Abstract
Cracks that form at the interfaces between masonry structures are common uncontrolled occurrences in buildings. Numerous methods have been proposed by the construction industry to address this problem. Cracks continuously form in the joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls. In this study, the most common methods for preventing these types of cracks were evaluated in laboratory experiments. Column masonry models were constructed using different types of joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls, such as steel bars and steel mesh. The efficiency of each type of joint method was evaluated by performing direct tensile tests (pullout tests) on the models and monitoring the evolution of the crack opening in the joint between the column and wall, as a function of load applied to the model. The results from this study indicate that the model composed of "electrowelded wire mesh without steel angles" is the best model for controlling cracking in the joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls.
Highlights
Due to the soaring housing deficit in Brazil, the accelerated pace of the construction industry has frequently produced unsatisfactory results with regard to building performance
Cracks continuously form in the joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls
The results from this study indicate that the model composed of “electrowelded wire mesh without steel angles” is the best model for controlling cracking in the joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls
Summary
Due to the soaring housing deficit in Brazil, the accelerated pace of the construction industry has frequently produced unsatisfactory results with regard to building performance. A current increase in crack formation in reinforced concrete structures with masonry infill walls indicate that current preventative techniques require adaptation to new performance and behavior criteria ( regarding slenderness) for buildings. Due to technical limitations and exorbitant costs, it is frequently unfeasible to reproduce the real behavior of a masonry infill wall in service situations in a laboratory. In these cases, the use of smallscale models to evaluate the efficiency of crack prevention techniques is a viable alternative. The cited evaluation proposal can be employed to select a technique prior to a laboratory test (in which the actual size of the wall yields a significantly higher cost)
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