Strengthening of Concrete Block Masonry Walls Using Steel Wire Mesh

Abstract

In most of developed and developing countries, masonry is still widely used for building construction. Unreinforced masonry walls (URM) are widely used all around India. Seismic forces have a large impact on buildings. Masonry walls are more vulnerable during earthquakes. Hence there is a necessity to find solutions to strengthen URM walls. Application of steel wire mesh and mortar is one of the commonly used techniques for seismic retrofitting of such buildings. URM walls include those made of clay bricks, concrete blocks, hollow bricks etc. The effect of strengthening on in-plane shear behaviour of URM walls, including failure modes, shear strength and ductility are investigated. The panels are subjected to in-plane diagonal tensile test. Test is done according to ASTM E519-02. The present study investigates the effect of welded wire mesh and mortar on shear strength parameters of masonry wall panels. Four set samples of masonry wall panels made of locally available concrete blocks in kerala are selected and strengthened using varying spacing of wire mesh and hexagonal wire mesh. Shear strength parameters are clearly studied using bilinear idealization and adaptability of different wire meshes in strengthening of existing masonry walls is clearly investigated.