1. Development of Method to Evaluate the Stability of Stone Masonry Walls in Earthquakes

  • Proposal of a simple analytical method to reproduce behavior of stone masonry walls in earthquakes.
  • Creation of a nomogram to evaluate the stability of stone masonry walls in earthquakes, based on the analytical model.
  • Confirmation of applicability to actual stone masonry walls of earthquake-resistance reinforcement work whose effect has been proven by experimental model.

Since there had not been a method to predict deformation of stone masonry walls in earthquakes, it was not possible to properly evaluate their performance in terms of earthquake resistance. Based on the results of a vibration table test with a laboratory model of stone masonry wall, an analytical model is created, which is composed of comparatively simple elements to reproduce the complicated behavior of stone masonry walls in earthquakes (Fig. 1). Studying methods to find characteristics of each element in the model, to input seismic motion and to calculate residual displacement, a technique to analyze the behavior of stone masonry walls in earthquakes was proposed. And a nomogram was made to evaluate their stability with different heights and inclinations based on analytical technique (Fig. 2). By using these new analytical methods and the nomogram to evaluate the stability of stone masonry walls in earthquakes, it is now possible to determine the amount of deformation in such structures and easily compare it with the required earthquake resistance. This method is applicable to stone masonry walls reinforced by partly solidifying quadrangular pyramid stones and backside cobblestones, and enables determination of the most appropriate specifications for earthquake-resistance reinforcement work on walls with different heights and inclinations against assumed earthquakes.

While this method was developed by a laboratory model, it is confirmed by an experiment with actual stone masonry wall that this is applicable to stone masonry walls with a backside cobblestone layer containing fine-gravel soil.

Fig. 1 Analytical model to reproduce the displacement behavior of stone masonry walls Fig. 2 Nomogram to evaluate stability in an earthquake (L2 seismic motion spectrum II



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