Seismic assessment of three-storey residential buildings in Nepal

This paper evaluates the seismic performance of existing three-storey residential reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Nepal. For this, it was designed a representative RC building structure (WDS) and the results were compared with similar buildings detailed with: i) Current Construction Practices (CCP); ii) Nepal Building Code (NBC) and iii) Modified Nepal Building Code (NBC+) recommendations. The results were analyzed and compared in terms of capacity curve, inter-storey drift and detailing of structures. The overall comparison indicates that CCP structure has a low amount of reinforcement both in beam and column sections when compared with the WDS structure. For the structure designed according with the NBC and NBC+ recommendations, improvements are clear relatively to the CCP structure, but it may be not sufficient for the demands in regions with high seismic hazard. Non-linear analysis shows that CCP and NBC structures experiences lower base shear capacity with higher inter-storey drift demand than other structures. Finally, the influence of seismic zone factor on reinforcement demand of the structure is analysed by designing the same WDS structure for a low, medium and high seismic hazard zone

Design procedures of reinforced concrete framed buildings in Nepal and its impact on seismic safety

The present paper analyses the design procedure and its impact on seismic safety of the structures. For this, a representative reinforced concrete frame building (WDS) is designed and the results are compared with similar buildings detailed with: i) Current Construction Practices (CCP); ii) the Nepal Building Code (NBC) and iii) the Modified Nepal Building Code (NBC+) recommendations. The seismic performance evaluation is done with global strength, inter-storey drift and displacement of the structures. Likewise, the sensitivity of the structural and geometrical parameters of the RC frame building is studied through nonlinear analysis. The study parameters considered for parametric analysis are column size, beam size, inter-storey height, bay length, bay width, and compressive strength of concrete. The results show that the influence on the structural behaviour, particularly by variation in column size and inter-storey height. Additionally, the influence of the seismic zone factor on reinforcement demand of the structure is studied. The result shows that structures designed for high to medium seismic hazard demands double the reinforcement in beams compared to structures in low seismic zone

A building classification scheme of housing stock in Malawi for earthquake risk assessment

This study presents a building classification scheme for residential houses in Malawi by focusing upon informal construction, which accounts for more than 90% of housing in the country, which has the highest urbanisation rate in the world. The proposed classification is compatible with the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) method and can be used for seismic vulnerability assessments of building stock in Malawi. To obtain realistic proportions of the building classes that are prevalent in Malawi, a building survey was conducted in Central and Southern Malawi between 10th and 20th July 2017. The results from the survey are used to modify the PAGER-based proportions of main housing typologies by reflecting actual housing construction in the surveyed areas. The results clearly highlight the importance of using realistic building stock data for seismic risk assessment in Malawi; relying on global building stock information can result in significant bias of earthquake impact assessment

Reflection on the seismic vulnerability associated to common RC buildings in Nepal

The present paper studies the evolution of the Nepal Building Code recommendations and its possible influence on the real construction and safety of RC buildings in Nepal. To this, it was designed a representative reinforced concrete building structure (WDS)) following the seismic ductile detailing principles and the results were compared with similar buildings detailed with: i) Current Construction Practices (CCP) and ii) Nepal Building Code (NBBC) recommendations. The results obtained for the three structures are analyzed and discussed in terms of beam and column cross sections and reinforcement. From the global comparison of thee structures under study it was observed for the CCP structure a low amount of reinforcement in beam and column sections when compared with the WWDS structure. For the structure designed according with the NNBC recommendations, improvements are clear relatively too the CCP structure, but it may be not sufficient for the demands in regions with medium/high seismic hazard. The comparisons performed also show that the structures designed for high and medium seismic hazard demands (WDS) presents approximately double reinforcement in beams when compared to the structures in low seismic zones

Seismic assessment and retrofitting of existing RC buildings in Kathmandu

The effectiveness of reinforced concrete (RC) column jacketing for improving the seismic performance of existing RC building structures were studied. Four three storey buildings with different structural configuration and detailing were selected for seismic assessment and retrofitting purpose. The response of structures (original and retrofitted) was evaluated in terms of capacity curve and inter-storey drift. The case studies also intend to verify the effect of P-delta effects and bi-axial response of columns under non-linear time history analysis. The nature of the capacity curve represents the strong impact of the P-delta effect, leading to a reduction of the global lateral stiffness and reducing the strength of the structure. Finally, a seismic safety assessment is performed based on the drift limit proposed by FEMA-356. The assessment of original building structures indicates that they may exhibit inadequate seismic performance. However, RC column jacketing highly improves seismic performance of all the structures and results maximum drift demand within the drift limit proposed by FEMA-356

Seismic response of current RC buildings in Nepal: A comparative analysis of different design/construction

This paper presents the seismic response of the current reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Nepal. It was achieved by non-linear static and dynamic analyses of four structures corresponding to four scenarios of design/construction, namely a building: (i) representing the Current Construction Practice (CCP) (ii) the Nepal Building Code (NBC), (iii) the Modified Nepal Building Code (NBC+) and (iv) a Well Designed Structure (WDS). The seismic demands are analyzed and discussed in terms of base shear, maximum roof displacement, capacity curve and inter-storey drift. The results indicate a good correlation between the static and dynamic methods. The Current Construction Practice (CCP) structure and Nepal Building Code (NBC) structures experience inter-storey drift demands higher than the other models and they also present some irregularities in the drift profile. The modified Nepal Building Code (NBC+) and Well Designed Structure (WDS) have presented a better performance with low inter-storey drifts. Finally, the safety assessment is performed based on drift limit proposed by ATC-40 and FEMA-356, showing that CCP and NBC building are highly vulnerable to earthquakes

Reducing Hotel Employee Turnover Intention by Promoting Pride in Job and Meaning of Work: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

haracterizing with an image of low-skilled jobs and low social status, the hotel industry is undergoing a “great resignation” from staff due to stress post-Covid-19, urging a need to encourage hotel employees to stay with their jobs. This study attempted to explore whether employees’ turnover intention was decreased by promoting their pride in jobs and how job pride was predicted by dimensions of the meaning of work. Two online surveys were conducted on American and Vietnamese hotel employees. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed that work centrality, obligation norms, and work values positively affected job pride which subsequently reduced turnover intention. The study also showed the negative relationship between job pride and turnover intention was only significant for Americans, confirming the culture’s moderation role. The findings provide valuable theoretical contributions regarding employees’ behavioral intention from a multicultural perspective and managerial implications for hoteliers in human resources management practices