Airports are important components of transportation systems and economies. As such, seismic safety for airports cannot be overstated. In seismically hazardous areas, airport infrastructures undergo meticulous planning and work in order to be as prepared as possible. Downtime following a seismic event can be decreased with appropriate measures, while the life safety of the infrastructure is improved.
Here is an overview of crucial seismic concerns an airport may face, the impacts earthquakes can have on an airport, and how seismic risk can be mitigated.
Seismic Concerns For Airports
There are many seismic concerns airports face, from soil liquefaction under runways to structural and nonstructural damage. Knowledge, management, and mitigation of risk are key to minimizing potential damage, maintaining functionality, and resuming operations sooner than later after seismic events.
Following earthquakes of significant magnitudes, the soil can liquify and settle, which can result in runways cracking. This can cause them to be unusable for aircraft. Structures may sustain damage and collapse. Nonstructural systems may fall down without appropriate bracing, resulting in more extensive and expensive damage.
Loss of airport functionality would not only impact the local economy and transportation, but can have national and international implications, as well.
How Earthquakes Can Affect Airports
The consequences of a seismic event would depend on what part of the infrastructure is affected. When an earthquake strikes, airports evacuate terminals and close down until it is deemed safe to reopen and resume operations. While airplanes in flight are not physically impacted by earthquake activity, air traffic can be dependent on what happens on earth. When an earthquake happens, flights can be delayed, canceled, or redirected.
Depending on the magnitude of the earthquake and how prepared the structures are, the airport may experience no damage, maintaining full operationality. It may maintain life safety while having experienced moderate damage with no collapse. In the worst case scenario, it may be a total loss, with complete collapse. Significant damage can result from unrestrained MEP systems, beyond loss of system functionality.
Airports in seismic zones must take appropriate measures to meet seismic codes. With proper preparation, potential damage in the event of an earthquake can be mitigated. This helps maintain functionality and reduces the downtime following a seismic event.
Implementing Seismic Safety For Airports
Earthquake risk assessment is necessary for any airport in seismically hazardous areas. With proper risk assessment, appropriate measures can be taken to implement appropriate safety measures for airports. This extends from runways construction to the materials used in construction of terminals to seismic bracing of nonstructural systems, such as the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems.
Structural engineers of record (SEOR) and mechanical and electrical design engineers work together to meet performance delegations on a project. With coordination between the SEOR, MEP design firm, and bracing design firms, performance specifications can be met, even in congested areas of facilities.
Improve Seismic Safety For Airports With VIE
VIE provides innovative seismic solutions to help clients mitigate hazards in their facilities. Among the hundreds of clients VIE has done work for over the past 40+ years are aircraft facilities. VIE is very familiar with the challenges such highly congested areas can present for nonstructural bracing, and is here to offer effective solutions to improve the seismic safety of airports. Our solutions have been tested by seismic events with success.
VIE has been continuously doing work for the $4.5 billion Salt Lake City International Airport Terminal Replacement Project since 2019. The first phase of VIE’s work was put to the test when a 5.7 earthquake struck the Salt Lake City area in March 2020. The airport experienced minimal downtime in general, and no downtime for these non structural systems. To learn more about our work on the Salt Lake City International Airport, head over to our project page here: Seismic Bracing for the Salt Lake City International Airport.
To learn more about VIE’s seismic engineering services, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.
