| The seismic response of two reinforced masonry buildings with flexible diaphragms is investigated. A three-story building is investigated for its response during the 1989 Whittier Narrows, 1992 Landers, and 1994 Northridge earthquakes, and the response of a two-story building to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake is presented. Spectral analyses were performed to determine the dynamic characteristics of each structure consisting of response spectra and Fourier analyses. Observation of recorded time history data and the spectral analyses justified the development of a three-dimensional linear elastic dynamic model using ETABS (Version 7) software. Calculated and recorded displacement and acceleration time histories were compared for each building. Base shear demand in each building was compared to the 1973 and 1997 UBC codes, which confirmed the linear elastic behavior of each structure. Two additional strong motion ground records were used to assess the potential for damage to each building if subjected to a similar building during its service life. |
