Shear reinforcement effect of reinforced concrete tie-columns on the lateral resistance of confined masonry walls

Tie-columns improve significantly the lateral resistance of masonry bearing walls against persistent, transient and accidental loads. The research work described herein has been carried out to assess the lateral resistance of confined masonry walls, where contribution of the masonry panel is evaluated according to material mechanics and tie-columns effect is estimated by a proposed analytical formulation based on a model reported on previously. This approach takes into account the effect of dowel support on the reaction of its adjacent shear reinforcement： the conditions for the various contributions of transverse reinforcements are better defined following a clear evaluation of the participation ratio of these reinforcements. Lateral resistances of confined masonry walls measured in full-scale tests and gleaned from the literature are compared and checked with resistances calculated using the present approach.

Probabilistic seismic performance assessment of lap-spliced RC columns retrofitted by steel wrapping jackets

In this study, the seismic fragility curves of two reinforced concrete（RC） columns that were lap-spliced at the bottom and retrofitted with steel wrapping jackets were generated. Their seismic performance was probabilistically assessed in comparison to that of lap-spliced or continuous reinforcement RC columns. This study used two types of steel wrapping jackets, a full jacket and a split jacket. Analytical models of the four types of columns were developed based on the experimental results of the columns using Open SEES, which is effective in conducting nonlinear time history analyses. A suite of ten artificial ground motions, modified from recorded ground motions, was used to perform nonlinear time history analyses of the analytical models with scaling of the peak ground acceleration from 0.1 g to 1.0 g in increments of 0.1 g. The steel wrapping jackets did not increase the medians for yield（slight damage state） of the lap-spiced column and did not exceed the corresponding median of the continuous reinforcement column. However, the two steel jackets increased the medians for failure by 1.872 and 2.017 times, respectively, and exceeded the corresponding median of the continuous reinforcement column by 11.8% and 20.5%, respectively.

Theoretical modeling of steel reinforced ECC column under eccentric compressive loading

Fiber reinforced cementitious composites(ECC) are a class of advanced composites with strain hardening and multiple cracking behaviors. Substitution of concrete with ECC can significantly improve the seismic resistance and durability of the infrastructures. In this paper, it is proposed to use ECC as the matrix of frame columns for improving its load carrying capacity, ductility, and avoiding the brittleness of concrete. Based on the assumption of plane remaining plane and constitutive models of materials, theoretical models for calculating the load-carrying capacity of the steel reinforced ECC columns under small and large eccentric compression are proposed. With the parameters of the constitutive models from the existing experimental data, the relationship between ultimate axial load and moment capacities is also derived with the proposed models. To verify the validity of the proposed theoretical models, finite element analysis with the software of ATENA is conducted to simulate the mechanical behavior of the steel reinforced ECC columns under eccentric compressive loading. The calculation results from the theoretical models show good consistency with the simulated results, indicating that the proposed models are feasible and reliable for design. Finally, based on the theoretical models, the effect of the ultimate tensile strain and compressive strength of ECC, longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the load carrying capacity of the steel reinforced ECC column are comprehensively studied.