Shake table testing of a half-scale stone masonry building aggregate
Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, vol. 22, pp. 5963–5991
Abstract
Abstract Masonry aggregates have developed throughout city centres of Europe due to a centuries-long densification process that generally lacked consistent planning or engineering. Adjacent units are connected either through interlocking stones or a layer of mortar. Without interlocking stones, the connection between the units is weak, and an out of-phase response of the units can lead to separation and pounding. Modelling guidelines and code instructions are missing for modelling the interaction of such adjacent units because of scarce experimental data. Therefore, in this study an unreinforced stone masonry aggregate was tested on the bidirectional shake table with an incremental seismic protocol as a part of the SERA AIMS—Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures project. The aggregate was constructed at half-scale with double-leaf undressed stone masonry without interlocking between the units. Floors were built with timber beams and one layer of planks, with different beam span orientation for each unit. After significant damage, one of the units was retrofitted by anchoring the timber beams to the walls to prevent out-of-plane failure and testing was continued. Significant interaction between the units was observed with specific damage mechanisms. Cracking and separation were observed at the interface in both longitudinal and transverse direction, starting at lower intensity runs and progressively increasing. Bidirectional seismic excitation affected the unit separation, with friction forces seemingly playing a role in the transverse direction. Signs of pounding at the interface were observed during higher intensity runs, together with the formation of a soft storey mechanism at the upper storey of the higher unit. The mechanism involved an out-of-plane response of the shared wall, with a horizontal crack at the height of the interaction. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the seismic behaviour of masonry aggregates.
Authors 10
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Affiliation as printed
Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics Laboratory (EESD), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr), University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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University of California, Berkeley
Affiliation as printed
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Wind and Earthquake Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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National Laboratory for Civil Engineering
Affiliation as printed
National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), Lisbon, Portugal
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National Laboratory for Civil Engineering
Affiliation as printed
National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), Lisbon, Portugal
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European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering
Affiliation as printed
European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE), Pavia, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr), University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Katrin Beyer corresponding
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Affiliation as printed
Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics Laboratory (EESD), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), Lausanne, Switzerland
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