On the cyclic load response of wide spaced reinforced masonry shear walls

Wide spaced reinforced masonry (WSRM) walls perform well in places where the cyclonic wind pressure loading dominates the design. However, under the vertical and in-plane lateral loading WSRM exhibit a complex behaviour that is not well understood. In order to examine the structural behaviour, six single leaf, clay block WSRM shear walls were constructed and tested under simultaneous axial compressive and lateral loading. Spacing of the vertical reinforcement was kept as the only variable parameter. Using envelope curves of the lateral load-displacement diagrams, the lateral load capacity, the displacement ductility factors and the stiffness degradation were calculated. It has been shown that the WSRM shear walls possess a good level of ductility. The variation of spacing of the vertical reinforcement appears to have some effect on the ductility and stiffness degradation of the walls whilst the lateral load capacity remains almost unaffected.