Study of the seismic damage regularity of ancient masonry pagodas in the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

This paper investigates the characteristics and regularity of damage to ancient masonry pagodas in Sichuan province in high seismic intensity areas during the Wenchuan Earthquake by a statistic analyses method. Emphasizing the seismic damage of foundation and structural components of pagodas, the relation between seismic intensity and damage degree of pagodas is discussed. The analyses results indicated that masonry pagodas are hypersensitive to seismic action; the damage condition of pagodas are aggravated with the increase of seismic intensity, and the structural type, conformation character and site condition have a obvious influence on the degree of seismic damage of pagodas. Aiming at the three main damage characteristics, ground distortion, weak construction crack, and structural collapse, the typical cases are selected to demonstrate the regularity of seismic damage to ancient pagodas.