Shaking Table Tests of a Typical Mexican Colonial Temple: Evaluation of Two Retrofitting Techniques

Abstract

This paper reports the results of the second phase of a research program that carried out shaking table tests on a scale model of a typical stone masonry temple. This second phase evaluates the efficacy of two different retrofitting techniques by comparing the response of the retrofitted models with that of the original unreinforced model. It was found that both retrofitting schemes substantially enhanced the performance of the model temple. The maximum intensity of the base motion for which damage was considered to be still repairable increased by 80% and 120% for the first and the second levels of retrofitting, respectively. In terms of displacement capacity, the response of the model with the second level of retrofit reached a maximum drift of 0.4%. The initial damping ratios were found to be in the range of 7% to 9%, both in the original and the retrofitted models. These ratios constitute a significant source of energy dissipation for this kind of structure.