Experimental investigation on seismic behavior of brick masonry wall strengthened with ECC splint

The strengthening effect of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) on brick masonry walls is studied in this paper. Seven testing specimens including three unstrengthened and four ECC-strengthened brick masonry walls were constructed and subjected to quasi-static loading tests. The effects of aspect ratios (1, 1.5 and 2) and strengthening methods (ECC overall and frame strip strengthening) on the failure mode, failure mechanism, hysteresis characteristics and deformability capacity of brick masonry walls were studied. Research shows that the increase of the aspect ratio reduces the performance of the wall in all aspects. The ECC splint can restrain its inner brick wall dramatically, and the strengthened masonry wall convert the brittle failure mode into rocking failure or sliding failure. The ECC splint strengthening technology can effectively improve the seismic performance of the brick masonry walls. Finally, based on the strengthening effect of ECC splint, a formula for the shear capacity of brick masonry walls strengthened with ECC splint is proposed, which provides experimental and theoretical basis for seismic strengthening of masonry structures.