1 Dipl.-Ing., Research assistant in the working group “masonry”, Institute of Building Materials Research (ibac), RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr. 3, 52062 Aachen, Germany, saenger@ibac.rwth-aachen.de
2 Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing., Professor and Director, Institute of Building Materials Research (ibac), RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr. 3, 52062 Aachen, Germany, brameshuber@ibac.rwth-aachen.de
ABSTRACT
Out-of-plane loading on masonry walls under sufficient vertical load can be effortlessly verified by simplified calculation methods according to the European masonry standards. Difficulties, however, may arise with regards to the cost-effectiveness of certain designs. This occurs especially in the design of light vertically loaded exterior basement walls under horizontal earth pressure load. E. g. large wall openings on the ground floor of a building may be responsible for this type of issue.
The development of a realistic analysis approach for out-of-plane loaded clay masonry basement walls under light vertical loads is underway. This approach falls within the scope of a research project currently carried out at the Institute of Building Materials Research, Aachen University, in cooperation with the Brick and Tile Research Institute Essen. This new calculation method should accurately describe the stress and deformation behavior of basement walls. This process will take into account adjacent concrete construction components such as ceilings and basement slabs, as well as include diverse damp-proof courses which are necessary to protect the masonry wall against rising capillary water.
A new test procedure has been developed to determine the shear strength and frictional behavior of masonry and mortar between each other as well as with adjacent concrete construction components. Experiments on small test specimens with this test procedure provide also information on the impact of various damp-proof courses with respect to the bond behavior at the bottom of the wall. Moreover, tests on walls will be conducted to determine their actual boundary conditions as well as their load-bearing and deformation behavior. Finally, theoretical investigations will be conducted in order to recalculate, by means of the finite-element-method, the experimental test results. These will also serve to determine normal and shear stress distributions in the respective cross-sections at the upper and lower ends of basement walls.
KEYWORDS: basement wall, bond behavior, out-of-plane loading, masonry design
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