| Popis: |
This paper is based on the construction materials aspects in the development of low cost design for earthquake resistant shelter development in Western Uganda under the Support to Earthquake Disaster Project in the Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications. This was a partial fulfillment of the recommendations by the Government in response to the 1994 Kisomoro earthquake that left nine people dead, several injured and property loss worth US$ 60,000,000 in Kabarole District. The National Earthquake Disaster Task Force was required to come up with a low cost earthquake resistant design and develop corresponding builders’ manuals. The cost reduction of any design could only be achieved through use of low cost materials and these are none other than vernacular (locally available materials), only if their structural characteristics were known. The study area comprised the districts of Bundibugyo, Kabarole, Kasese, Kamwenge and Kyenjojo. These districts are located in the northern part of the Western branch of the East African Rift System (EARS). Although, the region has been experiencing moderate (5.0 ≤ M ≤ 6.5) earthquakes, some of them have caused damages in the region. These include the Tooro and Kisomoro earthquakes of 1966 and 1994, respectively. This report was based on an investigation of structural characteristics of locally available (both conventional and traditional) building materials and evaluation of their structural performance under static and dynamic loads (a simulation of an earthquake environment). The results obtained enabled the use of low cost materials quality characteristics and rules of thumb techniques in the development of earthquake resistant structural designs, development of retrofitting strategies for damaged structures that need repair/renovation and development of a builders’ manual that would benefit all in an earthquake prone Uganda for construction of: ■ Temporary structures – traditional houses, mainly built out of locally available and unprocessed materials ■ Semi-permanent structures – shelters usually roofed with CGI sheets, walls built out of mud and wattle (sometimes plastered) and floors made out of normal concrete or compacted ground either finished with vernacular binders-sand screed or covered with woven materials, etc. ■ Permanent structures – these are houses built out of processed materials using skilled labour. |
