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Images for plastic; more images...

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated image of a portaloo. The photographer comments, "It seems that it was a bit of a lottery if your portaloo was ever cleaned and emptied after the Christchurch earthquakes".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Damage to the Victoria Street clock tower which stopped at the time of the 22 February earthquake. Sections of the base have been covered by black plastic sheeting and shipping containers protecting the road from the danger of it falling.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

Surrounded by mud and puddles in Christchurch Prime Minister John Key puts his arm round co-leader of the Maori Party Pita Sharples and smiles happily; behind them is a brand new plastic portaloo. On the ground lies a newspaper with a headline that reads 'Govt. to fund $2m giant RWC plastic waka'. Pita Sharples says 'and to show we're not neglecting our priorities in these austere times, Christchurch will get a new plastic portaloo!' Context - The government has hit back at criticism over a $2 million venue centre in the shape of a waka for the Rugby World Cup (RWC), defending the cost as necessary to host a world-class event. Co-leader of the Maori Party Pita Sharples says the waka will promote Maori culture during the Rugby World Cup and at other events (like the America's Cup). Labour Party MP Shane Jones asks "How can Dr Sharples and Prime Minister John Key actually believe that this expensive indulgence is a positive advertisement for Maori? The truth is they don't but they're both working together in a desperate effort to keep the Maori Party afloat. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The NMIT Arts & Media Building is the first in a new generation of multistorey timber structures. It employs an advanced damage avoidance earthquake design that is a world first for a timber building. Aurecon structural engineers are the first to use this revolutionary Pres-Lam technology developed at the University of Canterbury. This technology marks a fundamental change in design philosophy. Conventional seismic design of multi-storey structures typically depends on member ductility and the acceptance of a certain amount of damage to beams, columns and walls. The NMIT seismic system relies on pairs of coupled LVL shear walls that incorporate high strength steel tendons post-tensioned through a central duct. The walls are centrally fixed allowing them to rock during a seismic event. A series of U-shaped steel plates placed between the walls form a coupling mechanism, and act as dissipators to absorb seismic energy. The design allows the primary structure to remain essentially undamaged while readily replaceable connections act as plastic fuses. In this era where sustainability is becoming a key focus, the extensive use of timber and engineered-wood products such as LVL make use of a natural resource all grown and manufactured within a 100km radius of Nelson. This project demonstrates that there are now cost effective, sustainable and innovative solutions for multi-story timber buildings with potential applications for building owners in seismic areas around the world.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Extended Direct Analysis (EDA), developed at the University of Canterbury, is an advance on the AISC Direct Analysis method for the analysis of frames subjected to static forces. EDA provides a faster, simple and more rational way to properly consider the second-order effects, initial residual stresses (IRS) and the initial imperfections or steel structures under one directional loading than conventional analysis methods. This research applied the EDA method to quantify the effect of member overstrength on frame behaviour for a single storey frame. Also, the effects of IRS, which were included in the EDA static analysis, but which are not considered explicitly in non-linear seismic analysis, were evaluated in two ways. Firstly, they were considered for simple structures subject to increasing cyclic displacement in different directions. Secondly, incremental dynamic analysis with realistic ground motion was used to quantify the likely effect of IRS in earthquakes. It was found that, contrary to traditional wisdom and practice, greater member strengths can result in lower frame strengths for frames under monotonic lateral loading. The structural lateral capacity of the overstrength case was reduced by 6% compared to the case using the dependable member strengths. Also, it resulted significantly different in member demands. Therefore, it is recommended that when either plastic analysis or EDA is used, that both upper and lower bounds on the likely member strength should be considered to determine the total frame strength and the member demands. Results of push-pull analysis under displacement control showed that for IRS ratio, gamma < 0.5 and axial compressive force ratio, N*/Ns, up to 0.5, IRS did affect the structural behaviour in the first half cycle. However, the behavior in the later cycles was not significantly affected. It also showed that the effect of initial residual stresses in the frame was less significant than for the column alone when the column was subjected to similar axial compressive force. The incremental dynamic analysis results from both cantilever column and the three-storey steel frame showed that by increasing gamma = 0 to 0.5, the effect of IRS on seismic responses, based on the 50% confidence level, was less than 3% for N*/Ns, up to 0.5.