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Numerical simulation of strengthened unreinforced masonry (URM) walls by new retrofitting technologies for blast loading.

Terrorism has become a serious threat in the world, with bomb attacks carried out both inside and outside buildings. There are already many unreinforced masonry buildings in existence, and some of them are historical buildings. However, they do not perform well under blast loading. Aiming on protecting masonry buildings, retrofitting techniques were developed. Some experimental work on studying the effect of retrofitted URM walls has been done in recent years; however, these tests usually cost a significant amount of time and funds. Because of this, numerical simulation has become a good alternative, and can be used to study the behaviour of masonry structures, and predict the outcomes of experimental tests. This project was carried out to find efficient retrofitting technique under blast loading by developing numerical material models. It was based on experimental research of strengthening URM walls by using retrofitting technologies under out-of-plane loading at the University of Adelaide. The numerical models can be applied to study large-scaled structures under static loading, and the research work is then extended to the field of blast loading. Aiming on deriving efficient material models, homogenization technology was introduced to this research. Fifty cases of numerical analysis on masonry basic cell were conducted to derive equivalent orthotropic material properties. To study the increasing capability in strength and ductility of retrofitted URM walls, pull-tests were simulated using interface element model to investigate the bond-slip relationship of FRP plates bonded to masonry blocks. The interface element model was then used to simulate performance of retrofitted URM walls under static loads. The accuracy of the numerical results was verified by comparing with the experimental results from previous tests at the University of Adelaide by Griffith et al. (2007) on unreinforced masonry walls and by Yang (2007) on FRP retrofitted masonry walls. To study the de-bonding behaviours of retrofits bonded to masonry, and find appropriate solution to protect certain masonry walls against blast loading, various retrofitting technologies were examined. The simulation covers explosive impacts of a wide range of impulses. Based on this work, pressure-impulse diagrams for different types of retrofitted URM walls were developed as a design guideline for estimating the blast effect on retrofitted masonry walls. The outcomes of this research will contribute to the development of numerical simulation on modelling retrofitted URM walls, improving the technique for explosion-resistant of masonry buildings, and providing a type of guideline for blast-resistant design. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1349719 / Thesis (M.Eng.Sc.) - University of Adelaide, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, 2009

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/272845
Date January 2009
CreatorsSu, Yu
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
Detected LanguageEnglish

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