Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis and Retrofitting Design of an Earthquake Damaged Masonry Building

Masonry buildings constitute a significant portion of the building stock in settlements situated along the East Anatolian Fault. Seismic risk is quite high in this region. This study investigates the earthquake response and retrofitting design of a residential masonry that damaged in the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. Within the scope of the study, the existing damage condition and material properties of the structure were first determined. Using the collected data, the current state of the structure was analyzed with nonlinear dynamic analyses. Subsequently, potential damage zones were retrofitted using an innovative reinforcement method taken from the literature, and the results were compared. The retrofitting intervention reduced maximum displacement demand by approximately 33.3%, crack width by 26.5%, and inter-story drift ratio by nearly 54.8%. By combining field damage observations with nonlinear time-history analyses and implementing a validated steel-stirrup strengthening scheme, this study provides a practical and transferable methodology for improving the seismic performance of earthquake-damaged masonry buildings in high-risk regions.