• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.489-499
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• 2024

Infill masonry walls are vulnerable to lateral loads, including seismic, wind, and concentrated push loads. Various strengthening metal fittings have been proposed to improve lateral load resistance, particularly against seismic loads. This study introduces the use of post-compressed wedges as a novel reinforcement method for infill masonry walls to enhance lateral load resistance. The resistance of the infill masonry wall against lateral-concentrated push loads was assessed using an out-of-plane push-over test on specimens sized 2,300×2,410×190 mm³. The presence or absence of wedges and wedge spacing were set as variables. The push-over test results showed that both the unreinforced specimen and the specimen reinforced with 300 mm spaced wedges toppled, while the specimen reinforced with 100 mm spaced wedges remained upright. Peak loads were measured to be 0.74, 29.77, and 5.88 kN for unreinforced specimens and specimens reinforced with 100 mm and 300 mm spaced wedges, respectively. Notably, a tighter reinforcement spacing yielded a similar strength, as expected, which was attributed to the increased friction force between the masonry wall and steel frame. The W-series specimens exhibited a trend comparable to that of the displacement ductility ratio. Overall, the findings validate that post-compressed wedges improve the out-of-plane strength of infill masonry walls.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.257-266
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• 2012

Walls are the most important vertical load-carrying elements of masonry structures. Their bond designs are different from one country to another. This paper presents the shear effects of some structural bond designs commonly used for masonry walls. Six different bond designs are considered and modeled using finite element procedures under lateral loading to examine the shear behavior of masonry walls. To obtain accurate results, finite element models are assumed in the inelastic region. Crack development patterns for each wall are illustrated on deformed meshes, and the numerical results are compared.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.153-169
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• 2008

The use of pre-tensioned shape memory alloy (SMA) wires to retrofit historic masonry structures is investigated. A small wall, serving as a prototype masonry specimen, is constructed to undergo a series of shaking-table tests. It is first studied in its original state, and its dynamic characteristics (in terms of modal frequencies) are extracted from the recorded signals. The results are then compared with those obtained when an increasing number of couples of pre-stressed SMA wires are introduced in the specimen to link the bricks together. A three-dimensional finite element model of the specimen is developed and calibrated according to the modal parameters identified from each experimental test (with and without SMA wires). The calibration process is conducted by enhancing the masonry mechanical behaviour. The results and the effectiveness of the approach are presented.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.221-231
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• 2017

The concept design of the typha strawbale masonry came up as a result of the urgent demand for a means of constructing sustainable buildings, both in rural and urban settlement, not only suitable for dwellers but for keeping farm products by structures that will respond to the environmental eco-system, coupled with the fact that such structures are also affordable, durable and easy to maintain during their service period. The effects of contact between plaster and the stacked strawbale of a masonry needs to be established and design optimization for durability and stability of the masonry be obtained. The assessment will involve the application of plaster materials (cement and natural earth) to the wall specimen panels. Past works have shown that plastered strawbale walls have adequate resistance against the appropriate vertical loads, and further showed that the earth plaster can bear higher stress than the cement plastered straw bale. There is the implication that the collapse or response of the earth-strawbale wall is significantly higher compared to that of cement-strawbale from other straw-based masonries. Therefore the allowable stresses of plastered typha strawbale shall be predicted for their optimum values using SAP2000. The stress stability of each masonry is obtained by analytical model using the best fit variables for the wall height and thickness.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.329-348
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• 2019

The main objective of this experimental research was to investigate the Seismic performance of reinforced concrete frames infilled with perforated clay brick masonry wall of a type commonly used in Algeria. Four one story-one bay reinforced concrete infilled frames of half scale of an existing building were tested at the National Earthquake Engineering Research Center Laboratory, CGS, Algeria. The experiments were carried out under a combined constant vertical and reversed cyclic lateral loading simulating seismic action. This experimental program was performed in order to evaluate the effect and the contribution of the infill masonry wall on the lateral stiffness, strength, ductility and failure mode of the reinforced concrete frames. Numerical models were developed and calibrated using the experimental results to match the load-drift envelope curve of the considered specimens. These models were used as a bench mark to assess the effect of normalized axial load on the seismic performance of the RC frames with and without masonry panels. The main experimental and analytical results are presented in this paper.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.451-466
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• 2020

In this paper, the effect of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) on the lateral strength of a bearing unreinforced Masonry (URM) wall, was experimentally and numerically investigated. Two half scale solid walls were constructed and were tested under quasi-static lateral loading. The first specimen was an un-retrofitted masonry wall (reference wall) while the second one was retrofitted by ECC mortar connected to the wall foundation via steel rebar dowels. The effect of pre-compression level, ECC layer thickness and one or double-side retrofitting on the URM wall lateral strength was numerically investigated. The validation of the numerical model was carried out from the experimental results. The results indicated that the application of ECC layer increases the wall lateral strength and the level of increment depends on the above mentioned parameters. Increasing pre-compression levels and the lack of connection between the ECC layer and the wall foundation reduces the influence of the ECC mortar on the wall lateral strength. In addition, the wall failure mode changes from flexure to the toe-crashing behavior. Furthermore, in the case of ECC layer connected to the wall foundation, the ECC layer thickness and double-side retrofitting showed a significant effect on the wall lateral strength. Finally, a simple method for estimating the lateral strength of retrofitted masonry walls is presented. The results of this method is in good agreement with the numerical results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.6
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• pp.821-832
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• 2020

The fundamental period is an important parameter for seismic design and seismic risk assessment of building structures. In this paper, a simplified theoretical method to predict the fundamental period of masonry infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frame is developed based on the basic theory of engineering mechanics. The different configurations of the RC frame as well as masonry walls were taken into account in the developed method. The fundamental period of the infilled structure is calculated according to the integration of the lateral stiffness of the RC frame and masonry walls along the height. A correction coefficient is considered to control the error for the period estimation, and it is determined according to the multiple linear regression analysis. The corrected formula is verified by shaking table tests on two masonry infilled RC frame models, and the errors between the estimated and test period are 2.3% and 23.2%. Finally, a probability-based method is proposed for the corrected formula, and it allows the structural engineers to select an appropriate fundamental period with a certain safety redundancy. The proposed method can be quickly and flexibly used for prediction, and it can be hand-calculated and easily understood. Thus it would be a good choice in determining the fundamental period of RC frames infilled with masonry wall structures in engineering practice instead of the existing methods.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.165-174
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• 1999

The objective of the research stated herein is to observe the elastic and inelastic behaviors and ultimate capacity of 1:5 scale 3-story reinforced concrete frame. Pushover tests were performed to 1:5 scale 3-story reinforced concrete frames with and without infilled masonry. To simulate the earthquake effect, the lateral force distribution was maintained by an inverted triang1e by using the whiffle tree. From the test results, the relation ships between the total lateral load and the roof drift, the distribution of column shears, the relation between story shear and story drift, and the angular rotations at the critical portions of structures were obtained. The effects of infilled masonry were investigated with regards to the stiffness, strength, and ductility of structures. Final collapse modes of structures with and without infilled masonry were compared.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.861-871
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• 2021

This study aims at investigating the hysteretic performance of a novel composite wall panel fabricated by infilling aerated concrete blocks into a novel light-steel frame used for low-rise residential buildings. The novel light-steel frame is consisted of two thin-wall rectangular hollow section columns and a truss-beam assembled using patented U-shape connectors. Two bare light-steel frames and two composite wall panels have been tested to failure under horizontal cyclic loading. Hysteretic curves, lateral resistance and stiffness of four specimens have been investigated and analyzed. Based on the testing results, it is found that the masonry infill can significantly increase the lateral resistance and stiffness of the novel light-steel frame, about 2.3~3 and 21.2~31.5 times, respectively. Failure mode of the light-steel frame is local yielding of the column. For the composite wall panel, firstly, masonry infill is crushed, subsequently, local yielding may occur at the column if loading continues. Hysteretic curve of the composite wall panel obtained is not plump, implying a poor energy dissipation capacity. However, the light-steel frame of the composite wall panel can dissipate more energy after the masonry infill is crushed. Therefore, the composite wall panel has a much higher energy dissipation capacity compared to the bare light-steel frame.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.355-372
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• 2022

The study is part of an experimental program on full-scale Un-Reinforced Masonry (URM) wall panels strengthened with Textile reinforced mortars (TRM). Eight brick walls (two with and five without central opening), were tested under the diagonal tension (shear) test method in order to investigate the strengthening system effectiveness on the in-plane behaviour of the walls. All the URM panels consist of the innovative components, named "Orthoblock K300 bricks" with vertical holes and a thin layer mortar. Both of them have great capacity and easy application and can be constructed much more rapidly than the traditional bricks and mortars, increasing productivity, as well as the compressive strength of the masonry walls. Several parameters pertaining to the in-plane shear behaviour of the retrofitted panels were investigated, including shear capacity, failure modes, the number of layers of the external TRM jacket, and the existence of the central opening of the wall. For both the control and retrofitted panels, the experimental shear capacity and failure mode were compared with the predictions of existing prediction models (ACI 2013, TA 2000, Triantafillou 1998, Triantafillou 2016, CNR 2018, CNR 2013, Eurocode 6, Eurocode 8, Thomoglou et al. 2020). The experimental work allowed an evaluation of the shear performance in the case of the bidirectional textile (TRM) system applied on the URM walls. The results have shown that some analytical models present a better accuracy in predicting the shear resistance of all the strengthened masonry walls with TRM systems which can be used in design guidelines for reliable predictions.