Experimental response of brick-masonry spandrels under in-plane cyclic loading

This paper investigatesthebehaviorofspandrelsinperforated walls ofexistingunreinforcedmasonry buildings.Themainresults of experimental tests carried out on full-scale brick-masonry coupling beams under in-plane cyclic loading are presented and critically discussed. The effectiveness of different strengthening techniques has been examined by testing damaged spandrels reinforced using steel ties or angles. The resistant mechanisms, the degradation of strength and stiffness, and the hysteretic energy dissipation capacity of the tested coupling beams have been analyzed. The experimental shear resistance of the unstrengthened and strengthened spandrels have been then compared against analytical predictions obtained by using expressions provided by current codes of practice. Finally, these analytical formulationscalibratedagainsttheexperimentalresultshavebeenemployedtostudytheeffectsofthemainspandrelgeometricalcharacteristics. The results achieved provide relevant information on the actual behavior of these critical masonry components, which thus far has been only marginally investigated.