Investigation on Seismic Properties of Load-Bearing Masonry Walls in Chinese Historical Buildings

Masonry walls resist most of the lateral loads in some Chinese historical architecture. To investigate the seismic properties of these load-bearing masonry walls, blocks in a typical Chinese old building undergoing retrofit are reserved. Compressive test specimens and wall panel specimens are constructed using these blocks and lime mortar. Mixing of the lime mortar is similar to that used in the old building. Material tests and pseudo-static tests are then performed. The damage modes and hysteretic curves of the wall panel specimens are studied. The test results are expanded through computer simulation. Some characteristics of the load-bearing masonry walls are summarized based on the test and simulation results. The proposed methodology and results can be referred to in further researches on seismic properties of historical masonry architectures.