".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A proposed design by John Raven for a new cathedral, tied to a cordon fence. Clarendon Tower can be seen in the background. The photographer comments, "Someone is asking for designs for a new Christchurch Cathedral after it was announced that the old historical building will not be repaired, to be put on the fences through which people can see the de-construction of the old one. This design looks a great one to me".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

An access point into the CBD cordon at the corner of Gloucester and Oxford Terrace. Road cones and fencing can be seen in the background with a sign saying 'Access point. Hours of operation 6am-7pm daily. Outside this house use Manchester St/Cambridge Terrace access point'. Inside the cordon, a station can be seen on the left, as well as some workers and cars. The demolition site at the back is where the Brannigans Building used to be.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a press conference with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee. Brownlee announced that cabinet has agreed to redevelop the hospital sites throughout Canterbury. This will include the building of additional operating theatres, the replacement of around 5000 beds, the expansion of the intensive care unit and emergency department, and the building of a new hospital for older persons in Burwood.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A bollard covered in tattered posters. The photographer comments, "After the Christchurch February 2011 earthquake no more adverts were pasted onto this advertising pillar. Over a year later the posters are starting to peel off and reveal older ones. It seems that the constant addition of new posters was keeping everything in equilibrium, but with no new posters everything is literally falling apart".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A large chess board made from sand and broken shells, with a painted beach scene on the wall behind. The photographer comments, "After all the suggestions put on the wall on what to do in this area, which was once an earthquake damaged shop, they have made the chess board, painted a seaside scene on the wall and created a small wall of tyres".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Broken windows on the Orion building on Manchester Street. The photographer comments, "Bob Brown's Hi-Fi was damaged, as you can see, in the Christchurch earthquake on the 22 February 2011. At lot of buildings in the area have been demolished, but this art deco style structure might have not have been put on the demolition list yet".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated image of furniture and machinery. The photographer comments, "This furniture restoration company got caught in the middle of the Christchurch earthquake and lost a whole wall. After constant exposure to the elements everything now needs a bit of restoration. They are now working in a different part of Christchurch, but their past can still be seen".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated photograph of the badly twisted Medway Street footbridge. The photographer comments, "This bridge over the Avon River in Christchurch, New Zealand has been left in place since the first major earthquake back in September 2010. Graffiti artists or taggers are still leaving their marks on it even though it is nearly twisted at 90 degrees at one point".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

The badly twisted Medway Street footbridge. The photographer comments, "The September 4th 2010 earthquake in Christchurch was so violent that the banks of the Avon River moved towards each other. This footbridge being metal had to twist sideways to release the pressure of being pushed from both river banks. It looked like it had been wrung out like a wet towel".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated photograph of broken windows on Shadbolt House. The photographer comments, "This was close to the start of the demolition of the earthquake damaged Shadbolt House building in the Port of Lyttelton, New Zealand. In the bright sun the glass reflected the blue sky, but the broken windows only reflected the blackness of the interior of the empty broken building".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated image of light sculptures on Gloucester Street during the LuxCity event. The photographer comments, "This was part of the LuxCity event in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was a way of creating a city of lights on the sites of demolished buildings in the earthquake devastated red zone. 350 architecture and design students from all around New Zealand created and constructed 16 pop up spaces".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Grass growing through liquefaction silt in Avondale. The photographer comments, "Although this grass seems to be growing on the liquefaction created by the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, they are actually only growing through it. Nothing seems to grow even though seeds will sprout almost anywhere else. The seeds are growing in the soil which got covered up by the liquefaction. If liquefaction gets mixed with even a little soil then nature can get a foothold".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The intersection of Colombo and Gloucester Streets, looking south down Colombo Street towards Cathedral Square. The soldiers are staffing the cordon as this is the main way through from one half of the central city red zone to the other half, which is now bisected by Gloucester Street".

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This document reviews research-based understandings of the concept of resilience. A conceptual model is developed which identifies a number of the factors that influence individual and household resilience. Guided by the model, a series of recommendations are developed for practices that will support individual and household resilience in Canterbury in the aftermath of the 2010-2011 earthquakes.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

A plane flies into the distance. Attached to it by a rope is a large package containing Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and CEO of the City Council Tony Marryatt. The package is addressed 'Deepest Siberia c/- isolated hellhole Russia'. The mayor looks on the bright side considering this to be a junket the people will approve of. Context: Public disapproval of the Mayor's two-week tour of Asian countries with a Christchurch International Airport-led delegation. The airport is paying for the mayoral couple to take part in the trip. There is public criticism that the trip take place at this time because of ongoing problems with the council and earthquake recovery. There is also criticism of Tony Marryatt's $68,000 pay increase considered poor form when so many people are struggling with earthquake related problems. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The Canterbury earthquakes are unique in that the there have been a series of major earthquakes, each with their own subsequent aftershock pattern. These have extended from the first large earthquake in September 2010 to currently, at the time of writing, two years later. The last significant earthquake of over magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale was in May on 2012, and the total number of aftershocks has exceeded 12,000. The consequences, in addition to the loss of life, significant injury and widespread damage, have been far reaching and long term, with detrimental effects and still uncertain effects for many. This provides unique challenges for individuals, communities, organisations and institutions within Canterbury. This document reviews research-based understandings of the concept of resilience. A conceptual model is developed which identifies a number of the factors that influence individual and household resilience. Guided by the model, a series of recommendations are developed for practices that will support individual and household resilience in Canterbury in the aftermath of the 2010-2011 earthquakes.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

During many years the analysis of some geophysical results of Charles Darwin was being carried out in Department. Darwin has connected almost 200 years ago results of catastrophic earthquakes with vertical movement of a surface of the Earth. Usually this movement less horizontal movement and its influence on destruction of cities is not considered. Earthquake hazard assessment studies were focused usually on the horizontal ground motion. Effects of the strong vertical motion were not, practically, discussed. The margins of safety against gravity-induced static vertical forces in constructed buildings usually provide adequate resistance to dynamic forces induced by the vertical acceleration during an earthquake. However, the earthquake in Christchurch is an example of the vertical seismic shock . The earthquake magnitude was rather small - nearby 6.3. However, the result was catastrophic. The same took place in 1835. It allowed to Darwin to formulate a few great ideas. Charles Darwin has explained qualitatively results of an interaction of huge seismic waves with volcanoes and the nature of volcanism and seismicity of our planet. These important data of Charles Darwin became very actual recently. It is possible to tell also the same about tsunami and extreme ocean waves described by Charles Darwin. Therefore this data were analyzed using modern mechanics, mathematics and physics in Department. In particular, the theory of catastrophic waves was developed based on Darwin's data. The theory tried to explain occurrence, evolution and distribution the catastrophic waves in various natural systems, since atoms, oceans, surfaces of the Earth and up to the very early Universe. Some results of the research were published in prestigious magazines. Later they were presented in two books devoted to Charles Darwin's anniversary (2009). Last from them was published in Russian (2011). We give here key ideas of this research which is a part of interdisciplinary researches of Department. Some ideas are discussed. Not less important purpose is very short historical review of some researches of Darwin. In particular, we underline Darwin' priority in the formulation of the bases of Dynamics Earth.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Despite over a century of study, the relationship between lunar cycles and earthquakes remains controversial and difficult to quantitatively investigate. Perhaps as a consequence, major earthquakes around the globe are frequently followed by 'prediction' claims, using lunar cycles, that generate media furore and pressure scientists to provide resolute answers. The 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand were no exception; significant media attention was given to lunarderived earthquake predictions by non-scientists, even though the predictions were merely 'opinions' and were not based on any statistically robust temporal or causal relationships. This thesis provides a framework for studying lunisolar earthquake temporal relationships by developing replicable statistical methodology based on peer reviewed literature. Notable in the methodology is a high accuracy ephemeris, called ECLPSE, designed specifically by the author for use on earthquake catalogs, and a model for performing phase angle analysis. The statistical tests were carried out on two 'declustered' seismic catalogs, one containing the aftershocks from the Mw7.1 earthquake in Canterbury, and the other containing Australian seismicity from the past two decades. Australia is an intraplate setting far removed from active plate boundaries and Canterbury is proximal to a plate boundary, thus allowing for comparison based on tectonic regime and corresponding tectonic loading rate. No strong, conclusive, statistical correlations were found at any level of the earthquake catalogs, looking at large events, onshore events, offshore events, and the fault type of some events. This was concluded using Schuster's test of significance with α=5% and analysis of standard deviations. A few weak correlations, with p-5-10% of rejecting the null hypothesis, and anomalous standard deviations were found, but these are difficult to interpret. The results invalidate the statistical robustness of 'earthquake predictions' using lunisolar parameters in this instance. An ambitious researcher could improve on the quality of the results and on the range of parameters analyzed. The conclusions of the thesis raise more questions than answers, but the thesis provides an adaptable methodology that can be used to further investigation the problem.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The Mw 7.1 Darfield earthquake generated a ~30 km long surface rupture on the Greendale Fault and significant surface deformation related to related blind faults on a previously unrecognized fault system beneath the Canterbury Plains. This earthquake provided the opportunity for research into the patterns and mechanisms of co-seismic and post-seismic crustal deformation. In this thesis I use multiple across-fault EDM surveys, logic trees, surface investigations and deformation feature mapping, seismic reflection surveying, and survey mark (cadastral) re-occupation using GPS to quantify surface displacements at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. My field mapping investigations identified shaking and crustal displacement-induced surface deformation features south and southwest of Christchurch and in the vicinity of the projected surface traces of the Hororata Blind and Charing Cross Faults. The data are consistent with the high peak ground accelerations and broad surface warping due to underlying reverse faulting on the Hororata Blind Fault and Charing Cross Fault. I measured varying amounts of post-seismic displacement at four of five locations that crossed the Greendale Fault. None of the data showed evidence for localized dextral creep on the Greendale Fault surface trace, consistent with other studies showing only minimal regional post-seismic deformation. Instead, the post-seismic deformation field suggests an apparent westward translation of northern parts of the across-fault surveys relative to the southern parts of the surveys that I attribute to post-mainshock creep on blind thrusts and/or other unidentified structures. The seismic surveys identified a deformation zone in the gravels that we attribute to the Hororata Blind Fault but the Charing Cross fault was not able to be identified on the survey. Cadastral re-surveys indicate a deformation field consistent with previously published geodetic data. We use this deformation with regional strain rates to estimate earthquake recurrence intervals of ~7000 to > 14,000 yrs on the Hororata Blind and Charing Cross Faults.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A damaged brick building on Tuam Street. Bricks have fallen from the wall exposing the interior, where a wooden structure can be seen to have collapsed. The photographer comments, "This is the damage caused by the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. It closely resembles a face and the round blob in the square hole at the top of the nose is a pigeon".

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Highlights from Radio New Zealand National's programmes for the week ending Friday 7 December. This week ...... not everyone was keen on The Hobbit world premiere party, measuring and assessing innovation, expecting excellence of all students in education no matter what race they are, a world wide gathering of "Dobson's" tour ancestral South Island locations, The Christchurch Fiasco - what is going on with insurance companies post earthquakes, getting touchy feely with art and reggae star Jimmy Cliff on his spiritual life and learnings