The 1940 Vrancea Earthquake Issues Insights And Lessons Learnt

These proceedings include most of the available information on this major seismic event and its consequences. With an estimated moment magnitude of 7.7 and a heavy toll in terms of human and economic losses, it ranks as the largest intermediate-depth earthquake in Europe in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, because of the difficult conditions in the 1940s, the lessons learnt after the Vrancea earthquake were not extensively shared with the international scientific community and thus, this book fills a gap in the literature discussing the knowledge acquired after major disasters. Past experience together with current understanding of the 1940 Vrancea earthquake are presented along with the latest information on Romanian seismicity, seismic hazard and risk assessment, and seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of buildings and structures. Moreover, it includes excerpts from Romanian post-disaster reports and textbooks concerning the earthquake.

This book contains the best contributions presented during the 6th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering and the 2nd National Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology - 6CNIS & 2CNISS, that took place on June 14-17, 2017 in Bucharest - Romania, at the Romanian Academy and Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest. The book offers an updated overview of seismic hazard and risk assessment activities, with an emphasis on recent developments in Romania, a very challenging case study because of its peculiar intermediate-depth seismicity and evolutive code-compliant building stock. Moreover, the book collects input of renowned scientists and professionals from Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and United Kingdom.The content of the book focuses on seismicity of Romania, geotechnical earthquake engineering, structural analysis and seismic design regulations, innovative solutions for seismic protection of building structures, seismic risk evaluation, resilience-based assessment of structures and management of emergency situations. The sub-chapters consist of the best papers of 6CNIS & 2CNISS selected by the International Advisory and Scientific Committees. The book is targeted at researchers and experts in seismic hazard and risk, evaluation and rehabilitation of buildings and structures, insurers and re-insurers, and decision makers in the field of emergency situations and recovery activities.

This book discusses the impact of long-period ground motions on structural design using the situation in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, as a case study. The first part explores the seismic hazard situation in Bucharest, and the causes of long-period ground motions related to both the source and the site. Subsequently, it examines the current seismic design, detailing building practices in Bucharest, and discusses the impact of long-period ground motions on seismic design. Lastly, several case study buildings in Bucharest are presented and the major difficulties encountered in their design are considered. The book also includes various numerical examples that help readers understand the impact of long-period ground motions on various structural systems, that are currently used in Bucharest. This book is intended for researchers in the field of seismic hazard and risk assessment and designers of multi-story buildings in seismic areas.

Structures and Architecture – Bridging the Gap and Crossing Borders contains the lectures and papers presented at the Fourth International Conference on Structures and Architecture (ICSA2019) that was held in Lisbon, Portugal, in July 2019. It also contains a multimedia device with the full texts of the lectures presented at the conference, including the 5 keynote lectures, and almost 150 selected contributions. The contributions on creative and scientific aspects in the conception and construction of structures, on advanced technologies and on complex architectural and structural applications represent a fine blend of scientific, technical and practical novelties in both fields. ICSA2019 covered all major aspects of structures and architecture, including: building envelopes/façades; comprehension of complex forms; computer and experimental methods; futuristic structures; concrete and masonry structures; educating architects and structural engineers; emerging technologies; glass structures; innovative architectural and structural design; lightweight and membrane structures; special structures; steel and composite structures; structural design challenges; tall buildings; the borderline between architecture and structural engineering; the history of the relationship between architects and structural engineers; the tectonic of architectural solutions; the use of new materials; timber structures, among others. This set of book and multimedia device is intended for a global readership of researchers and practitioners, including architects, structural and construction engineers, builders and building consultants, constructors, material suppliers and product manufacturers, and other professionals involved in the design and realization of architectural, structural and infrastructural projects.

This book presents state-of-the-art knowledge on problems of the effects of structural irregularities on their seismic response. It also covers specific spatial and rotational seismic loads on these structures. Rapid progress in respective research on irregular structures and unconventional seismic loads requires prompt updates of the state of the art in this area. These problems are of particular interest to both researchers and practitioners because these are non-conservative effects compared with the approach of the traditional seismic design (e.g. Eurocode 8, Uniform Building Code etc.). This book will be of particular interest to researchers, PhD students and engineers dealing with design of structures under seismic excitations.

This volume contains the most relevant peer-reviewed papers presented at The First International Workshop on Vrancea Earthquakes, held in Bucharest on November 1-4, 1997. Strong earthquakes in the Romanian Vrancea area have caused a high toll of casualties and extensive damage over the last several centuries. With a moment magnitude of 7.4, the 1977 earthquake caused more than 1500 casualties, the majority of them in Bucharest. The contributions address key problems of seismotectonics of the Vrancea area and related strong ground motion, hazard assessment, site effects and microzonation, structural damage and earthquake resistant design, risk assessment and disaster management from an international and regional perspective. This list of topics shows the diverse contributions from the multidisciplinary fields of geosciences, geophysics, seismology, geology, civil engineering, city planning, and emergency relief practices. This book is of value for scientists interested in earthquake hazard and seismic risk research as well as for seismologists, geophysicists and Earth scientists. It is also useful for authorities responsible for public safety and natural hazard mitigation plans and for insurance companies.

This book encompasses the most challenging topics in earthquake engineering and seismology aiming at seismic risk reduction and reveals the outstanding progresses made in Europe in the past four years. Earthquakes pose a significant threat to countries around the world. But, equipped with the right knowledge and tools, engineers and seismologists can support policy and decision makers and building officials in creating a safer future for all of us. In this paradigm, the Third European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (3ECEES) is organized in Bucharest (Romania) in September 2022 by the Romanian Association for Earthquake Engineering, Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest and National Institute for Earth Physics. This outstanding scientific event is the third in a series started in 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland and continued in 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey. The papers included in this book are written by the most prominent contemporary European scholars in the two-folded fields of 3ECEES. The Distinguished Nicholas Ambraseys, along with 28 invited lectures providing the best knowledge in the fields of earthquake engineering and seismology, are shared with the general readership of this book. The book is organized in three parts, as follows: (1) Seismicity, engineering seismology and seismic hazard, (2) Seismic risk assessment and mitigation, and (3) Structural earthquake engineering. The 29 contributed papers for this book are shared among these three parts almost equally. Chapter “The Challenge of the Integrated Seismic Strengthening and Environmental Upgrading of Existing Buildings” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The book provides information on the major EEW systems in operation and on the state-of-the-art of the different blocks forming an EW system: the rapid detection and estimation of the earthquake’s focal parameters, the signal transmission, the engineering interface and the information reliability/false alarm problem. It is the first time that so many aspects of EEW systems have been specifically focused upon within a single book.