Abstract:
Adobe/masonry houses are the most seismic vulnerable structures. It is
indispensable to retrofit them economically and efficiently to prevent future human
casualties. PP-band mesh retrofitting has been proposed for this purpose. In this paper, the
seismic behavior of PP-band mesh retrofitted houses is investigated with miniature
models made with acryl blocks as masonry units and lime mortar as paste. The main
advantage of this approach is that it is possible to reuse the blocks and carry out many
tests without significant additional investment for each test. In this way, various
conditions can be readily evaluated [1]. Although not discussed in this paper, this type of
tests can also be used as in-situ demonstrations to increase the public’s awareness of the
vulnerability of adobe/masonry structures and the urgency to retrofit them
