Behaviour of hollow concrete masonry walls with one-course bond beams subjected to concentric and eccentric concentrated loading

Abstract

Three-dimensional finite element models of unreinforced hollow concrete masonry walls with one-course bond beams subjected to concentrated loading have been analyzed. The walls were modelled with different loading plate sizes, different loading locations along the wall (at the midpoint of the wall, at the end of the wall, and between these points), and different out-of-plane eccentricities (e = 0, t/6, and t/3). The hollow block units, mortar, grout, and bond beam blocks in the walls were modelled separately. Both smeared and discrete cracking methods have been utilized for predicting cracking under load. Geometric and material nonlinearities and damage due to progressive cracking were taken into account in the analyses. The predicted failure modes and ultimate capacities of the walls with the concentric concentrated load applied at the midpoint or at the end of the wall compared very well with the experimental results. When the load was between the midpoint and the end of the wall, the predicted ultimate capacity was between those for the load at the midpoint and at the end. The strength of the walls decreases with increasing out-of-plane eccentricities.Key words: finite element models, hollow masonry, smeared and discrete cracking models, concentrated load, loading locations, out-of-plane eccentricities.