Investigation and Evaluation of Methods for Retrofitting Masonry Buildings Using Fuzzy DEMATEL Technique

For a long time, using building materials has been common in Iran and many cities, and nearly in most rural areas, the majority of the buildings in these areas are involved. Since this type of buildings is vulnerable to earthquakes and as Iran is located on the earthquake belt, masonry buildings have the most human and financial damage triggered by the earthquake. Consequently, the subject of retrofitting these buildings is undeniably crucial. Thus, this study aims to identify and prioritize methods of improving building materials. To analyze the data, primary, significant methods of improvement of this type of buildings were recognized via library studies and in the analysis process, the opinions of experts including 7 employers, 5 contractors, 3 consulting companies, and 15 university professors were used. In the current study, 10 methods that had the highest degree of reproducibility in the masonry buildings reinforcement were selected. Then, to use the fuzzy DEMATEL method, each of the methods was scored and lastly, the effectiveness of each factor was determined. The results reveal that the masonry structure wall strengthening method via shotcrete (B3) is the most effective factor and the method of using shape-memory alloy (B7) is the most effective factor in the masonry structures improvement.