Recent developments in the seismic assessment of masonry buildings

Abstract

Significant research has been conducted to establish the seismic capacity of unreinforced clay brick masonry buildings in Australia. In this paper, we consider modern and older existing construction typical of Australia. The paper presents results of laboratory tests on large scale walls, in-situ tests of walls in houses, and analytical predictions to estimate the level of damage that could be expected in a range of earthquake scenarios in Australia to support our conclusion that even a modest M6.0 earthquake within 10km of any capital city in Australia poses a significant life safety hazard to the public and a financial exposure to the nation in the order of $10 Billion.