Analysis of load bearing wall buildings subject to horizontal loading

Abstract

Due to historical reasons, a large part of the building structures today present and kept in use in many cities consists of load-bearing wall buildings with walls made of stone or brick masonry. The actual structural safety of these constructions and their performance subject to horizontal actions (as earthquake) is today a topic of growing concern. The present paper reviews some of the techniques which are today available for the structural analysis of load-bearing wall buildings with special focus on modern numerical approaches. A second part of the paper is devoted to the presentation of the experience of the authors in the practical usage of some of these methods. Some real or experimental cases, analysed by means of the methods presented, are included to illustrate their actual aplicability.