[12 –Failure

mechanism of
Brick
Masonry
structure]

[Building & town

planning ]

[civil engineering]
 Failure mechanism of Brick Masonry structure
(Mode of Failure or pattern of Failure of Brick Masonry structures):
1. Out of plane Failure
2. In plane Failure
3. Connection Failure
4. Diaphragm Failure
5. Failure due to opening in walls
6. Non-structural components Failure

o Out of Plane Failure:

 Consider the free standing masonry wall – X.
 The ground motion is acting transverse to a free
standing wall – X.
 The force acting on the mass of the wall tends to
overturn it.
 The seismic resistance of the wall is by virtue of its
weight & tensile strength of mortar and it is
obviously very small.
 If wall – X is short wall then it will collapse by Figure 12.1 (a) slender walls are vulnerable -
overturning under the ground motion as the wall Height and Length to be kept within limits. Note:
has very less resistance in this direction due to in this figure, the effect of roof on walls is not
shown.
small depth.
 If wall – X is long wall then the bending of the wall
results in developing of tensile stresses. Masonry
is very weak in tension & hence it cracks. This
cracking is lead to fail or partial collapse of the
wall.
 This type of failure is called Out of the Plane
failure.

 The tendency of a wall to topple when pushed in

the weak direction can be reduced by limiting its
length thickness ratios.
 A wall too long or too tall in comparison to its
thickness is particularly vulnerable to shaking in Figure 12.1 (b) out of plane failure in thick wall
this weak direction. & thin wall

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2. In Plane Failure:
 The free standing wall –A fixed to the ground is subjected to
its own plane.
 In this case, the wall will offer much greater resistance
because of its large depth in the plane of bending. Such a wall
is termed as shear wall.
 A wall with small length to width ratio will generally develop a
horizontal crack due to bending tension and then slide due to
shearing.
 A wall with moderate length to width ratio diagonally cracks
due to shearing.
 A wall with large length to width ratio may develop diagonal Figure 12.2 in plane Failure
tension cracked at both sides & horizontal cracks at the
middle.

3. Connection Failure:
 The ground shakes simultaneously in the vertical (Z-
plane) and two horizontal (X and Y- plane) directions
during earthquakes.
 However, horizontal vibrations are the most
damaging to normal masonry buildings.
 Horizontal inertia force developed at the roof
transfers to the walls acting either in the weak or in
the strong direction.
 If all the walls are not tied together like a box, the Figure 12.3 (a) For the direction of earthquake
walls loaded in their weak direction tend to topple. shaking shown wall B tend to fall
 To ensure good seismic
performance, all walls must be joined
properly to the adjacent walls.
 In this way, walls loaded in their
weak direction can take advantage of the
good lateral resistance offered by walls
loaded in their strong direction.
 Further, walls also need to be tied
Figure 12.3(b) wall B properly connected to wall A. to the roof and foundation to preserve
(Wall A loaded in strong direction & wall B loaded their overall integrity.
in weak direction)

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4. Diaphragm Failure:
 Consider a complete wall enclosure with a roof on
the top subjected to earthquake force acting long
x – axis.
 The roof/slab will transfer the earthquake force
(inertia force) to the walls, causing shearing &
bending in them.
 To transfer the forces the roof must have enough
strength in bending in the horizontal plane. This
action is called diaphragm action.
 If roof is rigid and act as horizontal diaphragm, its
inertia will be distributed to the four walls in
proportion to their stiffness.
 The inertia of roof will almost entirely go to walls
B since the stiffness of the walls B is much greater
than the walls A in X- direction. Figure 12.3 (a) Essential requirements to ensure
box action in a masonry building
 On the other hand, if the roof is flexible, the roof
inertia force will be equally distributed to the walls
on which it is supported and the support provided
to plate action of walls A will also be little or zero.
 Thus the walls B will be subjected to greater inertia
force and tend to overturn. This type of failure is
called diaphragm failure.
 The roofs, which simply rest on walls, will offer
resistance to earthquake shaking by friction only.
 If intensity of inertia force is greater than the
frictional resistance, then the roof may slide off the
walls.
 The roof & floors which are rigid & flat are bonded
(tied) to the walls properly, do not show any sign of Figure 12.3 (b) Diaphragm failure
diaphragm failure.

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5. Failure due to opening in the walls:
 Openings are necessary in a building but the location &size of the openings in walls affect
the performance of masonry building during earthquake.
 During earthquake shaking, inertia forces will act in the strong direction of some walls & in
weak direction of others.
 Walls shaken in weak direction seek support from the other walls.

Figure 12.4 (b) Rocking masonry piers

Figure 12.4 (a) Building components

Figure 12.4 (c) X-cracking of masonry piers

 Walls B1 & B2 seek support from walls A1 & A2 for shaking

direction shown in fig.
 To be more specific, wall B1 pulls wall A1 & A2, while wall
B2 pushes against them.
 At the next instance, the direction of shaking could change
to the horizontal direction perpendicular to that. Then wall
A & B changes their roles; walls B1 & B2 become the
strong one A1 & A2 weak.
 Thus walls transfer loads to each other at their junctions Figure 12.4 (d) regions of force transfer from
weak walls to strong walls in a masonry
(and through lintel bands and roof).hence the masonry
building wall B1 pulls walls A1 & A2. while
courses meeting at corners must have good interlocking. wall B2 pushes walls A1 & A2

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 For this reason, opening near the wall corners
are detrimental to good seismic performance.
 Opening to close to wall corners hamper the
flow of forces from one wall to another.
 Large openings weaken walls from carrying
inertia forces in their own plane.
 Thus, it is best to keep all openings as small as
possible and away from the corners as possible.

Figure 12.4 (e) opening weakens walls in a

masonry building – a single closed horizontal
band must be provided above all of them.

6. Non-structural component Failure:

 The non-structural damage is that due to which the strength and stability of the building is
not affected. Such damage occurs very frequently even under moderate intensities of
earthquakes.
 Some non-structural damage are:
o Cracking & Overturning of Masonry parapets, roof chimney, large cantilever balconies
and cornices.
o Falling of plaster from wall and ceiling
o Cracking and Overturning of partition walls
o Cracking of glass panes
o Falling of loosely placed objects, overturning of cupboards.

EQ. resistant planning of buildings considering staircase:

 Following are the three types of stair
construction that may be adopted:
a. Separated staircase
b. Built-in staircase

a. Separated staircase:

o One end of the staircase rests on a wall and

the other end is carried by columns &
beams which have no connection with the
floors.
o The opening at the vertical joints between
Figure 12.4 (a) building with separate staircase
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 the floors & the staircase may be either covered with a tread plate attached to one side
of the joint and sliding on the other side, or covered with some appropriate material
which could crumble or fracture during an earthquake without causing structural
damage.

b. Built –in staircase

o When stairs built monolithically with

floors they can be protected against
damage by providing rigid walls at the
stair opening.
o An arrangement, in which the staircase
is enclosed by two walls.
o In such cases, the joints will not be
necessary. The two walls mentioned
above, enclosing the staircase, should
extend through the entire height of
the stairs and to the building Figure 12.4 (b) Damage in building with rigidly
foundations. built-in staircase

EQ. resistant planning of buildings considering Water tank:

 Elevated water tank contain huge mass at height supposed on columns or circular RCC
shaft.
 As large mass is supported at height, centroid of mass will be higher. During earthquake,
inertia force produced due to mass of water and earthquake acceleration may cause
overturning of the tank.
 Inertia Force = mass x acceleration
 Higher the mass more will be the inertia force acting on the water tank. Attempt should be
made to reduce the capacity of tank i.e. mass of the water.
 The location of water tank on roof slab should be carefully decided. It should be centrally
located on building. Water tank on edge or corner of a building may cause imbalance of
mass, resulting in overturning of tank.
 For small residential buildings, light weight PVC tanks are preferred to reduce mass of the
building.

Thank you
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