A photograph of fallen masonry from 112 Centaurus Road.
The sequence of earthquakes that has affected Christchurch and Canterbury since September 2010 has caused damage to a great number of buildings of all construction types. Following post-event damage surveys performed between April 2011 and June 2011, an inventory of the stone masonry buildings in Christchurch and surrounding areas was carried out in order to assemble a database containing the characteristic features of the building stock, as a basis for studying the vulnerability factors that might have influenced the seismic performance of the stone masonry building stock during the Canterbury earthquake sequence. The damage suffered by unreinforced stone masonry buildings is reported and different types of observed failures are described using a specific survey procedure currently in use in Italy. The observed performance of seismic retrofit interventions applied to stone masonry buildings is also described, as an understanding of the seismic response of these interventions is of fundamental importance for assessing the utility of such strengthening techniques when applied to unreinforced stone masonry structures. AM - Accepted Manuscript
Between September 4, 2010 and December 23, 2011, a series of earthquakes struck the South Island of New Zealand including the city of Christchurch producing heavy damage. During the strongest shaking, the unreinforced masonry (URM) building stock in Christchurch was subjected to seismic loading equal to approximately 150-200% of code values. Post-earthquake reconnaissance suggested numerous failures of adhesive anchors used for retrofit connection of roof and floor diaphragms to masonry walls. A team of researchers from the Universities of Auckland (NZ) and Minnesota (USA) conducted a field investigation on the performance of new adhesive anchors installed in existing masonry walls. Variables included adhesive type, anchor diameter, embedment length, anchor inclination, and masonry quality. Buildings were selected that had been slated for demolition but which featured exterior walls that had not been damaged. A summary of the deformation response measured during the field tests are presented. AM - Accepted Manuscript
During the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, Reinforced Concrete Frame with Masonry Infill (RCFMI) buildings were subjected to significant lateral loads. A survey conducted by Christchurch City Council (CCC) and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) documented 10,777 damaged buildings, which included building characteristics (building address, the number of storeys, the year of construction, and building use) and post-earthquake damage observations (building safety information, observed damage, level of damage, and current state of the buildings). This data was merged into the Canterbury Earthquake Building Assessment (CEBA) database and was utilised to generate empirical fragility curves using the lognormal distribution method. The proposed fragility curves were expected to provide a reliable estimation of the mean vulnerability for commercial RCFMI buildings in the region. http://www.13thcms.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Symposium-Info-and-Presentation-Schedule.pdf VoR - Version of Record
A photograph of masonry details removed from the Cranmer Centre.
During the Christchurch earthquake of February 2011, several midrise buildings of Reinforced Concrete Masonry (RCM) construction achieved performance levels in the range of life safety to near collapse levels. These buildings were subjected to seismic demands higher than the building code requirements of the time and higher than the current New Zealand Loadings Standard (NZS-1170.5:2004). Structural damage to these buildings has been documented and is currently being studied to establish lessons to be learned from their performance and how to incorporate these lessons into future RCM design and construction practices. This paper presents a case study of a six story RCM building deemed to have reached the near collapse performance level. The RCM walls on the 2nd floor failed due to toe crushing reducing the building’s lateral resistance in the east-west direction. A nonlinear dynamic analysis on a 3D model was conducted to simulate the development of the governing failure mechanism. Preliminary analysis results show that the damaged walls were initially under large compression forces from gravity loads which caused increase in their lateral strength and reduced their ductility. After toe crushing failure developed, axial instability of the model was prevented by a redistribution of gravity loads.
The sequence of earthquakes that has affected Christchurch and Canterbury since September 2010 has caused damage to a great number of buildings of all construction types. Following post-event damage surveys performed between April 2011 and June 2011, the damage suffered by unreinforced stone masonry buildings is reported and different types of observed failures are described. A detailed technical description of the most prevalently observed failure mechanisms is provided, with reference to recognised failure modes for unreinforced masonry structures. The observed performance of existing seismic retrofit interventions is also provided, as an understanding of the seismic response of these interventions is of fundamental importance for assessing the vulnerability of similar strengthening techniques when applied to unreinforced stone masonry structures.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of fallen masonry from St Paul's-Trinity-Pacific Church.
A photograph of fallen masonry from St Paul's-Trinity-Pacific Church.
A photograph of a crane removing masonry from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the east side of the Cranmer Courts on the corner of Montreal and Kilmore Streets. The masonry of the gable has crumbled exposing the wooden structure beneath.
Martin van Beynen, a reporter for The Press newspaper, photographing damage to Wave House (Winnie Bagoes Pizza Bar). Masonry from the building has collapsed onto several parked cars.
A photograph of the collapsed Durham Street Methodist Church viewed from the side. All that is left is a pile of masonry and a vague indication of where the walls used to be.
A photograph of the masonry around a window of the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Christ Church Cathedral with damaged masonry".
A photograph of the masonry above a window of the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of masonry from the foundations of the demolished Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.
A photograph of a piece of masonry removed from the Cranmer Centre.