The December 7,1988 Armenia earthquake effects on selected power, industrial and commercial fa ...

103 Pages·2004·5 MB·English

XA9952731
Title: The December 7,1988 Armenia
earthquake effects on selected
power, industrial and commercial
fa cilities
Contributor: R.D. Campbell
Date: June 1995 (preparation date:
January 1991)
THE DECEMBER 7, 1988 ARMENIA EARTHQUAKE
EFFECTS ON SELECTED POWER, INDUSTRIAL, AND
COMMERCIAL FACILITIES
Prepared for:
ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE
3412 Hi 11 view Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Prepared by:
Michael J. Griffin
Leo J. Bragagnoio
Peter I. Yanev
January 1991
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) would like to thank
the following organizations and individuals for their cooperation and assistance
in the investigations of the Armenia Earthquake.
Thanks are extended to the U.S. Academy of Sciences and the Soviet Academy of
Sciences for their joint sponsorship of the U.S. Investigative Team, with special
thanks extended to the following team members: Dr. John Filson, Dr. Armen Der
Kiureghian, Dr. Fred Krimgold, Dr. Thomas O'Rourke, and Dr. Robert Sharp.
Additional thanks are extended to Dr. N. N. Ambraseys of Imperial College of
Science and Technology in London, Mr. Waverly Person of the U.S. Geological
Survey, and Dr. Lloyd S. Cluff of Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Thanks are also extended to Mr. Michael G. Melkumian and translator Ms. Susi of
the Armenian Scientific Research Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture
in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, USSR, who were instrumental in obtaining information
during the second investigative effort.
The authors and EPRI would also like to thank Mr. Hevhanisjan Sewada of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences, Leninakan, and Mr. Ruslan Martizasian of the
Institute of Geophysics, Leninakan, who most graciously accommodated our requests
during the second investigative effort.
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i i
1. INTRODUCTION 1-1
2. GEOLOGY AND SEISMOLOGY 2-1
2.1 Historical Seismicity 2-1
2.2 Geologic Setting 2-2
2.3 Faulting 2-3
2.4 Earthquake Sequence 2-4
2.5 Strong Motion Records 2-4
2.6 Conclusions 2-6
3. SOVIET BUILDING DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE 3-1
3.1 Soviet Design Code 3-1
3.2 Building Design and Performance 3-3
3.3 Reconstruction 3-6
3.4 Conclusions 3-7
4. INDUSTRIAL AND POWER FACILITIES 4-1
4-1
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Leninakan 4-2
4.3 Nalband 4-7
4.4 Spitak 4-8
4.5 Kirovakan 4-10
4.6 Razdan 4-14
4.7 Armenia Nuclear Power Plant 4-14
4.8 Conclusions 4-16
5. CONCLUSIONS 5-1
6. REFERENCES 6-1
Appendix A A-l
Appendix B B-l
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TABLES
Page
2-1 The Sequence of Seismic Events Surrounding the
Main Shock of 7:41 A.M. December 7, 1988 (2) 2-7
3-1 Damage Statistics for Multi-story Residential
Structures 3-9
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FIGURES
Page
2-1 Geographical Location of the Armenia Earthquake of
December 7, 1989 2-8
2-2 Armenia Earthquake of December 7, 1988 Epicentral
Area 2-9
2-3 Reverse Thrust with a Right-lateral Strike-slip
Component Fault Mechanism 2-10
2-4 Accelerograms for Two Horizontal Components of Motion
from the Instrument at Gukasian 2-11
2-5 Response Spectra for the Two Horizontal Components
of Motion Recorded by the Instrument at Gukasian 2-12
3-1 Design Acceleration Response Spectra for the Three
Soviet Soil Categories 3-10
3-2 Partially Collapsed Bearing Wall Building at
the Spitak Sugar Mill 3-11
3-3 Damaged Masonry Bearing Wall Building at an Electrical
Substation Near Nalband 3-11
3-4 Damaged Industrial Precast-frame High-bay Structure 3-12
3-5 Collapsed Precast-frame Building 3-12
3-6 Sixteen-story Lift-slab Building in Leninakan Damaged
Beyond Repair 3-13
3-7 Steel-frame Structure at the Spitak Sugar Refinery 3-14
3-8 New Leninakan Being Built to the Northwest of
the Devastated City ' 3-15
4-1 Power Generation 4-19
4-2 Map of Leninakan, Armenia showing Location of
City Reconstruction 4-20
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FIGURES (CONTINUED)
Page
4-3 Northwest Section of Leninakan Showing
City Reconstruction 4-21
4-4 Concrete Piping and Culvert Manufacturing Factory 4-22
4-5 Leninakan-1 Substation Sustained Minor Structural
and Equipment Damage 4-23
4-6 Leninakan-1 Substation 4-24
4-7 Typical Interior View of the Leninakan-1 Circuit
Breaker 4-25
4-8 Leninakan-1 110-kV Switchyard and 110/35-kV
Oil-filled Transformer 4-26
4-9 Leninakan-1 Control Room Benchboards and Relay
Panels 4-27
4-10 Leninakan-2 Control Building 4-28
4-11 Leninakan-2 Status Board 4-29
4-12 Leninakan-2 220-kV Air-blast Circuit Breakers
(Foreground) and Current Transformers (Background) 4-30
4-13 Nalband Electric Substation 4-31
4-14 Nalband Electric Substation 4-32
4-15 Electrical Substation at Nalband 4-33
4-16 Severely Damaged Masonry Bearing Wall Industrial
Structure with a Light Truss-supported Roof in Spitak 4-34
4-17 Spitak Sugar Refinery: Concrete-frame Building 4-35
4-18 Spitak Sugar Refinery Precast-concrete and Masonry Fascia
of Steel-frame Structure 4-36
4-19 Spitak Sugar Refinery Horizontal Pumps 4-37
4-20 Spitak Sugar Refinery Piping 4-38
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FIGURES (CONTINUED)
Page
4-21 Spitak Sugar Refinery Toppled Electrical Cabinets 4-39
4-22 Spitak Flour Mill: Collapsed Soft-story Concrete
Shear Wall Structure 4-40
4-23 Spitak Flour Mill: Cast-in-place Concrete Silos
Damaged (Cracking) at the Base 4-41
4-24 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant 4-42
4-25 Kirovakan Power Plant Turbine 2 and Turning Gear 4-43
4-26 Kirovakan Geotthermal Power Plant
Typical Piping Systems 4-44
4-27 Kirovakan Power Plant Typical Motor-operated Valves
and Remote Operators 4-45
4-28 Kirovakan Power Plant Turbine Bay and Overhead
Bridge Crane 4-46
4-29 Undamaged 35,000 Metric Ton Oil Storage Tanks 4-47
4-30 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant Post-earthquake
Station Batteries and Rack Installation 4-48
4-31 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant Control Room
Suspended Ceiling 4-49
4-32 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant Main Control Room
Benchboards and Control Panels 4-50
4-33 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant Relay Panels 4-51
4-34 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant 110-kV Switchyard 4-52
4-35 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant 110-kV Switchyard 4-53
4-36 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant Transformer 4-54
4-37 Kirovakan Geothermal Power Plant
Damaged Transformers 4-55
4-38 Armenia Nuclear Plant Unit 2 Control Room 4-56
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Section 1
INTRODUCTION
On December 7, 1988, at 11:41 A.M. local time, a powerful earthquake of body-wave
surface magnitude 6.83 struck northwest Armenia, a Soviet republic with 3.5
million people. Armenia occupies approximately 30,000 square kilometers in the
southern Caucasus Mountains, generally considered the boundary between Europe and
Asia. The event caused catastrophic damage that resulted in tens of thousands of
deaths in a 400-square-kilometer epicentral region occupied by approximately
700,000 people. Damage and several deaths also occurred in the Kars region of
Turkey, 80 kilometers southwest of the earthquake's epicenter.
The Soviet estimate of the deaths in the Armenia Earthquake exceeds 25,000, but
unofficial estimates put this figure at 2 to 3 times this number, making it one
of the worst natural disasters of this century. The great majority of deaths
were caused by buildings collapsing on occupants. Approximately 20,000 people
were injured; more than 30,000 were left homeless with probably as many jobless.
Fifty-two percent of Leninakan, Armenia's second largest city with 290,000
people, was destroyed or heavily damaged. Moderate damage also occurred in
Kirovakan, the republic's third largest city with 150,000 inhabitants. Almost
all structures in the town of Spitak, located near the causative fault, were
essentially destroyed, and the majority of its 30,000 residents were killed.
Over 350 smaller communities were affected, 58 of these completely destroyed.
Over 8 million square meters of living space (residential) was destroyed, which
is equivalent to 17% of the total residential space in the Armenia Republic (14)•
In terms of human and economic loss the full impact of the Armenia Earthquake
will never be known. On February 20, 1989, the Soviet press reported that
property losses amounted to over $16 billion. Financial losses from business
interruption and closing of the Armenian nuclear plant at Oktembryan may double
this figure. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this earthquake is that the
worst damage and the majority of deaths resulted from the collapse of relatively
modern buildings. Rarely has the importance of systematic risk identification
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and proper seismic-structural design and construction in earthquake-prone areas
been more apparent.
The following report on the Armenia Earthquake is based primarily on the
observations from two separate reconnaissance efforts. The first effort was
composed of a 19-member team of earthquake investigators sent by the United
States to Armenia shortly after the event. The team, which was organized through
an agreement between the United States Academy of Sciences and the Soviet Academy
of Sciences, consisted of geologists, seismologists, structural engineers, search
and recovery experts, and sociologists. Mr. Peter Yanev of EQE was the primary
investigator for EPRI's study of electric power and industrial facility
performance. The full U.S. team is identified in the appendix.
This first investigation had several problems. The major problem had to do with
the severity and destructiveness of the earthquake, which placed a tremendous
burden on the community. The request for additional resources to support the
team increased this burden. This factored heavily in requests for
transportation, and locating knowledgeable facility engineers and the time for
interviewing them. A second major problem was obtaining information on types of
facilities and locations. Information, such as location of power plants,
substations, dams, etc., is not general knowledge among Soviet researchers or
professionals. Valuable time was spent in determining sources for this type of
information. However, once the facilities of interest were located, the facility
personnel were most receptive to the investigative teams' information requests.
Because of the above problems, essentially 24 hours out of eight days were spent
actually collecting data. Thus, a second reconnaissance was necessary.
The second investigative effort occurred in conjunction with an international
symposium on the Spitak Earthquake held May 23-26, 1989, in Yerevan, the Soviet
Republic of Armenia, which was sponsored by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Dr. Charles Scawthorn and Mr.
Michael Griffin of EQE participated in the symposium and spent an additional
three days investigating the earthquake. The three days were spent in the high-
intensity areas of Leninakan, Spitak, and Kirovakan. While the same problems
existed as during the first effort, albeit to a lesser degree, new data were
collected in Kirovakan and Leninakan, as well as corroboration of the information
collected during the first effort. This report reflects data collected from both
of these reconnaissance efforts.
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