Abstract
Infrastructure through the masonry walls (for example, wiring and piping works) are usually installed using chases in different directions. Introducing these chases in a newly built wall will affect its overall load carrying capacity. However, there has thus far been very limited research into the effects of chases on the response and load carrying capacity of walls. This study has been undertaken to evaluate the structural behaviour of new masonry walls having chases in both horizontal and vertical directions and subjected to compression load throughout an extensive experimental programme. In addition, two renovation techniques have been proposed to infill the chases created in small scale walls (wallettes). The first technique involved the use of plastic wire mesh and cement mortar, while the second incorporated using galvanized steel channel together with the plastic wire mesh and cement mortar. Furthermore, a reference case of wallette without chases has been considered to enable reasonable comparisons to check the effect of the chases and the efficiency of the proposed renovation techniques. The outcomes of this study were used to modify the design equations proposed in the relevant codes of practice. The obtained results showed a notable reduction in the load carrying capacity of the masonry wall due to the introduction of the chases with a reduction percentage of 29% compared to the masonry wall without chase. The percentage decrease depends on the depth of the chase and the inclination angle of the load flow. The walls with horizontal chases exhibited more reduction in the load carrying capacity compared to those with vertical chases. The adopted renovation techniques using galvanized steel channel and/or plastic wire mesh with cement mortar recovered 55% and 93% of the lost load carrying capacity due to the presence of the chase and the failure was due to the de-bonded phenomena of the infill materials. Suitable factors of safety have been proposed to be incorporated in the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity formulas of the masonry walls of the BS EN codes.
Highlights
Masonry walls are the oldest structural elements that have been used with the first emergence of civilization [1]
Plastic wire mesh and galvanized steel channel used in the renovation of the chases
The Theoretical Value of fk Extensive experimental tests have been conducted to investigate the effect of the direction of chases on the load bearing capacity of masonry walletes incorporating renovated infill of galvanized steel channel and/or plastic wire mesh and mortar
Summary
Masonry walls are the oldest structural elements that have been used with the first emergence of civilization [1]. Limited research works have been focused on the issue of chases in the masonry walls, and the most important published studies stated that the load carrying capacity reduced with a ratio up to 28.5% for the case of vertical 38 mm wide and 25 mm deep chases [4]. In a recent research study, Milani, et al [12] noticed a significant drop in the load carrying capacity of the masonry walls due to any kind of chase even if the depth of cutting is small (20% of the wall thickness) They recommended avoidance of such cutting in the installation of the infrastructure works.
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