Response reduction factor of irregular RC buildings in Kathmandu valley

Most current seismic design includes the nonlinear response of a structure through a response reduction factor （R）. This allows the designer to use a linear elastic force-based approach while accounting for nonlinear behavior and deformation limits. In fact, the response reduction factor is used in modem seismic codes to scale down the elastic response of a structure. This study focuses on estimating the actual ＇R＇ value for engineered design/construction of reinforced concrete （RC） buildings in Kathmandu valley. The ductility and overstrength of representative RC buildings in Kathmandu are investigated. Nonlinear pushover analysis was performed on structural models in order to evaluate the seismic performance of buildings. Twelve representative engineered irregular buildings with a variety of characteristics located in the Kathmandu valley were selected and studied. Furthermore, the effects of overstrength on the ductility factor, beam column capacity ratio on the building ductility, and load path on the response reduction factor, are examined. Finally, the results are further analyzed and compared with different structural parameters of the buildings.

Comparative efficiency analysis of different nonlinear modelling strategies to simulate the biaxial response of RC columns

The performance of different nonlinear modelling strategies to simulate the response of RC columns subjected to axial load combined with cyclic biaxial horizontal loading is compared. The models studied are classified into two categories according to the nonlinearity distribution assumed in the elements： lumped-plasticity and distributed inelasticity. For this study, results of tests on 24 columns subjected to cyclic uniaxial and biaxial lateral displacements were numerically reproduced. The analyses show that the global envelope response is satisfactorily represented with the three modelling strategies, but significant differences were found in the strength degradation for higher drift demands and energy dissipation.

Performance of masonry enclosure walls:lessons learned from recent earthquakes

This paper discusses the issue of performance requirements and construction criteria for masonry enclosure and infill walls. Vertical building enclosures in European countries are very often constituted by non-load-bearing masonry walls, using horizontally perforated clay bricks. These walls are generally supported and confined by a reinforced concrete frame structure of columns and beams/slabs. Since these walls are commonly considered to be nonstructural elements and their influence on the structural response is ignored, their consideration in the design of structures as well as their connection to the adjacent structural elements is frequently negligent or insufficiently detailed. As a consequence, nonstructural elements, as for wall enclosures, are relatively sensitive to drift and acceleration demands when buildings are subjected to seismic actions. Many international standards and technical documents stress the need for design acceptability criteria for nonstructural elements, however they do not specifically indicate how to prevent collapse and severe cracking, and how to enhance the overall stability in the case of moderate to high seismic loading. Furthermore, a review of appropriate measures to improve enclosure wall performance and both in-plane and out-of-plane integrity under seismic actions is addressed.

Seismic safety assessment of existing masonry infill structures in Nepal

Reinforced concrete（RC） buildings in Nepal are constructed with RC frames and masonry infill 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 infill, in order to evaluate the influence of infill walls on the failure mechanisms. Five three-storey buildings with different structural configurations and detailing were selected. The effect of masonry infill panels on structural response was delineated by comparing the bare-framed response with the infill response. Seismic performance is evaluated with regard to global strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, inter-storey drift, and total deflection of the structure. A parametric analysis of structures with masonry infill is also performed. For this, the influence of different material properties is studied, namely diagonal compressive stress, modulus of elasticity and tensile stress of masonry infill panels. Study results show that masonry infill 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 influence of the infill panels on structural response and, in particular, the effect of the diagonal compressive strength of the masonry wall.

Seismic fragility assessment of revised MRT buildings considering typical construction changes

The present study investigates the vulnerability assessment of the prototype revised Mandatory Rule of Thumb(MRT)buildings initially designed and detailed for three storeys bare frame building;later modified through variable number of storeys(three,four,and five)and different arrangement of infill walls(bare frame,soft-storey,irregular infilled,and fully infilled).The application of infill walls increases the fundamental frequencies,stiffness,and maximum strength capacity,but reduces the deformation capability than the bare frame building.The vulnerability was also reduced through infill walls,where the probability of exceeding partial-collapse and collapse damage reduced by 80% and 50%,respectively.Furthermore,the increased in storeys(three to five)also increases the failure probability,such that partial-collapse and collapse for fully infilled increases by almost 55% and 80%,respectively.All obtained results and discussions concluded that the structural sections and details assigned for MRT building is not sufficient if considered as bare frame and soft-storey.And increase in number of storeys causes building highly vulnerable although the infill walls were considered.

Mechanical properties characterization of different types of masonry infill walls

It is remarkable,the recent advances concerning the development of numerical modeling frameworks to simulate the infill panels'seismic behavior.However,there is a lack of experimental data of their mechanical properties,which are of full importance to calibrate the numerical models.The primary objective of this paper is to present an extensive experimental campaign of mechanical characterization tests of infill masonry walls made with three different types of masonry units:lightweight vertical hollow concrete blocks and hollow clay bricks.Four different types of experimental tests were carried out,namely:compression strength tests,diagonal tensile strength tests,and flexural strength tests parallel and perpendicular to the horizontal bed joints.A total amount of 80 tests were carried out and are reported in the present paper.The second objective of this study was to compare the mechanical properties of as-built and existing infill walls.The results presented and discussed herein,will be in terms of strain-stress curves and damages observed within the tests.It was observed a fragile behavior in the panels made with hollow clay horizontal bricks,without propagation of cracks.The plaster increased the flexural strength by 57%.

Structural Health Monitoring of Different Geometry Structures With Optical Fiber Sensors

In this paper, we describe the structural health monitoring of several structures, with different geometry, materials and behaviors, using optical fiber sensors. Those studies aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of such technologies in structural health monitoring, with all the advantages inherent to the optical fiber technology.