88 © Ernst & Sohn Verlag für Architektur und technische Wissenschaften GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin · Mauerwerk 15 (2011), Heft 2
Fachthemen
The following contribution focuses on the global behaviour of
masonry structures subjected to wind loads. It describes the in-
teraction between the structural elements and their influences on
the global behaviour. Numerical models based on discrete / finite
element approach of different scales have been built for a typical
terraced house masonry building.
The models have been used to investigate the contribution of
each shear wall to the overall capacity of the structure, and to
determine the portion of each from vertical/horizontal loads. The
results give an insight into the interaction between the deforma-
tion of the slab and the rocking of the shear walls. The different
performances between the model with rigid foundation and the
model with elastic foundation have been compared.
Models for strips of the building have been built with an intention
to deal with in-plane behaviour separated from the influences of
load distribution. A comparison of the results of the strip model
with the results of the global model shows, that the strip model
results are in safe side.
Das Verhalten von Mauerwerk unter Windlasten – Der Einfluss
der Gesamteinwirkung auf die Reaktion einzelner Bauteile. Der
folgende Beitrag konzentriert sich auf das globale Verhalten von
Mauerwerksbauten unter Windlasten. Er beschreibt die Wechsel-
wirkungen zwischen den einzelnen Strukturelementen und deren
Einflüsse auf das Gesamtverhalten. Es sind numerische Modelle für
ein typisches Reihenhaus aus Mauerwerk, die auf dem Diskrete-/
Finite-Elemente-Ansatz basieren, in unterschiedlichen Maßstäben
erstellt worden.
Die Modelle dienten der Untersuchung des Beitrages jeder einzel-
nen Wandscheibe zur Gesamtwiderstandsfähigkeit des Bauwerks
sowie ihres Anteils an der Ableitung der vertikalen und horizontalen
Belastungen. Die Ergebnisse geben einen Einblick in die Wechsel-
wirkung zwischen der Verformung der Deckenplatte und dem
Kippen der Wandscheiben. Es wurde das unterschiedliche Ver-
halten eines Modells mit starrem Fundament und eines Modells
mit elastischer Gründung verglichen.
Verschiedene Streifenmodelle des Gebäudes dienten dazu, das
Schub-Verhalten getrennt von den Einflüssen der Lastverteilung
beschreiben zu können. Ein Vergleich der Ergebnisse des Streifen-
modells mit den Ergebnissen des Gesamtmodells zeigt, dass das
Streifenmodell auf der sicheren Seite liegt.
1 Introduction
The response of masonry structure under wind loads has
unique behaviour differs significantly from the response of
other structural systems such as reinforced concrete. This
unique behaviour is mainly caused by the high stiffness and
brittle material behaviour exhibited by masonry and the
deformability of the diaphragm system. While, it is com-
mon to segment the structure into components to extrapo-
late out component behaviour to predict overall structure
response, such an approach may neglect important global
effects which can result in significant influences.
Some experimental studies were performed in that di-
rection on the global response of masonry building under
horizontal actions. In Ljubljana, the global behaviour of
apartment buildings were investigated by shaking table tests
of 1 : 5 scaled specimens (Tomaz ˇevicˇ/Weiss [15]). In USA,
several investigations were made on the seismic perfor-
mance of masonry structures with flexible diaphragms
(Moon [13]). In Europe, comprehensive investigations were
carried out on earthquake resistance of masonry structures
within the framework of the European Union research pro-
ject ESECMaSE (Meyer/González [11]). True scale pseudo-
dynamic tests have been performed on two terraced house
halves with a typical central European ground plan.
The developing of engineering models that describes
the overall response of masonry buildings under horizon-
tal loading has received considerable interest. Ötes/Löring
[14] have proposed a bar model that considers the cou-
pling of the bar system of the inner and outer shear walls
to ensure the compatibility of deformation. The gable
walls were included in the model as vertical bars. The ex-
ternal walls develop a frame action, which discharge some
of the loads coming to the inner walls. However, it was as-
sumed generally uncracked cross sections.
Elsche [4] has performed finite element analysis for
terraced house under horizontal displacements. The model
considers masonry walls from calcium silicate with thin
layer mortar. The walls assumed to have cohesion contact
with the slab, so that the possible openings failures can be
simulated. The external walls has been separated without
considering contact in between, only the contact elements
were defined on the interfaces between the slab and the
wall. The results of calculation show the contribution of
each shear wall from the whole basement shear force.
Fehling/Stürz [5] have been used a bar model with at-
tached rigid bodies in double-T form for modelling the
shear walls in case of rocking. Due to Fehling/Stürz [5]
the rocking occurs by meeting a specific criterion based
on normal stress, compression strength of masonry, and
the ratio of length to the height of the wall, which is quite
The performance of masonry buildings under
wind loads – The influence of the global effect
on component response
Tammam Bakeer
DOI: 10.1002/dama.201100999