Browsing by Author "Bertolesi, Elisa"

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    Experimental and Numerical Assessment of the In-Plane Behaviour of PG-RM Walls with Openings
    (Springer, 2025) Vargas Carvajal, Laura Andrea; Sandoval Mandujano, Cristian; Bertolesi, Elisa; Tarque, Nicola; Calderón, Sebastián
    This paper investigates how openings affect the in-plane response of partially grouted masonry (PG-RM) walls. The effect of the openings was assessed regarding shear capacity and failure mode through the cyclic test of four façadetype walls constructed with different opening sizes and with and without asymmetry. The results show that the shear capacity decreases with the opening’s height or width increment. It is also observed that geometric asymmetry generates differences between the lateral resistances of both in-plane loading directions. In addition, a two-dimensional finite element macro model using Abaqus was validated against the experimental results. The numerical strategy implemented satisfactorily represented the shear strength and failure mode of the tested walls. Considering the high complexity of representing the PG-RM behaviour, the proposed model is suitable for reproducing the PG-RM walls’ shear resistance and could be subsequently used further to investigate the effect of openings with different configurations.
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    Numerical strategy and openings-focused sensitivity study of the seismic behavior of partially grouted masonry shear walls with openings
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Vargas Carvajal, Laura Andrea; Sandoval Mandujano, Cristián; Bertolesi, Elisa; Tarque, Nicola
    Partially grouted reinforced masonry (PG-RM) is a commonly used structural system in several seismic-prone countries. In recent years, experimental and numerical investigations have been conducted to identify the main parameters that influence their seismic performance. However, little attention has been devoted to investigating the influence of openings on their structural response. Although experimental tests have provided valuable insights into their behavior, numerical simulations have emerged as a complementary strategy for lower economic costs and logistical requirements. In this context, a two-dimensional finite element macro-model is implemented to simulate the in-plane behavior of PG-RM walls containing openings. The concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model is used to describe masonry's nonlinear response. The model is validated against the experimental results of four full-scale PG-RM walls previously tested by the authors. Then, considering both loading directions, an openings-focused sensitivity study is conducted to investigate their effect on the in-plane lateral response. The implemented model was capable of simulating the in-plane behavior of PG-RM walls containing openings, as good agreement was achieved between numerical results and experimental tests in terms of lateral strength and failure mode. As expected, sensitivity analysis indicated that the wall shear capacity decreased when the openings' height or width or the number of openings increased. Based on the results, this work proposes an effective height to estimate the shear capacity of PG-RM walls with openings, where the height of the pier is established as the average of the heights that constrain the pier on its sides.
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    Seismic behavior of partially grouted masonry shear walls containing openings: Experimental testing
    (2023) Vargas Carvajal, Laura Andrea; Sandoval Mandujano, Cristián; Bertolesi, Elisa; Calderón Díaz, Sebastián Andrés
    This article presents an experimental study aimed at understanding the effect of openings on the seismic response of partially grouted reinforced masonry (PG-RM) walls. For this purpose, four full-scale PG-RM walls with different opening sizes were built and tested under the combined action of constant axial compression and cyclic lateral loading. All the specimens had the same external dimensions. The effect of openings was assessed in terms of wall hysteresis and force–displacement curves and the quantification of different seismic parameters such as shear capacity, degradation of lateral stiffness, energy dissipated, equivalent viscous damping ratio, and displacement ductility. A 2D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system was implemented to monitor principal strain fields and cracking patterns during the tests. The paper also includes the assessment of the shear capacity of the tested walls according to three existent approaches developed for in-plane shear panels, which rely on the definition of an effective height of piers. The results indicate that the shear capacity of the walls decreased when the aspect ratio of the piers increased. From DIC analysis results, it was observed that damage extended beyond piers also covering spandrels and that directionality of shear loads played a fundamental role in the damage development. Therefore, the identification of the pier’s effective height and direction of seismic loads should be incorporated into the estimation of the shear capacity. Finally, the performance of the selected shear expressions and different approaches to estimate the effective height of the piers was evaluated. It was concluded that the most accurate approach was to define an effective piers height according to Augenti (2006)’s proposal using the Calderón et al. (2022) shear expression to assess piers’ lateral resistance.