Earthquake Disaster Mitigation through Retrofitting of Unreinforced Concrete Block Masonry Buildings

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study on the improvement of unreinforced block masonry buildings against earthquake disasters. Unreinforced concrete block masonry piers have been tested for lateral strength before and after retrofitting. Welded mesh and injection of cement grout techniques have been used for piers retrofitting. The analysis of experimental results demonstrates that proper retrofitting can decrease the risk to concrete block masonry buildings in future scenario earthquakes. Retrofitting increases not only the overall strength of unreinforced masonry piers but also the ductility.