Behaviour of brick walls strengthened with perforated steel plates under uni?form loads

Considering that the load-bearing systems of the majority of structures in our country are composed of columns and beams, strengthening of infill brick walls emerges as a strong alternative in improving the earthquake behavior of a structure. Strengthening of brick walls with externally bonded FRP sheets or steel plates is a preferred method due to the ease and speed of application of the method and minimum disruption to the use of the structure. The high costs of the FRP fabrics imported from foreign countries and the limited ductilities of these materials compared to mild steel makes the use of steel plates in strengthening a more suitable alternative. The present study primarily aims at investigating the effects of the use of perforated steel plates in strengthening on the behavior and ductility of brick walls. For this purpose, a reference (unstrengthened) and twelve strengthened specimens were subjected to monotonic vertical loading. The strengths, ductilities, and energy absorption capacities of the brick walls, having a total thickness of 12,5 cm including the plaster, were found to increase significantly when strengthened. Furthermore, the plates prevented brittle failure of the walls by keeping them intact.