Title: Numerical simulation of shaking table test on an adobe masonry building through nonlinear macro-element analysis

Authors: Luigi Fenu; Valeria Colasanti; Fulvio Parisi

Addresses: Department of Civil and Environment Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari, via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy ' Department of Civil and Environment Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari, via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy ' Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy

Abstract: Earthen constructions are often built in seismic areas, notwithstanding their vulnerability to even low-intensity earthquakes. Numerical simulations and design methods to predict the seismic response of earthen constructions under future earthquakes and, if any, to design and implement retrofitting systems are hence required. This study aims at evaluating the applicability of the equivalent frame method (EFM) to assess the seismic performance of adobe masonry buildings through nonlinear static analysis, allowing a trade-off between computational efficiency and accuracy in the simulation of earthquake damage. Experimental results of shaking table tests performed on a half-scale adobe building specimen were compared to the output of numerical simulations performed on the prototype building through the EFM. A satisfactory numerical-experimental agreement was found both in terms of seismic capacity features and damage to load-bearing walls. Such results indicate that the EFM can be suitably used also in adobe buildings, hence confirming previous validations on other building typologies.

Keywords: earthen constructions; adobe buildings; shaking table testing; nonlinear static analysis; equivalent frame method.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2022.125339

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2022 Vol.7 No.5, pp.504 - 524

Received: 23 Jan 2021
Accepted: 17 May 2021
Published online: 07 Sep 2022 *

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