Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Foundation Beds on Soft Non-Homogeneous Ground

The reinforced two layered foundation bed considered for study consists of a layer of granular fill overlying soft non-homogeneous clay with inclusion or reinforcement （geosymhetic strips, grids or sheets） in single layer at soil-granular fill interface A method is developed to estimate the bearing capacity of a strip footing on the surface of a reinforced foundation bed over a finite layer of clay whose undrained strength increases linearly with depth incorporating the contribution of axial resistance of the reinforcement together with those of granular fill and soft ground. Parametric studies presented quantify the improvement in bearing capacity.

An Experimental Study on the Response of Model Footings Resting on Reinforced Flyash Beds under Repeated Load

In the present, investigation an attempt has been made to study the behavior of reinforced flyash beds under repeated loads by conducting carefully designed experiments. The main objective of the experiments conducted is to evaluate the beneficial effects of using flyash as a backfill material in the reinforced beds to resist the repeated loads. As no unique standard equipment is available for the application of repeated loads and to measure the response, different researchers have designed and fabricated different types of equipments for the testing. The repeated load of known intensity with waveform type and frequency is applied on the surface and embedded footing in unreinforced and reinforced flyash beds. The response of the flyash beds, in the form of settlement is measured using linear variable differential transducers. The experimental results clearly demonstrated that the provision of reinforcement in the flyash beds is effective in improving the performance of both surface and embedded footing under repeated loads.

Investigation of Bed Joint Reinforcement Influence on Mechanical Properties of Masonry under Compression

The results of investigations of compressed reinforced masonry walls subjected to axial compression are presented. Tests were carried out using specimens made of clay bricks and cement-lime mortar. As reinforcement, smooth and spiral twisted longitudinal rods, two types of structural wire mesh and truss type reinforcement were used. Two percentages of bed joint reinforcement, about 0.1% and 0.05% were applied. For each type of reinforcement, three masonry walls were tested. Additionally, nine unreinforced models were also tested. The main aim of the investigations presented is to determine the effect of different types of reinforcement on the load capacity and failure. Measurement of the strains of reinforcing bars permitted the recording of the strain level at the moment of crack appearance and also at the moment of failure.

The contribution of steel wallposts to out-of-plane behavior of non-structural masonry walls

For years,non-structural masonry walls have received little attention by code developers and professional engineers.Recently,significant efforts have been made to shed more light on out-of-plane(OOP)behavior of non-structural masonry walls.In updated provisions of the Iranian seismic code,bed joint reinforcements(BJRs)and steel wallposts have been suggested for use.BJRs are horizontal reinforcements;steel wallposts are vertical truss-like elements intended to provide additional OOP restraints for a wall.The contribution of BJRs has previously been investigated by the authors.This study is devoted to investigating the contribution of steel wallposts to the OOP behavior of non-structural masonry walls.Using pre-validated 3D finite element(FE)models,the OOP behavior of 180 non-structural masonry walls with varying configurations and details are investigated.The OOP pressure-displacement curve,ultimate strength,the response modification factor,and the cracking pattern are among the results presented in this study.It is found that steel wallposts,especially those with higher rigidity,can improve the OOP strength of the walls.The contribution of wallposts in the case of shorter length walls and walls with an opening are more pronounced.Results also indicate that masonry walls with wallpost generally have smaller modification factors compared to similar walls without wallpost.