| In 1989 a powerful intraplate earthquake occurred at only 14km below the surface of Newcastle in New South Wales - Australia. Its effect on the provincial cathedral was considered so extensive
it was feared large sections would need to be demolished and rebuilt. However the consulting engineer involved in its refurbishment became aware of the Cintec Masonry anchoring system - previously unknown in Australia. Following extensive trial
installations and testing both engineers and architects agreed that it was the only viable system for reinforcing the Cathedral.
The prime aim of the structural design was to turn the building into a ductile structure, lack of ductility being the main cause of catastrophic collapse of buildings during earthquakes. A two-dimensional finite
element analysis was carried out in order to computer model the behaviour of the structure during possible future seismic activity. Anchor lengths, diameters and locations were also modelled in order to achieve the most appropriate design. In total
3770 metres of reinforcement was installed in accordance with the updated 1993 Australian design code for earthquake loading.
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A twenty metre (66ft) vertical anchor being placed by crane. This project saw the installation of horizontal anchors of up to 32 metres (105ft) in length, Cintec's longest to date. Small video cameras and fibre optics
were used to verify the integrity of each drill hole along its full length. |
