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In the field of structural safety, flat slab buildings represent a relevant category of construction. These buildings stand out for their constructive advantages and architectural versatility, which made them a popular choice between the 1970s and 1990s, especially in areas of high seismic risk such as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Currently, there are regulations that restrict the construction of this type of buildings in areas vulnerable to earthquakes, seeking to protect the lives of the inhabitants and the structural integrity of the buildings. The objective of this research is to implement and validate a macromodel for seismic evaluation by nonlinear static pushover analysis of flat slab systems. This will allow determining the structural behavior of these buildings against lateral loads by establishing the predominant failure modes. The validation of the macromodel is carried out using OpenSees structural analysis software and full-scale experimental data performed by recognized researchers. The focus of these experimental campaigns is to evaluate the structural performance of internal connections between a flat slab and a column subjected to lateral loads. Two macromodels are developed with the purpose of capturing the proposed failure modes; subsequently, pushover curves of the structure are obtained to indicate the general damage state of the system. Finally, stress-strain curves are analyzed to verify the failure mode produced.

In the field of structural safety, flat slab buildings represent a relevant category of construction. These buildings stand out for their constructive advantages and architectural versatility, which made them a popular choice between the 1970s and 1990s, especially in areas of high seismic risk such as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Currently, there are regulations that restrict the construction of this type of buildings in areas vulnerable to earthquakes, seeking to protect the lives of the inhabitants and the structural integrity of the buildings. The objective of this research is to implement and validate a macromodel for seismic evaluation by nonlinear static pushover analysis of flat slab systems. This will allow determining the structural behavior of these buildings against lateral loads by establishing the predominant failure modes. The validation of the macromodel is carried out using OpenSees structural analysis software and full-scale experimental data performed by recognized researchers. The focus of these experimental campaigns is to evaluate the structural performance of internal connections between a flat slab and a column subjected to lateral loads. Two macromodels are developed with the purpose of capturing the proposed failure modes; subsequently, pushover curves of the structure are obtained to indicate the general damage state of the system. Finally, stress-strain curves are analyzed to verify the failure mode produced.

Ecuador is in the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is a zone with high tectonic activity. Therefore, its population and infrastructure must be prepared to face seismic environments. It is the case of Cuenca, a city recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1999 due to its historic architecture with masonry buildings dating back more than a century. Between the 1940s and 1980s, the use of unreinforced masonry-bearing walls combined with flexible floor systems became popular in the construction of buildings. However, the lack of confinement and reinforcement in this type of structure results in poor seismic behavior compared to modern construction techniques. It emphasizes the need to evaluate their seismic capacity. In the present work, MNR buildings are characterized as a function of time and size, considering geometrical aspects such as the distribution of openings, inter-story heights, walls, and joint thicknesses. In addition, the mechanical properties of brick, mortar, and masonry are analyzed and characterized. Nine models representing the different construction periods were studied using two-dimensional macro-elements. Also, a family of capacity curves using nonlinear static analysis is studied. Subsequently, limit states are analyzed, and damage thresholds are established according to the NTC2018 standard. The results are analyzed in terms of ductility and maximum base shear.

Ecuador is in the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is a zone with high tectonic activity. Therefore, its population and infrastructure must be prepared to face seismic environments. It is the case of Cuenca, a city recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1999 due to its historic architecture with masonry buildings dating back more than a century. Between the 1940s and 1980s, the use of unreinforced masonry-bearing walls combined with flexible floor systems became popular in the construction of buildings. However, the lack of confinement and reinforcement in this type of structure results in poor seismic behavior compared to modern construction techniques. It emphasizes the need to evaluate their seismic capacity. In the present work, MNR buildings are characterized as a function of time and size, considering geometrical aspects such as the distribution of openings, inter-story heights, walls, and joint thicknesses. In addition, the mechanical properties of brick, mortar, and masonry are analyzed and characterized. Nine models representing the different construction periods were studied using two-dimensional macro-elements. Also, a family of capacity curves using nonlinear static analysis is studied. Subsequently, limit states are analyzed, and damage thresholds are established according to the NTC2018 standard. The results are analyzed in terms of ductility and maximum base shear.

Ecuador is in the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is a zone with high tectonic activity. Therefore, its population and infrastructure must be prepared to face seismic environments. It is the case of Cuenca, a city recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1999 due to its historic architecture with masonry buildings dating back more than a century. Between the 1940s and 1980s, the use of unreinforced masonry-bearing walls combined with flexible floor systems became popular in the construction of buildings. However, the lack of confinement and reinforcement in this type of structure results in poor seismic behavior compared to modern construction techniques. It emphasizes the need to evaluate their seismic capacity. In the present work, MNR buildings are characterized as a function of time and size, considering geometrical aspects such as the distribution of openings, inter-story heights, walls, and joint thicknesses. In addition, the mechanical properties of brick, mortar, and masonry are analyzed and characterized. Nine models representing the different construction periods were studied using two-dimensional macro-elements. Also, a family of capacity curves using nonlinear static analysis is studied. Subsequently, limit states are analyzed, and damage thresholds are established according to the NTC2018 standard. The results are analyzed in terms of ductility and maximum base shear.

In the present work, an analysis of the influence of openings on the seismic behavior of confined brick walls was carried out, using the ideal methodology to carry out nonexperimental comparative studies and thus obtain idealized pushover curves and a set of formulations selected from an important corpus of experimental and numerical simulation works of confined walls and masonry infilled frames subjected to the action of increasing lateral loads. This project focused on the influence of door and window type openings in the reduction of elastic lateral stiffness and lateral load resistance capacity, through a comparative analysis between the real values and calculated numerical values, the set of optimal formulations applicable to the typical confined masonry typologies of the city of Cuenca. The data obtained and tabulated were processed, in order to present the selected formulations. As a result, organized tables are displayed; with a brief description, information on the authors, year of publication and reference, as well as information on the masonry models in which said formulations were applied; the type of brick units (solid or hollow), opening variations (size, type and position), the type of lateral loading and the typology (infilled frame or confined masonry)

Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca, the capital of the Azuay province was founded on April 12, 1557. Since then, there have been many changes in the urban sprawl of the city and particularly in its Historic Center (CHC) (Jiménez, 2002). Because the city is located in an area of high seismic threat (Jiménez, Cabrera, Sánchez, & Avilés, 2018) and considering that the building material that was imposed since 1970 in the CHC has been brick (Jiménez, 2002), is taken as a working basis: Evaluación sísmica de edificios de mampostería no reforzada típicos de Barcelona: modelización y revisión de la aplicación del Método del Espectro de Capacidad (Jiménez, 2016). This research is used to compare the results obtained by the Red Sísmica del Austro (RSA) on prototypical unreinforced masonry buildings (URM) of the Cuenca Historic Center (CHC) (Jiménez, Cabrera, Sánchez, & Avilés, 2018), where the almost independent behavior of the resistant walls of the building is evident (modal behavior) as indicate Lagomarsino, Camilletti, Cattari, & Marino (2018) for irregular URM buildings with flexible floors, making it difficult to assess their seismic response using methodologies based on nonlinear static analysis (Quagliarini, Maracchini, & Clementi, 2017). On this basis, it is proposed to identify the influence of some geometric variables and mechanical characteristics on the building on the global dynamic behavior of an URM structure in terms of the form of its vibrational modes. Consequently, the dimensions of the spans between the walls, the symmetry of the building in terms of the stiffness of its structural elements and the transmission of lateral loads due to the existence of flexible floor diaphragms are analyzed

The Ecuadorian city Cuenca was declared Cultural heritage of Humanity since 1999. The main reason for this award is due the great variety of colonial buildings and the history inside each one of them. However, most of them buildings are build with adobe, this material have some features as low manufacturing costs and termal isolotation. On the other hand, the main risk with this type of construction is given by its high vulnerability to seismic events. Under this premise, in this thesis an evaluation of adobe buildings is made. Firstly, the behavior of adobe walls in the plane is validated, through methods that capture the deformation that occurs in the wall when subjected to a horizontal load. Secondly, in an extensive bibliographic review several trials were found to validate the chosen method, highlighting the equivalent gantry macroelement method. For the last one, there must be formulations required by the method for both shear and flex failures. In the literature there is only one formulation applied for shear failures, for this reason in this thesis the formulation verified in other works in brick masonry is validated in adobe. Finally, using the Ruaumoko program, the walls found are modeled and then compared with the results obtained.

The Ecuadorian city Cuenca was declared Cultural heritage of Humanity since 1999. The main reason for this award is due the great variety of colonial buildings and the history inside each one of them. However, most of them buildings are build with adobe, this material have some features as low manufacturing costs and termal isolotation. On the other hand, the main risk with this type of construction is given by its high vulnerability to seismic events. Under this premise, in this thesis an evaluation of adobe buildings is made. Firstly, the behavior of adobe walls in the plane is validated, through methods that capture the deformation that occurs in the wall when subjected to a horizontal load. Secondly, in an extensive bibliographic review several trials were found to validate the chosen method, highlighting the equivalent gantry macroelement method. For the last one, there must be formulations required by the method for both shear and flex failures. In the literature there is only one formulation applied for shear failures, for this reason in this thesis the formulation verified in other works in brick masonry is validated in adobe. Finally, using the Ruaumoko program, the walls found are modeled and then compared with the results obtained.

The present research is focused on the study of the behavior of the building of the Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centrosur (EERCs), according to the modal parameters that govern its movement in the face of a seismic event, with a focus on the monitoring of structural health. For the analysis of the building, a structural survey is performed, focusing on the guidelines set forth in FEMA 154, starting with a visual inspection and determining the geometric dimensions of the structure. Then, the mechanical characterization of the building's concrete elements is carried out, 4 tests are performed (scanning of reinforcing steel, rebound number, extraction of concrete cores, resistance test) in the field and in the laboratory, focused on determining the concrete's resistance to compression; the influence of the nominal size of the coarse aggregate on the values obtained was determined. For the modal analysis, the structure is modeled by means of the program Etabs 17, seven models are proposed including gradual changes between these, depending on: the geometry of the building, the permanent loads such as walls and finishes, and the cracked sections of the concrete elements. In these analyses, the influence of the walls and cracked sections on the calculated vibration modes is studied. It was observed that generating loads on slab elements and the further away from the center of mass they are, the more flexible the structure becomes. Finally, for a study of an operational modal analysis, an instrumentation plan based on uniaxial, biaxial and triaxial sensors is proposed.

The present research is focused on the study of the behavior of the building of the Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centrosur (EERCs), according to the modal parameters that govern its movement in the face of a seismic event, with a focus on the monitoring of structural health. For the analysis of the building, a structural survey is performed, focusing on the guidelines set forth in FEMA 154, starting with a visual inspection and determining the geometric dimensions of the structure. Then, the mechanical characterization of the building's concrete elements is carried out, 4 tests are performed (scanning of reinforcing steel, rebound number, extraction of concrete cores, resistance test) in the field and in the laboratory, focused on determining the concrete's resistance to compression; the influence of the nominal size of the coarse aggregate on the values obtained was determined. For the modal analysis, the structure is modeled by means of the program Etabs 17, seven models are proposed including gradual changes between these, depending on: the geometry of the building, the permanent loads such as walls and finishes, and the cracked sections of the concrete elements. In these analyses, the influence of the walls and cracked sections on the calculated vibration modes is studied. It was observed that generating loads on slab elements and the further away from the center of mass they are, the more flexible the structure becomes. Finally, for a study of an operational modal analysis, an instrumentation plan based on uniaxial, biaxial and triaxial sensors is proposed.

The Ecuadorian city Cuenca was declared Cultural heritage of Humanity since 1999. The main reason for this award is due the great variety of colonial buildings and the history inside each one of them. However, most of them buildings are build with adobe, this material have some features as low manufacturing costs and termal isolotation. On the other hand, the main risk with this type of construction is given by its high vulnerability to seismic events. Under this premise, in this thesis an evaluation of adobe buildings is made. Firstly, the behavior of adobe walls in the plane is validated, through methods that capture the deformation that occurs in the wall when subjected to a horizontal load. Secondly, in an extensive bibliographic review several trials were found to validate the chosen method, highlighting the equivalent gantry macroelement method. For the last one, there must be formulations required by the method for both shear and flex failures. In the literature there is only one formulation applied for shear failures, for this reason in this thesis the formulation verified in other works in brick masonry is validated in adobe. Finally, using the Ruaumoko program, the walls found are modeled and then compared with the results obtained.

Ecuador is a country located in the Pacific ring of fire, it has high seismic risk and therefore the buildings are subject to seismic solicitations. Hence, cities such as Cuenca are subject to strong telluric movements due to the presence of the Girón fault and because it is a city whose urban layout conforms to the orthogonal plan established 400 years ago and whose most common buildings are made of masonry, which have remained over time, being rebuilt, restored and reinforced to maintain colonial architecture and therefore form part of the Historic Center, which have allowed to be recognized as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Therefore, the entire city and especially the Historic Center of Cuenca (CHC) is very vulnerable to earthquakes as found in the P-BID 400 project (1999-2002): “Peligro Sísmico en el Austro y Vulnerabilidad Sísmica en la Ciudad de Cuenca”, leaded by Red Sísmica del Austro de la Universidad de Cuenca (Jiménez, 2002). In this context it is necessary to carry out a seismic evaluation of the buildings with the typologies present in the CHC. In this work the seismic behavior of brick masonry buildings with tie beams (MNRL-VA) was studied. For this, 3 prototype buildings were defined depending on the construction area and a parametric study was carried out, varying the thickness of the walls, the quality of the materials, the stiffness of the floor and the influence of reinforcement of the tie beam, other masonry typologies were also modeled: unreinforced masonry (MNR) and confined masonry (MC) to see the influence of typology on the seismic-response of buildings. The models were implemented in the 3Muri program that allows pushover curves to be performed and that uses the equivalent frame model with macroelements, model proposed by Lagomarsino et al. (2013). Since this typology does not present studies carried out in the region, a bibliographic review was carried out in order to obtain information on the use and behavior of the tie beam in buildin

The present research is focused on the study of the behavior of the building of the Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centrosur (EERCs), according to the modal parameters that govern its movement in the face of a seismic event, with a focus on the monitoring of structural health. For the analysis of the building, a structural survey is performed, focusing on the guidelines set forth in FEMA 154, starting with a visual inspection and determining the geometric dimensions of the structure. Then, the mechanical characterization of the building's concrete elements is carried out, 4 tests are performed (scanning of reinforcing steel, rebound number, extraction of concrete cores, resistance test) in the field and in the laboratory, focused on determining the concrete's resistance to compression; the influence of the nominal size of the coarse aggregate on the values obtained was determined. For the modal analysis, the structure is modeled by means of the program Etabs 17, seven models are proposed including gradual changes between these, depending on: the geometry of the building, the permanent loads such as walls and finishes, and the cracked sections of the concrete elements. In these analyses, the influence of the walls and cracked sections on the calculated vibration modes is studied. It was observed that generating loads on slab elements and the further away from the center of mass they are, the more flexible the structure becomes. Finally, for a study of an operational modal analysis, an instrumentation plan based on uniaxial, biaxial and triaxial sensors is proposed.

Ecuador is a country located in the Pacific ring of fire, it has high seismic risk and therefore the buildings are subject to seismic solicitations. Hence, cities such as Cuenca are subject to strong telluric movements due to the presence of the Girón fault and because it is a city whose urban layout conforms to the orthogonal plan established 400 years ago and whose most common buildings are made of masonry, which have remained over time, being rebuilt, restored and reinforced to maintain colonial architecture and therefore form part of the Historic Center, which have allowed to be recognized as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Therefore, the entire city and especially the Historic Center of Cuenca (CHC) is very vulnerable to earthquakes as found in the P-BID 400 project (1999-2002): “Peligro Sísmico en el Austro y Vulnerabilidad Sísmica en la Ciudad de Cuenca”, leaded by Red Sísmica del Austro de la Universidad de Cuenca (Jiménez, 2002). In this context it is necessary to carry out a seismic evaluation of the buildings with the typologies present in the CHC. In this work the seismic behavior of brick masonry buildings with tie beams (MNRL-VA) was studied. For this, 3 prototype buildings were defined depending on the construction area and a parametric study was carried out, varying the thickness of the walls, the quality of the materials, the stiffness of the floor and the influence of reinforcement of the tie beam, other masonry typologies were also modeled: unreinforced masonry (MNR) and confined masonry (MC) to see the influence of typology on the seismic-response of buildings. The models were implemented in the 3Muri program that allows pushover curves to be performed and that uses the equivalent frame model with macroelements, model proposed by Lagomarsino et al. (2013). Since this typology does not present studies carried out in the region, a bibliographic review was carried out in order to obtain information on the use and behavior of the tie beam in buildin

Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca, the capital of the Azuay province was founded on April 12, 1557. Since then, there have been many changes in the urban sprawl of the city and particularly in its Historic Center (CHC) (Jiménez, 2002). Because the city is located in an area of high seismic threat (Jiménez, Cabrera, Sánchez, & Avilés, 2018) and considering that the building material that was imposed since 1970 in the CHC has been brick (Jiménez, 2002), is taken as a working basis: Evaluación sísmica de edificios de mampostería no reforzada típicos de Barcelona: modelización y revisión de la aplicación del Método del Espectro de Capacidad (Jiménez, 2016). This research is used to compare the results obtained by the Red Sísmica del Austro (RSA) on prototypical unreinforced masonry buildings (URM) of the Cuenca Historic Center (CHC) (Jiménez, Cabrera, Sánchez, & Avilés, 2018), where the almost independent behavior of the resistant walls of the building is evident (modal behavior) as indicate Lagomarsino, Camilletti, Cattari, & Marino (2018) for irregular URM buildings with flexible floors, making it difficult to assess their seismic response using methodologies based on nonlinear static analysis (Quagliarini, Maracchini, & Clementi, 2017). On this basis, it is proposed to identify the influence of some geometric variables and mechanical characteristics on the building on the global dynamic behavior of an URM structure in terms of the form of its vibrational modes. Consequently, the dimensions of the spans between the walls, the symmetry of the building in terms of the stiffness of its structural elements and the transmission of lateral loads due to the existence of flexible floor diaphragms are analyzed