Assessing the Safety and Seismic Performance of Existing Masonry Buildings Under Overall Inclination

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential safety hazards pertaining to the overall inclination of existing masonry structures. Taking a six-story masonry residential building in Tongling as the research subject, we established a systematic safety assessment framework. Through structural entity testing, settlement monitoring, and geological surveys, uneven foundation settlement was identified as the primary cause of the building’s inclination. A finite element model was established via SAP2000 (Version 14) software to examine and verify the bearing capacity and seismic performance of the inclined structure, and a 1:4 scale shaking table test was designed to validate the seismic performance of the structure following inclination correction. The findings indicate that the primary bearing capacity of the building’s superstructure complied with the relevant code provisions. Time–history analysis under rare six-degree earthquake conditions showed that the maximum inter-story drift angle—defined as the ratio of the maximum inter-floor horizontal displacement to the floor height under the action of the standard seismic value—was 1/2018, which is lower than the limit value of 1/900 specified for the “moderate damage” performance level of masonry structures. During the shaking table test, the natural vibration frequency of the structure remained unchanged under earthquake actions ranging from frequent to rare six-degree events, with no visible cracks or significant damage detected. This assessment system provides a technical reference for the safety performance evaluation and subsequent inclination correction of similar inclined masonry structures.