ELAZIG GUNISIGI NEWSPAPER – August 2011
SENSITIVE POINTS TO PAY ATTENTION TO!
Our town, İçme, unfortunately started the day with an earthquake on Thursday, 04.08.2011. The mild 4.4 magnitude earthquake caused no damage. I extend my heartfelt well wishes to all the residents of our region and to Elazığ. We hope that these harmless tremors will significantly contribute to the seriousness we place on the construction of both existing and new buildings.
The summer season is the most intense period for construction work. Considering the high temperatures, it can be said that construction work is being carried out under abnormal weather conditions according to the standards. Therefore, extra care and precision are required, especially for concrete production.
Cracks and loss of strength in concrete due to neglect result in a loss of national wealth. Therefore, the smaller the difference between the targeted concrete strength and the actual concrete strength, the better the concrete has been produced and maintained according to the rules.
In such hot weather, it is very difficult to preserve the water in the concrete. To ensure that the concrete reaches the desired strength, this water must be maintained during pouring and immediately after pouring through a watering technique. Only in this way can cracks and strength loss be prevented.
Once the concrete has hardened and started gaining strength, its internal water must also be protected from evaporation, and it must be watered according to the standards. This curing process, which should never be neglected, is crucial for the concrete, especially in summer. In our earthquake-prone region, these practices are vital for the durability of buildings.
Another important issue is the pouring of concrete at night due to hot weather. At night, the sun's effect disappears, but the wind takes on a similar effect. In particular, in windy conditions, evaporation will occur more rapidly, and again, the water in the concrete must be preserved.
The most important point to consider when pouring concrete at night is the compaction and placement of the concrete. It is difficult to see every element clearly due to the darkness. As a result, voids can form in the columns and beams. It is essential to minimize these voids. If voids form at the column-beam junctions, this may result in unforeseen behavior during an earthquake.
The most recent Earthquake Regulation, which came into force in 2007, introduced a new reinforced concrete element. Just like columns, beams, and shear walls, the new element called "column-beam junction" has been defined and its calculation principles have been explained. This means that the column-beam junction is a critical area for the structural safety of a building during an earthquake.
When examining the damage caused by destructive earthquakes in previous years, it has been observed that deficiencies and flaws in the column-beam junctions played a significant role in the damage levels of structures. As a result, the junction has been treated as a separate element, and appropriate attention has been given to it. For these new types of elements to perform their role effectively in the structural system, they must also be free from material and application flaws.
Of course, any voids that unintentionally occur during the concrete pouring are filled. However, it is impossible for the performance of the initial poured concrete to be fully restored, no matter how much is filled. If we don’t want to face undesirable outcomes in the coming years, we must be more careful and precise with our production today.
Although these topics may seem technical, they are matters that concern all of us. Even if buildings suffer minor damage in earthquakes, significant financial losses occur. Let’s not waste our national wealth.