In-plane cyclic testing and dynamic modelling of reinforced masonry walls

In the framework of the DISWall research project, funded by the European Commission, a new reinforced masonry system, made with horizontally perforated unit where the horizontal reinforcement is laid and vertically perforated units for the confining columns with vertical reinforcement, was purposely developed for typical low-rise residential buildings, to withstand in-plane actions. Squat and slender specimens, made with this construction technique, were tested under in-plane cyclic shear compression loads, in order to analyze the shear and flexural behaviour of the proposed reinforced masonry walls. According to the experimental results, a numerical research to evaluate reduction of elastic response of masonry walls due to their hysteretic behaviour was carried out. The response of SDOF systems with given ultimate ductility was determined through non-linear dynamic analyses, for a range of natural periods that characterize the elastic phase of unreinforced load bearing masonry buildings. In the present contribution, the results of the cyclic in-plane tests and the analytical model developed to reproduce the cyclic behaviour are presented, and the conclusions coming from the dynamic analyses carried out are introduced.