Structural Performance Of Masonry Walls Under Compression And Flexure

The second edition of this book offers the most comprehensive treatment of structural masonry currently available. The contents include consideration of the basic concepts of stability and safety of masonry structures, the strength of masonry materials in compression, shear and flexure, followed by chapters on composite action, accidental damage, reinforced and prestressed masonry, arches and the testing of materials.

This book reports on a comprehensive analytical, experimental and numerical study on the flexural response of post-tensioned masonry walls under in-plane loads. It explores an important mechanism in this new generation of structural walls, called “Self-centering”. This mechanism can reduce residual drifts and structural damage during earthquake ground motion, and is particularly favorable for structures which are designed for immediate occupancy performance levels. The book reports on the development and verification of a finite element model of post-tensioned masonry walls. It describes a detailed parametric study to predict the strength of post-tensioned masonry walls. New design methodologies and expressions are developed to predict the flexural strength and force-displacement response of post-tensioned masonry. Experimental study is carried out to better understand the behavior of post-tensioned masonry walls and also to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed design procedure and expressions. The book also includes an introduction to current research on unbounded post-tensioned masonry walls, together with an extensive analysis of previously published test results.

In the last few decades, a considerable amount of experimental and analytical research on the seismic behaviour of masonry walls and buildings has been carried out. The investigations resulted in the development of methods for seismic analysis and design, as well as new technologies and construction systems. After many centuries of traditional use and decades of allowable stress design, clear concepts for limit state verification of masonry buildings under earthquake loading have recently been introduced in codes of practice.Although this book is not a review of the state-of-the-art of masonry structures in earthquake zones, an attempt has been made to balance the discussion on recent code requirements, state-of-the-art methods of earthquake-resistant design and the author's research work, in order to render the book useful for a broader application in design practice. An attempt has also been made to present, in a condensed but easy to understand way, all the information needed for earthquake-resistant design of masonry buildings constructed using traditional systems. The basic concepts of limit state verification are presented and equations for seismic resistance verification of masonry walls of all types of construction, (unreinforced, confined and reinforced) as well as masonry-infilled reinforced concrete frames, are addressed. A method for seismic resistance verification, compatible with recent code requirements, is also discussed. In all cases, experimental results are used to explain the proposed methods and equations.An important part of this book is dedicated to the discussion of the problems of repair, retrofit and rehabilitation of existing masonry buildings, including historical structures in urban centres. Methods of strengthening masonry walls as well as improving the structural integrity of existing buildings are described in detail. Wherever possible, experimental evidence regarding the effectiveness of the proposed strengthening methods is given.