Why do pyramid shaped buildings resist damage from sesmic activity? Please provide websites aswell, im having?

Question

difficulty finding useful info!
Thanks!

Answer 1

An earthquake causes damage to a building by means of the horizontal movement of the earth causing each element of the building to move in response to the earths horizontal movement, so that tall buildings that have a lot of weight concentrated at elevations high off the ground develop larger damaging overturning moments at ground level, which cause severe damage to foundations and support columns. The building responds to the earthquake by swaying back and forth in response to its own natural frequency.
A pyramid is a very stable structure because it's shape decreases the weight as its elevation increases and it does not develop the large overturning moments at its base that a tall slender building would. It's natural frequency is so low that it doesn't sway back and forth.
However, even a pyramid would still develop the same high shear forces at it's base, so even it would not be a totally safe structure during an earthquake.

Answer 2

If you take a building and a pyramid of equal height, the center of mass is obviously lower in the pyramid.

In the formula for calculating the horizontal force a building will see during an earthquake, there is a ratio in there (center of mass height divided by the overall bldg height) so the lower the center of mass, the lower the horizontal force the building will see.

Answer 3

Because the shape makes it more staple as it goes up, you can not make something tip if the bottom is large enough, The foundation is large enough that ground stress can not be delivered with to much force to weaken it.

Answer 4

Yes but not only earth quakes but the weathering ,wind,rain ,and sand storms.