Estudio de las causas de demolición de edificios afectados por el sismo del 16 del abril del 2016 en Portoviejo.

Abstract

This research project focuses on the causes of demolition of damaged buildings in the city of Portoviejo, capital of the Manabí Province, struck by the 7,8-magnitude earthquake of April 16, 2016 in Ecuador. The research was carried out reviewing newspapers, papers, technical reports and pictures of damages, finding 7 buildings that were demolished even although the reasons of such action are not evident. Letters were sent to public offices such as the Municipality of Portoviejo and the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing to request information on the demolition of the structures of the sample. Partial information was obtained in such way and the research continued with the analysis of the acceleration elastic response spectra, the displacement elastic response spectra, the inelastic displacement, the maximum inelastic drift, the seismic design coefficient used in design and the effective R value that the buildings had during the earthquake. The analysis was based on the 2015 Ecuadorian Construction Code and the regulations of the year of construction of each building. Therefore, once the above mentioned results were obtained, an evaluation of technical reasons for demolition was performed. Finally, some technical criteria to decide on demolition or recovering of buildings aff ected by earthquakes in Ecuador were established.