Out-of-plane behaviour of loadbearing and non-structural masonry walls during recent earthquakes

Abstract

Recent earthquakes in Balkan, including the September 21 and November 26, 2020 Albania earthquakes, March 22, 2020 Zagreb earthquake, and the December 29, 2020 Petrinja, Croatia earthquakes had devastating consequences for the affected population of these countries. Besides substantial structural damage of RC buildings as well as loadbearing masonry buildings, these earthquakes caused significant damage of non-structural masonry elements. This paper presents examples of the damage for loadbearing and non-structural masonry walls (infills and partitions) due to out-of-plane seismic effects, as observed by the authors during the reconnaissance visits to the affected areas. This type of damage can prevent the evacuation of people from the buildings during the earthquake, as the falling masonry elements block the evacuation routes, and hinder the reoccupancy and functional recovery of affected buildings after an earthquake. The authors recognize that both loadbearing and non-structural walls (infills and partitions) experienced out-of-plane collapse due to lack of connection to the floor/frame. Using the examples of the damage or failure of masonry walls during the recent earthquakes, their failure mechanisms were explained and the lessons learned were summarized in the paper.