A photograph of Room 212 in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The photograph was taken on the day when the staff were allowed to return to the building.
A photograph of a sign taped to one of the buildings in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury. The sign indicates that the building has been inspected by a structural engineer and is safe to enter.
A photograph of Room 212 in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The photograph was taken on the day when the staff were allowed to return to the building.
A photograph of a staff member entering an office in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury, after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of a toppled bookcase in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering and the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of a projector set up in the Avonhead Baptist Church. The room is to be used as a temporary lecture theatre for the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, as lecture theatres on campus are inaccessible following the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of a pile of books in an office in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The book at the top is called, "Wellington After the 'Quake: The Challenge of Rebuilding Cities".
A photograph of a bookcase in the Civil Suite at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The photograph was taken on the day when the staff were allowed to return to the building. The shelves of the bookcase have been removed, exposing damage along the sides where they knocked against the back panel. Some books have been left on the bottom shelf.
A photograph of an army van outside the Christchurch Art Gallery on Montreal Street. The Art Gallery served as the headquarters for Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of fire trucks parked outside the Christchurch Art Gallery on Montreal Street. The Art Gallery served as the headquarters for Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of fire trucks parked outside the Christchurch Art Gallery on Montreal Street. The Art Gallery served as the headquarters for Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of a toppled filing cabinet in an office in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury, after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of staff from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. The department used the Sunday School room of the Avonhead Baptist Church after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of the reception area of the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. The photograph was taken when the staff were let in after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of staff from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. The department used the Sunday School room of the Avonhead Baptist Church after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of computers and desks from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. These were set up in the Sunday School room of the Avonhead Baptist Church after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of Elizabeth Ackermann's office. Elizabeth Ackermann is the administrator in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. The photograph was taken when she was first let back in after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of computers and desks from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. These were set up in the Sunday School room of the Avonhead Baptist Church after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of liquefaction in a paddock.
A photograph of bracing under a bridge.
A photograph of liquefaction in a paddock.
Observations in major earthquakes have shown that rockable structures suffered less to no damage. During rocking, that is, partial and temporary footing separations, the influx of seismic energy is interrupted and thus the impact of the base excitation is reduced. Rocking causes the structure to deform more rigid like. Consequently, the structure experiences less deformation along the height and thus a lower damage potential. Although many researchers have studied the influence of rockable footings, most of these are either analytical or numerical, and only a very few structures have been built with rockable footings worldwide, for example, the chimney at Christchurch Airport and the South Rangitikei Viaduct in New Zealand. Despite these studies, a thorough and understanding is not yet available, especially with respect to experimental validations. This work is the first to investigate the rocking behaviour of bridges with different slenderness using large‐scale shake table experiments. To limit the number of influence factors, a stiff footing support and the same fixed‐base fundamental frequency of the bridges were assumed. The result shows that the girder displacement and the footing rotation of the tall bridge do not always move in phase, which cannot be observed in the short bridge. The results demonstrate the important role of slenderness in the overall responses of rockable bridges. This behaviour cannot be observed in bridges with a commonly assumed fixed base since the slenderness effect cannot be activated.
A photograph of a collapsed brick chimney.
A photograph of liquefaction in a residential garden.
A photograph of the Waimakariri River.
A photograph of the Waimakariri River.
A photograph of a pile of liquefaction amongst grass.
A photograph of a collapsed brick chimney.
A photograph of a pile of liquefaction amongst grass.
A photograph of the Waimakariri River.