Shear Behavior of Hollow Concrete Block Masonry with Precast Concrete Anti-Shear Blocks

Abstract

In order to improve the shear behavior of hollow concrete block masonry, precast concrete anti-shear blocks were proposed to enhance the shear strength of hollow concrete block masonry. Four groups of hollow concrete block masonry triplets with precast concrete anti-shear blocks were tested under shear loading, and their behaviors were compared with a control group. The results show that as the height of precast concrete anti-shear blocks increases, the shear strength of the masonry increases. The maximum shear strength of masonry triplets with precast concrete anti-shear blocks was 234.48 percent higher than that of the control specimens. The shear strength of masonry triplets was mainly determined by the failure of hollow concrete block unit. The majority of specimens exhibited double shear failures; however, these failures showed characteristics of ductile failure to a certain extent. Based on the experimental results, a equation for calculating the shear strength of masonry with precast concrete anti-shear blocks was proposed.