• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.4
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• pp.481-493
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• 2021

Low rise masonry structures are relatively inexpensive and easier to construct compared to other types of structures such as steel and reinforced concrete buildings. However, masonry structures are relatively heavier and less ductile and more vulnerable to damages in earthquakes. In this research, a new innovative low-cost seismic isolator using steel rings (SISR) is employed to reduce the seismic vulnerability of masonry structures. FEA of a masonry structure, made of concrete blocks is used to evaluate the effect of the proposed SISR on the seismic response of the structure. Two systems, fixed base and isolated from the base with the proposed SISRs, are considered. Micro-element approach and ABAQUS software are used for structural modeling. The nonlinear structural parameters of the SISRs, extracted from a recent experimental study by the authors, are used in numerical modeling. The masonry structure is studied in two separate modes, fixed base and isolated base with the proposed SISRs, under Erzincan and Imperial Valley-06 earthquakes. The accelerated response at the roof level, as well as the deformation in the masonry walls, are the parameters to assess the effect of the proposed SISRs. The results show a highly improved performance of the masonry structure with the SISRs.

• Journal of The Korean Digital Architecture Interior Association
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2002

The masonry structure has been widely used as the dwelling house structure in our country for a long time. The masonry structure is weak in the lateral forces such as strong wind and earthquake. But there is no regulation for it in the domestic aseismic design codes. The purpose of this study is to suggest a simple design method of un-reinforced masonry wall.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.351-366
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• 2016

The structural collapse of masonry structure under dynamic loading displays many possible failure mechanisms often related to interaction between structural components. Roof collapse is one of the major damage mechanisms observed in masonry structures during an earthquake. Better connection between the roof diaphragm and walls may be preventing roof collapse, but it can affect other failure mechanisms. In spite of this fact, less attention has been paid to the influence of the roof diaphragm effect on masonry structures and little research has been implemented in this field. In the present study, the roof diaphragm effect on the unreinforced masonry structure under dynamic loading has been experimentally investigated. Three one-quarter scale one-story adobe masonry house models with different roof conditions have been tested by subjecting them to sinusoid loading on a shaking table simulator. Phenomena such as failure pattern, dynamic performance of masonry structure were examined.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.173-189
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• 2015

In reality, masonry infill modifies the seismic response of reinforced concrete (r.c.) frame structures by increasing the overall rigidity of structure which results in: increasing of total seismic load value, decreasing of deformations and period of vibration, therefore masonry infill frame structures have larger capacity of absorbing and dissipating seismic energy. The aim of the paper is to explore and assess actual influence of masonry infill on seismic response of r.c. frame structures, to determine whether it's justified to disregard masonry infill influence and to determine appropriate way to consider infill influence by design. This was done by modeling different structures, bare frame structures as well as masonry infill frame structures, while varying masonry infill to r.c. frame stiffness ratio and seismic intensity. Further resistance envelope for those models were created and compared. Different structures analysis have shown that the seismic action on infilled r.c. frame structure is almost always twice as much as seismic action on the same structure with bare r.c. frames, regardless of the seismic intensity. Comparing different models resistance envelopes has shown that, in case of lower stiffness r.c. frame structure, masonry infill (both lower and higher stiffness) increased its lateral load capacity, in average, two times, but in case of higher stiffness r.c. frame structures, influence of masonry infill on lateral load capacity is insignificant. After all, it is to conclude that the optimal structure type depends on its exposure to seismic action and its masonry infill to r.c. frame stiffness ratio.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.201-215
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• 1998

The structural behavior of reinforced concrete frame infilled with a masonry wall is investigated by the method of discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA). An interface element is developed and it is incorporated into DDA to analyze the continuous and discontinuous behavior of the masonry structure. The numerical results are compared with previous research and possess satisfactory agreement. Then the structural behavior and stress distribution of a reinforced concrete frame infilled with a masonry wall subjected to a horizontal force are studied. In addition, the justification of equivalent strut is assessed by the distribution of principal stresses. The results show that the behavior of the masonry structure is highly influenced by the failure of mortar. On the basis of the distribution of principal stress of the masonry wall in the reinforced concrete frame, the equivalent strut can be approximately substituted for the masonry wall without separation and opening. However, the application of equivalent strut to the masonry wall with separation and opening needs further study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.709-718
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• 2018

Masonry walls are sometimes removed in buildings to either make new passages or increase the usable space. This may change the loading paths in the structure, and require new beams to transfer the loads which are carried by the masonry walls that are to be removed. One possible method of creating such new beams is to attach steel plates onto part of the existing walls to form a steel plate-masonry composite (SPMC) beam, leading to a new structure with part of the masonry wall supported by a new SPMC beam. This paper presents an experimental investigation into the interaction between the SPMC beam and the masonry wall above. Five SPMC beams supporting a masonry wall were tested to study the influence of parameters including the height-to-span ratio of the masonry wall, height of the beam and thickness of the steel plates. The test results, including failure mode, load-carrying capacity, load-deflection curves and strain distribution, are presented and discussed. It is found that for developing better arching effect in the masonry wall the ratio of the in-plane flexural stiffness of the masonry wall to the flexural stiffness of the SPMC beam must be between 2.8 and 7.1.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.201-216
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• 2014

In this paper the vulnerability of the confined masonry buildings is evaluated analytically. The proposed approach includes the nonlinear dynamic analysis of the two-story confined masonry buildings with common plan as a reference structure. In this approach the damage level is calculated based on the probability of exceedance of loss vs a specified ground motion in the form of fragility curves. The fragility curves of confined masonry wall buildings are presented in two levels of limit states corresponding to elastic and maximum strength versus PGA based on analytical method. In this regard the randomness of parameters indicating the characteristics of the building structure as well as ground motion is considered as likely uncertainties. In order to develop the analytical fragility curves the proposed analytical models of confined masonry walls in a previous investigation of the authors, are used to specify the damage indices and responses of the structure. In order to obtain damage indices a series of pushover analyses are performed, and to identify the seismic demand a series of nonlinear dynamic analysis are conducted. Finally by considering various mechanical and geometric parameters of masonry walls and numerous accelerograms, the fragility curves with assuming a log normal distribution of data are derived based on capacity and demand of building structures in a probabilistic approach.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.835-845
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• 2012

This paper focuses on the stochastic response analysis of industrial masonry chimneys to surface blast-induced random ground motions by using a three dimensional finite element model. Underground blasts induce ground shocks on nearby structures. Depending on the distance between the explosion centre and the structure, masonry structures will be subjected to ground motions due to the surface explosions. Blast-induced random ground motions can be defined in terms of the power spectral density function and applied to each support point of the 3D finite element model of the industrial masonry system. In this paper, mainly a parametric study is conducted to estimate the effect of the blast-induced ground motions on the stochastic response of a chimney type masonry structure. With this purpose, different values of charge weight and distance from the charge centre are considered for the analyses of the chimney. The results of the study underline the remarkable effect of the surface blast-induced ground motions on the stochastic behaviour of industrial masonry type chimneys.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.207-230
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• 2012

Full-scale shake table seismic experiments and low-amplitude vibration tests on a masonry building are carried out to assess its seismic performance as well as study the effectiveness of a new multifunctional textile material for retrofitting masonry structures against earthquakes. The un-reinforced and the retrofitted with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) strips masonry building was subjected to a series of earthquake excitations of increasing magnitude in order to progressively induce various small, moderate and severe levels of damage to the masonry walls. The performance of the original and retrofitted building states is evaluated. Changes in the dynamic characteristics (lowest four modal frequencies and damping ratios) of the building are used to assess and quantify the damage states of the masonry walls. For this, the dynamic modal characteristics of the structure states after each earthquake event were estimated by performing low-amplitude impulse hammer and sine-sweep forced vibration tests. Comparisons between the modal results calculated using traditional accelerometers and those using Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors embedded in the reinforcing textile were carried on to investigate the reliability and accuracy of FBG sensors in tracking the dynamic behaviour of the building. The retrofitting actions restored the stiffness characteristics of the reinforced masonry structure to the levels of the original undamaged un-reinforced structure. The results show that despite a similar dynamic behavior identified, corresponding to reduction of the modal frequencies, the un-reinforced masonry building was severely damaged, while the reinforced masonry building was able to withstand, without visual damage, the induced strong seismic excitations. The applied GFRP reinforcement architecture for one storey buildings was experimentally proven reliable for the most severe earthquake accelerations. It was easily placed in a short time and it is a cost effective solution (covering only 20% of the external wall surfaces) when compared to the cost for full wall coverage by GFRPs.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.501-512
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• 2019

In this study, seismic vulnerability assessment and seismic isolation retrofit of Bayburt Yakutiye Mosque is investigated. Bayburt Yakutiye Mosque was built in the early 19th century at about 30-meter distance to Coruh river in the center of Bayburt in Turkey. The walls of historical masonry structure were built with regional white and yellow stones and the domes of the mosque was built with masonry bricks. This study is completed in four basic phases. In first phase, experimental determination of the regional white stone used in the historical structure are investigated to determine mechanical properties as modulus of elasticity, poison ratio and compression strengths etc. The required information of the other materials such as masonry brick and the regional yellow stone are obtained from literature studies. In the second phase, three dimensional finite element model (FEM) of the historical masonry structure is prepared with 4738 shell elements and 24789 solid elements in SAP2000 software. In third phase, the vulnerability assessment of the historical mosque is researched under seismic loading such as Erzincan (13 March 1992), Kocaeli (17 August 1999) and Van (23 November 2011) earthquakes. In this phase, the locations where damage can occur are determined. In the final phase, rubber base isolators for seismic isolation retrofit is used in the macro model of historical masonry mosque to prevent the damage risk. The results of all analyses are comparatively evaluated in details and presented in tables and graphs. The results show that the application of rubber base isolators can prevent to occur the destructive effect of earthquakes.