Author
DERAKHSHAN, H.; LUMANTARNA, R.; DIZHUR, D.; INGHAM, J. M.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland

Abstract
A field testing programme was developed to investigate the out-of-plane behaviour of as-built unreinforced masonry (URM) walls of four buildings. The buildings were between approximately 80 to 130 years old, and had different masonry materials and construction forms. In total, 10 tests were performed on seven URM walls, with the out-of-plane force being uniformly applied to the wall surface. Several tests were repeated with original and modified support condition, and in particular, the effects of a concrete ring beam used at the floor levels of a URM building and the effects of wall anchorage to the building diaphragms by means of grouted steel rods were investigated. A bilinear model previously obtained through laboratory testing was proven to be effective for prediction of the cracked wall behaviour. Out-of-plane wall resistance was compared to the appropriate seismic demand of each site, and the results of the comparison were used to evaluate the NZSEE 2006 out-of- plane wall seismic evaluation method. Two of the tests were performed on two-way spanning walls, and the results showed that the two-way action significantly increased the wall resistance.

Key words
unreinforced masonry; out-of-plane; in-situ testing; one-way; two-way; seismic assessment; wall