Importance of Experimental Testing for Damage Identification of Existing Buildings in Egypt

Population increase and development plans in Egypt require the establishment of many new cities near Cairo. One of these cities is the 15th of May City located about 30 km south of Cairo. The site of this city is very near from two quarries belonging to two cement companies. The inhabitants used to complain from the blastings in these quarries. At a certain stage some buildings have suffered different levels of damage. Upon the request of official authorities a study program has been performed to identify the causes and the safety of five chosen buildings. The program included experimental testing to measure the vibration of the chosen buildings during blasting operations. Three-dimensional structural analysis has been also performed. Results have showed that the damage was due to Dahshour Earthquake of Oct. 12th, 1992 and not due to quarry blastings. Many other useful conclusions have been obtained.