95 percent of our country’s population lives under the risk of earthquakes. When the earthquake archives and statistical data for the past 50 years are analysed it is understood that major earthquakes’ occurring at short intervals is a perfectly normal situation for Turkey. When the casualties caused by earthquakes are examined, it is understood that irregular construction and very low building quality are some of the important factors.
In the construction of a building designed in accordance with the regulations, the use or misapplication of the quality materials defined in the project process will result in the buildings not showing the expected behaviour under earthquake motion and taking heavy damage.
Therefore, high quality of the materials to be used during the construction of the buildings is a very important factor.
There are two different stages in ensuring earthquake safety of buildings. The first is the construction of new structures designed to be earthquake resistant. The fact that concrete is one of the most important materials that make up the structural system of the structure necessitates the use of concretes with high strength and durability. One of the most important factors that determine the main character of concrete is the chemical additives used in concrete. The additives play a crucial role in increasing the quality of the building by providing the concrete to be
much higher performance and durability. Thanks to the quality concrete produced with high technology additive chemicals, it will be possible to build long-lasting and solid structures.
It can be seen in the recent earthquakes that, before the necessity of the design and construction of new buildings in our country, the main problem is the earthquake safety of the existing building stock. In addition to ensuring earthquake safety of existing buildings, it is an indispensable reality for the country’s economy to repair and strengthen structures that survived earthquakes with light and medium damage.