Empirical seismic vulnerability analysis for masonry buildings based on school buildings survey in Iran

School facilities in Iran, in particular masonry schools, have shown poor performance during past earthquakes and can be identified as one of the parts of the country’s infrastructure that is most vulnerable to earthquakes. Hence, in this paper a method to perform index-based damage assessment for brick masonry schools located in the province of Yazd, the central region of Iran, using a comprehensive database of school buildings, is proposed. The database was obtained from the field survey forms applied for each observed school to collect the features of and damage to the structure. The results of a vulnerability index method developed in Iran are employed as input data to obtain empirical fragility curves for the school inventory. The Macroseismic model and GNDT II level method are two empirical methods combined in this procedure. Finally, the procedure is verified using damage survey data obtained after recent earthquakes (1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake and 2003 Bam earthquake) that occurred in Iran.     

Benchmarking the software packages to model and assess the seismic response of unreinforced masonry existing buildings through nonlinear static analyses

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - Seismic modelling of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings is addressed worldwide according to different approaches, not only at research level, but also in the...     

Study on vulnerability matrices of masonry buildings of mainland China

The degree and distribution of damage to buildings subjected to earthquakes is a concern of the Chinese Government and the public. Seismic damage data indicates that seismic capacities of different types of building structures in various regions throughout mainland China are different. Furthermore, the seismic capacities of the same type of structure in different regions may vary. The contributions of this research are summarized as follows: 1) Vulnerability matrices and earthquake damage matrices of masonry structures in mainland China were chosen as research samples. The aim was to analyze the differences in seismic capacities of sample matrices and to present general rules for categorizing seismic resistance. 2) Curves relating the percentage of damaged masonry structures with different seismic resistances subjected to seismic demand in different regions of seismic intensity (VI to X) have been developed. 3) A method has been proposed to build vulnerability matrices of masonry structures. The damage ratio for masonry structures under high-intensity events such as the Ms 6.1 Panzhihua earthquake in Sichuan province on 30 August 2008, was calculated to verify the applicability of this method. This research offers a significant theoretical basis for predicting seismic damage and direct loss assessment of groups of buildings, as well as for earthquake disaster insurance.     

Correction to: Benchmarking the software packages to model and assess the seismic response of unreinforced masonry existing buildings through nonlinear static analyses

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-021-01105-0     

砌体结构损伤检测的脉动法

应用脉动法测到的信号分析结构的固有频率和振型，利用作者提出的改进的单纯形法来识别结构刚度。根据识别的刚度矩阵，利用结构刚度与层间抗压抗剪强度、砂浆强度之间的关系，则可求得砌体的强度，从而达到对砌体结构进行损伤检测和安全性评定的目的。对某七层砌体结构进行实例，结果表明该方法能够比较准确地对砌体结构进行损伤检测和安全性评定。     

多层砌体房屋抗震加固方法述评

本文讨论了多层砌体房屋抗震加固的原则,对目前常用的多层砌体房屋的加固方法进行了简要的论述,提出了各种方法的特点和适用范围以及需要注意的问题,并指出了将来可能的发展方向。     

Modelling methods of historic masonry buildings under seismic excitation

Historic masonry buildings in seismically active regions are severely damaged by earthquakes, since they certainly have not been explicitly designed by the original builders to withstand seismic effects, at least not in a ‘scientific’ way from today’s point of view. The assessment of their seismic safety is an important first step in planning the appropriate interventions for improving their pertinent resistance. This paper presents a procedure for assessing the seismic safety of historic masonry buildings based on measurements of their natural frequencies and numerical simulations. The modelling of the brittle nonlinear behaviour of masonry is carried out on the macro-level. As an example, a recently completed investigation of the seismic behaviour of the Aachen Cathedral is given, this being the first German cultural monument to be included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list in 1978. Its construction goes back to the 9th century a.d. and it is considered as one of the finest examples of religious architecture in Central Europe. The investigation is based on measurements of the natural frequencies at different positions and numerical simulations using a detailed finite element model of the Cathedral.     

Study on vulnerability matrices of masonry buildings of mainland of China

The degree and distribution of damage to buildings subjected to earthquakes is a concern of the Chinese Government and the public.Seismic damage data indicates that seismic capacities of different types of building structures in various regions throughout mainland of China are different.Furthermore,the seismic capacities of the same type of structure in different regions may vary.The contributions of this research are summarized as follows:1)Vulnerability matrices and earthquake damage matrices of masonry structures in mainland of China were chosen as research samples.The aim was to analyze the differences in seismic capacities of sample matrices and to present general rules for categorizing seismic resistance.2)Curves relating the percentage of damaged masonry structures with different seismic resistances subjected to seismic demand in different regions of seismic intensity(VI to X)have been developed.3)A method has been proposed to build vulnerability matrices of masonry structures.The damage ratio for masonry structures under high-intensity events such as the Ms 6.1 Panzhihua earthquake in Sichuan province on 30 August2008,was calculated to verify the applicability of this method.This research offers a significant theoretical basis for predicting seismic damage and direct loss assessment of groups of buildings,as well as for earthquake disaster insurance.     

A nonlinear macroelement model for the seismic analysis of masonry buildings

The macroelement technique for modelling the nonlinear response of masonry panels is particularly efficient and suitable for the analysis of the seismic behaviour of complex walls and buildings. The paper presents a macroelement model specifically developed for simulating the cyclic in‐plane response of masonry walls, with possible applications in nonlinear static and dynamic analysis of masonry structures. The model, starting from a previously developed macroelement model, has been refined in the representation of flexural–rocking and shear damage modes, and it is capable of fairly simulating the experimental response of cyclic tests performed on masonry piers. By means of two internal degrees of freedom, the two‐node macroelement permits to represent the coupling of axial and flexural response as well as the interaction of shear and flexural damage. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A subregional-scale method to assess aquifer vulnerability to pesticides

A method to predict aquifer vulnerability to pesticide contamination at the subregional scale was developed. The assessment method was designed to incorporate relevant hydrologic and pesticide-transport information and to use generally available data. The method assumes steady-state advection of pesticides in the vadose zone, including sorption and biological decay. The solution is presented as a vulnerability index (VI) that increases as the aquifer vulnerability increases. The hydrologic input data for the VI model are obtained from the soil survey geographic database. Pesticides were grouped into three leachability classes using a leachability ratio (half-life divided by organic carbon partition coefficient). Pesticide transformation is assumed to occur in the surface layer. The influence of vertical transport in the remainder of the vadose zone has been incorporated by applying a multiplying factor to the VI that varies with depth to ground water. Hydraulic conductivity is used as a surrogate for soil-water velocity for practical purposes. The performance of the VI model is evaluated using ground water data from Weld County, Colorado. The model is demonstrated to be successful at predicting relative vulnerability, defined as the magnitude of pesticide concentration and percent of wells in a unit that exhibit a pesticide detection. Areas of low, medium, and high vulnerability are assigned. Results indicate that the vulnerability classifications are most dependent on the leachability ratio, hydraulic conductivity, and organic carbon content.     

Pushover-based seismic risk assessment and loss estimation of masonry buildings

A pushover-based seismic risk assessment and loss estimation methodology for masonry buildings is introduced. It enables estimation of loss by various performance measures such as the probability of exceeding a designated economic loss, the expected annual loss, and the expected loss given a seismic intensity. The methodology enables the estimation of the economic loss directly from the results of structural analysis, which combines pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis of an equivalent SDOF model. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by means of two variants of a three-storey masonry building both of which have the same geometry, but they are built, respectively, from hollow clay masonry (model H) and solid brick masonry (model S). The probability of collapse given the selected design earthquake corresponding to a return period of 475 years was found to be negligible for model H, which indicates the proper behaviour of such a structure when designed according to the current building codes. However, the corresponding probability of collapse of model S was very high (46%). The expected total loss given the design earthquake was estimated to amount to 28 000 € and 290 000 €, respectively, for models H and S. The expected annual loss per 100 m² of gross floor area was estimated to amount to 75 € and 191 €, respectively, for models H and S. For the presented examples, it was also observed that nonstructural elements contributed more than 50% of the total loss.     

Seismic vulnerability assessment and fragility analysis of pre-code masonry buildings in Portugal

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - Despite the fact that in recent years Portugal has not seen the occurrence of high-magnitude earthquakes, it remains threatened by these events due to its...     

配筋混凝土砌块砌体高层模拟结构抗震分析

以上海园南小区配筋砌块砌体高层住宅作为原型结构，通过变化结构的一些基本参数，模拟成一系列新的结构，对模拟结构进行了抗震分析，研究了结构参数对配筋砌块砌体结构抗震性能的影响。     

Evaluation of the seismic response of masonry buildings based on energy functions

This work is based on energies evaluated from the responses of 12 stone and brick masonry systems subjected to 58 shaking table tests. The evolution of input energy during a damaging base excitation is correlated to the change of the damage patterns of the considered buildings. The comparison among energies dissipated and absorbed by the buildings during the various shocks gives some hints on strengthening strategies. It is found that damage to spandrel beams produces a more significant energy absorption than other types of damage. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of seismic fragility curves for low-rise masonry infilled reinforced concrete buildings by a coefficient-based method

This study presents a seismic fragility analysis and ultimate spectral displacement assessment of regular low-rise masonry infilled (MI) reinforced concrete (RC) buildings using a coefficient-based method. The coefficient-based method does not require a complicated finite element analysis; instead, it is a simplified procedure for assessing the spectral acceleration and displacement of buildings subjected to earthquakes. A regression analysis was first performed to obtain the best-fitting equations for the inter-story drift ratio (IDR) and period shift factor of low-rise MI RC buildings in response to the peak ground acceleration of earthquakes using published results obtained from shaking table tests. Both spectral acceleration-and spectral displacement-based fragility curves under various damage states (in terms of IDR) were then constructed using the coefficient-based method. Finally, the spectral displacements of low-rise MI RC buildings at the ultimate (or near-collapse) state obtained from this paper and the literature were compared. The simulation results indicate that the fragility curves obtained from this study and other previous work correspond well. Furthermore, most of the spectral displacements of low-rise MI RC buildings at the ultimate state from the literature fall within the bounded spectral displacements predicted by the coefficient-based method.     

Performance-based methodology for assessing seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings

This paper presents a performance-based methodology for the assessment of seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings. The vulnerability assessment methodology is based on the HAZUS methodology and the improved capacity- demand-diagram method. The spectral displacement (Sd) of performance points on a capacity curve is used to estimate the damage level of a building. The relationship between Sd and peak ground acceleration (PGA) is established, and then a new vulnerability function is expressed in terms of PGA. Furthermore, the expected value of the seismic capacity index (SCev) is provided to estimate the seismic capacity of buildings based on the probability distribution of damage levels and the corresponding seismic capacity index. The results indicate that the proposed vulnerability methodology is able to assess seismic damage of a large number of building stock directly and quickly following an earthquake. The SCev provides an effective index to measure the seismic capacity of buildings and illustrate the relationship between the seismic capacity of buildings and seismic action. The estimated result is compared with damage surveys of the cities of Dujiangyan and Jiangyou in the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, revealing that the methodology is acceptable for seismic risk assessment and decision making. The primary reasons for discrepancies between the estimated results and the damage surveys are discussed.     

配筋砌体结构地震易损性评价方法初探

本文首先简要介绍了考虑空间协同的配筋砌体结构弹塑性地震反应分析程序EDAPSC；然后提出了一种利用空间协同时程分析结果，对配筋砌体结构地震易损性进行定量评价的方法，并以上海园南小区住宅楼为例进行了地震易损性分析，说明本文提出的地震易损性评价方法是可行和合理的；另外作者还对设计人员提出了提高结构抗震安全性的建议。     

Nonlinear finite and discrete element simulations of multi-storey masonry walls

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - This paper reports the results of different finite and discrete element simulations on a well-known benchmark of an unreinforced plane masonry structure....     

Experimental investigation on the seismic performance of masonry buildings using shaking table testing

Masonry buildings worldwide exhibited severe damage and collapse in recent strong earthquake events. It is known that their brittle behavior, which is mainly due to the combination of low tensile strength, large mass and insufficient connection between structural elements, is the main limitation for their structural implementation in residential buildings. A new construction system for masonry buildings using concrete blocks units and trussed reinforcement is presented here and its seismic behavior is validated through shaking table tests. Dynamic tests of two geometrically identical two-story reduced scale (1:2) models have been carried out, considering artificial accelerograms compatible with the elastic response spectrum defined by the Eurocode 8. The first model was reinforced with the new proposed system while the second model was built with unreinforced masonry. The experimental analysis encompasses local and global parameters such as cracking patterns, failure mechanisms, and in-plane and out-of-plane behavior in terms of displacements and lateral drifts from where the global dynamic behavior of the two buildings is analyzed comparatively. Finally, behavior factors for the design recommendations in case of unreinforced masonry are also evaluated.