AbdelRahman AbdAllah, Belal AbdelRahman, and Khaled Galal
i Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G2W1. E-mail: abdelrahman.abdallah@concordia.ca.
ii Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G2W1. E-mail: belal.abdelrahman@concordia.ca.
iii Professor, Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G2W1. E-mail: khaled.galal@concordia.ca.
ABSTRACT
Partially grouted reinforced masonry shear walls (PG-RMSWs) offer a cost-effective construction system widely used in North America. Unlike fully grouted walls, PG-RMSWs only require grouting in masonry cells that contain reinforcement, potentially reducing material and labor costs. However, limited research on the seismic performance of flexural-dominated PG-RMSWs has raised concerns about their suitability for mid- and high-rise reinforced masonry buildings. This study focuses on evaluating the lateral cyclic response of high-aspect-ratio PG-RMSWs with bed joint reinforcement (BJR) as the primary shear reinforcement. BJR not only accelerates construction but also enhances crack control. Two half-scale PGRMSWs with an aspect ratio of 5.90 were tested under in-plane quasistatic cyclic loading, greater than the value 2.0, which is the upper limit specified for PG-RMSWs in CSA S304-14. Both walls had the same axial stress and flexural moment capacity but differed in cross-sectional design: one had a rectangular section (REC RMSW) while the other incorporated boundary elements (RMSW+BEs). The results showed that both walls exhibited flexural-dominated behavior, achieving high displacement ductility. The REC RMSW and RMSW+BEs reached ductility levels of 6.0∆y and 12∆y, respectively, with corresponding force modification factors of 4.76 and 9.63. These findings suggest that the current design restrictions in CSA S304 should be revised to allow partial grouting in the plastic hinge region for high-aspect-ratio RMSWs, improving their applicability in seismic regions.
KEYWORDS: Partially grouted, Reinforced masonry, Boundary elements, Rectangular shear walls, Quasistatic cyclic test, Bed-joint reinforcement, Displacement Ductility.
111-AbdAllah.pdf
