Study on vulnerability matrices of masonry buildings of mainland of China

The degree and distribution of damage to buildings subjected to earthquakes is a concern of the Chinese Government and the public.Seismic damage data indicates that seismic capacities of different types of building structures in various regions throughout mainland of China are different.Furthermore,the seismic capacities of the same type of structure in different regions may vary.The contributions of this research are summarized as follows：1）Vulnerability matrices and earthquake damage matrices of masonry structures in mainland of China were chosen as research samples.The aim was to analyze the differences in seismic capacities of sample matrices and to present general rules for categorizing seismic resistance.2）Curves relating the percentage of damaged masonry structures with different seismic resistances subjected to seismic demand in different regions of seismic intensity（VI to X）have been developed.3）A method has been proposed to build vulnerability matrices of masonry structures.The damage ratio for masonry structures under high-intensity events such as the Ms 6.1 Panzhihua earthquake in Sichuan province on 30 August2008,was calculated to verify the applicability of this method.This research offers a significant theoretical basis for predicting seismic damage and direct loss assessment of groups of buildings,as well as for earthquake disaster insurance.

Damage characteristics and constitutive modeling of the 2D C/Si C composite: Part I – Experiment and analysis

This paper reports an experimental investigation on the macroscopic mechanical behaviors and damage mechanisms of the plain-woven（2D） C/Si C composite under in-plane on- and offaxis loading conditions. Specimens with 15, 30, and 45 off-axis angles were prepared and tested under monotonic and incremental cyclic tension and compression loads. The obtained results were compared with those of uniaxial tension, compression, and shear specimens. The relationships between the damage modes and the stress state were analyzed based on scanning electronic microscopy（SEM） observations and acoustic emission（AE） data. The test results reveal the remarkable axial anisotropy and unilateral behavior of the material. The off-axis tension test results show that the material is fiber-dominant and the evolution rate of damage and inelastic strain is accelerated under the corresponding combined biaxial tension and shear loads. Due to the damage impediment effect of compression stress, compression specimens show higher mechanical properties and lower damage evolution rates than tension specimens with the same off-axis angle. Under cyclic tension–compression loadings, both on-axis and off-axis specimens exhibit progressive damage deactivation behaviors in the compression range, but with different deactivation rates.