Seismic Performance Evaluation of Masonry Infilled Reinforced Concrete Buildings Utilizing Verified Masonry Properties in Applied Element Method

Abstract

Present study aims on evaluating the seismic performances of existing Masonry Infilled Reinforced Concrete (MIRC) buildings commonly found in many South and Southeast Asian countries utilizing appropriate masonry properties in Applied Element Method (AEM) models. First, masonry constituents and masonry composite properties were determined for different masonry meshes through extensive parametric studies verified through the experimental results of masonry prisms under uniaxial compression and half scaled masonry infilled RC frames under in-plane cyclic load. Next, the established infill properties were utilized for time history dynamic analysis of an existing 8-storied MIRC building for different AEM models including soft story, retrofitted soft story, infills in all floors and bare RC frames neglecting stiffness contribution of infills. The analytical results revealed: 1) the unpredicted soft story column failure compared to the similar bare RC frame, 2) the inability of infills to improve the seismic performance of the surrounding RC frames, 3) the effectiveness of steel plate jacketing for preventing soft story failure and, 4) the effect of the existence of overhead water tanks on the alteration of seismic behavior of RC buildings.

A model-based data-interpretation framework for post-earthquake building assessment with scarce measurement data

“…However, shear-compression failure due to high axial loads is not taken into consideration. AEM has been shown by several researchers [53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60] to predict post-yield structural behavior of masonry and reinforced-concrete structures that are defined by a particularly large range of potential failure modes. The applicability of AEM to successfully simulate large 8 deformations has been demonstrated by Tagel-Din and Meguro [61], among others.…”

Proposal of Empirical Equations for Masonry Compressive Strength: Considering the Compressive Strength Difference between Bricks and Mortar

“…Previous studies have documented the diverse compressive strength of brick units, ranging from 1 MPa [5] to 100 MPa [6]. Notably, in developing countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, brick units typically exhibit compressive strengths below 40 MPa [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], while bricks from developed countries, such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and others, often exceed the 40 MPa threshold [6,[21][22][23]. It is important to emphasize that a brick's compressive strength significantly influences the compressive strength of the final masonry structure.…”