Single- and double-wythe brick masonry walls subjected to four-point bending tests under different support conditions: Simply supported, rigid, non-rigid

Abstract

Out-of-plane actions cause confined unreinforced masonry walls (URM) to develop what is known as an arching action. The role of arching is central in the resisting mechanisms of a wall; it contributes significantly to its loadbearing capacity as long as the wall’s deflections are minor, but gradually loses effect with increasing deflections, until collapse occurs. To date, limited experimental data is available on how arching develops in relation to the out-of-plane behaviour of the wall. This study brings new experimental evidence to this aspect. Quasi-static monotonic four-point bending tests were conducted on eleven brick wall strips, with reinforced concrete (RC) slabs affixed below and over the walls to simulate contact conditions of a typical construction system. The walls were tested vis-à-vis three different support conditions: simply supported, rigid, and non-rigid. The influence of these support conditions on the out-of-plane behaviour of the walls was studied on specimens with varying thickness – single and double wythe – and subjected to different levels of axial compression (or overload). While the former support condition was designed not to yield any arching inside the wall (unconfined masonry), the intermediate and latter solutions generated an arching action that was proportional respectively to the elongation of the wall (partially confined masonry), and its deflection (confined masonry). The walls were tested inside a bi-axial test setup that allowed not only the out-of-plane force but also the arching action to be measured, corroborating its central role in the development of the out-of-plane capacity of the walls. To support the observations, deformation characteristics and crack distributions were determined using two optical measurement systems placed in front and to the side of the walls, making use of the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique. The results of the tests are discussed in terms of failure mechanism as well as force and displacement capacity of the walls in relation to the investigated parameters. The test data is collected and made available to help with future research on the out-of-plane capacity of URM walls.