Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete Masonry walls under out-of-plane monotonic loads

This paper presents the test results of an investigation carried out to study the behavior and flexural strength of vertically spanned reinforced concrete block masonry walls under out-of-plane monotonic loading. The study presented in this paper, which is part of the U.S.-Japan Coordinate Program on Masonry Building Research, addresses the elastic and inelastic behavior of reinforced block masonry walls. Six walls were tested to determine the effects of percentage and location of vertical reinforcement, block size, and extent of grouting. The behavior included cracking patterns and cracking moments, load-deflection curves up to and beyond the peak load, and displacement ductility.