Principles of Energy Efficient Construction and their Influence on the Seismic Resistance of Light-weight Buildings

Recently, an increasing trend of passive and low-energy buildings transferring from non earthquake-prone to earthquake-prone regions has thrown out the question about the seismic safety of such buildings. The paper describes the most commonly used details of energy efficient construction, which could be critical from the point of view of earthquake resistance. The paper focuses on the prevention of ground floor slab thermal bridge and presents a case study on the seismic response of multi-storey wooden buildings founded on the RC foundation slab lying on a thermal insulation (TI) layer made of extruded polystyrene (XPS). The structural response is investigated with reference to the following performance parameters: the building's lateral top displacement, the ductility demand of the superstructure, the friction coefficient demand, the maximum compressive stress in the TI layer and the percentage of the uplifted foundation. A comparison between the response of models founded on a fixed base and models founded on a layer of TI with the same wooden crosslam structure differing in the number of storeys, strength capacity and subjected to earthquakes with different levels of seismic intensity is done. Regarding the building's top displacements, the maximum compressive deformation in the TI layer, and the percentage of the uplifted foundation, the results have shown that the potentially negative influences of inserting the TI under the foundation slab could be expected only for high-rise buildings subjected to severe earthquakes. Oppositely, for the superstructure's ductility demand and for the friction coefficient demand it was demonstrated that the largest demands could be expected in the case of low-rise buildings. The control of friction coefficient demand, which was recognized as critical parameter for analyzed wooden buildings, has shown that the capacity value could be exceeded yet in the case of moderate earthquake occurrence.

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