Reinforced clay masonry walls under shear-compression loads: parametric analyses

The mechanical behavior of a reinforced masonry system made with horizontally perforated clay units has been characterized by means of thirty uniaxial compression and cyclic shear compression tests. The tested specimens were then numerically simulated adopting a continuum micro-model, validated on the basis of experimental results. From the comparison of the obtained results, it was possible to draw some conclusions about the test carried out and the behavior of the construction system. The calibrated model was used to carry out parametric analyses of the tested reinforced masonry system, to investigate the influence of the applied vertical load, the geometric configuration and the reinforcement ratio on the global behavior of the tested walls. In the present contribution, the results of the finite element analyses carried out are described and discussed.