Numerical Investigation of the Effects of Opening on the Strength of Masonry Wall

Abstract

Masonry is used as a construction material since old age. It is a cheaper construction material compared to R.C.C. and also requires comparatively less construction skills. During an earthquake, the masonry wall constructed following the codal provisions shows preliminary behaviour in the in-plane direction of wall and it has lesser deformation in the out-of-plane direction of the wall. Although, the strength and stiffness of the Un-Reinforced Masonry (URM) walls were reduce due to sizes and positions of openings, the relationship between the seismic capacity of the walls and the position and size of opening in walls are not clear. Researchers in the past mostly explored the in-plane behaviour of solid masonry wall without opening. Considering the openings in these walls can significantly affect the strength of the masonry wall. Hence, in the present study, an attempt is made to understand the effect of varying opening sizes (4 different combinations of door and/or window openings) in unreinforced masonry wall using finite element software CATIA. From this software, URM walls were modeled and load based quasi-static analysis were done in in-plane direction. The collapse mechanisms of the masonry walls and crack patterns are studied from the analysis and a key output from this work is the characterization of the relationships between the sizes and positions of openings and the in-plane performance of masonry walls.