Shaking table tests on unreinforced load-bearing masonry structures

The recent interest of engineers for unreinforced masonry structures has led to improvements in the knowledge of their behaviour in normal conditions and to new applications, like multi-storey buildings. Nevertheless, additional investigations are still necessary regarding their seismic behaviour, considering the commonly admitted conservatism of the current seismic standards, limiting the applications even for low seismic areas. Moreover, new parameters have to be considered to fulfil the standards in terms of individual comfort. For the acoustic performance, rubber layers can be placed at walls extremities, but are likely to influence significantly the seismic response.
This paper describes shaking table tests on six specimens performed to contribute to these issues. The objectives are to improve the understanding of the seismic behaviour of masonry walls including rocking effects, to investigate the influence of soundproofing elements, to study the contribution of walls perpendicular to the seismic action and to characterize the frame behaviour.