Experimental investigation of the horizontal load orientation on masonry corner failure
Résumé
Field earthquake reconnaissance has revealed that masonry corner failure is one of the most common failure mechanisms. In literature, few studies have focused on the experimental investigation of such a mechanism, and they were usually performed considering the seismic action passing from the corner bisector. The present study conducts an experimental campaign on masonry corners and investigates how the orientation of the seismic action affects both the seismic capacity and the collapse mechanism. The experimental campaign involves two masonry corner configurations with different wall aspect ratios. Both configurations are made of a single-leaf dry-joint specimen, built with calcium silicate blocks. Results demonstrate how the orientation of the pseudo-static load simulated by means of a tilting table affects the structural capacity.