Compressive behaviour of a new reinforced masonry system

This paper presents the behaviour in compression of an innovative reinforced masonry system. The system is made of horizontally perforated units, having common steel bars or prefabricated trusses as horizontal reinforcement. At the wall edges or crossings, confining columns for vertical reinforcement are built with vertically perforated units. Experimental tests, aimed at obtaining basic mechanical characterisation of the construction system, were performed on single constitutive elements i.e., confining columns and masonry panels made of horizontally perforated units, and on completed reinforced masonry walls. Non-linear numerical models, interpreting stress and strain distributions, were developed on the basis of the results. In particular, this paper presents: (a) results of compression tests on columns, masonry panels, and complete reinforced masonry system; (b) comparison of walls built with two types of horizontal reinforcement; (c) outcome of numerical models; and (d) effectiveness of various design equations to evaluate the compressive strength of the system.