Seismic Testing of Single‐Story Masonry Houses: Part 1

Abstract

The paper describes the design and testing of a series of single‐story masonry houses in a research program carried out at the University of California, Berkeley, Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC), with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The ultimate purpose of the research was to determine whether partial reinforcement should be required of such structures in order to qualify for HUD insurance, if they are intended to be built in Uniform Building Code Seismic Zone 2 areas of the United States. The test structures were 16‐ft square in plan dimensions and were assembled from full‐size wall‐panel components so that their damage mechanisms would duplicate the seismic behavior of actual houses. The excitations, applied by the 20‐ft square EERC Earthquake Simulator to the test structure were based on records obtained during several earthquakes in the western U.S., and were increased gradually in successive tests until significant damage had occurred. The results demonstrated that properly constructed houses with plain masonry walls are capable of resisting quite severe earthquake motions without developing an unacceptable degree of damage.