Steel based retrofitting solutions for masonry structures

The purpose of this work was to assess the efficiency of retrofitting masonry structures using steel strengthening solutions. A stone masonry benchmark structure was used as application example of the different rehabilitation techniques. The aim was to use advanced, yet commercially available, analysis methods to determine the weaknesses of the initial structure and to test the benefits of different rehabilitation and strengthening solutions. Non-linear modelling techniques have been explored for the evaluation of the structural performance. ABAQUS was utilized as the main modelling tool. The earthquake performance of the benchmark structure was evaluated using pushover analyses. An initial assessment highlighted the weaknesses of the building: inadequate connections between walls and low out-of-plane bending strength of the walls. It was determined that tying the walls has to be the priority intervention. Further improvements could be obtained if rigid diaphragm was provided at the slabs. As a last resort, the walls could also be strengthened to increase their lateral load bearing capacity.