Seismic Performance Assessment of Reinforced Masonry Core Walls with Boundary Elements

Many experimental and numerical studies have investigated the improvement in the seismic performance of reinforced masonry (RM) shear walls as a result of adding confined end zones (i.e., boundary elements) to rectangular shear walls. Moreover, the Canadian masonry design standard (CSA S304-14) introduced a ductile shear wall system and special seismic design provisions for masonry boundary elements. Furthermore, the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC, in National building code of Canada, National research council of Canada. NBCC, Ottawa [1]) permits the use of ductile shear walls as a seismic force-resisting system (SFRS) with height limits of up to 60 and 40 m for moderate and high seismic regions, respectively. Therefore, as a continuous improvement in the seismic design of RM structures, this study assesses the seismic performance of reinforced masonry core walls built up of RM shear walls with boundary elements to act as the main SFRS in typical RM buildings. The applied element method (AEM) implemented in the extreme loading for structures (ELS) software was utilized to simulate the seismic behavior of RM shear walls having different cross-sectional configurations and design parameters. Moreover, to evaluate the seismic performance of reinforced masonry core walls with boundary elements (RMCW+BEs). The results showed that RMCW+BEs can be used as an SFRS in RM structures and can be adopted in the next generation of North American masonry standards. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of implementing a shear amplification factor to account for the higher mode effects in multi-story RM buildings.