This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations conducted on typical dhajji buildings found in the northern mountainous areas of Kashmir and surrounding regions to evaluate their in‐plane lateral load response. The experimental work included an in‐plane quasistatic cyclic test on three full‐scale walls as well as monotonic tension and bend tests on main connections. The test results show that the dhajji‐dewari system of buildings possesses tremendous resilience against lateral forces. The function of connections, especially the connections between the vertical posts and bottom plate, control the performance of the system. The test results also indicate that although masonry infill does not contribute to lateral load capacity, it significantly increases the energy dissipation capacity of system. The data accrued from the tests has been used in nonlinear static push‐over analysis of the numerical models to develop simplified analytical tools for facilitating lateral load performance evaluation of dhajji structures.

Seismic performance assessment is carried out for reinforced concrete structure built in low-strength concrete lacking confining ties in beam-column joint. Shake-table tests were performed on 1/3rd scaled two-story frame using design-spectrum-compatible accelerogram, scaled to various target levels. The frame is observed with beam longitudinal bar slip and pullout. Joints with no confining ties experienced extensive damage, observed with cover/core concrete spalling. The frame could resist 70% of the design ground motion to remain within the code-specified drift limit. The code requirement for minimum column depth will not avoid joint damageability in case of low-strength concrete and joints lacking confining ties.

Rubble‐stone masonry structures are found abundantly in the Asian countries along the Himalayan range. Such structures are usually constructed in dry‐stone masonry or are constructed in mud mortar, which makes them susceptible to damage and collapse in earthquakes. In order to study the seismic behavior of these structures, dynamic shake table tests on three reduced‐scale rubble‐stone masonry models were conducted. The models comprised a representative school building, a residential building, and a model incorporating simple cost‐effective features in the form of horizontal and vertical reinforced concrete elements. This paper presents the results of shake table tests carried out on rubble‐stone masonry buildings including: damage pattern, capacity curves, damage limit states, and response modification factors of these structures. Test data indicates that seismic performance of rubble‐stone masonry structures can be significantly improved by incorporating cost‐effective features such as vertical members and relatively thin horizontal bands.