Response and Damage of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Loma Prieta Earthquake

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This is a post Loma Prieta earthquake (Oct. 1989) investigation project in learning from this damaging event. The project will focus on the study of performance of unreinforced masonry buildings (UMR) during the earthquake. Response of selected structures will be estimated using computational models, and correlated with expectations of structural strength and observations of damage. The study will encompass buildings located in the counties of Alameda, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Both damaged and undamaged structures will be considered. The study will include a wide variety of masonry element types including structural walls resisting forces within and normal to their plane, infill panels in either steel or concrete frames, cladding, parapets, and other nonstructural elements. Both engineered and nonengineered construction will be studied. Candidate structures will be selected for investigation based on degree of damage, expected force level, location, soil conditions, and availability of information on ground motions and structural descriptions. It is expected that knowledge gained will be helpful for mitigating the earthquake hazard in the eastern USA because of the widespread use of unreinforced masonry in those regions of a potential moderate intense earthquake.