Finite element modeling of retrofitted masonry walls under diagonal loading

Keywords: Finite element analysis, Masonry units, Micro modelling, Wall window gap effect, ANSYS. Masonry structures have long been popular in Iraq and around the world. Many masonry structures in our country are built in rural areas with no engineering services. The majority of the earthquake-related losses and demolitions were caused by insufficient masonry structures. As a result, determining the seismic behaviour of masonry structures is critical to preventing earthquake-related deaths and destructions. Because the structural system of these structures is made up of walls, it is necessary to anticipate the behaviour of the walls to comprehend the structural behaviour of such facilities. As a result, many experimental and numerical studies have been conducted to better understand the behaviour of walls. The finite element method is the most commonly used in numerical investigations. In this study, we have conducted a numerical study and used the experimental data for verification of the models. The experimental studies have been conducted previously in the Sakarya University Structural Mechanics Laboratory by Ahmadzai, E. (2020). In the experimental tests, diagonal compression tests were used to determine the behavior of wall units under the effect of diagonal load. Material information and fracture mechanics of the numerical model were taken from these experimental studies. The experimental mechanical behavior of the unreinforced and reinforced walls under diagonal load was investigated numerically by using the micro modelling technique. The force-displacement curves of the numerical and experimental results were obtained as approximately consistent with each other. After the verification study of the numerical models, a parametrical study was conducted. Wall window gap ratios in the masonry walls and expanded steel sheet thickness were investigated. According to the results, as the wall window gap increase, the strength of the wall decreases. In addition, the strength values increased with the increase in the thickness of the expanded steel sheet.