Tilting Table Experiments To Determine The Out-Of-Plane Behavior of Masonry Walls Constructed from Brick and Adobe

TUBITAK Project, 3501 - National Young Researcher Career Development Program, 2017 - 2020

Project Type: TUBITAK Project
Support Program: 3501 - National Young Researcher Career Development Program
Begin Date: November 2017
End Date: April 2020

Project Abstract

The aim of the project is to investigate the out-of-plane behavior of different load carrying masonry walls constructed from adobe and brick. Experiments were done by means of tilting table. Brick walls were constructed either with mortar or without mortar to investigate the effect of mortar on behavior. A total of 106 wall experiments were performed. Wall configurations are determined considering the effects of parameters on out-of-plane behavior. The parameters are the ratio of the wall height to its length (plane slenderness), door openings, window openings, both door and window openings and side wall effect. Half scale walls were used in the tests. In order to determine the out-of-plane displacement profile and lateral load capacities, direct displacement measurements were recorded

Lateral load capacity of U, I and L-shaped walls with mortar increased with increased plane slenderness, but in mortarless L-shaped walls o difference was recorded, no significant relationship between plane slenderness and lateral load capacity was observed for mortarless I-shaped walls. Lateral load capacities increased significantly with increased side walls considering all plane slenderness and all wall groups. In U-shaped brick walls no significant effect of window or door opening on the front wall was observed but when window and door opening together exist than lateral load capacity was found to decrease significantly. As for adobe walls with window opening had no effect but door opening on the other hand found to increase the capacity. Any opening on the front wall seems to have detrimental effect on lateral load capacity of L-shaped brick walls. It is interesting to note that mortar in I-shaped brick walls resulted in increase in lateral load capacity when the wall had openings.

Model parameters were determined form material tests in order to be used in analytical models of the walls in ABAQUS-2019 utilizing micro modelling and simplified micro modelling techniques. Investigating the analytical results, it was found that collapse profiles and lateral load-displacement curves in mortarless brick walls were captured well, but results are reasonable for brick walls with mortar and adobe walls. As a result, it can be said that model parameters from experimental results can directly be used in the analytical models.