Seismic damage evaluation and failure mechanisms of historical masonry walls based on numerical method

Abstract

Masonry walls, which serve as a distinct structural element in numerous historical buildings, have frequently been damaged or even collapsed because of unexpected events such as earthquakes. The paper analyzes the seismic damage evaluation and failure mechanisms of historical masonry tower walls located in Xi’an, China. For this purpose, three-dimensional finite element models of historical masonry tower walls were established based on numerical method and analyzed through the explicit dynamic procedures. The numerical model is firstly verified by the testing results from the scaled historical tower wall specimen. The comparison results show a high accuracy in load-displacements relationship and the error does not exceed 3%. Then, the damage indexes (DI) based on the different damage models are calculated and the performance levels of historical Chinese tower walls are proposed accordingly. The effects of vertical compressive stresses, height width ratios and opening ratios on the seismic damage evaluation of the historical tower masonry walls are also analyzed. Finally, the shear bearing capacity of masonry tower walls based on calculation formulas are calculated and the stiffness of the wall under different aspect ratios are further analyzed.