Experimental Study on Seismic Performance of Old Masonry Walls

Abstract

Due to the increase in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes and the number of old buildings and in Korea, there is an expected increase in the damage to life and property. Therefore, we intend to derive an indicator to evaluate the risk level by conducting a seismic test on old buildings. An initial crack was generated in the masonry structure to reflect the deterioration. The effect of the deterioration on the building was subsequently analyzed by comparing it with the uncracked control group. As a result, the masonry wall, which was the specimen, satisfied the seismic performance, but local failure occurred along the initial crack in the specimen considering the aging. The safety was significantly decreased due to the occurrence of additional cracks. This demonstrates that the cracks caused by the aging of the masonry building greatly damaged the seismic performance of the building.