Open Collections

Abstract

In Canada, reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSWs) can be used as the primary seismic force resisting system (SFRS) in mid to high-rise buildings. In moderate to high seismic regions, the performance of a SFRS is primarily defined by its ability to maintain its strength capacity at large drift demands. Research completed over the last two decades in Canada has shown that boundary elements (BEs) can be used to improve the seismic performance of RMSWs, which has led to their adoption in Canada’s masonry design standard CSA S304 (Canadian Standards Association, 2024). The BEs consist of specially reinforced sections provided at both wall ends which can either be thickened or embedded within the wall. However, research on RMSWs with embedded BEs is limited. The motivation for this thesis was to fill this research gap and explore the potential of embedded BEs to improve the seismic performance of RMSWs. The experimental study in this thesis evaluated the seismic performance of two full-scale, 240 mm RMSW specimens subjected to in-plane reversed cyclic loading without axial compression. The specimens were designed to be identical, except that one of them was built with embedded BEs, whereas the other was not. The influence of the embedded BEs was evaluated by comparing the response of the specimens. Also, a separate analytical study was conducted, which focused on presenting approaches for developing generalized force-displacement curves for RMSWs with and without boundary elements for potential applications in numerical modelling. The primary finding of the experimental study was that, without applied axial compression, the seismic performance of RMSWs with and without embedded boundary elements was comparable. The hysteretic force-displacement responses, wall capacities, progressions and extents of damage, energy dissipation properties, and ductility ratios were compared amongst the specimens to support this statement. The primary finding of the analytical study was that the proposed approaches provided reasonably accurate results, based on their implementation and validation against selected experimental results from other Canadian researchers.