Damage evaluation of a multi-story brick masonry building with reinforced concrete framed ground floor under seismic loading: A case study

The masonry building with reinforced concrete (RC) framed lower floors, as a widely adopted hybrid structural system, has sustained significant damage during severe earthquakes. This study presents a detailed case investigation of a six-story brick masonry building with an RC framed ground floor, where the seismic damage characteristics and failure mechanisms are systematically explored. Based on field investigation, both refined and simplified finite element (FE) models are established, and nonlinear dynamic response analyses are conducted. The results indicate that the unreasonable distribution of infill walls and insufficient stirrup configuration are the primary causes of column failures. Specifically, when the restraining effect of infill walls is not considered, the calculated shear demand of the columns is approximately 50% lower than that obtained under the condition where the restraining effect of infill walls is taken into account. Furthermore, stirrups can effectively enhance the shear capacity of columns without increasing their shear demand. It is therefore recommended to strengthen the stirrups in regions with concentrated shear forces. In this case study, only the columns with strengthened stirrups are capable of meeting the required shear capacities.