Theoretical and Computational Methods to Evaluate the Response of Masonry Components and Structures
The objective of this project is to develop theoretical and computational methods to evaluate the response of masonry components and structures, with an emphasis on assessing the seismic vulnerability of New York City’s large stock of unreinforced masonry buildings. In the short-term, research is focused on developing and validating computational methods for the analysis of a simple wall subjected to monotonic loading. The long-term goal focuses on extending the computational methods to analyze archetype masonry buildings by:
- Studying the interaction between in-plane and out-of-plane behavior of masonry walls, with and without openings
- Developing predictive capabilities to assess the collapse potential of masonry structures subjected to seismic loading
This work is closely coordinated with the experimental study on typical masonry walls in New York City. Recommendations for the type of measurements and their locations based on the results from the experimental studies will be used to better validate the numerical models.
Selected Publications
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Dolatshahi, Kiarash M. and Aref, A. (2011). “Two-Dimensional Computational Framework of Meso-Scale Rigid and Line Interface Elements for Masonry Structures.” Engineering Structures Journal. 33, pp. 3657-3667.
- Dolatshahi, M. K. * and Aref, J. A. (2011). On the bidirectional response of unreinforced masonry walls. 15th World Conference of Earthquake Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Dolatshahi, M. K. * and Aref, J. A. (2011) ”Three Dimensional Modeling of Masonry Structures and Interaction of In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Deformation of Masonry Walls,” Engineering Mechanics Conference, June 2-4, Boston, MA.
- Dolatshahi M. K.* and Aref J. A. (2011) ”Analytical and Numerical Study of In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Interaction of Unreinforced MasonryWalls” NEES-MCEER Annual Meeting, Buffalo, NY June 9-11, 2011.
- Dolatshahi, Kiarash M., Computational, Analytical and Experimental Modeling of Masonry Structures, Ph.D. Thesis, 2012.
