Response of an unreinforced masonry building during the Loma Prieta earthquake
Tena-Colunga, Arturo
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/20521
Description
Title
Response of an unreinforced masonry building during the Loma Prieta earthquake
Author(s)
Tena-Colunga, Arturo
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Abrams, Daniel P.
Department of Study
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Discipline
Civil Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Engineering, Civil
Language
eng
Abstract
The subject structure of this study is a two-story historic building and former firehouse located in downtown Gilroy, California. The structure was built in 1890 and it is one of the first URM buildings that has been both instrumented and subjected to a moderate earthquake in U.S. history. Recorded peak ground accelerations were as high as 0.29g and peak roof accelerations as high as 0.79g. Considerable amplifications of the peak accelerations between the ground and the roof were observed. The former firehouse withstood the Loma Prieta Earthquake with little damage.
Unreinforced masonry construction used in Northern California at the turn of this century was similar throughout the United States. Because moderate earthquakes are expected east of the Rocky Mountains, the response of the firehouse can help foretell the earthquake hazard in the eastern and midwestern United States. The ground motions recorded at the firehouse represent an upper bound for assessing possible hazards associated with similarly constructed buildings in the eastern United States. Since the firehouse was not appreciably damaged, even with these high accelerations, there is hope that similar historic buildings across the nation may survive a future earthquake. However, such extrapolation is not warranted unless a detailed investigation is done to examine the reasons for the superior performance.
The objectives of this study are the following: (1) Investigate the reasons of the survival of the firehouse of Gilroy with the use of both simplified and state-of-the-art methods. (2) Present a simplified discrete MDOF dynamic model developed for the seismic evaluation of the firehouse and similar URM buildings with flexible diaphragms. (3) Correlate the recorded, observed and computed response of the firehouse with estimates of dynamic response and prescribed allowable stress limits by state-of-the-art masonry and seismic codes.
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