Role of Construction Practices for Stone Masonry Structure With Respect To Seismic Performance

Stone masonry is a traditional form of construction that has been practiced for centuries in regions where stone is locally available. Unfortunately, these buildings show poor performance even under minor earthquake shaking. Research on the seismic behaviour of masonry structures is nowadays almost entirely dedicated to existing buildings and to the issues related to assessment and reduction of their seismic vulnerability. For countries with a long story of civilization, the seismic protection of masonry buildings involves also the issue of protecting the cultural heritage of the country. There is also a rather generalized negative attitude towards the use of structural masonry for new buildings in seismic areas, since most collapses and deaths in recent earthquakes are due to inadequate performance of unreinforced masonry buildings (usually non-engineered, low-quality, old dwellings). This explains why the large majority of the current scientific and technical literature on seismic behaviour of masonry is dedicated to the study of existing structures and very seldom is masonry being nowadays considered as a choice for the design of new structures. In design of new buildings the structural behaviour of masonry elements is of concern mostly in the case of infilled frames, in which however the masonry panels are not meant to serve as primary resisting elements. The paper deals with the role of construction for stone masonry structure with respect to the performance of seismic effects.