Chavez says U.S. occupying Haiti in name of aid

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AnnaG

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#juan said:
There was an earthquake in Alaska a few years ago that was something over 9.0 on the Richter scale. Quite a few ordinary buildings survived with minimal damage. It is pretty hard for a building to survive if the ground turns upside down and drops into a hole, but it is surprising what buildings survive just a really good shake.
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It was 9.2 on the Richter. That's energy equivalent to more than 32 billion tons of TNT.
A well built log house might move off the foundation in a 6 or 7 point and the innards would like jump around a lot but the structure should remain ok.
 
lone wolf

lone wolf

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#juan said:
I worked in the construction field as mechanical engineer in various parts of Canada over the last thirty odd years. I'm not convinced that well engineered wood frame construction building on a decent foundation would not work in Haiti. We've had earthquakes as large, or nearly as large. Remember, a lot of the buildings that fell down in Haiti, had probably been there for a hell of a long time and they have certainly had earthquakes before.

There was an earthquake in Alaska a few years ago that was something over 9.0 on the Richter scale. Quite a few ordinary buildings survived with minimal damage. It is pretty hard for a building to survive if the ground turns upside down and drops into a hole, but it is surprising what buildings survive just a really good shake.
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I think the amount of destruction depends on the type of quake. Haiti's was described as rolling movement
 
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AnnaG

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lone wolf said:
I think the amount of destruction depends on the type of quake. Haiti's was described as rolling movement
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I think you mean it depends upon the type of geology. a quake is basically just a quake but it has different effects upon different geologies. Epicenter depths make a diff, too. :)
 
MHz

MHz

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lone wolf said:
Nothing is quake proof - but it can be built to withstand substantial ones. Old tires or bales of straw (reinforced and coated with stucco) are relatively inexpensive - more build for the buck
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Flax straw is really strong, hemp straw is super strong
 
lone wolf

lone wolf

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AnnaG said:
I think you mean it depends upon the type of geology. a quake is basically just a quake but it has different effects upon different geologies. Epicenter depths make a diff, too. :)
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It depends on movement along the fault too. The Caribbean plate moves east relative to the North American. Port au Prince is also built on marshy ground which exaggerates movement ... and turns to mush sometimes.
 
#juan

#juan

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I was thinking more along the lines of a good, solid,, secure, foundation and the building could have flexibility designed into it.. It would of course depend on the geology of the ground you have to build on.
 
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AnnaG

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lone wolf said:
It depends on movement along the fault too. The Caribbean plate moves east relative to the North American. Port au Prince is also built on marshy ground which exaggerates movement ... and turns to mush sometimes.
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Right, that's geology. :)
 
petros

petros

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MHz said:
A lot of the 'rock' is coral, not much strength. It does have excellent insulation value (for a rock) You might need a 3ft thick wall but it would hold ice for a long time.
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CaCO3 and CaCO3Mg aren't coral? We'll I'll be! 8O
 
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AnnaG

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#juan said:
I was thinking more along the lines of a good, solid,, secure, foundation and the building could have flexibility designed into it.. It would of course depend on the geology of the ground you have to build on.
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For marshy ground or sand, buildings that would be designed to float would be advisable, For rocky ground, buildings designed to absorb tremor would be advisable.I think there's a variety of architectures specifically for shock zones.
 
petros

petros

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Coral (limestone) is a lousy building material?

Wow!
 
MHz

MHz

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petros said:
Coral (limestone) is a lousy building material?

Wow!
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Was that crumbled Palace in Haiti constructed of the same material?
I was referring to rock that looks like the rock in most BBQ's. Lots of air spaces, heats quickly but won't hold heat for any great length of time.
 
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