In-Plane Shear Response of Unreinforced Clay Brick Masonry Walls: A Comparison Between Finite Element Modelling and Code Provisions

The Unreinforced Masonry (URM) walls are vulnerable to in-plane loads caused by seismic actions. This study aims to investigate the in-plane shear behaviour of unreinforced masonry walls under fixed boundary conditions. A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model based on simplified micro modelling approach was developed in ABAQUS and validated against an experimental test obtained from literature. Further, a parametric study undertaken to investigate the influence of: a) pre-compression, b) Height to Length ratio (H/L) of the wall and c) H/L of the masonry units on the in-plane strength, initial stiffness, drift corresponding to peak load and ultimate drift limit. Finally, an attempt has been made to use Eurocode for estimating the in-plane strength and drift capacity of the URM walls. At the end, findings from finite element analyses were compared against those obtained from analytical equations obtained from the Eurocode.