Effect of wall cavity ratios on the earthquake behavior of the building in masonry buildings

In Turkey, the use of classical masonry structures in city centres is decreasing, but it is still widely preferred in rural areas. According to 2023 TÜİK data, approximately 15-20% of the total housing stock in Turkey consists of masonry structures. This rate can exceed 30% in rural areas. Masonry structures are structures constructed with natural materials such as stone, brick, adobe, briquette and wood, and assembled using their own weight or mortar. As with all structures, Turkey is a country with active fault lines, and therefore, masonry structures are at risk of earthquakes. Therefore, the evaluation of the seismic performance of traditional masonry structures, which are common in rural areas, is important in terms of earthquake-resistant building design. In this study, the effects of wall cavity ratios on the seismic behaviour of masonry buildings that will be exposed to earthquakes were examined in a multifaceted manner. A reference masonry building plan with an area of 100 m² was prepared in accordance with the design conditions of the Turkish Building Earthquake Code-2018 (TBDY-2018). The behaviour of masonry structures under the effect of earthquake was analysed and parameters such as the performance status of the building, damage status, drift status, base shear forces and overturning moments were examined. In the same building plan, 5 different single-storey masonry building models were created by increasing the wall cavity proportionally by 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% compared to the reference plan. Performance analyses of these models were made according to TBDY-2018, and parameters such as earthquake forces, base Shear forces, overturning moments and drift amounts were determined. The obtained results were compared with the reference building model and the most suitable model in terms of earthquake resistance was tried to be determined. As a result, when the base Shear force of the structure with 0% wall cavity is taken as a reference in terms of the earthquake force acting on the masonry structures, it is seen that the resistance of the structure with 10% wall cavity against the base shear force decreases by approximately 9.26%, decreases by approximately 28.56% in the structure with 20% wall cavity , decreases by approximately 31.52% in the reference structure with 21.4% wall cavity and decreases by approximately 34.69% in the structure with 30% wall cavity. All analysis and other calculation results are given in detail in the relevant sections of the thesis. Earthquake analyses of the masonry structure models were performed using the STA4-CAD software program. Design features and earthquake analysis results are presented as possible models for the masonry structures planned to be built in rural areas. It is thought that these model results will be beneficial in terms of how the designed masonry structures will behave under earthquake effects.