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Seismic performance of face loaded unreinforced
masonry walls retrofitted using posttensioningN Ismail
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand
DL LazzariniDepartment of Architectural Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, USA
PT LaursenDepartment of Architectural Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, USA
JM InghamDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand
SUMMARY
Out-of-plane flexural testing of three (03) full scale unreinforced masonry (URM) walls
seismically retrofitted using posttensioning is reported. The selected wall configurations were
representative of common URM walls that were vulnerable to out-of-plane failure, and
imitated heritage URM construction by using salvaged clay brick masonry and ASTM type O
mortar. Varying levels of pre-compression were applied to the test walls using a single
mechanically restrained tendon inserted into a cavity at the centre of each test wall. Three
different types of tendons were used for posttensioning of the test walls, being threaded mild
steel bar and sheathed greased seven-wire strands (with tensile yield strengths of 1300 MPa
and 1675 MPa). Behaviour of the posttensioned URM walls was compared to the response of
a non-retrofitted URM wall, with the out-of-plane flexural strength of the posttensioned
masonry walls observed to range from 2.9 to 10.3 times the strength of the non-retrofitted
URM wall. Several aspects pertaining to the seismic behaviour of posttensioned masonry
walls were investigated, including tendon stress variation, damage patterns,
force-displacement behaviour, initial stiffness, and displacement capacity. Test results were
compared with equations developed in previous studies, and it was established that the walls
that were posttensioned using seven-wire strands had measured strengths that compared
favourably with predicted values, whereas the wall that was posttensioned using mild steel bar
had failed at a lower measured strength than the predicted value.
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1. INTRODUCTIONNew Zealand is located at the boundary of the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate and
periodically has large magnitude earthquakes (GNS 2005). The early British migrants who
settled in New Zealand used unreinforced masonry (URM) extensively in building
construction, but a decline in the popularity of URM buildings came about due to their poor
performance in the 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake (Dowrick 1998). Consequently, the New
Zealand URM building stock consists of mostly pre-1931 URM structures, with many of
these buildings contributing to New Zealands architectural heritage (Russell and Ingham
2010). Poor seismic performance of New Zealands URM buildings has been routinely
documented (Ingham 2008), including recent examples in the 2007 M6.8 Gisborne
earthquake and the 2010 M7.1 Darfield earthquake (Ingham and Griffith 2010). The two
options available to alleviate the risk posed by these earthquake prone buildings are either
demolition, or the implementation of seismic retrofit to improve earthquake response. But
important concerns associated with heritage preservation make demolition of these historic
URM buildings undesirable, resulting in their seismic retrofit being preferred.
In the event of an earthquake, self weight creates out-of-plane bending and due to their low
tensile strength, URM walls having a height to thickness h/t ratio greater than 14 are proneto out-of-plane flexural failure (Ewing and Kariotis 1981; Green 1993; Rutherford and
Chekene 1990). One method to improve the seismic performance of these out-of-plane loaded
unstable URM walls is to apply vertical posttensioning (Al-Manaseer and Neis 1987; Ganz
and Shaw 1997; Laursen and Ingham 2004; Laursen et al. 2006; Rosenboom and Kowalsky
2004; Wight and Ingham 2008; Wight et al. 2006; Wight et al. 2007). Research and
codification of posttensioned masonry originated from Switzerland and the United Kingdom,
and over the last two decades significant research and development was led to multiple design
code drafts (such as MSJC 2005; NZS 2004), but current design procedures for the seismic
retrofit of URM walls using posttensioning merit further research attention (Bean Popehn et
al. 2008). The performance of posttensioned URM walls depends upon the initial
posttensioning force, tendon type and spacing, restraint conditions, and confinement.
Posttensioning can either be bonded when tendons are fully restrained, by grouting the cavity,
or left unbonded by leaving cavities unfilled. Lateral restraint of posttensioning tendons is
important when considering second-order effects. Typically, additional axial load exacerbates
bending stresses in URM walls as they displace due to P- effects, whereas ensuring that
tendons are laterally restrained eliminates additional P-effects because the line of action of
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the posttensioning load does not change with respect to the neutral axis of the wall (Ganz and
Shaw 1997). Because unbonded posttensioning is reversible to some extent and has minimal
impact on the architectural fabric of a building, the technique is deemed to be a desirable
retrofit solution for URM buildings having important heritage value (Goodwin et al. 2009).
2. CONSTRUCTION DETAILS2.1. WALL SPECIFICATIONS
Test wall details are specified in Table 1, with two posttensioned walls (PTB-01 and PTS-02)
having the same geometric configuration as that of a non-retrofitted wall C-01, and the third
posttensioned wall PTS-03 (series 2) having a configuration that matched the typical wall
height found in commercial URM buildings. The selected wall configurations were
representative of common out-of-plane loaded URM walls, achieving a low percentage of
new building strength when evaluated using the New Zealand Society for Earthquake
Engineering guidelines (NZSEE 2006). Recycled solid clay bricks, salvaged from an old
URM building, and ASTM type O hydraulic cement mortar were used to imitate existing
New Zealand and west coast USA URM construction. For posttensioning of these three URM
walls, a threaded mild steel bar and two different types of seven wire strand were tensioned
with an initial applied force of 50 kN, 100 kN and 91 kN, corresponding to masonry axial
stresses of 0.19 MPa, 0.39 MPa and 0.40 MPa. As maximum stresses develop at mid-height
(hinge zone) when slender vertically spanning URM walls are subjected to out-of-plane
seismic excitations, a single prestress tendon with bearing plates is adequate to produce the
required stresses in the hinge zone by distributing axial compression stress at an angle of 45o
from the anchorage and into the wall. Therefore, all test walls were prestressed using one
posttensioned tendon (threaded bar or strand) inserted at the centre of the wall, and steel
bearing plates were used to avoid localized masonry crushing.
Table 1:Wall dimensions and properties
Series Wall Effective
height
he(mm)
Length
b
(mm)
Thickness
t
(mm)
Tendon
type
Initial
pre-stress
Wall
self-weight
Psw(kN)
Pre-
compression
(MPa)
Masonry
strength
fm(MPa)
Bearing
stress
fma/fm
(ratio)Pe
(kN)
fse(MPa)
1 C-01 3900 1170 220 - - - 19.0 0.00 10.7 -
1 PTB-01 3900 1170 220 Bb 50 442 19.0 0.19 10.7e 0.32
1 PTS-02 3900 1170 220 Sc 78.5 789 19.0 0.39 10.7e 0.56
2 PTS-03 3366 1090 210 S 90.5 917 15.6 0.40 8.7 0.54
afm=(Pe)/(An) where An is the area of bearing plate;bthreaded mild steel bar (500 MPa); csheathed, greased high strength seven-wire strand
(1300 MPa); dsheathed, greased high strength seven-wire strand (1675 MPa); econstructed using masonry materials similar to C-01 and builtat the same time
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2.2. WALL CONSTRUCTION
Test walls were constructed using a common bond pattern, with one header course after every
three stretcher courses for wall series 1 and after every 5 stretcher courses for wall series 2, by
an experienced brick layer under supervision. Salvaged solid clay bricks (220 mm 110 mm
90 mm for wall series 1 and 210 mm 110 mm 90 mm for wall series 2), were laid with
roughly 15 mm thick mortar courses. A flexible 50 mm conduit was used to provide a cavity
in the walls during construction and bricks were accordingly chiselled to accommodate the
conduit.
As there was no bond between masonry and tendon, the conduit encased tendon behaved as if
it was placed in a cored cavity. From discussions with specialised local constructioncontractors it was established that for the seismic retrofit of URM buildings, current
techniques are capable of drilling a core cavity up to four stories with a precision of 10 mm.
Figure 1 shows a photograph of a coring operation being performed in Auckland on a heritage
URM building.
Figure 1:Coring operation
2.3. MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Average URM material properties were determined by material testing consistent with ASTM
standards (AS/NZS 2003; ASTM 2002; ASTM 2003; ASTM 2004), typically in samples of
three. Masonry compressive strength fmand masonry elastic modulus Emwere determined by
testing three brick high prisms, and mortar compressive strength fj was determined by testing
three 50 mm 50 mm cubes subjected to compression loading. Brick compressive strength fb
was established using half brick specimens. Masonry cohesion C and coefficient of friction
were investigated by bed joint shear testing of 6 three bricks high prisms that were subjected
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to varying magnitudes of axial compression applied using external posttensioned high
strength bars. Table 2 reports the material properties.
Table 2:Material properties
Masonry Materials
Series fb fj fm fr C
MPa MPa MPa MPa MPa
1* Value 39.4 1.4 10.7 0.09 0.1 0.47
COV 28% 8% 33% 29% - -2+ Value - - 8.7 0.28 - -
COV - - 9% 5% - -
*Series 1: C-01, PTB-01 and PTS-02+Series 2: PTS-03
where fb = brick compressive strength; fj = mortar compressive
strength; fm= masonry compressive strength; fr = tensile strength ofmasonry; C = mortar cohesion; and = coefficient of internal
friction
To transfer prestress to the URM wall, end anchors (flat base hexagonal nuts for threaded bar
and standard steel barrel anchors with wedges for the strand) were locked off onto steel plates
(each being 220 mm 220 mm 50 mm) at the top and bottom of the wall. In order to make
posttensioning reverisble i.e., to remove the strand, a 40 mm thick mild steel plate split in two
halves was used, which was removeable to destress the tendon once testing was concluded.
Proof testing of each batch of tendons was perfomed by the supplier and the specified
properties are reported in Table 3.
Table 3:Posttensioning tendon properties
Specified Tendon Properties
Series Wall D Aps fy Es Tendon
mm mm2 MPa GPa Type
1 PTB-01 12.0 113.1 500 186 B
1 PTS-02 12.7 98.7 1300 190 S
2 PTS-03 12.7 98.7 1675 197 S
where D = diameter of the tendon; fy = lower 5% characteristic
tensile yield strength; Es= modulus of elasticity for steel; B = mild
steel threaded bar; and S = sheathed seven wire strand
2.4. POSTTENSIONING
Test wall PTB-01 was posttensioned using a 100 kN hydraulic jack which was removed after
tightening of the nut that clasped the posttensioning bar. For test walls PTS-02 and PTS-03 a
hydaulic jack was used to apply the initial posttensioning force and the taut strand was
clapsed by wedge interlocking. Post-tensioning losses and masonry creep are important
factors that will inherently influence the design and longevity of an adequate retrofit. Testing
by Krause et al. (1996) briefly investigated prestress losses occurring in posttensioned clay
brick masonry walls over a span of 180 days, and found that losses were mainly attributableto the use of low-strength posttensioning threaded steel bars, whereas modern anchorages and
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low-relaxation strands like those used for PTS-02 and PTS-03 have been proven to result in
much smaller losses (Ganz and Shaw 1997). The prestress levels detailed previously were
ensured by applying the required stress immediately before testing.
2.5.WALL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
The selected configurations were representative of the most prevalent storey heights found in
historic URM buildings. Vertically spanning face-loaded URM walls are known to remain
linearly elastic until cracking initiates, after which upper and lower segments rotate about the
hinge that forms at wall mid-height (Bean Popehn et al. 2008; Doherty et al. 2002; Ismail et
al. 2009). Therefore, simply supported boundary conditions were used in the test setup and
the level of pre-compression applied to the wall (see Table 1) was representative of a typical
scenario where stresses would be attributed to both overburden compression due to upper
storeys and compression due to prestress. The boundary conditions and the rotational
restraints applied to the test wall were similar to those used in previous studies on out-of-
plane loaded walls (Bean Popehn et al. 2008; Doherty et al. 2002).
3. TESTING DETAILSTesting of the posttensioned walls PTB-01 and PTS-02 was conducted using the air bag rigshown in Figure 2a, consisting of steel sections supporting a plywood backing frame, a rigid
steel reaction frame anchored to the concrete floor, air bags capable of withstanding 15 kPa
air pressure, air compressor, four S shape two volt load cells, frictionless plates, six steel
clamps, steel connecting rods to connect load cells to the reaction frame, and a linear variable
differential transducer with stand. Air bags were used to apply a uniformly distributed
pseudo-static load, emulating a lateral seismic load generated in the out-of-plane direction.
The backing frame was placed over two greased steel plates having negligible friction, such
that the backing frame self weight did not impair the test results. When air bags were inflated
using the air compressor, the backing frame exerted force to load cells measuring the applied
load on the test wall. The rigid reaction frame acted as a backing and also supported the top of
the wall, creating boundary conditions comparable to those when a posttensioned wall is
connected to a floor or ceiling diaphragm. Displacement controlled loading cycles were
applied by inflating and deflating the air bags. The third test wall PTS-03 was tested with the
same setup, but used a whiffle tree loading system to simulate uniform lateral loading, along
with a load cell to measure the force magnitude applied (see Figure 2b). This whiffle tree
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setup enabled the application of more frequent load cycles and deflection of the test wall to
larger displacements than could be achieved using an air bag rig.
LVDT
Air bag
Test wall
Reactionframe
Backingframe
S shapeload cell
Load Cell
LVDT
Load cell
Model:xyz
Capcity:
500kN
5.09t
Stroke:
300mm
S/N:
ADA234Z
Hydraulicactuator
Load
cell
LVDT
LVDT
LVDT
LVDT
Test wall
Whiffle tree loadingarrangement
Reactionframe
(a):Series 1 (b):Series 2
Figure 2:Test setup
For all posttensioned walls a load cell was located between the tendon anchorage and the top
of the wall, to record the force in the posttensioning tendon. For series 1 testing, one linearvariable differential transducer (LVDT) was located at wall mid-height to determine lateral
displacement and four S shape 2 volt load cells were used to determine the force applied by
air bags. For series 2 testing, the total lateral force applied to the wall was recorded between
the hydraulic ram and the steel load spreader using a 220 kN load cell, and six LVDTs were
located at five equally spaced points on the tension face of the wall, with two LVDTs at
mid-height to determine whether any wall twisting occurred.
4. TEST RESULTSIn order to interpret the seismic behaviour of the tested posttensioned masonry walls, five
different damage levels, adapted from a previous study (Bean Popehn et al. 2008), were
defined on the force-displacement envelope of each wall. The defined damage levels represent
five base shear values numbered 1 to 5 (see Figure 3), where 1 = measured value when the
first crack appeared in the test wall and corresponds to performance in the elastic range;
2 = measured value when upper and lower wall segments started to rotate; 3 = predicted
ultimate strength; 4 = measured ultimate strength; and 5 = measured value when post-peak
strength degraded to 0.8Vu.
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TotalFor
ce(kN)
AnalogousMo
ment(kNm)
0.0
3.0
6.0
9.0
12.0
0.00 15 30 45 60 75 90 105
0.0% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%
1
23 4
5
1 - First Cracking2 - Hinge Formation
3 - Nominal Strength
4 - Ultimate Strength
5 - Failure
Drift (%)
Displacement (mm)
1.5
3.0
4.5
6.0
Figure 3:Definition of damage levels
Quantification of initial stiffness is important when modelling the dynamic response of a
posttensioned URM wall. The wall secant stiffness at or near first cracking varied for the test walls.
However, the initial average stiffness was quantified as the secant modulus between 0.05Vu and
0.75Vu (see Ki in Table 4). Flexural capacities at first cracking and nominal strength levels were
predicted using Equations 1 and 2 (Bean Popehn et al. 2008), and the input parameters and
performance of test walls are summarized in Table 4. The ultimate displacement capacity was defined
as u= 2du/he, where du= displacement corresponding to failure (see damage level 5 in Figure 3).
An
fseApsPswPvfr
c
Inc
M' (1)
bf'mn2
fseApsPswPvdefffseApsPswPv
n
M (2)
Table 4:Test results
Input parameters for predictive equations
Series Wall Pv Psw Aps fse b Pe c deff An In fr fm n
kN kN mm2 MPa mm kN mm mm m2 m4 MPa MPa -
1 C-01 0 19.0 - - 1170 - 110 110 0.26 0.001 0.09 10.7 0.85
1 PTB-01 0 19.0 113.1 442 1170 50 110 110 0.26 0.001 0.09 10.7 0.85
1 PTS-02 0 19.0 98.7 789 1170 78.5 110 110 0.26 0.001 0.09 10.7 0.85
2 PTS-03 0 15.6 98.7 717 1090 90.5 110 110 0.24 0.001 0.28 8.7 0.85
Test results and comparison with predicted values
Series Wall Predicted values Actual values u Vc/Vc Vu/Vn Ki
Vc(kN)
Vn
(kN)
Mc(kN.m)
Mn(kN.m)
Vc(kN)
Vu
(kN)
Mc(kN.m)
Mu(kN.m) (%) (%) (%)
1 C-01 3.0 - 1.5 - 2.2 2.2 1.1 1.1 3 73% - 1.3
1 PTB-01 6.6 12.8 3.3 7.4 4.6 6.3 2.3 3.2 1.6 70% 43% 3.0
1 PTS-02 8.8 20.6 4.4 10.3 10.8 >12.3 5.4 >6.2 >4.4 123% - 3.1
2 PTS-03 12.8 22.0 6.4 11.0 14.5 26.4 7.2 13.2 7.9 113% 120% 5.0
where In = net moment of inertia of the wall; c = distance from extreme compression fibre to neutral axis; fr= modulus of rupture;
Pv= overburden axial load due to upper storeys; Psw= axial load due to self weight; Aps= area of posttensioning steel; fse= effective stress in
tendon (calculated after deducting the prestress losses); Pe= effective posttensioning force (and Pe= Apsfps); An= net cross sectional area ofthe masonry; deff= distance from extreme compression fibre to centroid of tendon; fm= compressive strength of masonry; b = width of the
wall tributary to one tendon; n=parameter representing the fraction of maximum compressive stress at nominal strength; Mc= predicted
flexural strength at first cracking; Vc= predicted lateral force at first cracking; Mn= predicted nominal flexural strength; Vn= predictedultimate lateral force; Mc = measured flexural strength when first crack appeared; Vc= measured lateral force at first cracking;
Mu = measured ultimate flexural strength; Vu= measured maximum lateral force; u= ultimate displacement capacity, and Ki= initialstiffness of the wall
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Test wall PTB-01 was loaded until its post-peak strength degraded to nearly half of the
measured flexural strength, but test walls PTS-02 and PTS-03 did not reach their predicted
flexural capacity before the test was stopped due to safety concerns. In test wall PTB-01 the
threaded mild steel bar reached its elastic limit and yielded, causing strength degradation, but
no visible residual deflections were observed. A ductile and nonlinear elastic behaviour was
observed in walls PTS-02 and PTS-03, with strand stress not exceeding the specified elastic
limit and the wall returning to its original position. This nonlinear elastic behaviour was
attributed to the self centering behaviour of posttensioned masonry. All force-displacement
histories (see Figure 6) were plotted with analogous moment and drift values on a secondary
axis to allow comparison between the results of test walls having different heights. Figure
4(a) shows a photograph of a deflected test wall and Figure 4(b) shows the corresponding
deformed wall geometry.
Drift =/2
hw/2 l
-Rotation
du
Tendon
URM Wall
he/2
(a) Photograph of wall test (b) Deformed wall geometry
Figure 4: Deflected test wall
A single large crack at or near mid-height was observed in all tests, with no distributed
flexural cracking, and upon increasing the applied lateral load this horizontal crack started to
widen. The maximum opening of the crack noted was 18 mm in PTS-03 at the maximum
mid-height displacement of 201 mm (see Figure 5), and similar behaviour was observed in the
other tests.
(a) Elevation (b) Side-view
Figure 5:Photographs of mid-height wall crack
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4.1. FORCE-DISPLACEMENT RESPONSE
Figures 6(a), 6(c) and 6(e) show the measured force-displacement response for walls PTB-01,
PTS-02 and PTS-03 respectively. The negatively sloped post peak force-displacement
behaviour of PTB-01 is due to yielding of the mild steel posttensioning bar, with similarbehaviour previously reported in Bean Popehn et al. (2008) and Lacika & Drysdale (1995). In
order for retrofitted walls to exhibit ductile behaviour, the restoring force provided by the
tendon must be maintained after excursions to large lateral displacements of the wall and
design must ensure that the increased tendon stress during these excursions does not exceed
the tendon yield strength. An initial tendon stress of 0.55fpu is recommended in NZS (2004),
where fpu is the rupture stress of the tendon. Positively sloped post cracking behaviour was
observed for walls PTS-02 and PTS-03, attributed to the prestressing strand not exceeding its
elastic limit even at large displacement values.
AnalogousMoment(kNm
)
0.0
3.0
6.0
9.0
12.0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105
0.0% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%
Drift (%)
Displacement (mm)
0.0105
1.5
3.0
4.5
6.0
TensileStress(MPa)
0
15
30
45
60
0
125
250
380
500
620
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105
0.0% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%
Drift (%)
Displacement (mm)
Mc
fy
(a):Moment and base shear plot for PTB-01 (b):Tendon stress plot for PTB-01
TotalForce(kN)
AnalogousMoment(kNm)
0.0
3.0
6.0
9.0
12.0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90
0.0% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%
Drift (%)
Displacement (mm)
0.0105
1.5
3.0
4.5
6.0
TendonForce(kN)
TensileStress(MPa)
0
45
90
135
180
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105
0
300
600
900
1200
1500
0.0% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%
Drift (%)
Displacement (mm)
Mcfy
(c):Moment and base shear plot for PTS-02 (d):Tendon stress plot for PTS-02
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 2400.0
6.0
12.0
18.0
24.0
Displacement (mm)
TotalForce(kN)
0.0% 3.5% 7.0% 10.5% 14.0%
0.0
3.0
6.0
9.0
12.0
Drift (%)
AnalogousMoment(kNm)
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 2100
50
100
150
200
Displacement (mm)
TendonForce(kN)
0.0% 3.0% 6.0% 9.0% 12
0
400
800
1200
1600
Drift (%)
TensileStress(MPa)
(e):Moment and base shear plot for PTS-03 (f):Tendon stress plot for PTS-03
Figure 6:Test results
fyMu
Mc
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Figure 7 shows a comparison of the force-displacement histories for the series 1 test walls,
indicating that the nominal out-of-plane flexural strength of test walls PTB-01 and PTS-02
was respectively 2.9 times and 10.3 times the strength of the non-retrofitted URM wall. Test
walls PTS-02 and PTS-03 exhibited larger flexural capacity and less sensitivity to cracking
than did wall PTB-01.
Drift (%)
Displacement (mm)
TotalForce(kN)
AnalogousMoment(kNm)
0.0
3.0
6.0
9.0
12.0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105
0.0% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%
PTB-01
PTS-02
C-01
0.0
1.5
3.0
4.5
6.0
Figure 7: Comparison of wall response
In order to correlate flexural capacities to corresponding ground excitations, results were
transformed to ground accelerations using the ASCE (2005) section 12 prescribed procedure
and were reported in Table 5. Theorising that the test walls were from a URM building having
potential historic value (i.e., I=1.25) which is founded over soft clay soil (i.e., CDS=0.864 for
site class E), flexural capacities in terms of ground acceleration values were calculated using
Equation 3, where Pswis the wall self weight, Cs is the ground acceleration, Vu is the
measured maximum lateral force and hwis the effective height.
eh
swP
2Vs
C u (3)
Table 5:Analogous ground excitations
Series Wall Vu Psw he CskN kN m (g)
1 C-01 2.2 19.0 3.9 0.06
1 PTB-01 6.3 19.0 3.9 0.17
1 PTS-02 >12.3 19.0 3.9 >0.33
2 PTS-03 26.4 15.6 3.4 0.71
When comparing the ground acceleration values, it was found that the URM non-retrofitted
wall was most likely to fail even under moderate intensity ground excitation of 0.06g and that
retrofitted walls PTB-01, PTS-02 and PTS-03 would have sustained relatively high ground
excitations of 0.17g, 0.33g and 0.71g respectively.
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4.2. TENDON STRESS
Figures 6(b), 6(d) and 6(f) show the tendon stress histories plotted against the lateral
displacement at hinge location. For wall PTB-01 the tendon stress reached its yield strength at
14 mm lateral displacement, and once the bar had yielded the maximum tendon force was
reduced during subsequent loading cycles. For wall PTS-02 the strand stress increased
linearly and remained well within its elastic limit, with no observed signs of strength
degradation in the wall. For wall PTS-03 the strand remained elastic with a maximum stress
increase of nearly 40% of its initial stress, and with minor stress loss observed following the
conclusion of testing to large displacement excursions.
5. CONCLUSIONSThree posttensioned URM walls, having different types of tendons, were structurally tested to
evaluate a number of characteristics related to their out-of-plane seismic behaviour. Masonry
materials used were salvaged clay bricks and a hydraulic cement mortar, having strength
characteristics similar to those found in typical URM buildings, and were determined using
standardised test procedures. Test walls having two typical geometric characteristics were
subjected to one directional out-of-plane simulated seismic cyclic loading. A single crack at
hinge location was observed in all tests. Self centering response of posttensioned URM walls
was observed, which is advantageous for enabling immediate occupancy after an earthquake.
Nonlinear elastic behaviour was observed for test walls posttensioned using strands (where
strand stress did not exceed its tensile yield strength), whereas strength degradation attributed
to tensile yielding of the bar was observed in the wall that was posttensioned using a threaded
mild steel bar. Total lateral force corresponding to first cracking and ultimate strength levels
were determined and were compared to the predicted values. It was inferred that existing
equations previously establishing flexural capacity provided good predictions for walls
PTS-02 and PTS-03, but that the flexural strength of wall PTB-01was lower than predicted.
6.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis research was conducted with financial support from the New Zealand Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology and from Reid Construction Systems. The Higher
Education Commission of Pakistan provided funding for the doctoral studies of the first
author. The authors thank Derek Lawley, Terry Seagrave, and Tek Goon Ang for assistingwith the experimental program.
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Najif Ismail
Najif Ismail is a PhD Student in the Department of Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering at the University of Auckland, having previously completed his MEand BE (Hons.) from the University of Engineering and Technology at Taxila,
Pakistan. Najifs doctoral study at the University of Auckland is funded by theHigher Education Commission of Pakistan, and he is participating in a researchproject funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science andTechnology, investigating and developing guidelines for seismic assessment andretrofit of earthquake prone unreinforced masonry buildings.
Daniel L. Lazzarini
Daniel L. Lazzarini is an Assistant Engineer at Biggs Cardosa Associates,
Inc. in San Jose California. Daniel obtained his MA in Architectural
Engineering and his BS in Architectural Engineering from California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California in June 2009.
Daniels primary research interests focus on the retrofit of unreinforcedmasonry structures. Daniel has work experience with seismic evaluation and
retrofit design for concrete and unreinforced masonry buildings.
Peter T. Laursen
Peter T. Laursen is Assistant Professor in the Department of ArchitecturalEngineering at the California Polytechnic State University. Peter obtained his PhDfrom the University of Auckland in 2003, having previously completed his MSEngineering Sciences from the University of California at San Diego in 1995. Peter
also has a professional engineers license. Peters primary research interests areassociated with structural analysis and design of concrete structures, earthquakeengineering and bridge engineering.
Jason M. Ingham
Jason M. Ingham is Associate Professor in the Department of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering at the University of Auckland. Jason obtained his PhDfrom the University of California at San Diego in 1995, having previously
completed his BE (Hons) and ME (Dist) from the University of Auckland. Jasonalso has an MBA from the University of Auckland. Jason is currently on themanagement committees of the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineeringand the Structural Engineering Society of New Zealand, and is currently vice-president of the New Zealand Concrete Society. Jasons primary research interestsare associated with seismic assessment and retrofit of concrete and masonrystructures, and sustainable concrete technology.