Structural design of an eight storey residential building

Abstract

From centuries the main aim of civil engineers was to provide safe residence that could withstand all types of disasters in order to protect human being lives. There are many difficulties and challenges in designing and constructing structures that could sustain ground shaking and earthquake forces. For this codes encourage the use of structural systems, structural configuration and ductile materials which can endure large inelastic deformation and provide high strength all at once. Current codes set as primary objective public safety, because it is possible to design safe structures which can stand against earthquakes even if it were not salvageable after a seismic event. The uniform building code (UBC) is one of the codes adopted in Lebanon according to the Lebanese building regulations codes, where the main objective is to provide the structure resistance to earthquake without collapsing, but still with high damages especially after major earthquakes. That way people will have enough time to escape their buildings, but still exposed to some risks from falling debris and aftershocks.