Author

H.C. UZOEGBO (1) and R. SENTHIVEL (2)

(1) Associate Professor in Structural Engineering

(2) Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

Shake-table tests can closely simulate earthquake shaking given the relevant parameters. It is an effective method for assessing the seismic capacity of buildings as it can avoid a series of technical difficulties such as the establishment of motion equations of the non-linear system. Seismic response parameters are measured directly from the simulation tests and failure modes can be visually observed. A single story dry stack interlocking block masonry building system was designed, constructed on a specially designed shake-table at the Spoornet Laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa. The building was subjected to a series of simulated earthquake ground motions ranging from minor to severe until failure. The damaged building was then repaired and retrofitted using the polymer grid technique, and re?tested under similar loading conditions. It was found that the retrofitted structure exhibited more flexible behaviour that enabled it to provide a better resistance to simulated seismic loading. This paper presents the shake-table experimental test program on the dry-stack test houses, test results, analysis and conclusions.

Key words
Dry stack masonry, Shake-table tests, Polymer grid technique, Retrofit