Response of Bonded Membrane Retrofit Concrete Masonry Walls to Dynamic Pressure

Abstract

This paper describes the development of analytical models used to predict the response of bonded membrane retrofit concrete masonry walls subjected to out-of-plane impulse pressure loads. Full scale tests have shown significant improvement in the resistance of unreinforced concrete masonry walls retrofitted by membrane materials. The majority of the membrane retrofit concrete masonry walls survived compared to their unretrofitted counterparts that collapsed. Polymer membrane retrofit materials may be sprayed on, trowled on, or attached with adhesives to the tension face of the wall. Other membrane materials such as thin steel or aluminum sheets may be attached to the tension face of the wall using expansion screws or other structurally sound methods. Resistance functions previously presented by the writers for membrane retrofit concrete masonry walls are used in the development of the response. Single-degree-of-freedom equations are developed to predict the response of these walls to impulse pressure and the results of the analysis are compared with available full-scale tests.