The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Shaking table study of single-story masonry houses, Volume 1: Test structures 1 and 2

Gülkan, Polat; Mayes, Ronald L.; Clough, Ray W.

UCB/EERC-79/23, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1979-09-01, 260 pages (515/G85/1979/v.1)

Earthquake damage to masonry construction during recent years underscores the need for a better understanding of the seismic response of these structures and the establishment of rational reinforcement requirements. An experimental investigation aimed at determining reinforcement requirements for single-story masonry dwellings in Uniform Building Code Seismic Zone 2 areas of the United States has been completed at the Univ. of California, Berkeley. The experimental results of the investigation are presented in Volumes 1 and 2, while Volume 3 will contain conclusions from the tests as well as recommendations for reinforcement requirements for masonry houses based on realistic seismic conditions for Zone 2. The overall study included the testing of four masonry houses, with both unreinforced and partially reinforced wall panels, assembled to form 16-ft-square models of typical masonry houses. The masonry units utilized in the construction of all test structures were full-sized units. Each house was provided with a timber truss roof structure to which weights were attached so as to obtain realistic loads on the bearing walls. Methods, models, and test facilities utilized in the study are described. A detailed description of the measured response of each test structure is provided, and a quantitative assessment of parameters affecting the response is presented, in this volume for Houses 1 and 2. For information on Houses 3 and 4, see the report "Shaking table study of single-story masonry houses, Volume 2: Test structures 3 and 4," by Gulkan, Mayes, and Clough, Sept. 1979 (UCB/EERC-79/24). The tests show that partially reinforced walls demonstrate excellent behavior under all levels of base excitation applied during the tests. For study conclusions and reinforcement recommendations, see "Shaking table study of single-story masonry houses, Volume 3: Summary, conclusions and recommendations," by Clough, Mayes, and Gulkan, Sept. 1979 (UCB/EERC-79/25).

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-79-23.pdf (19 MB)