Specify the methods for strengthening of masonry buildings

Strengthening of masonry walls is required to prevent failure and collapse during major earthquake or addition
of extra load on buildings. Strengthening of masonry walls also may be required during rehabilitation of
buildings.
Unreinforced masonry walls have good compressive strength, but they are brittle and very weak under the
action of lateral loads which causes tension in walls. Whenever tension forces acts on a masonry wall, it tends
to crack.

Cracking of masonry walls may occur due to settlement of foundation, during earthquakes, application of
lateral loads. There can be several causes for masonry wall cracks, but occurrence these cracks may lead to
complete collapse of wall.

Methods of Masonry Wall Strengthening:

1. Providing reinforced concrete jackets on one or both faces of wall
2. Use of FRP Structural Repointing for strengthening of masonry walls (Source: Strengthening of Masonry
Walls by FRP Structural Repointing by Gustavo Tumialan, Pei-Chang Huang, Antonio Nanni, Pedro Silva)
Masonry wall Strengthening using RC Jackets:
Reinforced concrete (RC) jackets technique for strengthening of masonry structure consists of application of
jackets on one or both sides of masonry walls. This method is used for brick masonry as well as for stone
masonry walls.

For using reinforcement jackets, first the plaster is removed from the walls. Mortar joints between bricks are
cleaned. In case of any cracks in masonry walls, those are first grouted. Anchor ties are are inserted in pre-
drilled holes. The surface of drill is cleaned, moistened, and cement slurry is spread on the masonry surface
and in drills.

The concrete is applied in two-layers with reinforcement mesh in between them. The reinforcing mesh on both
sides of wall is connected with the help of steel anchors. These anchors are welded with the mesh or tied using
tying wire.

The usual total thickness of RC jackets varies from 30mm to 100mm. The thickness depends on the method
for application of concrete layers.

Strengthening of Masonry Walls by Using FRP Structural Repointing:

Structural repointing of masonry walls has advantages compared to the use of FRP laminates. This method of
masonry wall strengthening is simple since the surface preparation is reduced (sandblasting and puttying) is
not required. In addition the aesthetic of masonry is preserved.

Examine the plan configuration problems that affect the performance of masonry buildings during
earthquake.

Box Action in Masonry Buildings Brick masonry buildings have large mass and hence attract large horizontal
forces during earthquake shaking. They develop numerous cracks under both compressive and tensile forces
caused by earthquake shaking. The focus of earthquake resistant masonry building construction is to ensure
that these effects are sustained without major damage or collapse. Appropriate choice of structural
configuration can help achieve this. The structural configuration of masonry buildings includes aspects like
(a) overall shape and size of the building, and (b) distribution of mass and (horizontal) lateral load resisting
elements across the building. Large, tall, long and unsymmetric buildings perform poorly during earthquakes
(IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 6). A strategy used in making them earthquakeresistant is developing good
box action between all the elements of the building, i.e., between roof, walls and foundation (Figure 1).
Loosely connected roof or unduly slender walls are threats to good seismic behaviour. For example, a
horizontal band introduced at the lintel level ties the walls together and helps to make them behave as a single
unit.

Influence of Openings
Openings are functional necessities in buildings. However, location and size of openings in walls assume
significance in deciding the performance of masonry buildings in earthquakes. To understand this, consider a
four-wall system of a single storey masonry building (Figure 2). During earthquake shaking, inertia forces act
in the strong direction of some walls and in the weak direction of others (See IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip
12). Walls shaken in the weak direction seek support from the other walls, i.e., walls B1 and B2 seek support
from walls A1 and A2 for shaking in the direction shown in Figure 2. To be more specific, wall B1 pulls walls
A1 and A2, while wall B2 pushes against them. At the next instance, the direction of shaking could change to
the horizontal direction perpendicular to that shown in Figure 2. Then, walls A and B change their roles; Walls
B1 and B2 become the strong ones and A1 and A2 weak. Thus, walls transfer loads to each other at their
junctions (and through the lintel bands and roof). Hence, the masonry courses from the walls meeting at
corners must have good interlocking. For this reason, openings near the wall corners are detrimental to good
seismic performance. Openings too close to wall corners hamper the flow of forces from one wall to another
(Figure 3). Further, large openings weaken walls from carrying the inertia forces in their own plane. Thus, it
is best to keep all openings as small as possible and as far away from the corners as possible.
Earthquake-Resistant Features
Indian Standards suggest a number of earthquake resistant measures to develop good box-type action in
masonry buildings and improve their seismic performance. For instance, it is suggested that a building having
horizontal projections when seen from the top, e.g., like a building with plan shapes L, T, E and Y, be separated
into (almost) simple rectangular blocks in plan, each of which has simple and good earthquake behaviour
(IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 6). During earthquakes, separated blocks can oscillate independently and even
hammer each other if they are too close. Thus, adequate gap is necessary between these different blocks of the
building. The Indian Standards suggest minimum seismic separations between blocks of buildings. However,
it may not be necessary to provide such separations between blocks, if horizontal projections in buildings are
small, say up to ~15-20% of the length of building in that direction. Inclined staircase slabs in masonry
buildings offer another concern. An integrally connected staircase slab acts like a cross-brace between floors
and transfers large horizontal forces at the roof and lower levels (Figure 4a). These are areas of potential
damage in masonry buildings, if not accounted for in staircase design and construction. To overcome this,
sometimes, staircases are completely separated (Figure 4b) and built on a separate reinforced concrete
structure. Adequate gap is provided between the staircase tower and the masonry building to ensure that they
do not pound each other during strong earthquake shaking

Explain the effect of slenderness ratio in masonry wall:

(c) Slenderness Ratio
It is not desirable to have buildings with large slenderness ratio, just like it is not good to have buildings with
large projecting arms and large plan aspect ratio. During earthquake shaking, buildings sway laterally and
excessive lateral displacement is not desirable. Large lateral displacements cause significant non-structural
damage, structural damage and even second order P-Δ effects that lead to collapse of buildings.
Design codes recommend that inter-storey drift under design earthquake forces be restricted to 0.4
percent of storey height. Seven moment-resisting frame buildings are considered of the same 3 bays by 4
(12m×16m) plan (Figure 3.2), but of 2, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20 and 25 storeys. The beams and columns are designed
for gravity and lateral loads. The column sizes in the buildings are 400×400 in 2 and 5 storey buildings,
600×600 in 8 and 10 storey buildings, and 800×800 in 15, 20 and 25 storey buildings. The variation of roof
displacement with respect to slenderness ratio (H/L and H/B) in the two directions is shown in Figure 3.26.
Roof displacement increases with increase in slenderness ratio; special lateral load resisting systems (e.g.,
shear wall, bracings, tubes) should be used to control the drift. The deformed shape of 5, 15, 20 and 25 storey
buildings are shown in Figure 3.27. Also, note the sudden increase in bending moment demand in the first
storey beams, particularly in buildings with large slenderness ratio compared to in buildings with smaller
slenderness ratio (Figure 3.28).
Thus, maximum damage is expected to be confined to the first few storeys in buildings with large
slenderness ratio. This is attributed to the Poisson’s effect in the lower section of the building (close to the
base) where end effects dominate upto a height equal to the base width of the building.

Classify the different types of masonry buildings according to IS 4326:1993

There are various types of masonry walls used in building construction. Masonry walls are the most durable
part of any building or structure. They provide strength, durability to the structure and also helps to control
indoor and outdoor temperature. It separates a building from outside world.
Masonry is the word used for construction with mortar as a binding material with individual units of bricks,
stones, marbles, granites, concrete blocks, tiles etc. Mortar is a mixture of binding material with sand. Binding
materials can be cement, lime, soil or any other.

The durability and strength of masonry wall construction depends on the type and quality of material used and
workmanship.

1. Load Bearing Masonry Walls

Load bearing masonry walls are constructed with bricks, stones or concrete blocks. These walls directly
transfer loads from the roof to the foundation. These walls can be exterior as well as interior walls. The
construction system with load bearing walls are economical than the system with framed structures. The
thickness of load bearing walls is based on the quantity of load from roof it has to bear. For example a load
bearing wall with just a ground floor can have its outer walls of 230mm, while with one or more floors above
it, based on occupancy type, its thickness may be increased.

2. Reinforced Masonry Walls

Reinforced masonry walls can be load bearing walls or non-load bearing walls. The use of reinforcement in
walls helps it to withstand tension forces and heavy compressive loads. The un-reinforced masonry walls are
prone to cracks and failure under heavy compressive loads and during earthquakes. They have little ability to
withstand lateral forces during heavy rain and wind. Cracks also develop in un-reinforced masonry walls due
to earth pressure or differential settlement of foundations. To overcome such problems, reinforced masonry
walls are used. Reinforcement in walls are at required intervals both horizontally and vertically is used. The
size of reinforcement, their quantity and spacing are determined based on the loads on the walls and structural
conditions.

3. Hollow Masonry Walls

Hollow or Cavity masonry walls are used to prevent moisture reaching the interior of the building by providing
hollow space between outside and inside face of the wall. These walls also helps in temperature control inside
the building from outside wall as the hollow space restricts heat to pass through the wall. When the wall is
exposed to moisture for a sustained period and penetrates through the outer face, the water reaches the cavity
or the hollow space and flows down. Then they are drained through the weep holes to the exterior of the
building. These hollow spaces may be coated with water repellent coating or damp-proofing to further reduce
the ingress of moisture.
4. Composite Masonry Walls
These walls are constructed with two or more units such as stones or bricks and hollow bricks. This type of
masonry wall construction is done for better appearance with economy.

In composite masonry walls, two wythes of masonry units are constructed bonding with each other. While
one wythe can be brick or stone masonry while the other can be hollow bricks. A wythe is a continuous vertical
section of masonry one unit in thickness.

These wythes are interconnected either by horizontal joint reinforcement or by using steel ties.

5. Post-tensioned Masonry Walls

Post-tensioned masonry walls are constructed to strengthen the masonry walls against the forces that may
induce tension in the wall such as earthquake forces or wind forces.

These walls are constructed from the foundation level and post-tensioning rods are anchored into the
foundation. These rods are run vertically between the wythes or in the core of concrete masonry units.
After the masonry wall construction is completed and cured, these rods are tensioned and anchored on the
steel place at the top of the wall.
4) Compare and contrast the behaviour of reinforced and unreinforced masonry wall.

Masonry buildings are vulnerable to strong earthquake shaking. A masonry building has three components –
the roof, the wall, and the foundation.

The inertia forces travel through the roofs and walls to the foundation. These inertial force are developed both
in x and y directions. A wall topples down easily if pushed horizontally at the top in a direction perpendicular
to its plane (weak direction). This is called out of plane failure.

However, a wall offers much greater resistance if pushed along its length (strong direction). This is called in
plane resistance. This is because of the wall’s large dimension in the plane of bending. Such a wall, carrying
horizontal loads in its own plane, is known as a shear wall.

The seismic capacity for unreinforced masonry is most commonly based on stability and energy considerations
rather than stress levels. Neither elastic, nor ultimate strength analysis adequately predicts the seismic capacity
both methods produce over conservative results.

The wall behaves elastically up to a point A, where the base cracks and the force immediately drops from FA
to FB.
Behaviour of reinforced masonry walls:
5) Examine the plan configuration problem that affect the performance of building during earthquake.

Configuration is critical to good seismic performance of buildings. The important aspects affecting seismic
configuration of buildings are overall geometry, structural systems, and load paths. Various issues related to
seismic configuration are discussed in this section.
Overall Geometry Buildings oscillate during earthquake shaking and inertia forces are mobilized in them. Then,
these forces travel along different paths, called load paths, through different structural elements, until they are
finally transferred to the soil through the foundation. The generation of forces based on basic oscillatory motion
and final transfer of force through the foundation are significantly influenced by overall geometry of the building,
which includes: (a) plan shape, (b) plan aspect ratio, and (c) slenderness ratio of the building.

(a) Plan Shape:

The influence of plan geometry of the building on its seismic performance is best understood from the basic
geometries of convex- and concave-type lenses. Buildings with former plan shape have direct load paths for
transferring seismic inertia forces to its base, while those with latter plan shape necessitate indirect load paths that
result in stress concentrations at points where load paths bend. Buildings with convex and simple plan geometries
are preferred, because they demonstrate superior seismic performance than those with concave and complex plan
geometries

(1) Buildings with different shapes, but same Plan Area:

Rectangular (or square) columns are good in resisting shear and bending moment about axes parallel to their sides.
Thus, it is important to have buildings oscillating primarily along their sides – translation along diagonals or
torsional motions are NOT good for seismic performance of columns, and hence, of buildings. Further, in regular
buildings, the overall motion is controlled by the first few modes of oscillation; the fundamental mode
(corresponding to largest natural period) usually contributes maximum, followed by the 2nd mode, 3rd mode, etc.
Thus, it is desirable to have pure translation modes as the lower modes of oscillation and push torsional and
diagonal translational modes to the higher ranks. Primarily, these undesirable (diagonal translation and torsional)
modes arise when there is lack of symmetry in the plan shape of buildings along the sides. It is important to have
regular plan shape of buildings.

(2) Buildings with different projections, but same Plan Shape:

Long projections are not good! Projections, if required, must be short, although they still offer stress concentration
at their re-entrant corners. Consider buildings with U-plan shape, but with different length of projections . The first
three modes of oscillation in all the three buildings are same – two lateral translations and torsion, with similar
natural periods (between 0.92s to 0.89s). However, the periods of oscillation of the fourth mode, that of opening-
closing one, are significantly different – 0.77s, 0.63s, and 0.42s in the buildings with 48m, 32m and 16m
projections, respectively. This signifies that the contribution of the opening-closing mode of oscillation in the
overall response of the building with 16m projecting arms is least and will ensure better seismic behaviour of the
building than buildings with 32m and 48m projecting arms.
(b) Plan Aspect Ratio:

It is not good to have buildings with large plan aspect ratio, just like it is not good to have buildings with large
projections. During earthquake shaking, inertia force is mobilized in the building, usually at the floor levels where
the mass is large. The inertia force then is distributed to different lateral load resisting systems (columns and/or
structural walls). It is preferred to distribute this lateral inertia force to various lateral load resisting systems in
proportion to their lateral load resisting capacities. This is achieved when the floor slabs do not deform too much
in their own (horizontal) plane. This condition, when floor slab helps in distributing the inertia force to different
lateral load resisting systems in proportion to their stiffness, is known as rigid diaphragm action. However, the
inertia force is distributed based on tributary area when floor slabs deform in their plane. This leads to overloading
of members with less capacity and thus causing undue damage to buildings. Floor slabs in buildings with large
plan aspect ratio (>4) may not provide rigid diaphragm action.

(1) Buildings with distributed lateral load resisting systems in plan and cut-outs:

In-plane deformation of slab depends on (a) distribution in plan of lateral stiffness of vertical elements of the lateral
load resisting system, and (b) distribution in plan of mass of building at that floor level.

(2) Buildings with regular plan shape, but of large plan size and with cut-outs :

It is not desirable to have a building with large plan size, because lateral load resisting systems are required to be
distributed throughout the building plan to carry the inertia force through direct load paths with no/little detours.
When these lateral load resisting systems undergo inelastic actions, they are likely to loose stiffness and thereby
the building generates stiffness eccentricity, which is detrimental to the symmetrical swinging of the building
during earthquake shaking. The problem is even more aggravated if building with large plan has large openings or
cut-outs at the center or inside the plan of the building.
These large cut-outs in the plan of the building push the floor diaphragms of the building to not remain rigid in
their own plane, which causes the inertia force mobilized at floor levels during earthquake shaking to be unevenly
distributed to the different lateral load resisting elements. This is not desirable for good seismic performance of
this type of buildings; this irregularity should be avoided or minimised.