Homogenous Finite Element Modelling and Seismic Analysis of A Massive Unreinforced Masonry Heritage Building and Its Proposed Rehabilitation

Abstract

An Unreinforced Masonry Heritage school building situated at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh has been investigated for possible seismic failures using SAP2000 Finite Element Software. The school building being a massive and complex structure has been modelled using homogenous modelling approach. The material was considered to be homogenous and isotropic. The natural frequencies and mode shapes were computed using modal analysis. The building was then subjected to seismic ground motions in both X and Y directions to determine its seismic performance. The results showed that the building was safe under gravity loading but some weak zones were found under earthquake loading. In order to conquer the exceeding stresses a rehabilitation study has also been performed to see its effectiveness on the Heritage school building model which proved to be satisfactory.