Displacement-Based Earthquake Loss Assessment of Masonry Buildings in Mansehra City, Pakistan

A simplified nonlinear displacement-based approach is presented herein for earthquake loss estimation of structures. The methodology compares the displacement capacity of the structural systems with the displacement demand at the characteristic vibration periods of the systems taking into account their energy dissipation and the inherent variability in the seismic demand besides the variability in the geometric and material properties of the structural systems. To calibrate the methodology for Pakistani urban masonry buildings, 3D nonlinear dynamic time-history analysis of masonry buildings is performed, using a simplified formulation proposed herein, in order to obtain their vibration periods. Further calibration of the method is performed by analyzing experimental data on masonry shear walls. Deformation limit states of the masonry shear walls at different performance levels are presented. The energy dissipation characteristics of the masonry shear walls are quantified and presented in a simplified analytical form. A case study application is performed for the estimation of direct socio-economic losses in the urban area of Mansehra City for scenario earthquakes.