Structural Analysis of Maimun Palace Against Earthquake

Structural Analysis of Maimun Palace Against Earthquake

Nursyamsi Nursyamsi^1*, Johannes Tarigan¹, Muthiah Harahap¹, Hari Adjie Winata¹, Sheila Hani²

1 Civil Engineering Department, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, 20155, North Sumatera, Indonesia

2 Civil Engineering, Universitas Pembinaan Masyarakat Indonesia, 20142, North Sumatera, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: nursyamsi@usu.ac.id Accepted: 15 March 2022 | Published: 1 April 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ijarei.2022.4.1.5

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Abstract: Timber is one of the most used natural building materials in the world, and it is one of material construction that existed long before science being discussed. Seismic performance of timber structure is quite satisfying, because of its capability to withstand earthquake forces, and timber has been used from traditional house to high rise building. A multi story construction of timber material that still stand strong until now is Maimun Palace, which is a cultural heritage in the city of Medan that must be preserved. So it is necessary to do an analysis to determine the concept of the structure of the Maimun Palace. As a royal palace, Maimun is such a large timber house with complex architecture, so that a comprehensive survey must be done. Surveys carried out include interview with palace guard and royal descendants. The Maimun Palace structure is also modelled into frames and 3D models. The result of Maimun Palace research is that this palace applied the concept of earthquake- resistant building structures which are also outlined in the Indonesian technical guidelines.

Keywords: Earthquake, Maimun Palace, Structural Concept, Traditional House

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1. Introduction

Maimun Palace is a symbol of the glory of the Deli sultanate in the past. Maimun Palace was built on August 26, 1888 and completed on May 18, 1891 by the architect Van Erp during the reign of Sultan Ma'moen Al Rasyid. The building, which is one of the icons of North Sumatra, has stood for hundreds of years, and still stands strong to this day. This building has a blend of Malay, Islamic, European and Indian architecture. Judging from the shape and appearance of the building which is a mirror from the other side of the building. This shows the Maimun palace is symmetrical. Maimun palace consists of the main building and secondary buildings which are connected by corridors. The roof of the Maimun palace is in the form of a shield with an additional dome (Kurniawati, 2017).

Maimun Palace uses concrete and wood as construction materials. Concrete has the advantage that it has a high compressive strength and is resistant to weather, while wood has the advantage of a relatively small density so that the total weight of a structure made of wood will be relatively lighter. The construction of wooden beams in the Maimun Palace structure rests on the wall, where there is a hole in the wall that is the same size as the wooden beam. This system prevents the wooden blocks from sliding out of place because they are squeezed between the walls. In the Maimun palace building bricks are the main constituent of the Maimun palace structure. The bricks used are red bricks measuring 25 x 12 x 7 cm. Previous research concluded

"the structure of the Toba Batak traditional house is an earthquake-resistant building and meets

the requirements in the design of an earthquake-resistant structure"(Tarigan et al., 2020). This reinforces that traditional house buildings made of wood have the advantage of reducing earthquake forces. Therefore, it is necessary to study Maimun Palace as an earthquake-resistant building because it uses concrete and wood as construction materials.

Figure 1: Maimun Palace

2. Literature Review

2.1 The Structure of Maimun Palace

Maimun Palace has a building area of 2,772 square meters and has 30 rooms. The Maimun palace building consists of 3 parts, namely the main building, the left wing building and the right wing building. The first floor of the main building and the wings were the work area for the sultan's employees at that time, while the second floor of the main building was used as a large hall, and the back was used as a kitchen. The second floor right wing building is used for the female royal family, and the second floor left wing building is used for the male royal family. In Malay culture, the art of building houses is called the Art of Bina. The house has a very important meaning for the Malays. The house is not only a place to live where life activities are carried out as well as possible. But also a symbol of the perfection of life. The Malay house consists of several structures, where each part is related to each other. This palace also has same filosofi house like any other Malay houses. It has a well-thought design and construction (Zulkifli Hanafi, 2004), function combined with architectural qualities, beauty and technology which is equal to any Eastern and Western vernacular architecture.

Maimun Palace is located in Medan City, precisely on Jalan Brigadier General Katamso, Sukaraja Village, Medan Maimun District. Currently Maimun Palace is used as a tourist destination that is visited by many visitors, and has become one of the icons of North Sumatra.

Maimun Palace is a tourist destination not only because it has been around for hundreds of years, but also because of its unique design that combines elements of Malay culture with Islamic, European, and Indian styles.The survival of the stilt house form at the Maimun Palace is an identity that the Deli Sultanate is a Malay kingdom. The house on stilts has a shape with legs or pillars as a support or building foundation.

The stage functions as a threat to wild animals and also prevents flooding or high tides in coastal communities. In addition to functioning as an adaptation to nature, it can also be interpreted like the human body, namely the roof (head), the body as the middle part, and the pole as the legs on the human body. Malay people believe that humans as God's creatures have a place in the middle, not in the underworld / earth or in the world above the sky. These basics ultimately shape the meaning of the stilt house itself in Malay society

2.2 The Column

The shape of the pillar in the traditional Malay house symbolizes some of the philosophies of life adopted by the Malay tribal community. The rectangle symbolizes the 4 cardinal directions, the 5 square symbolizes the pillars of Islam, the hexagon symbolizes the pillars of faith.

Figure 2: Column

2.3 The Inside

Middle part. The center of the house with the family room and living room right in the middle of the house and directly connected to other rooms signifies the close relationship between families and between humans in the Malay tribe.

Figure 3: The Inside (source: google map)

Figure 4: wood carving art in the wall (source: google map)

2.4 Roof

The roof in Maimun Palace is the form of a ridge or flavor symbolizes the relationship between humans and the Creator. Malay people on the east coast usually have longroofed houses, while the Malays on the west coast are roofed pyramid known as the roof of Perak. The famous architecture of the Malay heritage in east coast states of Malaysia and Southern Thailand, where there are using traditional Malay roof called a Singgora roof (Hassan & Harun, 2013). Roof on Istana Maimun also affected by the decorative art of Islam which is known as arabesque. The same thing can also be seen from other Malay buildings, one of which is in the Perak area (Norhasandi Bin Mat, Ahmad Marzukhi Monir, Mohd Sabrizaa Abdul Rashid, 2012).

Arabesque may represent a thought process, an idea as well as an abstractrepresentation of line and pattern on any material surface. It is a decorative element results from Islamic reaction against anything iconic or representational arts.

Figure 5: The roof of Maimun Palace (source: google map)

2.5 The Mechanical Properties of Wood

Mechanical properties of wood are the strength of wood to measure the ability of wood to withstand external forces or loads that hit it. The log is an anisotropic object, meaning that its strength in all directions of the log is not the same. For this reason, it is distinguished on the direction of the axis: longitudinal, radial, and tangential. The stresses for the radial and tangential axes are very small or almost the same. The properties of wood are strength, hardness, stiffness, and density. Wood is also very influential on the mechanical properties of wood (Matan & Kyokong, 2003). Strength may vary according to climatic or drying conditions.

The parameters used in determining the mechanical properties of wood as an engineering material are tensile strength, compressive strength, shear strength, bending strength, and hardness.

2.6 Earthquake Resistant Construction

The definition of an earthquake-resistant building does not mean a house that will not be damaged or collapse if an earthquake hits. Earthquake is a natural force whose strength is unpredictable so it is irrational to build houses that are completely resistant to earthquakes regardless of intensity. A technical limitation is needed while still prioritizing the security aspect, but economically it is still rational. These limits are then adopted in the technical requirements of earthquake-resistant buildings. Generally, the philosophy of earthquake- resistant buildings are: if there was a light earthquake, the building must not be damaged either on non-structural components (cracked walls, tiles and ceilings falling, broken glass, etc.) or on structural components (cracked columns and beams, collapsed foundations, and so on); in a moderate earthquake, the building may suffer damage to its non-structural elements but its structural elements (foundations, structural concrete walls, structural columns, structural

the building still have time to get out and save themselves (Departemen Pekerjaan Umum, 2006).

2.7 Dynamic Analysis

Dynamic is a condition where changes in an element occur with time in the context of the forces acting on the structure. Dynamic loads can be in the form of variations in magnitude (magnitude), direction (direction) or position (point of application) changes with time. So that the response of the structure to dynamic loads is in the form of dynamic deflections and stresses according to the load it experiences.

2.8 Static Equivalent Analysis

Equivalent static analysis is one method of analyzing building structures against earthquake loading by using equivalent static nominal earthquake loads. According to the Earthquake Resistance Planning Standard for Building Structures (SNI – 1726 – 2012), equivalent static analysis can be carried out on buildings that have regular structures. If the building has an irregular structure, in addition to an equivalent static analysis, further analysis is also needed, namely dynamic response analysis. Calculation of the dynamic response of irregular building structures to earthquake loading, can use the analysis method of response spectrum variance or the dynamic response analysis method of time history. In Article 7.1.3 of SNI – 1726 – 2002, if the final value of the dynamic response is expressed in terms of nominal base shear force, then its value should not be less than 80% of the basic shear force resulting from equivalent static analysis.

3. Research Methods

The research method used was to conduct interviews with the guards and the community around the place to obtain information about the history of the house, the type of wood used, the age of the house, the type of connection, the type of foundation and the uniqueness of the traditional house. This research was conducted in the district of Medan Maimun. The dimensions of the palace were also measured, the dimensions of the beams and columns used, the thickness of the walls, the distance between the columns, and the height of the building.

Data collection is carried out to obtain as much data as possible.

Figure 6: Flowchart of the research

4. Result and Discussion

4.1 Structural Concept

Main principal in earthquake-resistance construction based on Indonesia Technical Guideline (Departemen Pekerjaan Umum, 1993). The construction of Maimun Palace has already follow the earthquake-resistance technical guideline hundred years ago. Some of them are:

1. Simple building plans and symmetrical horizontal force-resisting structural elements can withstand earthquake forces better because of the less torsional effect and the building strength will be more evenly distributed. Maimun Palace has a symmetrical building plan, eventough the plan can’t be categorized as simple building.

Figure 7: Building symmetry (source: Departemen Pekerjaan Umum)

Figure 8: Maimun Palace ground floor plan

Figure 9: Sketch up modeling

2. Placement of insulating walls and door/window holes shall be attempted to be symmetrical to the axis of the building plan. Istana Maimun Palace also put its door and window attempted to be symmetrical.

Figure 10: Maimun Palace first floor plan including door and window

3. The wall plane should form a closed box. As seen below, Maimun Palace has a wall plane which form a closed box.

Figure 11: Maimun Palace first floor plan including wall

4. Building materials, especially roofs, should be as light as possible to avoid excessive building loads. The roof of the palace is in the form of pyramids and domes, while in terms of materials, the roof is shingle and copper (zinc) (Yudhaa et al., 2019).

Compared to other metal and other roofing materials, such as roofing shingles, asphalt tile, concrete, or ceramic tile, copper tile is very light. This not only makes installation easier, but also reduces stress on the structure of the house over time (Dokter Atap, n.d.).

Figure 12: The roof of Maimun Palace

5. The subgrade should be dry, dense and uniform in hardness. The base of the foundation should be located deeper than 45 cm below the original soil surface. The depth of foundation on Maimun Palace can be seen from the section of the building.

Figure 13: Building section of Maimun Palace

6. The foundation should be made continuously around the building without being interrupted, including the foundation for the insulating wall. The foundation of Istana Maimun are the spread footings, which can be seen frow the foundation plan below.

This type of footing quite beneficial for the building of Maimun Palace, such as: provide a stable base, Evenly supports the weight of the foundation walls, and also anchors building (Matthews, n.d.).

4. Conclusion

The conclusion that can be taken from this research are that the building of Maimun Palace still stand strong until now because the building follows the principal of earthquake resistance construction Guideline of Indonesian regulation published by Ministry of Cipta Karya. Begin fom footings, floor plan, door and window plan to roof.

Acknowledgement

The author woud like to thank the support provided by Research Centre University of North Sumatera in accordance in Talenta research funding agreement of fiscal year 2021, so that this research can be finished well.

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