Experimental Assessment of the Influence of Boundary Conditions on the Out-of-Plane Response of Unreinforced Masonry Infill Walls

Abstract

Experimental pseudo-static tests aimed at investigating the influence of boundary conditions on the out-of-plane response of unreinforced masonry (URM) infill walls in terms of stiffness, strength and displacement capacity are presented. URM infills bounded to the confining Reinforced Concrete frame along two, three or four edges are tested. Predictions of literature formulations are compared to experimental values of strength and secant stiffness at first macro-cracking and peak load. Models predicting displacement capacity are discussed and interpreted based on the experimental results presented.