Seismic safety assessment of existing masonry infill structures in Nepal

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2016-12-31

Authors

Hemchandra Chaulagain (Author) Other; Hugo Rodrigues (Author) Other; Enrico Spacone (Author) Other; Humberto Varum (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration

Vol. 15 No. 2

Pages: 251-268

ISSN: 1671-3664

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 8 Citations

INSPEC

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Technological sciences > Engineering > Civil engineering > Structural engineering

FOS: Engineering and technology > Civil engineering

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00K-JEH

DOI: 10.1007/s11803-016-0320-6

Abstract (EN): Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Nepal are constructed with RC frames and masonry infi ll panels. These structures exhibit a highly non-linear inelastic behavior resulting from the interaction between the panels and frames. This paper presents an extensive case study of existing RC buildings in Nepal. Non-linear analyses were performed on structural models of the buildings considered as a bare frame and with masonry infi ll, in order to evaluate the infl uence of infi ll walls on the failure mechanisms. Five three-storey buildings with different structural confi gurations and detailing were selected. The effect of masonry infi ll panels on structural response was delineated by comparing the bare-framed response with the infi ll response. Seismic performance is evaluated with regard to global strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, inter-storey drift, and total defl ection of the structure. A parametric analysis of structures with masonry infi ll is also performed. For this, the infl uence of different material properties is studied, namely diagonal compressive stress, modulus of elasticity and tensile stress of masonry infi ll panels. Study results show that masonry infi ll increases the global strength and stiffness of the structures; it decreases the inter-storey drift and hence the total displacement of the structure. The results quantify the infl uence of the infi ll panels on structural response and, in particular, the effect of the diagonal compressive strength of the masonry wall.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 18