Recent catastrophes that occurred during seismic events suggest the importance of developing new seismic-resistant materials for use in building construction. Ordinary concrete is one of the most common materials in buildings. However, due to its low ductility and flexural strength, its seismic behavior can be improved upon by different additives. In this regard, wood-concrete composites exhibit desirable structural properties not achievable by either wood or concrete alone, making it an interesting material from a seismic point of view. This work analyzes and compares the performance of blocks built with ordinary concrete versus blocks built using different wood additives (sawdust and wood shavings). This includes the construction of concrete blocks in a lab, determination of their construction and seismic-resistant properties, as well as an analysis of their performance in buildings with a different number of storeys. The results show how blocks with wood aggregates comply with current regulations for structural materials in a seismic country like Chile, while also considerably outperforming traditional concrete blocks in the event of an earthquake.

Moderate magnitude seismic events have occurred during the last decade in non-seismic areas and have highlighted that many existing buildings do not sufficiently resist these types of events. The objective of this work is to illustrate that most buildings dating from 2002–2010 constructed from wide beams, which were designed to previous earthquake resistance codes, do not offer a satisfactory seismic behaviour, and to identify which structural attributes can best help alleviate this problem. In this work the effect of a real earthquake of medium magnitude (Lorca, 2011) on buildings of three, five and eight stories with unidirectional frames of wide-beam concrete was assessed. The methodology included non-linear static (pushover) analyses and dynamic response simulations with the aim to understand the effect on the seismic performance of changing some of the geometrical and material parameters. Maximum displacements and capacity curves for the top floor of a set of representative buildings were evaluated and compared. In particular, capacity curves obtained from non-linear static (pushover) analysis are compared for different building configurations, as well as the maximum displacements obtained through non-linear dynamic analysis. This paper highlights the seismic vulnerability of buildings constructed between 2002 and 2010 and the results indicate that a higher density of infill walls (walls whose bricks are not part of the main structure) is the feature that most significantly improves the seismic behaviour of the structures analysed. Moreover, counterintuitively, incorporating stronger concrete and reinforcing steel and using alternative column arrangements only have a small positive effect on the seismic behaviour of these types of buildings.

Fired clay bricks are widely developed by focusing on the use of several wastes with the aim of obtaining lightweight materials. Despite research having provided positives experiences, most of these showed an important reduction of compression strength. This issue must be highlighted in particular, when seismic areas are considered. However, despite compression strength decreases in some cases the energy that can be absorbed by the brick might be increased. Hence, this paper tests and shows physical and mechanical properties of newly fired clays made by adding different percentages of sawdust. Results are used for calculating the response of an individual one-story house to medium intensity earthquakes. It is concluded that the use of bricks, with up to 5% sawdust added, is an ecological way for recycling these agro-wastes, while its behaviour against earthquakes performs better than other solutions, such as common perforated bricks.

Concrete is a highly versatile construction material thanks to its behavior and mechanical properties. However, little is known about improving its properties through including additives in its manufacture. Concrete also has drawbacks, such as brittleness, low ductility and poor flexural strength. This material is used in many parts of the structures and may be manufactured on site or prefabricated, e.g. in the form of blocks. Including steel and aluminum alloy fibers in concrete would improve the ductility and flexural strength. This study analyzed and compared the mechanical behavior of normal concrete blocks with others made with aggregates of steel and aluminum alloy fibers. Mechanical lab tests were carried out on blocks with five, four and three layers of fibers, taking into account the requirements of the Chilean Regulations.

Los bloques de hormigón son elementos muy utilizados en edificación, debido a su bajo coste, su buen desempeño y la facilidad de montaje que tiene en los muros. Sin embargo, la baja ductilidad y resistencia a la flexión, podría perjudicar el comportamiento sismorresistente de las edificaciones, sobre todo en las construcciones de mediana y gran altura. Sin embargo, el añadido de aditivos reciclados y abundantes en la Naturaleza como la madera podrían mejorar las características estructurales desde el punto de vista sísmico y estructural. Este trabajo analiza y compara el rendimiento y el desempeño estructural que adquieren los bloques de hormigón ordinario incorporando en su elaboración diferentes tipos de aditivos de madera (desechos de aserrín y virutas de madera) en pórticos de mediana y gran altura (4, 8, 12 y 16 plantas). La modelación de los pórticos, utilizarán resultados experimentales realizados en un laboratorio de la Universidad de Talca (Chile).