The introduction of confined semi-interlocking masonry system for buildings to improve earthquake performance

Confined masonry is a typical structural system for buildings in earthquake-prone developing countries with limited engineering expertise. The need for an efficient method to improve seismic performance of such buildings is felt. The semi-interlocking masonry (SIM) is a system with good structural and seismic performance as an energy dissipation masonry with increased displacement ductility. SIM allows relative sliding of brick courses in-plane and prevents out-of-plane relative displacement of bricks. This paper presents a new masonry system combining semi-interlocking masonry with confined masonry; which is called confined semi-interlocking masonry (CSIM). CSIM is intended to be used in developing countries with simple construction facilities. After initial analytical studies, design criteria are presented to verify the capability of buildings with CSIM system as an alternative for buildings with confined masonry system. It is believed that confined masonry and semiinterlocking system are complementary and their combination could be an improvement on the currently used confined masonry.