Seismic Behavior of Plain‐ and Reinforced‐Masonry Buildings

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of an experimental study that investigated the seismic behavior of two three‐story, plain‐ and reinforced‐masonry buiding models with identical structural configuration. The measured response and observed mechanism of structural behavior have been used to analyze the load‐bearing and energy‐dissipation capacity of each structural type. By reinforcing the masonry walls with vertical reinforcement at the borders of the walls and horizontal reinforcement in the mortar bed joints, the lateral resistance, energy‐dissipation capacity, and global ductility of the building was significantly improved. The mechanism of the behavior of the tested models changed from the story mechanism that prevailed in the case of the plain‐masonry model to coupled shear‐wall mechanism in the case of reinforced‐masonry building model, with floor slabs and bond beams contributing to the seismic resistance of the model in the latter case.