This thesis is aimed at exploring the relation of socio-cultural characteristics and policies with post-quake reconstruction of rural areas of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan. The primary concern of the study is limited to examine the traditional architectural practice ; dhajji-dewari and social composition of the community during and after reconstruction. It is analyzed that how the socio-cultural aspects of rural communities are affected by the policies, how policies are affected by the socio-cultural aspects of the community and how both of these can influence the final product. The thesis was rooted in the fact that 80% of the 600,000 damaged/destroyed buildings during 8th October, 2005 Kashmir earthquake were rural temporary (Katcha) houses. It was hence to be investigated that how far the Rural Housing Reconstruction Program (RHRP) has reduced (or increased) the vulnerability of the area for future. The impact of any policy launched during this program was not limited to few housing units rather more than 0.1 million dhajji houses could be affected through this. The rural Kashmir reconstruction was commenced with the in-hand knowledge of several previous post-quake reconstruction programs and was appreciated widely by experts. It was yet to be explored that which mistakes were committed/repeated by the stakeholders during policy making, delivery, implementation and post implementation phases. Covering the phases of policy making, delivery and implementation, the major findings of the thesis are categorized into three sections ; the sustainability generating aspects of reconstruction, vulnerability enhancing dimensions of reconstruction, and, those outcomes of reconstruction which are not yet categorized under "sustainability" or "vulnerability" by the experts focusing particularly rural Kashmir. Community satisfaction is given primary focus to rate different outcomes.The study concludes that ignoring socio-cultural aspects of the community during reconstruction may lead to vulnerability in post-reconstruction scenario. Considering the post implementation phase, the current trends are observed by examining under-construction houses. By pictorially presenting the architectural details of these houses it is examined that deviations from guidelines are in practice. People start forgetting the disaster impacts after few years and their immediate needs drive their decision priorities. It is suggested that after reconstruction program ends up, some authorities must be present in the reconstructed area to guide people for their current requirements and future needs and also to control the spread of non compliant construction.

Following the 22 February 2011, MW 6.2 earthquake located on a fault beneath the Port Hills of Christchurch, fissuring of up to several hundred metres in length was observed in the loess and loess-colluvium of foot-slope positions in north-facing valleys of the Port Hills. The fissuring was observed in all major valleys, occurred at similar low altitudes, showing a contour-parallel orientation and often accompanied by both lateral compression/extension features and spring formation in the valley floor below. Fissuring locations studied in depth included Bowenvale Valley, Hillsborough Valley, Huntlywood Terrace–Lucas Lane, Bridle Path Road, and Maffeys Road–La Costa Lane. Investigations into loess soil, its properties and mannerisms, as well as international examples of its failure were undertaken, including study of the Loess Plateau of China, the Teton Dam, and palaeo-fissuring on Banks Peninsula. These investigations lead to the conclusion that loess has the propensity to fail, often due to the infiltration of water, the presence of which can lead to its instantaneous disaggregation. Literature study and laboratory analysis of Port Hills loess concluded that is has the ability to be stable in steep, sub-vertical escarpments, and often has a sub-vertically jointed internal structure and has a peak shear strength when dry. Values for cohesion, c (kPa) and the internal friction angle, ϕ (degrees) of Port Hills loess were established. The c values for the 40 Rapaki Road, 3 Glenview Terrace loess samples were 13.4 kPa and 19.7 kPa, respectively. The corresponding ϕ values were thought unusually high, at 42.0° and 43.4°.The analysed loess behaved very plastically, with little or no peak strength visible in the plots as the test went almost directly to residual strength. A geophysics resistivity survey showed an area of low resistivity which likely corresponds to a zone of saturated clayey loess/loess colluvium, indicating a high water table in the area. This is consistent with the appearances of local springs which are located towards the northern end of each distinct section of fissure trace and chemical analysis shows that they are sourced from the Port Hills volcanics. Port Hills fissuring may be sub-divided into three categories, Category A, Category B, and Category C, each characterised by distinctive features of the fissures. Category A includes fissures which display evidence of, spring formation, tunnel-gullying, and lateral spreading-like behaviour or quasi-toppling. These fissures are several metres down-slope of the loess-bedrock interface, and are in valleys containing a loess-colluvium fill. Category B fissures are in wider valleys than those in Category A, and the valleys contain estuarine silty sediments which liquefied during the earthquake. Category C fissures occurred at higher elevations than the fissures in the preceding categories, being almost coincident with bedrock outcropping. It is believed that the mechanism responsible for causing the fissuring is a complex combination of three mechanisms: the trampoline effect, bedrock fracturing, and lateral spreading. These three mechanisms can be applied in varying degrees to each of the fissuring sites in categories A, B, and C, in order to provide explanation for the observations made at each. Toppling failure can describe the soil movement as a consequence of the a three causative mechanisms, and provides insight into the movement of the loess. Intra-loess water coursing and tunnel gullying is thought to have encouraged and exacerbated the fissuring, while not being the driving force per se. Incipient landsliding is considered to be the least likely of the possible fissuring interpretations.

This thesis addresses two fundamental topics in Engineering Seismology; the application of Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) methodology, and the estimation of measures of Strong Ground Motion. These two topics, while being related, are presented as separate sections. In the first section, state-of-the-art PSHA methodologies are applied to various sites in the Buller Region, South Island, New Zealand. These sites are deemed critical to the maintenance of economic stability in the region. A fault-source based seismicity model is developed for the region that is consistent with the governing tectonic loading, and seismic moment release of the region. In attempting to ensure this consistency the apparent anomaly between the rates of activity dictated by deformation throughout the Quaternary, and rates of activity dictated by observed seismicity is addressed. Individual fault source activity is determined following the application of a Bayesian Inference procedure in which observed earthquake events are attributed to causative faults in the study region. The activity of fault sources, in general, is assumed to be governed by bounded power law behaviour. An exception is made for the Alpine Fault which is modelled as a purely characteristic source. The calculation of rates of exceedance of various ground motion indices is made using a combination of Poissonian and time-dependent earthquake occurrence models. The various ground motion indices for which rates of exceedance are determined include peak ground acceleration, ordinates of 5% damped Spectral Acceleration, and Arias Intensity. The total hazard determined for each of these ground motion measures is decomposed using a four dimensional disaggregation procedure. From this disaggregation procedure, design earthquake scenarios are specified for the sites that are considered. The second part of the thesis is concerned with the estimation of ground motion measures that are more informative than the existing scalar measures that are available for use in New Zealand. Models are developed for the prediction of Fourier Amplitude Spectra (FAS) as well as Arias Intensity for use in the New Zealand environment. The FAS model can be used to generate ground motion time histories for use in structural and geotechnical analyses. Arias Intensity has been shown to be an important strong motion measure due to its positive correlation with damage in short period structures as well as its utility in predicting the onset of liquefaction and landslides. The models are based upon the analysis of a dataset of New Zealand Strong Motion records as well as supplementary near field records from major overseas events. While the two measures of ground motion intensity are strongly related, different methods have been adopted in order to develop the models. As part of the methodology used for the FAS model, Monte Carlo simulation coupled with a simple ray tracing procedure is employed to estimate source spectra from various New Zealand earthquakes and, consequently, a magnitude - corner-frequency relationship is obtained. In general, the parameters of the predictive equations are determined using the most state-of-the-art mixed effects regression procedures.

This study mainly addresses the problem of estimating the prior earthquake damage on the response of reinforced concrete structures to future earthquakes. The motivation has arisen from the heavy damages or collapses that occurred in many reinforced concrete structures following two major earthquakes that recently occurred in the Marmara Region, Turkey. The analysis tool employed for this purpose is the package named IDARC2D. Deterioration parameters of IDARC&#039 / s hysteretic model have been calibrated using a search method. In the calibration process experimental data of a total of twenty-two beam and column specimens, tested under constant and variable amplitude displacement histories, has been used. Fine-tuning of deterioration parameters is essential for more realistic predictions about inelastic behavior and structural damage. In order to provide more realistic damage prediction, three ranges of parameters are proposed. Some damage controlling structural parameters have been assessed via a large number of two-dimensional section analyses, inelastic time history and damage analyses of SDOF systems and seismic vulnerability analyses of reinforced concrete buildings. Inelastic time history and damage analyses of numerous SDOF systems have been carried out to determine whether the loading history has an effect on damage and dissipated hysteretic energy. Then this emphasis is directed to the analyses of MDOF systems. In the analyses of the SDOF systems, various forms of constant and variable amplitude inelastic displacement reversals and synthetic ground motions composed of one of the four earthquake records preceded or followed by its modified records acted as a prior or successive earthquake, have been used. The analyses of two five-story R/C buildings have been caried out using synthetic accelerograms comprised of base input provided by the two recorded ground motions. It is shown that both damage progression and cumulative hysteretic energy dissipated along a path seem to depend on the number and amplitude of cycles constituting the path. However, final damage and accumulated hysteretic energy dissipated along a loading path are independent of the ordering of the same number and amplitude cycles along the path. There is a nonlinear relationship between the earthquake excitation intensity and final damage attained in the end. Increase in the acceleration amplitude leads to exponential increase in damage. As the prior earthquake intensity increases the damage from the succeding main earthquake decreases. A definite ground motion acting as prior and successive earthquake causes substantially different amount of damage. Prior earthquake damage does not substantially affect the maximum drift response in future larger earthquakes. A MDOF frame type structure with aprior damage suffers less overall damage in an earthquake in comparison with the one without a prior damage.

1999年台灣發生九二一地震之後，中央政府為因應災後重建需要，制定「九二一震災暫行條例」，並依法設置「行政院九二一震災災後重建推動委員會」負責重建事項之協調、審核、決策、推動及監督。其次再將中央政府所收震災捐款設立「財團法人九二一震災重建基金會」，聘任政府相關單位代表與民間社會人士組成董監事會共同管理基金。 財團法人九二一震災重建基金會為一公設的財團法人（GONGO），成立之初主要功能仍是在配合政府施政，並未因面對地震應變而有所調整。然而2000年台灣進行50年來首次的政黨輪替，卻也意外地改變了基金會的組織型態，以「議題導向、主動規劃」成為基金會新的思考方向，並在此基礎之上展開策略規劃。 本文主要以「策略矩陣分析法」對於基金會所推動的住宅重建策略進行分析，並以政府所推動相對之住宅政策作為比較基準（benchmark），透過實務上的驗證分析，說明在一個創新的組織型態下，確實能更為有效地處理「公共」議題，同時為「公設財團法人」或是「行政法人」的角色找出新的價值與定位。 / Following Taiwan’s September 21 (921) Earthquake in 1999, the central government answered post-disaster reconstruction needs by drawing up the Temporary Statute for 921 Earthquake Reconstruction. On this basis it established the Executive Yuan 921 Earthquake Post-Disaster Recover Commission to address problems of co-ordination, policy approval and development, process advancement and overall supervision. In addition, it formed the 921 Earthquake Relief Foundation using donations received by the central government, while placing government representatives from applicable agencies as well as members of the public on a board of directors to manage the foundation’s funds. The 921 Earthquake Relief Foundation was a “government-organized non-governmental organization” (GONGO). Its main function at the time of its formation was to coordinate with the government in the implementation of policy, but it was not able to adjust its role in the face of new contingencies. In 2000, however, Taiwan’s first transfer of political power in fifty years unexpectedly reshaped the foundation. Its line of thinking became “issue-oriented and planning-proactive,” and on this basis it began to be involved in strategic development. This article uses strategic matrix analysis to investigate the residential reconstruction policy advanced by the foundation. With the corresponding residential policy advanced by the government as a benchmark, and using practical verification and analysis, it argues that an organization that has undergone change is indeed able to efficiently deal with “public” themes while at the same time seeking out new value and orientation in the role of a GONGO or the “administrative corporation.”

隨著全球氣候變遷，天然災害發生頻率越來越高，人道救援的重要性、多元性、緊急性及複雜性更加凸顯，國際人道援助已然成為當代普世價值，因此聯合國與歐盟在1990年代重新改組人道援助機構，統一人道援助事務的事與權，使得國際人道援助機制更臻完善。 首先，海地2010年發生世紀強震，國際社會發動近年來最大動員進行救援與救災，本文透過檢視跨國合作人道援助海地震災，瞭解國際人道援助機制之執行成果，共有包括美國等30餘個國家、聯合國等14個國際組織、紅十字國際委員會等37個非政府組織共同合作協助海地救災與重建工作。 其次，經檢視此次國際救災與重建工作之成果，除所號召的67支搜救隊就出的134生還者是近年來最多成功救援生還者最多的案例，直到2012年2月，原來震災後暫棲避難所的150萬災民也大幅減少至49萬人，預計修復與重建的房舍進度也達成50％，由上述成效觀之，各行為者之間並未出現疊床架屋之困境，反而出現團隊合作的情形，這要歸功於聯合國多年來進行救災累積的經驗。 此次主要由聯合國統一指揮，有效避免救災資源重疊及浪費的情形，並把握救災黃金時間提升人道援助的成效與成果。救災過程中雖因美國撤僑，派軍控制海地國際機場，導致各國救災行動一時受阻，引起撻伐，嗣經聯合國副秘書長John Holmes介入後及時解決此問題，應可作為日後聯合國與國際社會進行人道援助之借鏡，雖救災初期略為紊亂，整個人道救援過程仍稱順利，可謂「瑕不掩瑜」。 最後，中華民國的人道援助經費與聯合國、歐盟、美國及國際重要非政府組織動輒10幾億美元之經費相較之下微不足道，但中華民國此次人道援助策略秉持以自身的優勢及傳統援助強項為基本戰略，並以「小而美」、「小而巧」、「小而強」的原則規劃執行相關計畫，由中華民國執行重建計畫的執行效率，再與聯合國、歐盟及美國透過非政府組織所執行的計畫相較之下，中華民國的策略似乎較為奏效且真正符合受災國人民的迫切需求，這也將成為日後中華民國日後制訂人道援助政策的最佳參考模式。 / With global climate change, natural disasters occur more frequently; therefore, the importance, diversity, urgency and complexity of humanitarian assistance not only become more and more prominent, but also become contemporary universal value. In the 1990s, the United Nations and the European Union reshuffled their humanitarian aid agencies, by unifying Humanitarian Aid Office’s authority, the mechanism of the international humanitarian assistance becomes more complete. Firstly, in January 2010 Haiti was hit by a catastrophic-magnitude earthquake, causing great damages and losses. The international community launched in recent years the largest mobilization for rescue and disaster relief. The essay reviews cross-border cooperation in humanitarian aid for the Haiti earthquake and analyzes the implementation of international humanitarian assistance. A total of more than 30 countries including the United States, United Nations and other 14 international organizations, 37 non-governmental organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, work together to assist the Haitian relief and reconstruction work. Secondly, 134 survivors were rescued by 67 search and rescue teams, also claimed to be the most successful rescue case in past decades. Until February 2012, refuges that lived in the temporary camps are significantly reduced from 1.5 million to 490,000 and the percentage of the progress of the repair and reconstruction of the damaged houses has reached 50%. Instead of the overlap and waste of resources, all the international actors work together to make a great success, thanks to disaster relief experience accumulated in the United Nations over the years. The unified command of the United Nations effectively avoids duplication of relief resources and waste and takes advantage of the prime time in enhancing effectiveness and outcomes of the humanitarian aid. Although the evacuation of the United States’citizens in Haiti and the incident that the U.S. troops were sent to control Haiti International Airport in the relief process result in temporary drawback in the international disaster relief efforts, thus causing international discontent, the intervention of the UN Under-Secretary-General John Holmes helped resolve the issue. This could serve as a good example for United Nations and the international community to carry out humanitarian assistance on disaster relief in the future. Despite the early slight disorder, the whole humanitarian process proceeds with stability in the end. Finally, the humanitarian aid funds of the Republic of China（Taiwan） to the Haiti earthquake, compare with that of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and other important international non-governmental organizations, are trivial, yet the Republic of China（Taiwan） makes the best use of its advantages and traditional strengths and followed the principles of “small but beautiful”, “small but clever” and “small but good”. The strategy of the implementation of the reconstruction plan of Taiwan, compares with that of the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, seems more effective and truly meets the urgent needs of the victims, which will also serve as the best reference model for Taiwan in the stipulation of its humanitarian aid policy in the future.

This thesis investigates the performance of composite frame structures with smart partially-restrained (PR) concrete filled tube (CFT) column connections through simplified 2D and advanced 3D computational simulations. It also provides a design methodology for new types of innovative connections based on achieving a beam hinging mechanism. These types of connections intend to utilize the recentering properties of super-elastic SMA tension bars, the energy dissipation capacity of low-carbon steel bars, and the robustness of CFT columns. In the first part of this study, three different PR-CFT connection prototypes were designed based on a hierarchy of strength models for each connection component. Numerical simulations with refined three dimensional (3D) solid elements were conducted on full scale PR-CFT connection models in order to verify the strength models and evaluate the system performance under static loading. Based on system information obtained from these analyses, simplified connection models were formulated by replacing the individual connection components with spring elements and condensing their contributions. Connection behavior under cyclic loads was extrapolated and then compared with the monotonic behavior. In the second part of this study, the application of these connections to low-rise composite frames was illustrated by designing both 2D and 3D, 4 and 6 story buildings for the Los Angeles region. A total of 36 frames were studied. Pushover curves plotted as the normalized shear force versus inter story drift ratio (ISDR) showed significant transition points: elastic range or proportional limit, full yielding of the cross-section, strength hardening, ultimate strength, and strength degradation or stability limit. Based on the transition points in the monotonic pushover curves, three performance levels were defined: Design Point, Yield Point, and Ultimate Point. All frames were stable up to the yield point level. For all fames, after reaching the ultimate point, plastic rotation increased significantly and concentrated on the lower levels. These observations were quantified through the use of elastic strength ratios and inelastic curvature ductility ratios. The composite frames showed superior performance over traditional welded ones in terms of ductility and stability, and validated the premises of this research.

Title: Automated determination of earthquake source parameters Author: Jiří Vackář Department: Department of Geophysics Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Jiří Zahradník, DrSc., Department of Geophysics Abstract: The thesis deals with methods for automated inversion of seismic source parameters. We studied the influence of structure model used and show an ex- ample how the existing model can be improved. We have developed a new, fully automated tool for the centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversion in a Bayesian framework. It includes automated data retrieval from ArcLink server or local data storage. Step-like disturbances are detected using modeling of the distur- bance according to instrument parameters and such components are automati- cally excluded from further processing. Frequency ranges for the filtration and time windows for the inversion are determined automatically due to epicentral distance. Full-waveform inversion is performed in a space-time grid around a provided hypocenter. A data covariance matrix calculated from pre-event noise yields an automated weighting of the station recordings according to their noise levels and also serves as an automated frequency filter suppressing noisy frequency ranges. The method is tested on synthetic and observed data. It is applied on a dataset from the Swiss seismic...

La Belgique et les régions voisines sont situées loin des limites des plaques tectoniques, pourtant, l'activité sismique y démontre l'existence de phénomènes géodynamiques récents. Le séisme historique le plus important (magnitude 6 ¼) au nord des Alpes s'est produit le 18 septembre 1692 dans le nord de l'Ardenne et a été fortement destructeur dans la région de Verviers, provoquant des dégâts légers jusqu'à Londres. L'étude de l'activité sismique en Ardenne et l'identification de failles actives en lien avec la tectonique active régionale est donc primordiale pour la caractérisation du cadre séismotectonique et donc de l'évaluation de l'aléa sismique de la région.<p>L'activité sismique depuis 1985, date de l'installation du réseau sismique moderne en Belgique, a été étudiée en matière de localisation relative des séismes et de caractérisation de leur distribution spatiale en relation avec les mécanismes au foyer. Cette étude a été effectuée après adaptation, comparaison et évaluation de la qualité des différents algorithmes de relocalisation disponibles. Une structuration de l'Ardenne a été mise en évidence en étudiant la relation entre la distribution géographique et la profondeur d'occurrence des séismes. Différents alignements des foyers sismiques et le lien avec une structure plane ont été déterminés, par exemple dans la région de Charleroi, sous les Hautes-Fagnes ou dans la région de Manderfeld. La corrélation entre les structures de la croûte sous l'Ardenne mises en évidence par les grandes études géophysiques dans les années 70-80 et la distribution géographique des séismes illustrent le rôle important joué par la Zone Faillée de Hockai, qui limite l'Ardenne en terme de propriétés rhéologiques déduites de la profondeur des foyers sismiques. Nous montrons aussi la faiblesse de l'hypothèse affirmant que la Faille du Midi accommode la déformation actuelle dans nos régions. De même, la corrélation entre les anomalies magnétiques et gravimétriques de la croûte sous l'Ardenne a été étudiée qualitativement. Les causes et conséquences du soulèvement Cénozoïque ont été critiquées objectivement. Cette première partie permet de dessiner un cadre séismotectonique bien défini en Ardenne.<p>L'identification de failles actives sur le terrain en Ardenne est compliquée par le faible taux de déformation qu'elle subi. Les grands tremblements de terre sont peu fréquents et leur trace éventuelle à la surface est rapidement effacée par l'érosion et l'altération. La Zone Faillée de Hockai (ZFH), siège supposé du séisme de 1692, a été étudiée par des méthodes de prospections géophysiques le long d'un profil de 6 km sur la Crête de la Vecquée. Différentes structures ont pu être mises en évidence, certaines en lien avec la stratigraphie et d'autres avec des structures faillées orientées dans une direction similaire à celles connues pour la ZFH. Ce premier profil d'envergure donne des arguments importants pour la recherche de failles actives en lien avec la ZFH au niveau de la Crête de la Vecquée et leur lien potentiel avec la séquence de séismes de 1989-1990. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Nuclear power plays a crucial role in energy supply in the world: around 15% of the electricity generated worldwide is provided from nuclear stations avoiding around 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. As of January 2016, 442 reactors that generated 380+ GW were in operation and 66 new reactors were under construction. The seismic design of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) has gained much interest after the high-profile Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. In the UK, a tectonically stable continental region that possesses medium-to-low seismic activity, strong earthquakes capable of jeopardising the structural integrity of NPPs, although infrequent, can still occur. Despite that no NPP has been built in Great Britain after 1995, a New Build Programme intended to build 16 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2030 is currently under way. This PhD project provides a state-of-the-art framework for seismic probabilistic safety assessment and risk control of NPPs in Northwest Europe with particular application to the British Isles. It includes three progressive levels: (i) seismic input, (ii) seismic risk analysis, and (iii) seismic risk control. For seismic input, a suitable model to rationally define inputs in the context of risk assessments is proposed. Such a model is based on the stochastic simulation of accelerograms that are compatible with seismic scenarios defined by magnitude 4 < Mw < 6.5, epicentral distance 10 km < Repi < 100 km, and different types of soil (rock, stiff soil and soft soil). It was found to be a rational approach that streamlines the simulation of accelerograms to conduct nonlinear dynamic analyses for safety assessments. The model is a function of a few variables customarily known in structural engineering projects. In terms of PGA, PGV and spectral accelerations, the simulated accelerograms were validated by GMPEs calibrated for the UK, Europe and the Middle East, and other stable continental regions. For seismic risk analysis, a straightforward and logical approach to probabilistically assess the risk of NPPs based on the stochastic simulation of accelerograms is studied. It effectively simplifies traditional approaches: for seismic inputs, it avoids the use of selecting/scaling procedures and GMPEs; for structural outputs, it does not use Monte Carlo algorithms to simulate the damage state. However, it demands more expensive computational resources as a large number of nonlinear dynamic analyses are needed. For seismic risk control, strategies to control the risk using seismic protection systems are analysed. This is based on recent experience reported elsewhere of seismically protected nuclear reactor buildings in other areas of medium-to-low seismic activity. Finally, a scenario-based incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) is proposed aimed at the generation of surfaces for unacceptable performance of NPPs as function of earthquake magnitude and distance. It was found that viscous-based devices are more efficient than hysteretic-based devices in controlling the seismic risk of NPPs in the UK. Finally, using the proposed scenario-based IDA, it was found that when considering all controlling scenarios for a representative UK nuclear site, the risk is significantly reduced ranging from 3 to 5 orders of magnitude when using viscous-based devices.