IMI Webinar Series - Resilient by Design: Seismic Principles for Masonry Structures
Designing masonry for seismic performance requires more than meeting minimum code - it demands an understanding of how material behavior, detailing, and structural systems work together to protect life safety. Explore how the International Building Code (IBC) and TMS 402/602 establish seismic design requirements for masonry and how those provisions translate into practical seismic design solutions.
We’ll discuss how seismic design categories are determined, what distinguishes ordinary from special reinforced masonry, and how code-defined ductility and detailing provisions enable structures to absorb and dissipate energy during an earthquake. Examine how reinforcement, anchorage, and connection details influence performance and damage control in real projects. You’ll learn to create masonry structures that perform predictably and safely under seismic loading.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how the IBC and TMS 402/602 define seismic design provisions for masonry structures and the performance objectives those provisions support.
- Differentiate between ordinary and special reinforced masonry systems, describing how ductility, reinforcement, and detailing requirements vary by seismic design category.
- Apply key reinforcement and anchorage detailing concepts, such as bar development, lap splicing, and confinement, to achieve code-compliant, resilient masonry systems.
- Evaluate the expected behavior of masonry shear and bearing walls under seismic loading to identify critical factors affecting life safety and post-event repairability.
About the Speaker:
Sunup Mathew, SE, LEEP AP
Director of Industry Development and Technical Services, IMI
Sunup is a structural engineer with more than 20 years of experience in masonry, concrete, and steel design. He has expertise in the design of new structures, evaluation and retrofitting of existing structures, and identification and resolution of field construction problems.
Sunup is an active member of the Masonry Society (TMS), Masonry Alliance for Codes and Standards (MACS), and C 12 and C 15 committees of ASTM. He has co-authored structural engineering papers in TMS, American Concrete Institute (ACI), and Precast Concrete Institute (PCI) publications. He actively participated in the editing and drafting of several sections in Building Code Requirements and Specifications for Masonry Structures (TMS 402 and TMS 602), Masonry Designers Guide (MDG), and standards under the jurisdiction of C 12 and C 15 ASTM committees.