Theoretical and experimental study of slender structural masonry walls

Abstract One of the factors to be taken into account in the design of compression loaded elements is their slenderness. Nowadays, in Brazil, the industry still uses the concept of simplified slenderness ratio - in which the buckling length is determined by an effective height (hef) and the radius of gyration is replaced by a parameter called effective thickness (tef) - when calculating the resistance reduction factor. Other masonry codes, such as the North American, European and Australian, also use the resistance reduction factor in their wall compression load capacity formulation. Yet, the Canadian code indicates the need for a more accurate and realistic analysis of slender walls, considering the balance in the deformed configuration of the wall (P-Delta analysis). This paper reports the findings of an experimental program that tested 18 ceramic and concrete block walls with high slenderness ratios, obtained with thin block dimensions. The predictions of load capacity for the case of hollow concrete blocks were close to the test results. In the case of the ceramic blocks, which had a complex, double-face shell geometry, only the Canadian code approach produced the test results with some degree of certainty and proximity. Slenderer walls and complex geometry blocks require more refined calculation procedures. P-Delta analysis and the verification of the section with brittle-tensile materials solutions may apply.