Biaxial Loading and Failure Behavior of Brick Triplets With Fiber- Reinforced Polymer Composite Upgrades

摘要

To facilitate both engineering research and the design of unreinforced masonry (URM) structures, a standardized procedure for testing small-scale brick panel specimens would be beneficial. Some researchers have conducted simple monoaxial shear tests on brick triplet specimens, but these have tended to be unrealistic because they do not account for the effects of normal gravity loads. However, a triplet test that properly accounts for normal loading effects could be as useful to the construction industry as standard concrete cylinder and mortar cube tests. In support of a larger study on URM seismic rehabilitation techniques, the authors developed a triplet shear test that accounts for normal loads. One hundred brick triplets were tested. About one-third were strengthened on one side with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) material, and another third were strengthened on two sides. The remaining triplets were not reinforced. Each type of triplet was shear-tested to failure under one of six different percentages of ultimate normal capacity. The results were analyzed, compared and incorporated into the results of the larger study. It is concluded that the triplet test can provide a useful estimate of the shear capacity and failure modes of masonry wall systems in the field.