Method For Calculating The Shear Bearing Capacity Of Brick Walls Strengthened With Concrete Splint

Masonry structure has a long history and lots of applications. But the integrity and ductility of masonry structures are poor, and tensile and shear strength are low. In the previous quakes at home and abroad, masonry structures especially the early-built brick houses are damaged very seriously. Our country's building industry is in the period which pays equal attention to both new constructions and renovation of existing buildings. As our country is such an earthquake-prone area, the research on the methods of strengthening the existing masonry structures has vital significance for mitigation the earthquake damage of masonry structures.Masonry strengthening with concrete splint is one kind of effective strengthening method. There is some qualitative research on the shear bearing capacity of the brick walls strengthened with concrete splint at home and abroad. However, there is not enough research on the method for calculation the shear bearing capacity of brick walls strengthened with concrete splint. Besides, there is no consideration of the affect on the shear bearing capacity which the aspect ratio and lagging strain of concrete splint have. How to correctly calculate the shear bearing capacity of the composite wall which is comprised of the brick wall and the concrete splint on the both sides of the brick wall is the key problem this thesis researched on.In order to overcome these above problems, in this thesis, finite element code ABAQUS is used to compute the shear bearing capacity of both brick walls and the composite walls which is comprised of the brick wall and the concrete splint. The axial compression ratio of brick walls range from 0.1 to 0.8, the aspect ratio of brick walls range from 0.4 to 2.5. The reinforcement ratio of concrete splints is from 0.47% to 1.88%.As the result shows, axial compression ratio and aspect ratio are both important to the shear bearing capacity of brick walls. When the axial compression ratio of brick walls isn't more than 0.6, as the axial compression ratio increases, the shear bearing capacity of brick walls increases; and when the axial compression ratio of brick walls is more than 0.6, as the axial compression ratio increases, the shear bearing capacity of unreinforced brick walls decreases. On the other hand, under certain axial compression ratio of brick walls, with the increasing of the aspect ratio, the shear bearing capacity of brick walls decreases. Axial compression ratio of the former brick walls, aspect ratio, reinforcement ratio, all these factors can impact the shear bearing capacity of brick walls strengthened with concrete splint. When the axial compression ratio of the former brick walls isn't more than 0.8, the shear bearing capacity of strengthened walls increases as the axial compression ratio the former brick walls increases. On the other hand, under certain axial compression ratio of former brick walls, with the increasing of the aspect ratio, the shear bearing capacity of the strengthened walls decreases. Within the scope of reinforcement ratio considered of, the shear bearing capacity of the strengthened walls increases as the reinforcement ratio increases.