George C. Manos, M. Yasin, J. Thawabteh, V. Kourtides

Laboratory of Strength of Materials and Laboratory of Reinforced Concrete, Department of Civil Engineering Aristotle University, Thessaloniki 54006, Greece. Fax: 003031 995769, email: gcmanos@civil.auth.gr.

ABSTRACT

The earthquake performance of partially reinforced masonry piers when subjected to seismic loading is examined here in the framework of an extensive experimental investigation. The objective is to be able to construct earthquake resistant low-rise partially reinforced masonry buildings in areas of moderate seismicity of Greece. This paper includes an overview of the earthquake performance of partially reinforced piers employing a “Greek” type brick, which is developed and manufactured by Filippou Structural Clay Products and is now available from their industrial production facility. Almost all the brick units employed in the framework of the current research program were produced by this industrial process; similarly the rest of the materials employed in the construction of the examined masonry piers are also available in the current construction practice in Greece. This research has been conducted at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University and was under the financial support of the Greek Ministry of Energy and Industry, General Secretariat of Research and Technology.

Key words: Partially reinforced masonry, Earthquake performance, In-plane cyclic loading

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