Out-Of-Plane Behavior of Confined Masonry Walls Subjected to Concentrated Loads (One-Way Bending)

This paper presents the results of a study on the out-of-plane seismic behavior of confined masonry walls. Five confined walls were tested under reverse cyclic loads. The variables studied were the axial stress and the wall aspect ratio. Analytical out-of-plane strength of walls was calculated considering the strengths of the wall panel and the concrete confining elements. The former was determined using the unidirectional strut method and the latter using a plastic analysis. It was observed that for walls with the same aspect ratio, as the axial stress increases, the out-of-plane strength increases. For walls with the same axial stress, as the aspect ratio increases, the strength decreases. Based on comparisons between analytical and experimental results, it was concluded that the models developed in this work predict accurately the out-of-plane strength of the walls.