Seismic Performance Evaluation of Phase Change Material-Based Energy Efficient Reinforced Hollow Concrete Block Masonry Building

Abstract

Majority of structures in Pakistan are masonry buildings because of their great heat and insulation properties, ease in construction etc. The insulation and heat resistance property of masonry buildings make it attractive now-a-days because of the emerging energy crises issue which compel civil engineers to think that seismic performance of building is not the only issue but also to find innovative techniques to make the buildings energy efficient. Since we need a structure which is energy efficient and earthquake resistant. For energy efficiency off course the choice is masonry buildings (heat insulation) but such type of structures are prone to earthquake because of its brittle behavior and lack of proper connections between various structural components. There were two parts of this research work one is determining the energy efficiency of phase change material utilized in masonry building which is performed by one of my companion Engr. Muhammad Ali [1]. He constructed two full scale rooms of same dimensions one was the PCM incorporated room and the other was a reference room for comparison. Special mechanism was designed which consist of providing steel box type pipes in the hollow cells of the blocks and will run throughout the height of walls and slab in which phase change material (vegetable ghee) was to be poured. Another aim of this research work is to seismically evaluate the performance of this type of masonry building in which steel pipes are used as casing for PCM which definitely reinforced the masonry building. For seismic performance a half scale model was constructed for shake table testing and focus was made on determining model′s stiffness, strength, ductility and response modification factor.