Author

J. V. NGOWI

Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Dar es Salaam –UCLAS, Private Box 32518 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

E-mail: ngowi_joseph@hotmail.com

Abstract

To investigate the seismic response of dry-stack masonry, a single storey dry-stack interlocking block masonry building system was designed and constructed on a specially designed shaking table. The building was subjected to a series of simulated earthquake motions from minor to severe. The study investigated the mode of failure of the building, the natural frequency and the dynamic amplification. A conventional masonry test structure of similar parameters was also constructed and tested in a similar manner for comparison. The plain dry-stack test structure failed at 0.3g while the conventional masonry structure failed at 0.6g. This paper presents the experimental test program, test results evaluation, conclusion and recommendations.