The increased seismicity due to the exploitation of natural gas in the Groningen region has put many residential buildings in the region at risk of sustaining seismic induced damages. This has prompted many studies on the seismic behavior of the residential buildings, particularl
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The increased seismicity due to the exploitation of natural gas in the Groningen region has put many residential buildings in the region at risk of sustaining seismic induced damages. This has prompted many studies on the seismic behavior of the residential buildings, particularly the ones built from unreinforced masonry (URM). One experimental study has been conducted at TU Delft on a two-story CS element structure simulating a terraced house unit. Several numerical studies have also been carried out in the interest of assessing the viability of numerical models for engineering purposes. This research project will examine the viability of several modeling approaches for practical use in analyzing CS element structures. The assessment will be conducted by performing numerical analyses on several models and comparing the results from each analysis with the experimental results. The performance of each model is assessed in terms of hysteretic behavior, interstory drift, cracking patterns and failure mechanisms. Two modeling approaches will be considered in this research project, the continuum element-based macro-modeling approach and the block-based micro-modeling approach with each modeling approach having several variations with different constitutive models. Shell finite elements will be used for all numerical models. In addition to the numerical analyses on the numerical models, several additional analyses will also be conducted on the macro-models. A sensitivity study on the macro-models will be carried out to examine how changes in the considered material parameters affect the results of the numerical analyses on the macro-models. The effects of the inclusion of interface elements in the wall-pier connections of the macro-models will also be investigated in this report. All numerical analyses are carried out using the structural analysis software package DIANA 10.3. The constitutive elements considered for the numerical models will be limited to those already available in the software package.