<p>The focus of this study is on evaluating the performance of nine, one-third scale, arching, reinforced masonry (RM) walls subjected to blast loads and three, one-third scale arching, RM walls subjected to out-of-plane static airbag loads. These RM walls were supported on four sides to enforce two-way arching allowing the ability to monitor individual response to varying levels of blast loads and standoff distances. The uniformity of the blast pressure and impulse were ensured by a specifically designed test enclosure, diminishing the wrap-around and clearing effects, allowing valuable data to be documented. The damage levels noted, ranged from Superficial to Blowout compared directly to the CSA S850-12 performance limits. The outcome of this experiment demonstrates the beneficial effect of two-way arching on the flexural behaviour of RM walls under impulsive loading. The use of two-way arching RM walls significantly reduces structural damage and increases out-of-plane resistance, which in turn enhances the overall structural integrity and building preservation. Further, when subjected to blast, two-way arching RM walls considerably reduces debris and their dispersal, thus increasing public safety and minimizing hazard levels. When using the experimental test data results to calibrate finite element models (FEM), more analytical data points can be obtained and therefore getting a larger range of scaled distances and trials. The validation of the LS-DYNA model can be used as an alternative to the costly experimental data, as the information collected concluded that the FEM gave damage patterns and failure modes that were comparable with experimental results. The test data collected provides a better understanding of RM wall response to blast loads and to the ongoing Masonry Blast Performance Database (MBPD) project at McMaster University. The generated MBPD will in turn contribute to masonry design clauses in the future editions of the recently introduced Canadian Standards CSA S850-12 “Design and Assessment of Buildings Subjected to Blast Loads”.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The use of fully grouted reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSWs) has been growing in several areas around the world owing to their relative ease of construction and their in-plane ductile behavior. However, RMSWs possess low out-of-plane ductility which amplifies the vulnerability of such components under blast loading. Furthermore, the long time and high costs of recovery following devastating (deliberate or accidental) explosions have created a need for resilience-based design for risk mitigation, especially considering the different sources of associated uncertainty. As such, this study aims to lay out the foundations of a probabilistic resilience–based blast analysis and design framework. The framework should have the capability of quantifying the overall building post-blast functionality in order to estimate its recovery cost and time, and thus the building resilience following such a demand. The proposed framework will be specifically applied for RMSW buildings incurring blast loads through a profound investigation for the behavior of rectangular RMSWs as being a primary structural element in reinforced masonry buildings. The investigation will subsume an experimental and analytical evaluation for the performance of load-bearing RMSWs with different in-plane ductility levels subjected to out-of-plane quasi-static loading. This will be followed by a numerical investigation of RMSWs to conclude the blast probabilistic performance of RMSWs that can be applied within the proposed probabilistic resilience-based blast framework. The work in this dissertation presents a key step towards adopting resilience based analysis and design in future editions of blast-resistant construction standards and provides the decisionmakers with a complete insight into post-blast building functionality and its recovery. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has some regions which are susceptible to moderate seismic activity. A peak ground acceleration of between 0.1g and 0.15g can be expected in the southern parts of the Western Cape. Unreinforced Masonry (URM) is commonly used as a construction material for 2 to 4 storey buildings in underprivileged areas in and around Cape Town. URM is typically regarded as the material most vulnerable to damage when subjected to earthquake excitation. In this study, a three-storey URM building was analysed by applying seven earthquake time-histories, that can be expected to occur in South Africa, to a finite element model. Experimental data was used to calibrate the in- and out-of-plane stiffness of the URM. A linear modal dynamic analysis and non-linear implicit dynamic analysis were performed. The results indicated that tensile cracking of the in-plane piers was the dominant failure mode. The building relied on the postcracking capacity to resist the 0.15g magnitude earthquake. It is concluded that URM buildings of this type are at risk of failure especially if sufficient ductility is not provided. The results also showed that connection failure must be investigated further. Construction and material quality will have a large effect on the ability of typical URM buildings to withstand moderate magnitude earthquakes in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sekere gebiede in Suid-Afrika het ’n risiko van matige seismiese aktiwiteit. Aardbewings met maksimum grondversnellings van tussen 0.1g en 0.15g kan in die suidelike gedeeltes van die Wes- Kaap voorkom. Twee- tot vier-verdieping onbewapende messelwerkgeboue kom algemeen voor in die lae sosio-ekonomiese gebiede van Kaapstad. Oor die algemeen word onbewapende messelwerkgeboue as die gebou-tipe beskou wat die maklikste skade opdoen tydens aardbewings. In hierdie studie is sewe aardbewings, wat tipies in Kaapstad verwag kan word, identifiseer en gebruik om ’n tipiese drie-verdieping onbewapende messelwerkgebou te analiseer. Eksperimentele data is gebruik om die materiaaleienskappe in die in-vlak asook uit-vlak rigtings te kalibreer. Beide ’n liniêre modale en nie-liniˆere implisiete dinamiese analises is uitgevoer. Die resultate dui daarop dat die dominante falingsmode die kraak van in-vlak messelwerk-tussenkolomme is. Die gebou moes sy plastiese kapasiteit benut om die 0.15g aardbewing te kan weerstaan. Die gevolgtrekking is dat dié tipe onbewapende messelwerkgeboue ’n risiko inhou om mee te gee, veral as genoegsame vervormbaarheid nie verskaf word nie. Die resultate toon ook dat konneksie-faling verder ondersoek moet word. Kwaliteit van vakmanskap en van materiaal het ’n groot invoed op die vermoë van onbewapende messelwerkgeboue om aardbewings van matige intensiteit in Suid-Afrika te weerstaan.

Les présents travaux, à caractère numérico-expérimental, visent à approfondir la connaissance relative au comportement de murs maçonnés, principalement ceux renforcés par matériaux composites vis-à-vis de sollicitations dans leur plan (flexion composée). Ils s'inscrivent dans le cadre de la réhabilitation du patrimoine bâti vis-à-vis du risque sismique notamment du fait de la reconsidération du zonage en France rendu depuis peu plus exigeant. Aussi, d'un point de vue technologique, cette thèse vise à apprécier, évaluer et hiérarchiser l'intérêt et les potentialités de solutions de renforcement mobilisant des matériaux composites, à base polymère ainsi que des composites textile-mortier de nouvelle génération, couplés à des ancrages mécaniques ayant vocation à mieux valoriser ce type d'options. Deux échelles d'analyse ont été retenues dans le cadre de la partie expérimentale. A l'échelle du matériau, dans le but de caractériser finement les matériaux constitutifs de la maçonnerie de briques de béton creux et de générer des jeux de données aussi pertinents que fiables, notamment en prévision de la modélisation numérique, des essais de compression uni-axiale et de push-out à l'échelle « réduite » ont été conduits et ont permis de souligner, en accord avec la littérature, la nécessité de tenir compte de l'interaction brique-mortier, de consolider la compréhension des mécanismes d'endommagement et de rupture des éléments de maçonnerie tout en mettant en lumière l'importance relative des dispersions obtenues. A l'échelle du composant de structure, une campagne expérimentale de flexion composée portant sur six murs, dont un mur témoin, a été conduite sous sollicitations de flexion composée dans le plan des murs avec pour impératif la nécessité de restituer les conditions limites et de sollicitations sous séisme, tout en limitant le champ de l'étude au volet statique monotone en vue d'éprouver les solutions valorisées (matériaux composites et ancrage).Cette partie a permis, audelà de la mise en avant des bonnes dispositions en termes de capacité portante, d'une part, de caractériser comparativement le comportement de ces éléments tant à l'échelle globale (déplacement, capacité de déformation et de dissipation d'énergie, etc.) qu'à l'échelle locale (endommagement, déformations localisées, etc.) via une instrumentation judicieuse, et d'autre part de cerner l'importance des ancrages mécaniques vis-à-vis des sollicitations étudiées. L'approche numérique, de type éléments finis, a été mise à profit dans un deuxième temps pour tenter de restituer le comportement des murs (à l'échelle locale et globale). Sur la base d'une lecture bibliographique critique c'est l'approche micromécanique qui a eu nos faveurs. La modélisation a été conduite en trois dimensions (3D) à l'aide du logiciel ANSYS. Ainsi, les briques et le mortier sont modélisés indépendamment mais liés parfaitement. Deux variantes ont été proposées pour la modélisation de la maçonnerie saine et leur adéquation a été évaluée. Le premier modèle s'appuie sur un couplage entre le modèle de béton d'Ansys en traction et un comportement multilinéaire en compression pour modéliser le mortier, les briques sont supposées pourvues d'un comportement élasto-plastique bilinéaire pour lequel la résistance en compression de la brique est le seuil de la phase élastique. Dans le deuxième modèle, plus en phase avec les constats expérimentaux, seul le comportement des briques est modifié en introduisant un comportement post-pic adoucissant. En ce qui concerne la modélisation des murs renforcés par matériaux composites, ces derniers (FRP et TRC) ont été considérés comme parfaitement liés au substrat de maçonnerie. Toutefois, si le renfort de type FRP est modélisé par un comportement homogène orthotrope, le TRC, rarement modélisé jusqu'à lors, est simulé via deux approches (homogène et hétérogène) dans le but d'apprécier leur pertinence... / This study, using both experimental and numerical approaches, will help to better understand the behaviour of masonry walls. It especially focuses on walls reinforced with composite materials under in-plane loading conditions. In France, more stringent seismic design requirements for building structures have taken effect. So, this research has been initiated in an effort to define reliable strengthening techniques. The selected reinforcement materials are (1) – fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) strips using E-glass and carbon fabrics and (2) – an emerging cementbased matrix grid (CMG) system. The composite strips are mechanically anchored into the foundations of the walls to improve their efficiency. The experimental program involves different levels of analysis. Small-scale models of block masonry structures, carried out with less than ten bricks, are tested. The objective is to obtain a coherent set of data, characterizing the elementary components (hollow bricks and mortar) and their interface, in order to provide realistic values of the parameters required in the foreseen modelling. Shear bond strength has been obtained from triplets and 7-uplets and compressive masonry strength from running bond prisms. These experimental results improve the knowledge of the main damage mechanisms and failure modes of masonry but they suffer from high scattering. At laboratory (large) scale, six walls have been submitted to shear-compression tests - five of them are reinforced and the last one acts as a reference. All the walls share the same boundary and compressive loading conditions, which are chosen to ensure a representative simulation of a seismic solicitation. Nevertheless, masonry walls performances and anchor efficiency are only evaluated under monotonic lateral loadings. A comparative study on global behavior (displacements, deformation capacity, energy dissipation,…) as well as on local mechanisms (local strains, damage,…) is carried out and highlights in particular that strengthened walls exhibit a high increase in shear resistance. Moreover, a 3D finite-element analysis using ANSYS has been performed to help understand the behaviour of unreinforced and strengthened walls. A micro-mechanical approach is adopted: bricks and mortar are modelled separately and linked together by a perfect bond. The Ansys concrete model, capable of cracking, is coupled with a multi-linear plasticity model in compression to describe mortar joints. In a first attempt, bricks exhibit a bilinear behavior law where the brick compressive strength is the elastic threshold; but this model fails to reproduce the resistances of the strengthened walls. To compensate for these overestimations and capture the experimental resistances, a post-pic softening behaviour is preferred for the bricks. To model strengthened walls, all composite strips are supposed to be perfectly linked with the masonry and a linear elastic law is used for the FRP reinforcements. TRC strips are either described by means of a linear law or represented using a heterogeneous approach where matrix and textile grids are modelled separately. In this case, grids are represented using a smeared approach and are embedded within the matrix mesh. So, displacement compatibility is totally satisfied between the textile and the cementitious matrix. The proposed numerical model tends to underestimate walls capacity deformation but ultimate loads and failure modes are in coherence with experimental results. Finally, existing analytical methods have been applied to assess unreinforced and strengthened walls performances. The results are then compared with the experimental data and a critical review is proposed. Existing models could be refined by taking into account more realistic behaviour laws and by relying on energy approaches to better reproduce dissipative mechanisms of TRC materials

The traditional construction practice used in masonry buildings throughout the world is limited to walls with rectangular cross sections that, when reinforced with steel bars, typically accommodate only single-leg horizontal ties and a single layer of vertical reinforcement. This arrangement provides no confinement at the wall toes, and it may lead to instability in critical wall zones and significant structural damage during seismic events. Conversely, the development of a new building system, constructed with reinforced masonry (RM) walls with boundary elements, allows closed ties to be used as confinement reinforcement, thus minimizing such instability and its negative consequences. Relative to traditional walls, walls with boundary elements have enhanced performance because they enable the compression reinforcement to remain effective up to much larger displacement demands, resulting in a damage tolerant system and eventually, more resilient buildings under extreme events. Research on the system-level (complete building) performance of RM walls with boundary elements is, at the time of publication of this dissertation, nonexistent in open literature. What little research has been published on this innovative building system has focused only on investigating the component-level performance of RM walls with boundary elements under lateral loads. To address this knowledge gap, the dissertation presents a comprehensive research program that covered: component-level performance simulation; system-level (complete building) experimental testing; seismic risk assessment tools; and simplified analytical models to facilitate adoption of the developed new building system. In addition, and in order to effectively mobilize the knowledge generated through the research program to stakeholders, the work has been directly related to building codes in Canada and the USA (NBCC and ASCE-7) as well as other standards including FEMA P695 (FEMA 2009) (Chapter 2), TMS 402 and CSA S304 (Chapter 3), FEMA P58 (FEMA 2012) (Chapter 4), and ASCE-41 (Chapter 5). Chapter 1 of the dissertation highlights its objectives, focus, scope and general organization. The simulation in Chapter 2 is focused on evaluating the component-level overstrength, period-based ductility, and seismic collapse margin ratios under the maximum considered earthquakes. Whereas previous studies have shown that traditional RM walls might not meet the collapse risk criteria established by FEMA P695, the analysis presented in this chapter clearly shows that RM shear walls with boundary elements not only meet the collapse risk criteria, but also exceed it with a significant margin. Following the component-level simulation presented in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 focused on presenting the results of a complete two-story asymmetrical RM shear wall building with boundary elements, experimentally tested under simulated seismic loading. This effort was aimed at demonstrating the discrepancies between the way engineers design buildings (as individual components) and the way these buildings actually behave as an integrated system, comprised of these components. In addition, to evaluate the enhanced resilience of the new building system, the tested building was designed to have the same lateral resistance as previously tested building with traditional RM shear walls, thus facilitating direct comparison. The experimental results yielded two valuable findings: 1) it clearly demonstrated the overall performance enhancements of the new building system in addition to its reduced reinforcement cost; and 2) it highlighted the drawbacks of the building acting as a system compared to a simple summation of its individual components. In this respect, although the slab diaphragm-wall coupling enhanced the building lateral capacity, this enhancement also meant that other unpredictable and undesirable failure modes could become the weaker links, and therefore dominate the performance of the building system. Presentation of these findings has attracted much attention of codes and standards committees (CSA S304 and TMS 402/ACI 530/ASCE 5) in Canada and the USA, as it resulted in a paradigm shift on how the next-generation of building codes (NBCC and ASCE-7) should be developed to address system-levels performance aspects. Chapter 4 introduced an innovative system-level risk assessment methodology by integrating the simulation and experimental test results of Chapters 2 and 3. In this respect, the experimentally validated simulations were used to generate new system-level fragility curves that provide a realistic assessment of the overall building risk under different levels of seismic hazard. Although, within the scope of this dissertation, the methodology has been applied only on buildings constructed with RM walls with boundary elements, the developed new methodology is expected to be adopted by stakeholders of other new and existing building systems and to be further implemented in standards based on the current FEMA P58 risk quantification approaches. Finally, and in order to translate the dissertation findings into tools that can be readily used by stakeholders to design more resilient buildings in the face of extreme events, simplified backbone and hysteretic models were developed in Chapter 5 to simulate the nonlinear response of RM shear wall buildings with different configurations. These models can be adapted to perform the nonlinear static and dynamic procedures that are specified in the ASCE-41 standards for both existing and new building systems. The research in this chapter is expected to have a major positive impact, not only in terms of providing more realistic model parameters for exiting building systems, but also through the introduction of analytical models for new more resilient building systems to be directly implemented in future editions of the ASCE-41. This dissertation presents a cohesive body of work that is expected to influence a real change in terms of how we think about, design, and construct buildings as complex systems comprised of individual components. The dissertation’s overarching hypothesis is that previous disasters have not only exposed the vulnerability of traditional building systems, but have also demonstrated the failure of the current component-by-component design approaches to produce resilient building systems and safer communities under extreme events. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Recent research interests in studying the performance of different seismic force resisting systems (SFRS) have been shifting from component- (individual walls) to system-level (complete building) studies. Although there is wealth of knowledge on component-level performance of reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSW) under seismic loading, a gap still exists in understanding the response of these components within a complete system. Consequently, this study’s main objective is to investigate the influence of the diaphragm’s out-of-plane stiffness on the seismic response of RMSW buildings. In addition, the study aims to synthesize how this influence can be implemented in different seismic design approaches and assessment frameworks. To meet these objectives a two-story scaled asymmetrical RMSW building was tested under quasi-static cyclic loading. The analysis of the test results showed that the floor diaphragms’ out-of-plane stiffness played an important role in flexurally coupling the RMSW aligned along the loading direction with those walls orthogonal to it. This system-level aspect affected not only the different wall strength and displacement demands but also the failure mechanism sequence and the building twist response. The results of the study also showed that neglecting diaphragm flexural coupling influence on the RMSW at the system-level may result in unconservative designs and possibly undesirable failure modes. To address these findings, an analytical model was developed that can account for the aforementioned influences, in which, simplified load-displacement relationships were developed to predict RMSW component- and system-level responses under lateral seismic loads. This model is expected to give better predictions of the system response which can be implemented, within the model limitations, in forced- and displacement-based seismic design approaches. In addition, and in order to adapt to the increasing interest in more resilient buildings, this study presents an approach to calculate the system robustness based on the experimental data. Finally, literature shows that the vast majority of the loss models available for RMSW systems were based on individual component testing and/or engineering judgment. Consequently, this study proposes system damage states in lieu of component damage states in order to enhance the prediction capabilities of such models. The current dissertation highlights the significant influence of the diaphragm out-of-plane stiffness on the system-level response that may alter the RMSW response to seismic events; an issue that need to be addressed in design codes and standards. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)