Seismic Design of Hybrid Masonry Type I Structural Systems

Hybrid masonry is a new technology for seismic building construction. The system utilizes reinforced masonry panels with a framed structure, as well as steel connector plates to tie the surrounding steel frame to the masonry wall. To date, the system has been only used for construction of several low-rise buildings in the eastern and mid-western United States. Current research extends the application of hybrid masonry for use in seismic hazard regions. Both capacity design and performance-based seismic design of hybrid masonry systems are studied. The steps of two capacity design process for hybrid masonry structural systems are presented, by dictating two favorable failure modes to the structure, i.e., steel connector plates acting as fuses or flexural yielding of the vertical steel bars of masonry walls. Moreover, for the case of plasticity concentrated to the steel connector plates, a performance-based method is also proposed for seismic design of hybrid masonry Type I building systems.