In-plane response of unreinforced masonry walls confined by reinforced concrete tie-columns and tie-beams

Abstract

This article focuses on the experimental and analytical investigations of masonry walls surrounded by tie-elements under in-plane loads. The experimental results of an unconfined and a confined masonry wall, tested under reversed cyclic lateral loads, are presented. For numerical study, a micro-modeling strategy, using smeared-crack-based approach, is adopted. In order to validate the numerical approach, experimental test results and data obtained from the literature are used, and through a systematic parametric study, the influence of adjoining walls and number of tie-columns on the seismic behavior of confined masonry panels is numerically assessed and a simple but rational method for predicting the nonlinear behavior of these structures is proposed.