Effects of near-fault and far-fault ground motions on nonlinear dynamic response and

seismic damage of masonry structures

A study of Bilgin H’s. (2023) Effects of near-fault and far-fault ground motions on nonlinear dynamic
response and seismic damage of masonry structures, deals with the seismic behavior of masonry buildings
according to the structure’s distance to a fault rupture. Masonry in construction has been a prevalent
structural method used in different places around the world such as the USA, Japan, Italy, etc. Although
masonry is a straightforward method of construction, masonry has a complex material to model. Engineers
face challenges in numerical modeling due to the joints present in a structure and are major source of
weakness, discontinuity, and nonlinearity. Additionally, uncertainties in material characteristics further
complicates the process of construction. According to this related study, more than 70% of facilities of
public and residential in Albania falls under the low to mid rise masonry buildings. The primary objective of
the study is to compare and analyze how low to mid rise masonry residential buildings that are built in
Albania from 1940 to 1990 in accordance to the seismic codes predating modern standards and how they
respond to seismic forces by taking fling effect and forward directivity into account of the potential
earthquake-related damage as well as using the data sheet with the recent 100 records of earthquakes with
different distances of fault ground motions.

The researchers of this related study identified high-risk areas and nonlinear dynamic analysis was
chosen. By using nonlinear static analyses on specific prototype buildings chosen by their responses and
taking the structures’ geometrical and construction specification. This outlined approach is only acceptable
if the development of local mechanisms is avoided. However, the data gathered during this method
becomes inaccurate when it comes to tall and irregularly built structures because the response of these
structures to seismic forces can be affected significantly because of how they are built. For a more accurate
representation of the mid to low residential masonry structures, the researchers used 19 buildings with 2 to
6 stories with standard design are chosen in Albania and were modeled using a software called TREMURI.
Other structural specifications such as members, dimensions, loads, and materials came from the
structures design and structural plans. Lastly, the inelastic dynamic characteristics are estimated through
equivalent single degree of freedom (ESDOF) and these structures are assessed based on the selected
near and far fault earthquake records.

The inherent materials used in this study are ascertained through onsite experimentations and
investigations. The mechanical attributes were derived according to the ASTM C67–09 guidelines. A set of
randomly selected materials were tested to establish the compressive strength of a solid brick. The result
of this study indicates that the near-fault ground motion applies a more significant effect on the dynamic
response and therefore exerts more damage to the structures majorly built through masonry. Additionally,
the stories of the structures are a major factor as the structures with 5 and 6 stories have a greater
vulnerability to far and near fault seismic forces. The near collapse state of these structures exceeds the
values of 66.77% and 53.47% and has an elevated risk and seismic hazards compared to other buildings.