How carbon can fight earthquake-prone Wellington buildings

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There are currently 595 earthquake-prone buildings in Wellington, according to the MBIE register. Image/Mark Mitchell

New earthquake-strengthening technology may be the carbon-rich silver bullet for Wellington’s shaky buildings.

Research funded by Toka Tū Ake EQC found that by wrapping weak spots in the walls of tall buildings with tapes of carbon fiber, they could be reinforced to exceed building code requirements — and cheap, too.

Research supervisor Dr Enrique del Rey Castillo told NZME that the carbon fibers used for earthquake resistance in buildings are similar to those used in expensive things like rockets or helicopters but cheaper.

“It’s not as expensive as the carbon fiber that goes into rockets, but that weight is still more expensive than, say, steel or concrete — the thing is, because we use so little of it, it’s so strong and because we can reduce the labor involved in installing it it gets so much cheaper.”

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It’s also much faster than things like concrete—the work can be completed in just a few days.

“This is unimaginable with materials like steel or concrete.”

It works by preventing the interior walls of a building from buckling under the stress of an earthquake. Once encapsulated in carbon, a building can double its safety rating.

We have completely suppressed this failure [of the walls buckling] It can be displayed normally up to 5 percent at [building] The requirement in the New Zealand Standards and Guidelines is 2.5, so it is double what the Standard requires.”

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He said his team has had a lot of support from players in the industry such as Concrete NZ, Mapei, Sika, Holmes and BBR Contech, all of whom are very interested in research.

Research lead Dr Natalie Balfour said many older commercial buildings are being converted into apartments, so it is imperative to ensure that people live in homes that meet modern earthquake standards.

“Toka Tū Ake EQC has decided to fund this research because it will provide practical guidance on how to cost-effectively reinforce vulnerable walls in older buildings. It will also establish a consistent method for carrying out these repairs across New Zealand.”

Overall, there are currently 595 earthquake-prone buildings in Wellington, according to the MBIE register.

The deadlines for promoting this increase are in 2027 when the 200 Notice will expire.

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