Structural performance of early 20th century masonry high rise buildings

Abstract

Early generation high rise buildings built between 1890 and World War 11 represent a technical transition between traditional load bearing masonry construction and modern curtain wall systems, and are typically referred to as 'transitional masonry buildings'. These structures comprise a large percentage of the building stock constructed in the early twentieth century. Two pertinent issues have emerged with these structures as they age. The first is the deterioration of the exterior masonry facade, which is largely a result of deficiencies in the construction method of these structures. The second issue is that it is very difficult to properly predict their structural performance because of the complicated interaction between the masonry infill and the structural frame. Underestimating or misdiagnosing the structural performance of a transitional masonry building can result in improper interventions. The aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the structural and facade performance of transitional masonry buildings and present methods for their analysis. A case study of a transitional masonry building is structurally analyzed using linear and nonlinear procedures to determine the contribution of the masonry infill as well as to investigate the feasibility of using simplified analytical models to predict structural performance.