## 2 Numerical Model for Confined Masonny Buildings  
It is well documented that today, fewer tools are available for the analysis of confined masonry structures than there are for the analysis of reinforced concrete or steel structures. In the formulation of calculation programs for confined masonry structures, a compromise between the precision and the complexity of the model is necessary [16].  
The use of macroscale finite element models (macro-models) is common in the numerical study of structures based on confined masonry [17; 5; 18; 19; 20]. The authors developed a macro-model for simple masonry and confined masonry based on smeared-crack total strain, validated with experimental results [21]. In the study of [22], the dependence of the seismic behavior of the macro-models on the following parameters was described in detail:  
* The strength of the masonry;
* The density of the masonry walls;
* The level of axial compression of the masonry walls;
* The characteristics of the confining elements.  
It was detected in this work that the computational models reviewed to date could not be considered appropriate to carry out the conventional evaluation of the capacity of this type of structure, especially due to their numerical instability [22]. In [23], the aspects  
Figure 1: Current status of damaged buildings located on the corners of Chile Street, Portoviejo (**a**) building in use and (**b**) building closed.  
Figure 2: Marinero building located on Chile Street in Portoviejo, (**a**) before the earthquake and (**b**) after the earthquake.  
that influence the seismic response of masonry structures were studied and determined using pushover analysis, especially for cases that can be classified as exhibiting soft-floor behavior:  
* Critical floor drift;
* The total number of floors in the building;
* The configuration of the applied lateral loads.  
Among the models used for the analysis of masonry walls, whether simple, reinforced, or confined, the work of [19] incorporated the size of the masonry units (bricks) as a variable. The joint model was obtained by considering a connection with two nonlinear springs, one longitudinal and the other transverse, connected in parallel, and a contact element connected in series with the other springs. The study of [18] considered a constitutive model at the cohesion interface to simulate the behavior of cracks both in the concrete and in the masonry units and mortar joints, adopting an elastic-plastic model. During the numerical analysis of the cyclical response of masonry buildings, the influence of the following parameters has been determined: meshing, dilation angle, and boundary conditions [1].  
The consideration of window and door openings in masonry walls introduces a number of additional modeling complications [5]. These openings have not been considered in this work. The presence of masonry has been included along only the perimeters of the studied building.  
Most of the models used to numerically simulate the cyclical response of confined masonry buildings have been validated using laboratory tests in which the specimens were subjected to gravity loads and lateral loads in the masonry plane [1; 24; 25; 26].