First documented during a military reconnaissance in 1849, Chaco Canyon and the Ancestral Pueblo society that flourished therein [850–1140 Common Era (CE)] have been the focus of archaeological investigation for more than a century. Beginning in the early ninth century CE, the inhabitants of farming communities lining a 14-km stretch of the lower canyon in present-day northwest New Mexico erect...

The paper presents a plastic analysis procedure based on the energy balance concept for performance based seismic retrofit of multi-story multi-bay masonry infilled reinforced concrete (R/C) frames with a ‘soft’ ground story using passive energy dissipation (PED) devices with the objective of achieving a target performance level of the retrofitted R/C frame for a given seismic hazard level at t...

an experimental study is conducted on three ½ scales, single-story, single-bay, frame specimens. the first specimen was a reinforced concrete frame with solid-brick infill. the second specimen was a reinforced concrete frame with hollow clay perforated-brick infill. the last specimen was a reinforced concrete frame without any infill. these three specimens were tested by pseudostatic method. di...

This paper presents a new numerical tool for evaluating the vibration frequencies and mode shapes of masonry buildings in the presence of cracks. The algorithm has been implemented within the NOSA-ITACA code, which models masonry as a nonlinear elastic material with zero tensile strength. Some case studies are reported, and the differences between linear and nonlinear behaviour highlighted.

1. Abstract Topology optimization is employed to define the geometry of the cross-section of any masonry block that minimizes its thermal transmittance, with the aim of maximizing the thermal insulation of masonry buildings. Constraints on the mechanical properties of the block are also prescribed. The effect of the design constraints on the optimal layout of the blocks is investigated. The the...

Citation: Furukawa A, Kiyono J, Parajuli RR, Parajuli HR and Toki K (2017) Evaluation of Damage to a Historic Masonry Building in Nepal through Comparison of Dynamic Characteristics before and after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. Front. Built Environ. 3:62. doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2017.00062 Evaluation of Damage to a Historic Masonry Building in Nepal through Comparison of Dynamic Characteristics befor...