The concept of strong column-weak beam-for multiple storey buildings (strong column weak beam concept) has been introduced in Indonesia since 1983 by experts from New Zealand. If the community, especially architects and structural experts, meet this design concept, that would be very helpful in reducing the number of victims in strong and very strong earthquakes.
However, according to Prof. Ir. Henricus Priyosulistyo, M.Sc., Ph.D., due to various constraints, designers (architects and structural experts), building owners and contractors service providers have not thoroughly complied with the regulations. The concept contains a variety of conditions, including walls that do not fuse monolithically with elements of columns and beams above them.
Meanwhile, users/owners have the perception that good walls should stick strongly to the column. "Thus, altering steel reinforcement configuration means increasing the extent/amount of reinforcement by the service providers. This can change the behavior of buildings and disrupt the concept that has been planned by structures experts," he said at the Senate Hall on Monday (28/3), when inaugurated as Professor of UGM Faculty of Engineering.
In his speech lEarthquake Disaster Mitigation in Buildings and Bridges – An Effort to Prevent Death Toll, Henricus Priyo explains the research of building’s strength and stiffness conducted by a real structure expert was not only through numerical analysis. Through field testing, a structure expert gets important information relating to the properties of structures that can be used to improve the numerical models.
Priyo added, if the matching process of structure’s properties within the elastic limits was already fitting, the numerical models can be burdened by a variety of loads until the numerical models collapse (non-linear analysis). Thus, the collaboration between the experimental and numerical model is the best solution in solving problems in the field. "In this way the strength and performance of buildings can be foreseen," said the man born in Yogyakarta, July 15, 1954.
In the view of Henricus Priyo, various efforts that have been made by experts in forecasting earthquakes as a breakthrough in solving the problem, including the idea of Nakamura in predicting the strength/capability of building to withstand earthquakes, should be encouraged and developed, although these theories are still simple and have weaknesses.
The weakness of the existing theories is clearly visible on the assumption of linear relationship between force and deflection."The fact shows the buildings that are made of steel-concrete composite did not have linear nature before its disintegration because the concrete will crack before the steel reaches its melting point," said the husband of M.E Sulistyowati and the father of B. Hema Ariborta, S.E.