Shearing of infill masonry walls under lateral and vertical loading

Alex Brodsky, David Z. Yankelevsky, Oded Rabinovitch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

The paper presents an experimental investigation on the behavior of two identical large-scale masonry infill walls subjected to different shearing deformations resulting from lateral or vertical loading. The former produces a horizontal displacement field that simulates the behavior of the wall under earthquake excitation. The latter produces a vertical displacement field that simulates the case followed by loss of gravity support. Both scenarios were identified in past earthquakes. The experiments were conducted on similar infill walls with an aspect ratio of 1:1 made of hollow concrete blocks. The tests show fundamentally different behaviors in terms of the cracking patterns and load-bearing mechanisms. The orthotropic properties of the masonry infill wall significantly affect the load-displacement behavior, including the load resistance mechanism, the stiffness, and the unloading behavior. The major differences between the two cases call for caution in simulating the behaviour of infilled frame structures in the case of loss of a supporting column based on the accumulated knowledge on the behavior under lateral loading.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102147
JournalJournal of Building Engineering
Volume38
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Earthquake
  • Experimental investigation
  • Lateral loading
  • Masonry infill walls
  • Progressive collapse
  • Vertical loading

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Building and Construction
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Mechanics of Materials

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