Seismic Performance Improvement of Gravity-load-

Designed (GLD) Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings in

Nepal

Kiran Acharya
St109664

Abstract

Nepal lies in a high risk seismic zone (zone 4) where a massive earthquake is
expected any time. Geologist believes it is at risk from an earthquake 8-10 times as
powerful as Haiti shock and experts say that the country is woefully unprepared.
Low building standards, conventional design and construction practices without the
involvement of engineers have aggravated the risk of more damage and collapse of
buildings even by moderate earthquake.

My Thesis study entitled ,” Seismic Performance Improvement of Gravity-load-

Designed (GLD) Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings” aims at identifying the major
drawbacks in the design trend of low to mid rise RCC frame buildings in Nepal,
suggesting the correct way of seismic design for current constructions, and
identifying the suitable way of retrofitting the structures. For this, I will collect the
structural design details of some typical buildings, about five, from different
consultancies and government offices. I will mainly focus on the buildings of
Kathmandu valley and if time permits I will collect the data from Chitwan district
also. For the buildings under construction which are not designed by engineers, I
will go to the site and study the design details of the buildings. Also, I will ask the
contractor about their design practices. After collecting data I will use OpenSees
software to analyze the buildings and study their behavior under various magnitude
of earthquake. Then I will redesign the structure with proper seismic detailing and
study their modified behavior. After that I will use various retrofitting techniques in
the same structure and analyze again to find the most suitable one in terms of
performance and economy.

This Thesis will help me in identifying the shortcomings in seismic design practices
in Nepal, the correct approach to improve the seismic design and application of
proper retrofitting techniques of old buildings.