The connections between walls of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and flexible timber diaphragms are critical building components that must perform adequately before desirable earthquake response of URM buildings may be achieved. Field observations made during the initial reconnaissance and the subsequent damage surveys of clay brick URM buildings following the 2010/2011 Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes revealed numerous cases where anchor connections joining masonry walls or parapets with roof or floor diaphragms appeared to have failed prematurely. These observations were more frequent for adhesive anchor connections than for through-bolt connections (i.e., anchorages having plates on the exterior facade of the masonry walls). Subsequently, an in-field test program was undertaken in an attempt to evaluate the performance of adhesive anchor connections between unreinforced clay brick URM walls and roof or floor diaphragm. The study consisted of a total of almost 400 anchor tests conducted in eleven existing URM buildings located in Christchurch, Whanganui and Auckland. Specific objectives of the study included the identification of failure modes of adhesive anchors in existing URM walls and the influence of the following variables on anchor load-displacement response: adhesive type, strength of the masonry materials (brick and mortar), anchor embedment depth, anchor rod diameter, overburden level, anchor rod type, quality of installation, and the use of metal mesh sleeves. In addition, the comparative performance of bent anchors (installed at an angle of minimum 22.5° to the perpendicular projection from the wall surface) and anchors positioned horizontally was investigated. Observations on the performance of wall-to-diaphragm connections in the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, a summary of the performed experimental program and test results, and a proposed pull-out capacity relationship for adhesive anchors installed into multi-leaf clay brick masonry are presented herein. AM - Accepted Manuscript
The connections between walls of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and flexible timber diaphragms are critical building components that must perform adequately before desirable earthquake response of URM buildings may be achieved. Field observations made during the initial reconnaissance and the subsequent damage surveys of clay brick URM buildings following the 2010/2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes revealed numerous cases where anchor connections joining masonry walls or parapets with roof or floor diaphragms appeared to have failed prematurely. These observations were more frequent for adhesive anchor connections than for through-bolt connections (i.e. anchorages having plates on the exterior façade of the masonry walls). Subsequently, an in-field test program was undertaken in an attempt to evaluate the performance of adhesive anchor connections between unreinforced clay brick URM walls and roof or floor diaphragms. The study consisted of a total of almost 400 anchor tests conducted in eleven existing URM buildings located in Christchurch, Whanganui and Auckland. Specific objectives of the study included the identification of failure modes of adhesive anchors in existing URM walls and the influence of the following variables on anchor load-displacement response: adhesive type, strength of the masonry materials (brick and mortar), anchor embedment depth, anchor rod diameter, overburden level, anchor rod type, quality of installation and the use of metal mesh sleeve. In addition, the comparative performance of bent anchors (installed at an angle of minimum 22.5o to the perpendicular projection from the wall surface) and anchors positioned horizontally was investigated. Observations on the performance of wall-to-diaphragm connections in the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, a snapshot of the performed experimental program and the test results and a preliminary proposed pull-out capacity of adhesive anchors are presented herein.
New Zealand’s stock of unreinforced masonry (URM) bearing wall buildings was principally constructed between 1880 and 1935, using fired clay bricks and lime or cement mortar. These buildings are particularly vulnerable to horizontal loadings such as those induced by seismic accelerations, due to a lack of tensile force-resisting elements in their construction. The poor seismic performance of URM buildings was recently demonstrated in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, where a large number of URM buildings suffered irreparable damage and resulted in a significant number of fatalities and casualties. One of the predominant failure modes that occurs in URM buildings is diagonal shear cracking of masonry piers. This diagonal cracking is caused by earthquake loading orientated parallel to the wall surface and typically generates an “X” shaped crack pattern due to the reversed cyclic nature of earthquake accelerations. Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) is a class of fiber reinforced cement composite that exhibits a strain-hardening characteristic when loaded in tension. The tensile characteristics of ECC make it an ideal material for seismic strengthening of clay brick unreinforced masonry walls. Testing was conducted on 25 clay brick URM wallettes to investigate the increase in shear strength for a range of ECC thicknesses applied to the masonry wallettes as externally bonded shotcrete reinforcement. The results indicated that there is a diminishing return between thickness of the applied ECC overlay and the shear strength increase obtained. It was also shown that, the effectiveness of the externally bonded reinforcement remained constant for one and two leaf wallettes, but decreased rapidly for wall thicknesses greater than two leafs. The average pseudo-ductility of the strengthened wallettes was equal to 220% of that of the as-built wallettes, demonstrating that ECC shotcrete is effective at enhancing both the in-plane strength and the pseudo-ductility of URM wallettes. AM - Accepted Manuscript
The connections between walls of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and flexible timber diaphragms are critical building components that must perform adequately before desirable earthquake response of URM buildings may be achieved. Field observations made during the initial reconnaissance and the subsequent damage surveys of clay brick URM buildings following the 2010/2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes revealed numerous cases where anchor connections joining masonry walls or parapets with roof or floor diaphragms appeared to have failed prematurely. These observations were more frequent for adhesive anchor connections than for through-bolt connections (i.e. anchorages having plates on the exterior façade of the masonry walls). Subsequently, an in-field test program was undertaken in an attempt to evaluate the performance of adhesive anchor connections between unreinforced clay brick URM walls and roof or floor diaphragm. The study consisted of a total of almost 400 anchor tests conducted in eleven existing URM buildings located in Christchurch, Whanganui and Auckland. Specific objectives of the study included the identification of failure modes of adhesive anchors in existing URM walls and the influence of the following variables on anchor load-displacement response: adhesive type, strength of the masonry materials (brick and mortar), anchor embedment depth, anchor rod diameter, overburden level, anchor rod type, quality of installation and the use of metal mesh sleeve. In addition, the comparative performance of bent anchors (installed at an angle of minimum 22.5o to the perpendicular projection from the wall surface) and anchors positioned horizontally was investigated. Observations on the performance of wall-to-diaphragm connections in the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, a snapshot of the performed experimental program and the test results and a preliminary proposed pull-out capacity of adhesive anchors are presented herein. http://www.confer.co.nz/nzsee/ VoR - Version of Record
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Octagon Live Restaurant, viewed from Manchester Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "119-121 Lichfield Street with Bedford Row visible behind. The tall building on the left is The I-Stay Hotel (187 Cashel Street)".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking from 223 Tuam Street across three blocks of clear land (Tuam-Ash-Lichfield-Bedford Row) to the IRD building on Cashel Street".
A photograph of members of the public walking down Manchester Street after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the distance rubble from damaged buildings has spilled onto the footpath and road.
A photograph of the badly-damaged Wendy's building on Hereford Street. Most of the facade of the bottom storey has fallen away and windows have been boarded up with plywood.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "St John the Baptist".
A photograph of earthquake damage to the Crown Masonic Lodge on Wordsworth Street, also known as the Freemasons Centre. The brick wall on one side of the building has collapsed, exposing the interior.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The intersection of Colombo, Hereford and High Streets looking north-east".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The intersection of Colombo, Hereford and High Streets. Looking north-west".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view looking west along Cashel Street from the Manchester Street intersection".
A photograph of members of the public walking down Manchester Street after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the distance rubble from damaged buildings has spilled onto the footpath and road.
A photograph of 141 Cambridge Terrace taken from a vacant site on Gloucester Street. The building is under deconstruction and the windows have been removed so the inside is visible.
A photograph of earthquake damage to the Crown Masonic Lodge on Wordsworth Street, also known as the Freemasons Centre. The brick wall on one side of the building has collapsed, exposing the interior.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The intersection of Colombo and Armagh Streets looking north-east".
Two phone booths on Norwich Quay in Lyttelton which have been wrapped in tape that reads, 'Danger keep out' due to their proximity to the damaged building behind them.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The conical top of the tower at the Arts Centre was removed and secured after the September earthquake".
A view through the cordon at the intersection of Oxford Terrace and Hereford Street. The building rubble in the background used to be the Mythai Thai Restaurant & Monkey Bar on Hereford Street.
An abandoned cafe located in the Pavilion building on Cashel Street. Magazines and newspapers are laid out on the counter and the reflection of Les Mills Gym can be seen in the window.
Members of the public walk past the damaged New Regent Street facades. The street has been cordoned off by security fences. The BNZ building on Armargh Street can be seen in the background.
A photograph of earthquake damage to the Crown Masonic Lodge on Wordsworth Street, also known as the Freemasons Centre. The brick wall on one side of the building has collapsed, exposing the interior.
A photograph of earthquake damage to the Crown Masonic Lodge on Wordsworth Street, also known as the Freemasons Centre. The brick wall on one side of the building has collapsed, exposing the interior.
A view across Oxford Street in Lyttelton to a pile of rubble from a row of demolished buildings. Wire fencing has been placed down the street as a cordon.
The lawyer for the man whose company designed the CTV building says it was the strength and number of Canterbury earthquakes that caused its collaspe, and not any design faults.
A woman of a relative who died in the CTV building in the February earthquake says more needs to be done to identify unknown faultlines before rebuilding work can start in Christchurch.
Auckland structural engineer John Scarry is concerned that the series of investigations into earthquake related collapses of Christchurch buildings won't result in the changes needed to make the city safer.
The Anglican Church has been asked why it failed to carry out a detailed inspection of a building which partially collapsed, killing a Canadian tourist in Christchurch during the February earthquake.