According to the design codes and the building laws new structures have to withstand an earthquake with an average return period of 475 years on the respective geographic location. In case of an earthquake existing structures, which have not been designed for this magnitude of horizontal excitations, can be severely damaged or could even collapse depending on the type and condition of the construction.
Besides the supporting structure, the secondary elements are subjected to the seismic excitation as well. If the infrastructure of an hospital fails, human lives are endangered indirectly, without even a collapse of the structure. Furthermore the failure of secondary elements in industrial buildings could lead to economic consequences.
Due to today´s legal situation in Austria the earthquake-resistance of buildings must not be downgraded in line with extensions or reconstructions of buildings. In case of an increase of the occupancy the legislative demands even an improvement of the earthquake resistance.
I will check the earthquake-resistance of residential and industrial buildings, engineering structures and secondary elements for you. Furthermore I will elaborate concepts for retrofitting your structure to improve its earthquake-resistance. For the formal submissions at the building authorities in line with extensions or reconstructions of your building I will supply the static calculations for the new parts as well as the check of the earthquake-resitance of the complete structure. If necessary the concept for retrofitting the existing part of the structure is included.
For very complex and intricate assignments or upon a client’s request I will consult either Prof. Dr. Rainer Flesch, who is one of the leading experts in the field of structural dynamics in Austria, or the Swiss company Résonance, which is well-known for it´s high quality consulting in earthqauke engineering for an external quality assurance.