In-plane strength of masonry panel strengthened with geosynthetic. (15th December 2017) - Khan, Hasim Ali
Highlights: Masonry panels strengthened with Geotextile investigated. Experimental findings show un-strengthened panel showed brittle behaviour. Strengthening increased deformation capacities. Also increases the load carrying capacity, in-plane strength and stiffness. Abstract: The in-plane strength of solid clay brick masonry panels strengthened with non-woven geotextile was studied numerically and experimentally. The panels were strengthened on one side with different geometric pattern viz. parallel, diagonal and cross. These panels were subjected to diagonal compression. Finite element modelling with the micro non-linear model is used in the analysis to simulate the in-plane behaviour of masonry panels with and without strengthening. From the study, it was observed that geosynthetic strengthening increased the load carrying capacity, shear strength, in-plane strength and stiffness remarkably with better performance in case of the cross pattern. Experimental results also showed a less brittle behaviour when compared to the un-strengthened panel. Hence, geosynthetic can be ideally used for strengthening of the brick panel to protect the brick buildings in seismic active areas.