In-plane cyclic tests of seismic retrofits of rubble-stone masonry walls

The recent catastrophic Gorkha Mw7.8 earthquake in Nepal showed that rubble-stone masonry houses can be extremely vulnerable and responsible for a large number of casualties. Seismic retrofitting techniques were experimentally studied for rubble-stone masonry walls widely used in the Himalayan belt. Four seismic retrofitting techniques were designed using locally available and affordable materials (e.g., wood, gabion wires, and tarpaulin). Full-scale walls with and without retrofitting were tested under lateral in-plane cyclic loads. The failure modes, hysteresis characteristics, and load-displacement responses were recorded and analyzed. The experiment results show that, with properly designed inexpensive retrofitting techniques, improvements in structural stiffness, ductility, and integrity can be achieved to effectively reduce damage during an earthquake.