In order to improve the energy dissipation of the masonry infilled frame structure while decreasing the stiffening and strengthening effects of the infill panels, a new dry stacked panel (DSP) semi-interlocking masonry (SIM) infill panel has been developed. In this paper, the material properties of DSP and a traditional unreinforced masonry (URM) panel have been evaluated experimentally. A seri...

This paper presents an analytical approach to describe the behavior and mode of failure of infill masonry structures strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. The approach is used to simulate the response of strengthened infill masonry walls under the effect of out-of-plane uniformly distributed pressure simulating wind pressure. The approach includes a finite element analysis...

Abstract—In this paper, a procedure for the evaluation of seismic behavior of slender masonry structures (towers, bell towers, chimneys, minarets, etc.) is presented. The presented procedure is based on a full three-dimensional modal analyses and frequency measurements. As well-known, masonry is a composite material formed by bricks, or stone blocks, and mortar arranged more or less regularly a...

Masonry structures constitute a large component of the built environment and often form part of the national heritage. The development of reliable techniques for the numerical simulation of the behaviour of such systems is of considerable importance. We assume that masonry structures may be modelled as an aggregration of bodies in non-penetrative frictional contact. The motion of an individual ...

Strengthening of masonry members using externally bonded (EB) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites has become a famous structural strengthening method over the past decade due to the popular advantages of FRP composites, including their high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance. In this study, gene expression programming (GEP), as a novel tool, has been used to predi...

the successful management in construction costing of wood dry kilns is an advantageous approach which brings us not only the assurance in service profitability but also gives rise customer’s satisfaction. the construction costing of two types of wood dry kilns, namely, prefabricated aluminum-and masonry kilns with normal operation temperature was studied. for this purpose, the construction, dep...

In historical buildings, the load bearing capacity is often doubtful due to deterioration processes or external actions. To decide whether or not these structural elements need to be strengthened, a probabilistic method is searched for. Indeed, as none of the parameters is known exactly material characteristics, imposed loads due to the new or altered destination of the building, uniformity of ...

We consider the scenario where an autonomous platform that is searching or traversing a building may observe unstable masonry or may need to travel over unstable rubble. A purely behaviour-based system may handle these challenges but produce behaviour that works against long-terms goals such as reaching a victim as quickly as possible. We extend our work on ADAPT, a cognitive robotics architect...

Unreinforced masonry (URM) structures are known to be rather vulnerable to seismic loading. Modern URM buildings with reinforced concrete (RC) slabs might, however, have an acceptable seismic performance for regions of low to moderate seismicity. In particular in countries of moderate seismicity it is often difficult to demonstrate the seismic safety of modern URM buildings by means of force-ba...

The work presented herein sets out to investigate numerically, by means of nonlinear finite element analysis, the effect of un-reinforced concrete or masonry infill walls on the overall structural response of reinforced concrete frames under static monotonic and seismic loading. For this purpose, a nonlinear finite element package purpose built for the analysis of concrete structures is employe...