In-Plane Seismic Performance of Chinese Traditional Rowlock Cavity Walls Under Low-Cycle Loading

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn order to investigate mechanical behaviors of Chinese traditional rowlock cavity wall (CTRC wall), a unique kind of Chinese traditional masonry walls, in-plane low-cycle loading tests were conducted on six CTRC walls of different height-width ratio and opening of different sizes. From the tests, the cracking patterns, hysteretic behavior, shear bearing capacity, deformation capacity and energy dissipation were compared and analyzed. The test results indicated that, as the height-width ratio of the wall increased, the shearing capacity decreased and the ultimate displacement increased, and the failure mode transferred from shearing failure to bending failure. With the increase of the opening’s width, the shearing capacity and energy dissipation decreased, and the failure mode transferred from shear failure of the entire wall to bending failure of the sidewall. The bearing capacity of the walls was little influenced by the opening height, while the increase of opening height resulted in a larger ultimate drifting angle. Numerical analysis was also performed in the parametric analysis. Based on the results from tests and numerical analysis, a simplified method was proposed to calculate the shearing capacity of CTRC walls with an opening, which can be used to assess the widely distributed historic buildings comprised of CTRC walls.