Abstract

In seismic-prone regions, providing shear reinforcement is crucial for controlling the damage to masonry structural elements. In this context, shear-resistant behavior has been the focus of several investigations due to its complexity and importance to withstand seismic demands. Different studies have intended to understand more in-depth how shear reinforcement improves the performance of masonry, despite these efforts, many questions remain open. For instance, it has been observed that shear reinforcement starts interacting with masonry only after cracks are developed. However, the pre-cracking behavior of reinforced and unreinforced masonry walls somewhat differ. Furthermore, it has been proven that the behavior of masonry built with different unit types (i.e., multi-perforated clay bricks, hollow concrete blocks, and solid clay bricks) may exhibit significant variations, implying that masonry built with all unit types must be evaluated. Motivated by this knowledge gap, this study assesses the behavior of masonry panels about 0.8 x 0.8 m made of multi-perforated clay brick, with and without shear reinforcement, and subjected to diagonal compression. Ladder-type steel reinforcement was placed at the mortar bed-joints. The experimental results are complemented with numerical simulations (detailed micro-models) to extend the achieved understanding. From the study, it is concluded that the horizontal reinforcement ratio did not significantly influence the behavior of the panels based on the findings that shear strength, shear strain, and shear modulus did not exhibit significant differences. Also, the reinforcement truly started collaborating with masonry only after the shear strength was achieved when specimens were too damaged to gain higher stresses.