Structural evaluation of 3-story dormitory reinforced concrete building considering soil liquefaction potential

Abstract

The liquefaction phenomenon is the increase in water pressure in the soil, which will reduce the soil strength in supporting the load and loss of binding power between its grains. Soil liquefaction usually occurs when there is a seismic movement in the soil layer due to seismic (earthquakes) loads. Therefore, the building constructed in the soil liquefaction prone area should be designed according to the standard code. However, many design consultants do not pay attention to this condition and the building still was designed as usual even the building is located on soil liquefaction prone area. In 2018, a 3-story dormitory building structure of Hamka's boarding school was constructed on soil liquefaction prone area in Padang city. After reviewing the design document, it was found that the consultant did not consider the soil liquefaction in its structural analysis. In this study, an evaluation of the building structure was carried out to investigate the capacity of the building in resisting the loads. From the soil evaluation using the soil Cone Penetration Test (CPT) result, it was found that the location of the dormitory building has a liquefaction potential at a depth of 1.2-8 meters. Considering the soil liquefaction potential in the building, the structural analysis results show that the capacity of the dormitory building, especially column, beam and foundation were not strong enough to resist the combination loads acting on the structures. Therefore, the building structure should be strengthened to face the further big earthquake that will cause the soil liquefaction.