Single Storey Research Articles

Designing out waste by optimizing floor layout with locally available building materials

Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) generation is affected by increasing population and urbanization. Such wastes are disposed of in landfill sites, which are limited in number, in the small island developing states (SIDS). With these sites coming to saturation, the authorities are bound to move higher in waste hierarchy. This paper investigates the potential reduction in CDW that can be achieved by optimizing floor layouts' dimensions with respect to the selected building material (concrete masonry units). A survey was carried out on 3-bedroom single storey high residential buildings in the Republic of Mauritius and a generalised layout was produced. Wastage, due to cut-offs, in block wall construction was determined using formulae presented in this paper. It was found that wastage in blocks amounted to around 16.29% of the cost of blocks used in the construction of the whole building. Adjustments were made to the units' dimensions, both horizontally and vertically, taking into consideration the existing locally manufactured cmu's geometries. An adjusted layout was generated and the wastage in block wall construction was recalculated. A reduction of 6.59% in cut-off waste was observed. Waste could not be eliminated completely as blocks had to be cut to fit in openings, hence, grounds for further research. A framework has been proposed, based on this study, that can be adapted to any building materials in order to help designers to optimise their floor layouts at design stage so as to reduce the generation of waste during construction.

A study on behaviour of long and short column under dynamic loading

Most of the multi-story buildings are built on sloping land, because of the variable ground profile. As a result, to keep the roof at the same height, the length of columns must be varied, either in the basement or on the ground floor. It is vital to examine the behaviour of such long variable-length columns under different loading conditions. One of the most significant criteria to consider in the design of structures is dynamic loads. The behaviour of short and long columns under dynamic loading was investigated in this study using a structure. In SAP2000, a 3-dimensional single storey RC structure with dimensions of 4 m × 8 m × 4.5 m is modelled with six columns, two of which are small columns of 2.5 m and four long columns of 4.5 m. The structure's intrinsic frequency and weight were determined based on the analytical analysis (SAP). The prototype model is then scaled down 10 times and analysed with steel sections in SAP; the properties of the steel are obtained through a trial-and-error method, and the dimensions of the steel sections that satisfy the frequency and weight of the prototype model, which is scaled down to 10 times, are obtained as a long column of 450 mm in length, a short column of 250 mm in length, and both columns are 75x6mm in size, while the size of the slab is 400x800mm with a 6 mm thick steel sheet. For experimental purposes, a similar steel section model is fabricated and tested on a shaking table to determine the maximum displacement for a particular frequency of around 7 Hz to 15 Hz with a base displacement of 1 mm. The maximum displacement occurred around 13.50 Hz, which is nearly identical to the frequency of the SAP model. The research also looks at the evaluation of forces on the columns and acceleration values at various frequencies from the shake table test of a single degree of freedom system.

The Relationship Between Storey of Buildings and Fall Risk.

Purpose: This study examined the association between storey of building and fall risk in older adults' residences and residents' level of fear of falling.Methods: The National Health and Ageing Trends Study (NHATS) collected information that would provide an understanding of basic trends people aged 65 years and older. Using a longitudinal survey, the present study employed the first round of NHATS data that was collected in 2011. In the first round, 12,411 participants were enrolled, and 8,077 interviews were completed. The study sample sizes for falling and worry about falling are 6,153 and 6,142, respectively.Results: Unadjusted analysis revealed that storey of building was a risk factor for fall and worry about falling. There was a higher prevalence for fall and worry about falling when subjects lived in single storey of building compared with the subjects live in multi-storey. Logistic regression analysis showed no highly significant between storey of building and the fall/fear of falling.Conclusion: Several clinical factors independently were indicated pertaining to the fall and worry about falling in older adult's residences.

Investigation of one dimensional multi-layer periodic unit cell for structural base isolation

Conventional base isolators like lead rubber bearing, high damping rubber bearing and friction pendulum bearing are not suitable for structures containing crucial pipelines and other sensitive structural components, since these structures with conventional isolators are usually subjected to large relative displacements between the superstructure and the base. Concepts from solid state physics have led to the evolution of a new technique of base isolation for civil engineering structures through the use of a foundation system consisting of periodic materials, namely periodic foundation. Periodic structures have the ability to block the passage of elastic waves within a certain frequency range through them. This frequency range is called the band gap or the attenuation zone of the periodic structure. Periodic foundations can be one dimensional (1D) or two dimensional (2D) or three dimensional (3D) periodic foundations depending of the arrangement of the periodic materials in the foundation. The band gap characteristics of 1D periodic foundations can be computed through the Plane Wave Expansion (PWE) method by expressing material properties in the form of Fourier series expansion in the reciprocal lattice space and obtaining the band gap through an eigenvalue problem using Bloch’s theorem. In the present study the PWE method has been formulated to analyse a generic multi-layer periodic unit cell. The generalized formulation has then been applied to the case of a 1D periodic foundation with three material layers. The results obtained from the analysis have shown wider attenuation zones with lower starting frequencies in the 1D three-layer periodic foundation as compared to a 1D two-layer periodic foundation. The effect of material and geometric parameters on the first attenuation zone of 1D three-layer foundation has also been investigated in the present study. Additionally, experimental studies on a single storey frame and numerical studies on a ten storey frame conducted with chosen configurations of periodic foundations showed that both 1D two-layer and 1D three-layer periodic foundations are effective in attenuating the vibration responses of structural systems.

As plain as spilt salt: the city as social structure in The Dispossessed

ABSTRACT Set against the soaring skyscrapers of much canonical urban science fiction (sf), the single storey structures of Abbenay in Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed might be easily overlooked. But, as this paper argues, the sparse description of this city ‘as plain as spilt salt’ offers a rich and complex vision of architectural possibility. This paper dwells within this moment of description, drawing on personal association alongside architectural and literary theory to consider how this image of a city might cast strange new light on embedded aspects of architectural practice. It explores how the sustained consideration of the built spaces of feminist sf can provide designers with an empathetic appreciation of how the built environment reflects and informs social relations. Salt is modest, Salt is domestic, Salt is refined, Salt is anything but plain, To spill salt is to act.

Cyclic Performance of Cold‐formed Steel Moment Resisting Frames

AbstractThis paper investigates the seismic performance of a single storey moment resisting cold‐formed steel (CFS) portal frame through cyclic testing. Six monotonic and six cyclic tests were performed on three different section sizes of CFS portal frames. The portal frames were 3.2m long x 2.2m high and the CFS sections bolted with either perfect‐fit tolerance bolt holes (PTBH) or normal tolerance bolt holes (NTBH) connections. Connections with NTBH are standard in CFS, but connections with PTBH are often only used for short‐spanning frames. Results from the tests demonstrated that both PTBH and NTBH connections had stable hysteresis and good hysteretic energy dissipation capacity and ductility. On average, the NTBH connections performed better under cyclic loading in comparison to the PTBH connections (5.4% larger ductility and 22.3% increased energy dissipation). Strain gauge results show failure due to combined bending and bi‐moment stresses, of which the bi‐moment stress component accounted for 41% of the total longitudinal stresses at the section web. It should be noted that bi‐moment stresses are often incorrectly ignored by practitioners; the experimental test results thus show that by doing so the sections would fail at 59% of the design moment.

Analysis of companion animal clinics in Istanbul in terms of some physical structures, technical equipment, patients and management

With the increasing in companion animal (pet) adoption in the recent years, clinics are now becoming businesses enterprises. In parallel with this increase in ownership, a significant number of veterinarians have started to choose companion animal area. According to records there is a total of 7915 ministry licensed enterprises in Turkey (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2021a) and 749 of them are established in Istanbul (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2021b). For this reason, Istanbul has been determined as the study site. In this research, it is aimed to determine the physical structures, technical equipment, patient distribution and to analyze the business activities and problems encountered of the companion animal veterinary clinics in Istanbul. Survey studies were conducted mostly face-to-face (96%) in 225 clinics in Istanbul between April 2019 and April 2021. At the end of the research, it was determined that the majority of the clinics in Istanbul were 100-200 square meters in size, single storey, with 1 examination room. In addition, 96,0% of the clinics are rental and 74,2% of which are sole corporation. In terms of investment, all clinics has a microscopic examination set. Vast majority (95.0%) have X-ray devices and 87.0% analysers. In terms of patient distribution, cats represents 61.9% and dogs represents 33.0%. In the age distribution, those between the ages of 2-5 constitute the largest group for both cats and dogs. The most common reason for the first visit is vaccination with 39.6%. With the research, it has been observed that clinics are generally small-medium in size (81,3%) and independent clinics. The fact that large and chain enterprises are almost non-existent causes both the amount of investment and the expenditure required for promotional activities to be high. From this point of view, it is clearly seen that clinics should become more professional enterprises. In order to do that veterinarians always try to improve business and administrative capabilities by attending to training events.

Automated Storey Separation and Door and Window Extraction for Building Models from Complete Laser Scans

Heritage buildings are often lost without being adequately documented. Significant research has gone into automated building modelling from point clouds, challenged by irregularities in building design and the presence of occlusion-causing clutter and non-Manhattan World features. Previous work has been largely focused on the extraction and representation of walls, floors, and ceilings from either interior or exterior single storey scans. Significantly less effort has been concentrated on the automated extraction of smaller features such as windows and doors from complete (interior and exterior) scans. In addition, the majority of the work done on automated building reconstruction pertains to the new-build and construction industries, rather than for heritage buildings. This work presents a novel multi-level storey separation technique as well as a novel door and window detection strategy within an end-to-end modelling software for the automated creation of 2D floor plans and 3D building models from complete terrestrial laser scans of heritage buildings. The methods are demonstrated on three heritage sites of varying size and complexity, achieving overall accuracies of 94.74% for multi-level storey separation and 92.75% for the building model creation. Additionally, the automated door and window detection methodology achieved absolute mean dimensional errors of 6.3 cm.

Rigid-Plastic Analysis of Seismic Resistant T-Frame considering Moment-Shear Interaction

To select a seismic resistant system, in addition to strength and stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation are important to be considered. Structures have nonlinear behavior under the influence of moderate and strong earthquakes. One of the primary aims in designing seismic resistant structures is to prevent the formation of undesirable collapse mechanisms such as the collapse in only a few storeys of the structure that leads to low energy dissipation. In order to achieve a global collapse mechanism, modern seismic codes provide simple rules for design, which is called the hierarchy criteria. Although these simple criteria could prevent the formation of a soft storey mechanism, they could not lead to an optimal global collapse mechanism. In these mechanisms, the energy dissipation zones include all the yielding zones such as beams, while all other parts of the structure have remained in the elastic range. TRF (T-resisting frame) is an innovative lateral resistant system introduced for architectural reasons and to provide more energy dissipating capability. This system has several collapse mechanisms due to the moment, shear, or moment-shear behavior of its members. In this paper, within the framework of the theory of plastic mechanism control, the rigid-plastic analysis of the TRF system to achieve the desired collapse mechanism is used by considering the moment-shear interaction. According to these analyses, which are performed on a single storey frame, simple hierarchy criteria are developed to create the desired collapse mechanism. Also, these criteria prevent undesired collapse mechanisms in order to have more energy dissipation and more ductility. Finally, the validity of the proposed criteria has been verified by the pushover analysis.

My rural, vernacular house in context to COVID-19

Vernacular architecture offers clues and lessons to people. Purpose of this paper is thus to explore and identify attributes of a particular piece of vernacular architecture and try to relate it in context to COVID-19. It highlights attributes of the house in context to reimagining and redesigning built environment in days of COVID-19. Said piece of vernacular architecture is my ancestral house which no more exists since 55 years in a village I am from. Its plan, form, building materials and setting in a village teaches few things. House of single storey in mud construction was over a small plot of about 9 meters by 12.5 meters. Top of compound wall was above eye level offering great privacy and insider naturally avails environ offering pleasant solitude, the need of COVID-19. When one entered plot of house from road through compound gate on south-west direction of a plot, one is in a small courtyard. Immediate to entrance at compound gate was a room of about 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters with a veranda of about 2 meters by 2.5 meters. This space called “Gadaaro” was for male guests and males of a family. Courtyard which contained two cows continued beyond Gadaaro. Abutting on northern wall of a plot were walls of 3 rooms namely kitchen (northwest), a general room and a bed room (north east). From a courtyard one could enter to a general room leading to kitchen on its west and bed room on its east. Plan remained closer to what one needs to reimagine today in COVID-19. Construction from local building materials; mud-walls and a country tiled sloping roof offered many things expected in COVID-19. Findings here are that environ, house plan and construction materials has to be such that one can leave in for a long period without coming in contact with outdoors for days. House plan shall be fully contained and complete in itself.

Influence of soil flexibility and plan asymmetry on seismic behaviour of soil-piled raft-structure system

Ever-increasing scarcity of land and demand for high-rise structures has significantly contributed to the use of combined piled raft foundations (CPRF) in soft ground. However, utility, design constraints and aesthetic considerations bring asymmetry to superstructures, making structures more vulnerable during seismic excitations. Traditional design practices involve designing superstructure elements and foundation considering fixity at the base of the superstructure and ignoring soil-structure interaction (SSI) which may result in under-estimation of forces and displacement in the system. Hence, the present study aims at developing new seismic design guideline pertaining to asymmetric single and multi-storied structure supported on CPRF embedded in soft clay. Some important parameters, such as torsional coupling mode of vibration and multi-storey idealisation involving the effect of higher modes are investigated incorporating seismic SSI effect. The study broadly reveals that the torsional to lateral period ratio considerably influence the seismic response of asymmetric structural system on the piled raft foundation due to the incorporation of SSI. Furthermore, multi-storey building idealisation gives a higher estimation of response compared to single storey idealization in superstructure and pile head which may be due to the effect of higher modes of vibration and SSI

Retrofitting and rehabilitation of vernacular housing in flood prone areas in Sri Lanka

This paper presents findings from an investigation into applications to improve the structural resilience and safety of low-rise vernacular masonry homes when subject to extreme flooding. In 2016 and 2017 flooding brought devastation throughout many areas in Sri Lanka. Findings from field investigations to evaluate, characterize, and quantify the extent and nature of structural damage to low rise vernacular masonry houses from these flood events are presented. Low cost solutions were developed to enhance the flexural capacity of masonry walls using reinforced plasters. Single storey homes in rural areas are particularly at risk from rapid flood events, and limited evacuation opportunities require a means of in-situ refuge. Focusing on these risks, a unique retrofitting project, including an elevated refuge area for occupants to escape and shelter during flood events, is also presented. This research will directly improve the welfare of vulnerable communities living in flood risk areas, minimizing the risk of flood induced structural failure, while enabling people to safely remain in their homes.

Thermal management of metal roof building using phase change material (PCM)

The energy consumption of the buildings for cooling, especially during the days of high solar exposure is large due to the increased indoor temperature. The roof of the building contributes more for this cause by allowing a large quantity of heat during day hours. Further, the single storey buildings with the metal roof would help to penetrate a greater quantity of heat and increase the total heat gain of the building. In this way, they could increase the cooling load to attain the human comfort. In this current work, an experimental investigation was carried-out to reduce the indoor temperature of the metal roof single storey industrial building with the help of paraffin based phase changing material (PCM). In this fashion, an attempt was made to reduce the total cooling load of the building which can diminish a greater quantity of conventional power requirement. A scale model of the proposed building was fabricated and tested for the analysis. The experiments conducted in two modes such as the first case without any PCM in the roof (Plain Roof) and next case with encapsulated paraffin as PCM within the roof (PCM Roof). The test results proved that the encapsulation of PCM within the metal roof of the single storey building reduced the temperature of the outer roof, inner roof and consequently the indoor temperature of the building space to a vast extent. Quantitatively, the daily average indoor temperature was dropped by 5 °C and peak indoor temperature was reduced by 9.5 °C with the help of PCM.

DEFECT STUDY ON SINGLE STOREY REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDING IN WEST SUMATRA: BEFORE AND AFTER 2009 WEST SUMATRA EARTHQUAKE

Indonesia has a high number of damaged buildings due to earthquake excitation. An event in2009 (Mw 7.6) affected the buildings and infrastructure of Padang, where more than one hundred thousandwere damaged to severe, medium, or slight levels. Previous studies have found that structural defects in thetypical reinforced concrete buildings are the major cause of the catastrophic results of damage. However, theresearch that presenting the predominant defects suffered by RC building is limited. Hence, this research aimedat assessing the defects on the single-storey RC building in West Sumatra to arrange the defects list and findingthe predominant defects on the target building type. Furthermore, by analyzing the data statistically, this studycompared the defect found on the buildings that were built before and after the 2009 West Sumatra Earthquake.Hence, the information about the progress on building quality after the earthquake event can be provided. Thisresearch uses field survey and data analysis of 100 single storey RC buildings with masonry wall aged from77 years till 0 years. The samples were selected randomly in the area of Padang-Pariaman district in WestSumatra, Indonesia. The results show that common defects found are 18% of the building do not have structuralcolumns, 38% without structural beams, and 60% of the building’s structural elements concrete cover do notfollow the minimum concrete cover required by Indonesia National Standard. This study also found that 20%of columns are indicated to be corroded.

Structural Performance of Straw Block Assemblies under Compression Load

Background:In recent decades, the enduring interest and continued development of straw bale as a walling material are based on its beneficial properties. Straw bale is a biomaterial that contributes greatly to carbon footprint reduction and offers excellent thermal insulation. It is proved that plastered straw bale assemblies have good mechanical properties and can be used for the construction of a single storey building. It is known that straw bale presents high displacement in the assemblies; thus, pre-compression is a major step that helps to push down straw bale so as to avoid future structural failure in the wall. There is no clue yet if this method is structurally beneficial than to stabilized single straw bales before assembling them into a structural panel.Objective:This paper presents the structural performance of straw block assemblies under compression loads.Method:Straw blocks and mortar were used to construct plastered and un-plastered wall panels, which were tested under uniformly distributed compression load till failure.Results:The results obtained show that plastered straw block assemblies can support at least 286 KN/m2, which is higher than the minimum slab load 18.25KN/m2, including imposed load for a residential house. In addition, the strength of plastered straw block assemblies plastered with cement-gum mortar, 0.3 N/ mm2is greater than the strength of a single storey building (0.19N/mm2). Furthermore, results indicate that un-plastered and plastered straw block assemblies perform better than un-plastered and plastered straw bale assemblies. Plastered straw block assemblies support up to 52KN while plastered straw bale assemblies support only 41.1KN.Conclusion:Under compression load, straw block assemblies have a load carrying capacity greater than the minimum slab load. Therefore, Straw block can be used for the construction of a single storey building.

On the behaviour of steel CBF for industrial buildings subjected to seismic sequences

The usual seismic design of buildings, based on current codes of practice, does not account for the occurrence of seismic sequences. Structures are designed to resist one single earthquake and then it is supposed that, before the following event, there is enough time to retrofit the damaged construction. This paper investigates the effects of seismic swarms on single storey Concentric X-Braced steel Frames, a very common construction system for industrial buildings. The selected seismic sequences have been chosen so that the first event is considered as the mainshock, and following events have a similar or greater PGA (Peak Ground Motion). The sequences can represent a swarm or a sequence of earthquakes spaced over time, occurring before the structures are retrofitted. The investigation of the effects on steel frames has been conducted in a simplified way through the analysis of Single Degree Of Freedom (SDOF) systems with a behaviour calibrated on the response of Multi-Degree Of Freedom (MDOF) real Concentrically Braced Frames (CBFs). One of the main focuses of this work is on the additional ductility to be used in the seismic design to account for the effects of seismic sequences. For this purpose, the 95th percentile of the required ductility ratio has been calculated in the typical fundamental frequency range of single storey concentric braced steel frames, as to estimate the increase of ductility or strength to be adopted in design. As a result, a reduction of behaviour factor up to 37% has been found.

Hydrogeomorphic assessment of badlands in part of the Mandakini River watershed, Chitrakoot, India

Badlands are a hydrogeomorphological feature with operative processes leading to intense erosion. This study utilizes the morphometric methods with the help of remote sensing data in a GIS environment to determine the characteristics of the badlands of Mandakini River watershed and their interpretation to explore the factors responsible for the formation of the typical landforms. Objective interpretation of morphometric data of badlands with the help of statistical Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC) and dendrogram cluster may be made to emphasize the controlling factors. The morphometric parameters like the total number of streams (Nu), bifurcation ratio (Rb), drainage density (Dd), drainage frequency (Fs), drainage texture (Dt), and infiltration number (If) and their correlation in the study area plays a significant role in the advancement of rills and gullies. In the present area, the total number of streams (Nu) is very significantly related with the lengths of the first-order (L1), the second-order (L2), and the third-order streams (L3) along with the total stream length of all orders (Lu) in the third-order and the fourth-order sub-watersheds. Bifurcation ratio (Rb) is strongly correlated with L1, L2, L3, L4, and drainage texture (Dt) in the fourth-order sub-watershed. These correlations insinuate a tectonic influence in the basin and show an ultrafine drainage texture that ultimately forms badland topography. The relation between Dd-Lg-C-If-Rn produces a self-enhancing system of badland development, which promotes erosion in the area under study. These correlations provide a well-figured observation of the sub-watershed that, due to the increase in infiltration number (If), the drainage density (Dd) also increases, which leads to enhancement of channel cutting and erosion rates (low Lg and C value). This correlation coefficient of Rn is moderately low, indicating a single storey type of badlands. The badlands seem to have formed owing to setting up of self-enhancing erosive system on paleo wetlands, as evidenced by the presence of calcretes. Calcretes have been related to the presence of wetlands’ conditions. These have been related to fall in water levels, therefore, indicating much higher water levels nearly close to ground surfaces before setting up badlands conditions. Thus, the badlands which have shallow calcretes horizons can be said to have been wetlands in the past.

RECYCLED TIRE ISOLATOR AS EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE SYSTEM FOR SINGLE STOREY BUILDING IN MALAYSIA

The studies of seismic isolation have gradually become important particularly in countries of active seismicity activity. The main idea of isolation is to provide flexibility to the structural foundation as well as to absorb energy and mitigating ground acceleration generated from earthquake forces. However, the cost to manufacture conventional commercial rubber isolator is high due to its heavy weight complicated in the process of preparation involving expensive machinery. When earthquake occurs, the building structure especially low rise residential buildings such as single storey buildings are subjected to high inertia forces which lead to structural damages. Country such as Malaysia which located outside the earthquake region is now even facing the threat of earthquake too in some areas especially Sabah. This alerts Malaysia that there is a need to develop an earthquake resistance mechanism. Recycled Tire Isolator (RTI) is a model designed to be embedded into the foundation of a low rise building in order to withstand earthquake forces. The main component in the fabrication of RTI is recycled tire. The useable section of the recycle tire is the tread and will be split into small pieces with measurement of 300mm x 210mm. Each piece of cut tire is about 10mm thick. The method of preparation of RTI samples is simple which is cost effective and sustainable. RTI samples consist of four to five layers of cut recycled tire pads. Static compression test was conducted to examine the vertical capacity of RTI. A controlled vertical force of 380 kN (maximum capacity of the compression test machine) was applied on to the RTI during the compression test. An average displacement of 11.5mm was recorded when the cracking sound was heard indicating the failure of RTI sample. The static or vertical stiffness of RTI was determined. Besides, dynamic compressive load test was another experiment carried out to examine the damping coefficient, damping ratio and also dynamic stiffness of RTI. The results obtained from the experiment were compared with the commercial available isolators and also compared among the RTIs. The similarities of characteristics between RTI and the commercial isolators have given an indication that RTI has great potential to be adopted as earthquake base isolator for single storey residential buildings.

RECYCLED TIRE ISOLATOR AS EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE SYSTEM FOR SINGLE STOREY BUILDING IN MALAYSIA

The studies of seismic isolation have gradually become important particularly in countries of active seismicity activity. The main idea of isolation is to provide flexibility to the structural foundation as well as to absorb energy and mitigating ground acceleration generated from earthquake forces. However, the cost to manufacture conventional commercial rubber isolator is high due to its heavy weight complicated in the process of preparation involving expensive machinery. When earthquake occurs, the building structure especially low rise residential buildings such as single storey buildings are subjected to high inertia forces which lead to structural damages. Country such as Malaysia which located outside the earthquake region is now even facing the threat of earthquake too in some areas especially Sabah. This alerts Malaysia that there is a need to develop an earthquake resistance mechanism. Recycled Tire Isolator (RTI) is a model designed to be embedded into the foundation of a low rise building in order to withstand earthquake forces. The main component in the fabrication of RTI is recycled tire. The useable section of the recycle tire is the tread and will be split into small pieces with measurement of 300mm x 210mm. Each piece of cut tire is about 10mm thick. The method of preparation of RTI samples is simple which is cost effective and sustainable. RTI samples consist of four to five layers of cut recycled tire pads. Static compression test was conducted to examine the vertical capacity of RTI. A controlled vertical force of 380 kN (maximum capacity of the compression test machine) was applied on to the RTI during the compression test. An average displacement of 11.5mm was recorded when the cracking sound was heard indicating the failure of RTI sample. The static or vertical stiffness of RTI was determined. Besides, dynamic compressive load test was another experiment carried out to examine the damping coefficient, damping ratio and also dynamic stiffness of RTI. The results obtained from the experiment were compared with the commercial available isolators and also compared among the RTIs. The similarities of characteristics between RTI and the commercial isolators have given an indication that RTI has great potential to be adopted as earthquake base isolator for single storey residential buildings.

INFLUENCE OF BRICK MASONRY INFILLED WALL ON SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE FRAME

Infilled walls are considered as nonstructural elements in reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. However, they can interact with the bounding frame when subjected to lateral load and can change the load resisting mechanism and failure pattern. This paper presents the results of two full scale (single storey and single bay) RC frames which were tested using quasi-static loading. Of these, one was a bare frame whereas the second frame was constructed with infilled brick masonry wall. The data of hysteresis curves, strength, capacity curve, stiffness, energy dissipation, displacement ductility, overstrength factor, response modification factor and performance levels have been presented and discussed. The test results highlighted the positive influence of infilled wall on stiffness, strength, energy dissipation and ductility of RC frame. It was also observed that response modification factor is sensitive to the frame geometric configuration.