Lateral behaviour of masonry walls with different types of brick bonds, aspect ratio and strengthening measures by polypropylene bands and wire mesh

Abstract

The paper presents a comparative study of the performances of unreinforced masonry (URM) wall units with each of the four types of brick bonds: Header bond, Stretcher bond, English bond and Flemish bond under lateral or representative seismic loading. The load-carrying capacity, stress distribution, and failure mechanisms for each case have been obtained and interpreted. A plasticity-based simplified micro-model approach and the extended finite element method (XFEM) were used, including surface-based cohesive behaviour. The model is validated against the experimental and computational results available in the literature by a well-known software named ABAQUS. The hysteretic curves obtained in each case under cyclic loading are presented to compare the energy dissipation capacity for each case. The aspect ratio of the wall significantly influences the failure mechanism and peak load-carrying capacity. After that, the effect of strengthening using polypropylene band and wire mesh is also studied, showing a considerable increase in strength for a marginal cost increase.