Effect of adobe wall shapes and openings on out-of-plane behavior

Adobe masonry structures which are among the traditional structures, are affected by many parameters like other masonry structures. These parameters include material, workmanship, mortar, support condition, wall direction, wall slenderness and opening properties. Those parameters are important because they affect the seismic performance significantly. There are many studies in the literature considering the in-plane behavior of masonry walls; however, it has been observed after many earthquakes that most of the adobe walls collapse due to out-of-plane displacements. In order to understand the out-of-plane behavior well, this study aims to experimentally and numerically investigate the out-of-plane behavior of adobe walls having different configurations such as wall aspect ratio, wall shape and openings. The failure mechanisms, horizontal load capacity ratios and failure profiles were evaluated. In the study, a total of 18 different wall models were produced: 6 U-shaped walls with two-side support walls, 6 L-shaped walls with one-side support walls and 6 I-shaped walls without support walls. All the walls were tested on a tilting table. They were also analyzed by simplified micro modeling technique in ABAQUS software. The adobe walls were constructed in the form of interlocking pattern according to the traditional pattern. A clay and fiber mixed mortar with the same properties as the unit was used between the adobe units. According to the experimental and numerical results, it was observed that the support walls in adobe walls increased the out-of-plane wall stiffness and lateral load capacity ratio. As the wall aspect ratio increased, the lateral load capacity decreased in the models with support walls and increased in the models without support walls. Increasing wall length decreased the effectiveness of the supporting wall. Door/window openings left in the wall did not adversely affect the capacity to a great extent. The lateral load capacity/weight ratio changed slightly due to the weight reduction of the openings. The capacities and failure mechanisms obtained from the experimental and numerical studies were found to be similar.