This paper addresses the possibilities of structural component models for the seismic assessment of masonry buildings using pushover analysis. The ultimate goal is to allow efficient design of new unreinforced masonry buildings in seismic areas. Different modelling strategies are presented and the implementation of a simple design tool based on structural component models is described in detail. The different approaches are applied to a two-storey building with regular plan and elevation, allowing for a comparison between them. The results indicate that macro-modelling using structural component models and pushover analysis are adequate approaches for the seismic assessment and design of unreinforced masonry buildings, as the tools require very low computational resources, allow easy interpretation of results and provide satisfactory accuracy.

Modern design of buildings requires accounting for sustainability aspects using a life-cycle perspective, but also the early design phase where earthquake actions have a significant influence concerning the structural design. Recently, the seismic evaluation of masonry buildings using macroelement modeling approaches became popular, by applying performance-based assessment procedures through nonlinear static (pushover) analysis methodologies. This work addresses the validation for these approaches referring to two full-scale masonry structures tested under quasi-static lateral loading and almost unknown in the literature. The experimental behavior of tested unreinforced masonry (URM) and confined masonry (CM) structures is compared against the pushover response of the corresponding computational models. Then, referring to typical housing in southern Europe and its usual design with a reinforced concrete (RC) structure, the validated assessment tools are employed to evaluate the earthquake-resistant possibilities of URM and CM solutions, namely in terms of maximum applicable ground accelerations. The masonry solutions are also compared in terms of construction costs against the RC typology. The considered analysis tools present a good agreement when predicting, satisfactorily, the experimental test behavior, thus being able to be used in performance-based design. With respect to the studied housing, the predicted pushover responses for the masonry structures denote capacity to resist earthquakes adequately. These structures allow also a significant cost reduction (up to 25%) against the RC, thus appearing to be competing alternatives.

Confined masonry (CM) has been adopted as a cost-effective and earthquake-resistant solution for buildings, mostly in developing countries. CM has large potential for use in Europe, but suitable rules for its application are not available in the European masonry code. This paper presents a critical review of theoretical approaches and experimental investigations on the structural behaviour of CM walls, along with the proposal of simple but suitable design rules. The behaviour to vertical compression and to in-plane shear and bending loadings are comprehensively reviewed with reference to existing studies. Concerning the vertical compressive behaviour, the contribution of each material to the vertical resistance is evaluated and a formulation is proposed. The existing theories for the shear and flexural behaviours are reviewed and the available and new proposed models are compared against experimental results. Finally, requirements for detailing of CM are reviewed from international design codes, in view to propose suitable rules for implementation in a structural code.

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