Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers
In many developing countries, masonry infill walls are commonly constructed using hollow clay blocks. Buildings incorporating these infill walls are particularly vulnerable to seismic loads due to the absence of adequate lateral load-resisting elements. Their poor performance during past earthquakes...
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Elsevier
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525009490 |
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| author | Delaram Ostad Jalil Shafaei Farshid Jandaghi Alaee |
| author_facet | Delaram Ostad Jalil Shafaei Farshid Jandaghi Alaee |
| author_sort | Delaram Ostad |
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| description | In many developing countries, masonry infill walls are commonly constructed using hollow clay blocks. Buildings incorporating these infill walls are particularly vulnerable to seismic loads due to the absence of adequate lateral load-resisting elements. Their poor performance during past earthquakes has resulted in irreparable structural damage and significant human casualties. Therefore, strengthening these infill walls is essential to improving the seismic safety and stability of buildings in earthquake-prone regions. Since shear capacity and ductility are key factors influencing the seismic performance of masonry infill walls, evaluating their shear behaviour under diagonal tension provides essential insight into their structural response during earthquakes. To investigate this, an experimental program comprising 33 diagonal tension tests was conducted on masonry wallettes with nominal dimensions of 650 × 650 × 100 mm. The tests focused on evaluating the shear performance of specimens under three conditions: (1) control specimens (unreinforced wallettes), (2) specimens strengthening with cement and plaster coatings, and (3) specimens strengthening with alkali-resistant (AR) glass fibers in combination with cement and plaster coatings. One-sided, double-sided, and combined coating configurations were employed. All tension tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM E519. Key evaluated parameters included force–displacement behaviour, shear stress–shear strain response, ductility, energy absorption (toughness), and shear modulus. The results revealed that specimens strengthening with (AR) glass fibers exhibited significant improvements in both load-carrying capacity and deformation characteristics. In particular, wallettes strengthening with cement mortar and AR-glass fibers demonstrated up to a 512 % increase in shear strength compared to the control specimens. These findings underscore the importance of fiber-reinforced systems in enhancing the shear strength of masonry infill walls and highlight their potential in improving structural performance and reducing seismic vulnerability in both new and existing buildings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-42768ea961e1473d91cd227bb7df274f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2214-5095 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-42768ea961e1473d91cd227bb7df274f2025-08-20T03:38:58ZengElsevierCase Studies in Construction Materials2214-50952025-12-0123e0515110.1016/j.cscm.2025.e05151Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibersDelaram Ostad0Jalil Shafaei1Farshid Jandaghi Alaee2Department of Civil Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, IranCorrespondence to: Structural Research Laboratory (SRL), Department of Civil Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran.; Department of Civil Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, IranDepartment of Civil Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, IranIn many developing countries, masonry infill walls are commonly constructed using hollow clay blocks. Buildings incorporating these infill walls are particularly vulnerable to seismic loads due to the absence of adequate lateral load-resisting elements. Their poor performance during past earthquakes has resulted in irreparable structural damage and significant human casualties. Therefore, strengthening these infill walls is essential to improving the seismic safety and stability of buildings in earthquake-prone regions. Since shear capacity and ductility are key factors influencing the seismic performance of masonry infill walls, evaluating their shear behaviour under diagonal tension provides essential insight into their structural response during earthquakes. To investigate this, an experimental program comprising 33 diagonal tension tests was conducted on masonry wallettes with nominal dimensions of 650 × 650 × 100 mm. The tests focused on evaluating the shear performance of specimens under three conditions: (1) control specimens (unreinforced wallettes), (2) specimens strengthening with cement and plaster coatings, and (3) specimens strengthening with alkali-resistant (AR) glass fibers in combination with cement and plaster coatings. One-sided, double-sided, and combined coating configurations were employed. All tension tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM E519. Key evaluated parameters included force–displacement behaviour, shear stress–shear strain response, ductility, energy absorption (toughness), and shear modulus. The results revealed that specimens strengthening with (AR) glass fibers exhibited significant improvements in both load-carrying capacity and deformation characteristics. In particular, wallettes strengthening with cement mortar and AR-glass fibers demonstrated up to a 512 % increase in shear strength compared to the control specimens. These findings underscore the importance of fiber-reinforced systems in enhancing the shear strength of masonry infill walls and highlight their potential in improving structural performance and reducing seismic vulnerability in both new and existing buildings.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525009490Masonry InfillAR glass fibersHollow Clay BlocksDiagonal Tension TestCement CoatingPlaster Coating |
| spellingShingle | Delaram Ostad Jalil Shafaei Farshid Jandaghi Alaee Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers Case Studies in Construction Materials Masonry Infill AR glass fibers Hollow Clay Blocks Diagonal Tension Test Cement Coating Plaster Coating |
| title | Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers |
| title_full | Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers |
| title_fullStr | Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers |
| title_short | Experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with (AR) glass fibers |
| title_sort | experimental evaluation of the diagonal tension test of hollow clay blocks strengthening with ar glass fibers |
| topic | Masonry Infill AR glass fibers Hollow Clay Blocks Diagonal Tension Test Cement Coating Plaster Coating |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525009490 |
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