Masonry structures

The buildings with structural walls made of brickwork are:

Dwellings for 1-2 families (with ground floor or ground
floor and one floor ( called also cheap dwellings);
Dwellings with small commercial units at the ground floor
level;
Dwellings for rich people: palaces Stirbey, Ghica,
Cantacuzino;
Public buildings with small dimensions for administration,
education, culture;
Monumental public buildings (Court Law);
Industrial buildings of small dimensions.
Stirbey Palace -1835
Ghica Palace -1822

Cantacuzino Palace - 1903
Cladirea CEC -1900

Court Law - 1895
Categories of masonry buildings
1. Buildings with load bearing walls made of
simple brickwork and floors of:
- massive vaults made of brickwork;
- metallic profiles and brickwork small
vaults;
- wooden beams;
- reinforced concrete;
- prefabricated elements of small sizes.
Categories of masonry buildings
2. Buildings with load bearing walls of brickwork
and reinforced concrete girdle and cores
with floors made of:
monolith reinforced concrete;
prefabricated elements of small dimensions;
prefabricated elements of big dimensions (
half panels, panels).
From the plan disposing of walls, there were used 2
systems:

buildings with dense walls, placed at the rooms limit,
called honeycomb system;

buildings with rare walls, placed at the apartments limit,
called cellular system.
The technical and economical advantages are important:

they ensure the structures solving for buildings with different
functions, shapes and proportions in plan and elevation;
the walls resistance is used that in the architectural plan have
partition and closing functions for unloading the mechanical actions;
the structural walls have an important stiffness, which ensure the
protection of the unstructural elements during the seismic action
without additional measures/costs;
the walls thickness imposed by the fulfillment of the thermal and
acoustic insulation requirements are in many cases enough to fulfill
the stability and resistance requirements and usually there are not
necessary an increasing of thickness for structural proposes;
there are used cheap materials and there are not necessary higher
qualified workers.
In Romania, in 1992, it has been registered the following categories of
building materials:

M1 buildings made of reinforced concrete: with structural walls or
frames of reinforced concrete and floors of reinforced concrete;
M2 buildings with brickwork, stone structural walls with reinforced
concrete floors;
M3 buildings with brickwork, stone structural walls with wooden
floors;
M4 buildings made of wood;
M5 buildings made of trellis or adobe materials;
M6 buildings made of unknown materials.
Table 1. Dwellings with masonry structure in towns

Material
Total dwellings in
Romania
Dwellings in
buildings with P,
P+1E
Dwellings in buildings
P+2E
Total 4.000.000(100%) 1.100.000 (27.5%) 2.900.000 (72.5%)
M2 900.000 (22.5%) 230.000 (6.0%) 670.000 (16.5%)
M3 500.000 (12.5%) 480 (12.0%) 20.000 (0.5%)
Table 2. Dwellings in buildings with P, P+1E

Material
Total <1944 1945-1960 1961-1980 1981-1991
Total 1.100.000 450.000 250.000 340.000 60.000
100% 41.0% 22.7% 30.9% 5.4%
M2 220.000 85.000 40.000 75.000 20.000
20.0% 7.7% 3.6% 6.8% 1.8%
M3 480.000 220.000 100.000 140.000 20.000
43.6% 20.0% 9.1% 12.7% 1.8%
Table 3. Dwellings in buildings P+2P

Material Total <1944 1945-1960 1961-1980 1981-1991
Total 2.900.000 190.000 120.000 1.450.000 1.140.000
100% 6.6% 4.1% 50.0% 39.3%
M2 670.000 120.000 90.000 350.000 110.000
23.1% 4.1% 3.1% 12.0% 3.8%
M3 18.000 15.000 1.100 1.300 600
0.6% 0.5% 0.03% 0.04% 0.02%


Objectives of the Eurocodes is the harmonization of technical rules for
the design of building and civil engineering works.
Main advantages:
harmonization of building standards in Europe
standardization of the basic requirements
and of the design concept for the different types of construction
equalization of the safety levels in respect of:
the different combinations of actions
the different types of buildings and building elements
higher allowable stresses in some cases
more flexibility in the design practice

The preliminary architectural and structural design of buildings with structural masonry involves several steps:
Limit states are states beyond which the structure
no longer satisfies the design performance requirements.

Ultimate limit states are those associated with collapse,
or with other forms of structural failure, which may endanger the
safety of people.
States prior to structural collapse which, for simplicity,
are considered in place of the collapse itself are also classified
and treated as ultimate limit states.

Ultimate limit states which may require consideration
include:
loss of equilibrium of the structure or any part of it,
considered as a rigid body,
failure by excessive deformation, rupture, or loss of stability of
the structure or any part of it, including supports and
foundations.

Serviceability limit states correspond to states
beyond which specified service criteria are no longer met.

Serviceability limit states which may require consideration
include:
deformations or deflections
which affect the appearance or effective use of the structure
(including the malfunction of machines or services)
or cause damage to finishes or non-structural elements,
vibration which causes discomfort to people,
damage to the building or its contents,
or which limits its functional effectiveness.
Fundamental requirements
1. A structure shall be designed and constructed in such a way
that:
with acceptable probability, it will remain fit for the use for
which it is required, having due regard to its intended life and its
cost, and
with appropriate degrees of reliability, it will sustain all actions
and influences likely to occur during execution and use and have
adequate durability in relation to maintenance costs.
2. A structure shall be designed in such a way that it will not be
damaged by events like explosions, impact or consequences of
human error, to an extent disproportionate to the original cause.
The potential damage should be limited or avoided
by appropriate choice of one or more of the following:

avoiding, eliminating or reducing the hazards which the
structure is to sustain,
selecting a structural form which has low sensitivity to the
hazards considered,
selecting a structural form and design that can survive
adequately the accidental removal of an individual element,
tying the structure together.
The above requirements shall be met

by the choice of suitable materials,
by appropriate design and detailing,
and
by specifying control procedures for production,
construction and use, as relevant for the particular project.

Structural regularity criteria

Very important is the achievement of a direct and clear
transmission of vertical and horizontal loads to the
foundations and to ensure a spatial co-operation between
the masonry walls on the two directions and the between
walls and slabs.
Very important is the favourable effect of the regularity of
the structure.
- In plan it enables the elimination/reduction of the
effects of torsion of the ensemble.
-In elevation it ensures the uniformity of the resistance
requirements at different levels, eliminating the stresses
concentration that could results in the deviation of the
normal/direct route toward the foundations of vertical
and horizontal forces.

The buildings with a regular structure in plan and
elevation have the advantages to be analyzed with
simple methods and models.
Oscillations of buildings without symmetry
during the earthquake
For buildings with complex shapes the centroids of slabs are
different from the stiffness of floors, and the whole ensemble will
undergo a general torsion. The most vulnerable points are the
inlet corners and the areas closed to them where the stresses are
concentrated whatever will be the seismic load direction.
Fig. critical zones for buildings with composed shapes
In the case of buildings with structural masonry walls, irregularities in
plan come, generally from two major causes (or a combination of them)
arising from architectural conception of the building:
irregular / unsymmetrical layout of major holes in walls;
plan with pronounced unbalance form.
The existence of long walls without gaps (turbot) is inherent, especially
for "filling" buildings and introduces powerful effects of torsion.
Fig. Irregularity in plan coming from the plan conception
Another cause of the producing the situation of "irregularity" in the plan
comes from the composition floors:
-floors with different compositions at a certain level rigid ( concrete floor)
completed with a floor with a low rigidity (made of wood);
- floors with large hollows (with the opening area greater than 50% of floor
area).
Fig. Irregularities resulted from the floors composition
Separation of building in sections.
The segmentation buildings with complex compositions depends on the shape and
proportions in plan of the whole built ensemble.
Fig. Possible segmentation for complex buildings
Fig. Possible segmentation of buildings with a plan in Ushape
Fig. Possible segmentation of buildings with interior enclosures and in the Tshape with different proportions


Principles for masonry structure

for areas where the seismic acceleration ag0.20g it is
recommended to chose a regular structure in plan and in
vertical direction;

it is better a geometrical and mechanical symmetry
(resulted from the disposing in plan of the structural
walls);
the floor area will be maintained constant at all the
levels; are excepted some area reductions from a level to
another of 10-15% with the condition that the route of
unloading to the foundation do not be interrupted;

the buildings must have a spatial structure made by:
- vertical elements: the structural walls disposed on
orthogonal directions;
- horizontal elements: the floors which are rigid
diaphragms in horizontal plan.
The spatial character of the masonry structure is obtained
by:

A. The connection between the structural walls on the two
main directions, at corners, intersections is achieved by:

Bonding of the masonry;
Concrete cores in the case of confined masonry;
Bonding of the masonry from the exterior layers and
the concrete continuity and reinforcement from the
core in the case of masonry with reinforced core.
B. The connection between floors and structural walls is
achieved depending on the masonry type:

For simple masonry: with wall beams of reinforced
concrete on all the walls;
For confined masonry: by including and anchorage of the
reinforcement in concrete core in the walls beams at each
floor level;
For the masonry with reinforced core: by including and
anchorage of bars from the median layer in the wall beams
at each floor level.
The stiffness structure will be approximately the same on
the two main directions; the difference between them must
not exceed 25%.

The resistance and stiffness of building will be constant on
all the height of the building. It is admitted that the
reduction of resistance and stiffness must not exceed 20%
and the reduction is achieved by:

walls density;
walls thickness;
compressive strength of the masonry.
The masonry buildings are considered to be with
structural regularity in plan if:
1.The shape in plan satisfies the following criteria:
it is approximately symmetric related to the main
directions;
is compact, with regular outlines and with a reduced
number of inlet corners;
the possible recesses/prominences in comparison with
the current outline of the slab do not exceed, each of
them, the greatest value from: 10% from the slab area
or 1/5 from the dimension of that side.
2. The plan distribution of the structural walls does not
lead to important dissymmetry of the lateral stiffness, of
the strength capacity and/or of the permanent loads
related to the main directions of the building;
3. The stiffness in horizontal plan is sufficiently large
so that it is ensured the compatibility of the lateral
displacements of the structural walls under the
effect of horizontal forces
4. At the ground floor level, on each main direction of the
building, the distance between the mass centre (CG) and
the stiffness centre (CR) does not exceed 0.1L where L is
the building dimension on the direction perpendicular on the
calculus direction.
Figure 1. Conditions for structural regularity in plan
The disposing in plan of the structural walls
The disposing in plan will be as much uniform as possible
to avoid the unfavourable effects of the ensemble torsion.
To ensure the strength and stiffness to torsion it is
recommended that the structural walls with big stiffness will
be placed as much closer to the building outline.
It is recommended that the sum of the net areas of the
masonry walls on the two directions to be approximately
equal.
It is recommended that the transversal structural walls
from the end of the sections will be as much as possible
without holes.
The holes in the structural walls
The dimensions and placement of holes in the walls will
have in view the following requirements:
functional;
facades appearance;
structural.
The structural requirements refer to:

avoiding the reduction of the strength and stiffness of
walls;
getting of some net masonry areas approximately equal
on the two directions;
fulfillment of the requirements of strength and ductility for
the vertical complete walls and horizontal ( coupling
beams, lintels) between holes.
The ratio between the areas in plan of the holes and the
areas of complete walls will be limited depending on:

seismic acceleration of the placement (ag);
level number (nniv);
wall position in the building.
The holes for windows and doors will be placed on the same
vertical direction on all levels. It is accepted the alternative
disposition if it is complied the distances that will allowed the
loads transmission through a system truss beam
The minimum length (lmin) of the adjacent mullion to
holes will be limited, depending on the height of the holes
(hgol) or the wall thickness (t):
For unreinforced masonry (ZNA):
marginal mullion :
lmin = 0.6hgol1.20m
intermediary mullion
lmin = 0.5hgol 1.00m

For confined masonry (ZC or ZC+AR);
marginal mullion
lmin = 0.5hgol1.00m
intermediary mullion
lmin = 0.4hgol 0.80m

For masonry with reinforced core (ZIA) lmin = 3t
Disposing in plan of holes in masonry walls

In the case of masonry with the row height 200mm, the height of the wall
between the reinforced beam walls will be an entire multiple of the row height.
Modulation of masonry related the elements dimensions for masonry
The thickness of the structural walls
The thickness of the structural walls will be
estimated in order to satisfy the following
requirements:

structural ensurance;
thermal insulation/energy saving;
acoustic insulation;
fire protection.
The minimum thickness of the structural walls,
whatever the material of the masonry, will be 240mm.
From the point of view of the structural ensurance,
whatever the calculus results, the ratio between the height
level (het) and the thickness (t) must fulfill the following
minimum conditions:

unreinforced masonry (ZNA) het/t 12;
confined masonry (ZC) and masonry with reinforced
core (ZIA) het/t 12

For walls subjected to axial compression,
the slenderness coefficient hef/t 20 for ZC, ZC+AR,
ZIA
and hef/t 16 for ZNA
The preliminary design of the horizontal structural
subsystems
For the preliminary design of floors, it will be followed that
they will be conceived as rigid diaphragm in horizontal plan,
taken into account their role concerning the:
the collection of inertia forces and their transmission to the
vertical elements of the structure ;
the ensurance of cooperation between the vertical
elements for taking over the horizontal seismic forces :
the distribution of the level seismic force between the
structural walls proportionally to each translation rigidity;
re-transmission to the walls that have reserves of loads
capacity for additional loads that results after the walls
failure with insufficient resistance capacity;

the possibility to adopt some models for a simplified
calculus, having one or three freedom degrees
The floors rigidity in horizontal plan depends on:

constructive composition of the floor;

dimensions and positions of big holes in floors.
The stiffness of floors in horizontal plan will be higher
than the lateral rigidity of the structural walls, so that the
floors deformability do not significantly influence the
seismic force distribution between the vertical structural
elements.
Floors types

The floors for masonry buildings can be classified, from
the point of view of stiffness in horizontal plan in two
categories:

rigid floors in horizontal plan;

floors with unimportant rigidity in horizontal plan.
When they are not weakened by important holes, the floors
could be considered rigid in horizontal plan when they have
the following constructive composition:
monolith reinforced concrete floor);
floors from panels or halfpanels prefabricated of reinforced
concrete joint on the outline
floors made of prefabricated elements ,
The following floors are considered to have insignificant
rigidity in horizontal plan:

floors made of prefabricated elements like band type with
locks or connection bars at the end, without reinforced
overlayer concrete or with unreinforced covering concrete
with a thickness 30mm;
floor made of prefabricated concrete elements with small
dimensions or of ceramic blocks, with reinforced covering
concrete;
wooden floors.

Usually the masonry buildings are designed with floors
rigid in horizontal plan.
Positioning of big holes in floors
The position of big holes in floors will be chosen so that
the stiffness and strength of the floors will not be reduced.
Positioning of big holes in the floors
Underground walls
Usually , the underground walls will be placed under all the
structural walls from the ground floor. They will be made of
reinforced concrete.
The thickness of the underground walls will be
dimensioned in order to fulfill the resistance requirements
to:
vertical loads;
seismic load;
ground pressure in the case of walls from the
underground outline.
It is recommended that the underground stiffness will be
higher than the stiffness of the upper levels. There are some
measures:
the number and dimensions of holes in underground walls
will be reduced as much as possible;
the holes for windows and doors will be placed in other
positions than those from the holes from the ground floor, so
that will be avoid some weak zones in walls. In the case
when this situation it is not possible, the dimensions of holes
will be smaller than those from the ground floor.
-In the case of walls in cellular system and areas with ag
0.24g it is recommended to introduce some additional
walls.
Additional walls for underground level in the case of rare walls
The masonry buildings are considered to
be with structural regularity in elevation if:

1. The heights of the adjacent levels are
equal or differ with no more than 20%;
2. The structural walls have in plan the same
dimensions at all levels above the terrain or
differ in some limits:

- The length of one wall is not shorter than the
wall from the inferior level with 20%;
- The reduction of net area of the walls from
the upper levels, for buildings with nniv 3
does not exceed 20 % from the area of the
masonry from the ground floor.
3. The building does not have weak levels
(with a stiffness and/or strength capacity lower
than the superior levels).
Figure 2. Buildings with weak levels (without structural regularity in elevation)
The buildings with structural masonry walls are classified
into regularity groups:

Regularity group of the
building
Regularity
Plan Elevation
Regular building 1 Yes Yes
2 No Yes
Irregular building 3 Yes No
4 No No
One way to solve the problem is to separate the
building into sections. This happens when:

the length of the building exceeds the limits;
the plan shape has irregularities;
the terrain has some irregularities concerning the
stratification, content, etc.
It is recommended that the ratio between the
main dimensions of the building sections
resulted through fragmentation would be:

height/ breadth 1.5;
length/ breadth 4.0;
for normal foundation terrain, the maximum
length of the section is 50.0m.
The choice of the system for structural walls
The choice of the structural walls system will be
chosen so that the following requirements will be
fulfilled simultaneously:
functional: dimensions of free spaces, level
height, type of circulation spaces;
comfort;
structural safety.
The density of the structural walls, on each main
direction of the building, is defined by the
percentage of the total net area of the masonry
walls (Az, net) on that direction, related to the floor
area (Apl) on that level.
pl
net z
A
A
p
,
100 (%) =
Structure with dense walls (honeycomb system)

This kind of system is defined by the following
geometric parameters:
level height is 3.2m;
distance between walls, on both main directions
5.00m;
the cell area resulted from the walls on both two
directions 25.0m2.
Figure3. Structures with dense walls (honeycomb system)
Structures with rare walls
The structures with rare wall (cellular system) are
defined by the following geometric parameters:
level height 4.00m;
the maximum distances between walls, on both
main directions 9.00m;
cell area formed by the walls on both main
directions 75.0sm.

In this case, the structural walls are disposed,
usually, at the limit between the functional units,
which eliminates the weakness because of the
circulation gaps.
Figure4. Structure with rare walls (cellular system)
The choice of the masonry type

The masonry type is chosen depending on:

number of level above the soil level (nniv);
structural regularity of building;
group of the masonry elements;
design seismic acceleration (ag).
The buildings with structural brickwork walls could
be with the following types:

Simple masonry/ without reinforcement
(ZNA);
Confined masonry (ZC);
Confined masonry and reinforcement in
horizontal joints (ZC+AR);
Masonry with reinforced core (ZIA).
Classification of the masonry walls:

Structural wall: wall designed to resist to vertical and horizontal
forces that act mainly in its plan;
Stiffening wall: a wall perpendicular to another wall, with which it
co-operates for unloading the vertical and horizontal forces and
contributes to the ensurance of its stability. There are also bracing
(strut) walls that take over the horizontal forces that are acting in
their plan.
Walls without a structural role: a wall that is not a part of the
building structure; this wall could be removed, and the building is
not affected.
Filling wall: a wall that is not a part of the main structure, but in
some conditions it contributes to the lateral stiffness of the
building and to the seismic energy dissipation. The changing of this
kind of wall requires some adequate constructive measures.
The constructive solution (with masonry
structural walls) is usually used for:
Buildings with a height up to P+4E:
dwellings, education buildings, health
care buildings or some other types social-
cultural buildings that do not require
spaces too large;
Hall type buildings with moderate sizes
(maximum spans 9.00-15.00m and
heights of 6.00-8.00m).
The thickness of the structural walls are limited by the
ratio:
For the thickness t =25cm for het, max (ZNA) = 3,00m
het, max (ZC, ZIA) = 3,75m
For the thickness t = 30cm for het, max (ZNA) = 3,60m
het, max (ZC, ZIA) = 4,50m
Wall types
Load-bearing wall:
A wall of plan area greater than 0,04 m2, primarily designed to
carry an imposed load in addition to its own weight.
Single-leaf wall:
A wall without a cavity or continuous vertical joint in its plane.
Cavity wall:
A wall consisting of two parallel single-leaf walls,
effectively tied together with wall ties or bed joint reinforcement,
with either one or both leaves supporting vertical loads.
The space between the leaves is left as a continuous cavity or filled
or partially filled with non-load bearing thermal insulating material.
Double-leaf wall:
A wall consisting of two parallel leaves with the longitudinal joint
between (not exceeding 25 mm) filled solidly with mortar and
securely tied together with wall ties so as to result in common
action under load.
Grouted cavity wall:
A wall consisting of two parallel leaves, spaced at least 50 mm
apart, with the intervening cavity filled with concrete and securely
tied together with wall ties or bed joint reinforcement so as to
result in common action under load.
Faced Wall:
A wall with facing units bonded to backing units so as to result in
common action under load.
Shell bedded wall:
A wall in which the masonry units are bedded on two general
purpose mortar strips at the outside edges of the bed face of the
units.
Veneer wall:
A wall used as a facing but not bonded or contributing to the
strength of the backing wall or framed structure.
Shear wall:
A wall to resist lateral forces in its plane.
Stiffening wall:
A wall set perpendicular to another wall to give it support against
lateral forces or to resist buckling and so to provide stability to the
building.
Non-load bearing wall:
A wall not considered to resist forces such that it can be removed
without prejudicing the remaining integrity of the structure.
The simple masonry/without reinforcement

is a material capable to take important vertical loads;
it is not able to take vertical and horizontal loads that
results in tension unitary stresses;
the breaking is fragile.
Because of:

its low capacity to dissipate the seismic energy;
low tensile and shear strength;
low ductility

the use of this kind of structure is not recommended.
Even though they are used when are fulfilled some
conditions:
the height level 3.00m;
the structural walls is of honeycomb type;
the maximum number of levels over the fixing section
(nniv) for buildings of masonry elements from group 1,2
and the minimum value (p%), depending on the seismic
acceleration (ag) are:
n
niv
Seismic acceleration (a
g
)
0.08g 0.12g; 0.16g 0.20g 0.24g; 0.28g;
0.32g
1 4% 4% 5% 6%
2 4% 6% NA NA
3 5% NA NA NA
Measures:
It is used only for buildings with a small number of
levels;
The building must have a structural regularity in
plan and elevation;
The seismic load static equivalent is estimated
using low values for the behaviour factor, in order to
limit the post elastic incursions;
The limitation of the relative length of the tension
zone under the effect of vertical and seismic loads.
Masonry with reinforcement (ZC,ZC+AR, ZIA)
The reinforcement ensures:
ductility;
capacity to dissipate the seismic energy;
limitation of excessive degradation of strength and
stiffness;
maintaining in some limits the walls integrity after a
severe seism.
The maximum levels number for buildings of confined masonry (ZC) and
confined and reinforced masonry (Z+AR) and with reinforced core (ZIA)
with clay units from group I and II is given below:

n
niv
Design seismic acceleration a
g

0.08g, 0.12g 0.16g, 0.20g 0.24g 0.28g, 0.32g
1 3% 4% 4% 4%
2 3% 4% 5% 6%
3 4% 5% 6% NA
4 4% 6% NA NA
5 5% NA NA NA
In the case of buildings from ZNA, the attic is considered to be
level that is included in the levels number
In the case of reinforced masonry buildings (ZC< ZC+AR< ZIA),
the attic is not included in the levels number if the following
conditions are fulfilled:
the minimum constructive density of walls is increased with1%;
the outline walls of masonry do not exceed the height of 1.25m;
the partition walls are light ones;
the wooden framework is designed that in the outline walls will
not result horizontal force;
the masonry walls from the attic is confined with concrete cores
as a continuation of those from the lower ones;
at the upper level of the masonry walls of the attic, will be
realized a wall beam.

If at least one of the before conditions is not fulfilled, the attic is
considered level.
The disposing of the concrete core and beam walls for the
confined masonry.
In the case of confined masonry, the concrete core will be
placed in the following positions:
at the free ending of each wall;
on both parts of each hole with the area 2.5m2 (like a door
hole);
at each exterior and inlet corner on the building outline;
on the wall length, so that the distance between the concrete
cores axis do not exceed:
- 4.0m in the case of cellular system;
- 5.0m in the case of honey comb system;
at the walls intersections, if the closer concrete core is placed
at a longer distance than 1.5m.
Positions of reinforced concrete columns for a confined masonry
The concrete columns will be made on the whole building height.
The beams walls will be placed in the following positions:
at the level at each floor, whatever the building material of the
floor;
in an intermediary position, between floors at the buildings
with rare walls.
Technical conditions associated to the
resistance and stability requirement
a. The favourable mechanism for the seismic energy
dissipation
The main feature of the masonry structures placed in
seismic areas results from the requirement that the structure
has some specific proprieties, additional to those necessary
for buildings loaded only with gravitational loads:

Ductility of ensemble and local level;
Capacity of dissipation of seismic energy;
Moderate degradation of resistance and rigidity under the
effect of repeated alternating loads.
In the case of the masonry buildings, the favourable
mechanism for the seismic energy dissipation consists in
controlling the zones for the plastic deformation
development in the zones from the base of the stud, that is
defined as fixing section.
This could be achieved by the following measures:

The capable bending moments will be higher, in all the
sections, than the bending moment corresponding to the
fixing section plastification.
The resistance to the shear strength of the structural walls
will be higher, in all the sections, than the shear strength
associated to the resistance capacity to the compressive
eccentric force.
Measures in order to ensure the local ductility.
In the case of the walls coupled with coupling girdles made
entirely of reinforced concrete, it may be assumed the
formation of the plastic joints in the girdles if:

the collapse from bending of the girdle precedes:
- stud collapse through eccentric
compression;
- girdle collapse through shear force.

girdle collapse through shear force precedes the girdle
(stud) support collapse through local crush of the masonry.
b. The resistance condition

The resistance condition is fulfilled if in all the structural
elements, in the most stressed sections, the resistance
capacity is higher than the designed stresses, for all the
combination of loads.
c. The stability condition

The stability of the whole masonry building is
ensured if:
- the building placed on a sloped terrain does not
have a slide risk;
- there is not a upsetting risk for the building
because of the horizontal forces;
- it is ensured the spatial rigidity of the building.

The local stability of the walls is ensured if:
- the walls are stiffened;
- the compressive efforts (stresses) are limited
taking into account the flexion and eccentricities of
loads.
d. The stiffness condition

The masonry buildings will have enough stiffness so
that:

the inelastic deformations of the structural elements,
under the designed earthquake for ULS, will stay in
acceptable limits ( the resulted damages will be
reparable in acceptable technical and economic
conditions);
the damages from the designed earthquake will be
limited for SLS;
it is avoided the collision of adjoining buildings.
c. The ductility condition

The ductility condition is aiming mainly to:

the ensurance of a sufficient capacity for a plastic
rotation in the potential plastic sections, without the
important reduction of the resistance capacity;

the reduction, through constructive dimensioning, of the
probability to happen breakings with a fragile character
( for example the failure in steps by shear force ).
The designed values of the mechanical proprieties of
masonry

For all the loads types, the reference values result from the
characteristic values divided by a partial safety coefficient for
the material M1differentiated depending on:

limit state for which is made the verification;
elements quality for the masonry and mortar;
quality of the execution.
M
zk
zd
f
f

=
-
The designed values resulted from the reference values
multiplied by a coefficient for the working conditions mz.
Its value depends on:

the limit state taken into account;
characteristics of the stress state of the element;
the necessity to compensation of some simplification of
calculus methods.
-
=
zd z zd
f m f
The values of the working conditions coefficient mz are as follows:

A. For the verification for the ultimate limit state (ULS):

mz,ULS = 1.0 for all the cases, excepting the cases
mentioned below;
mz,ULS = 0.85 for the elements with the cross area
<0.30m2;
mz,ULS = 0.85 for masonry with cement mortar (without
lime addition) for the compressive strength
mz,ULS = 0.75 the same, for the tension resistance from
bending, shear stress along the horizontal joint and the main
tension stress
mz,ULS = 1.25 for testing the elements strength during the
execution.
B. For the verification for serviceability limit state:

mz,SLS = 1.0 for all the cases, excepting the cases
mentioned below;
mz,SLS = 2.0 for all the elements with usual plaster;
mz,SLS = 1.5 for elements with waterproofing plaster
working under the hydrostatic pressure;
mz,SLS = 1.2 for elements with decorative plaster and
higher quality finishings.
The values for the partial safety coefficient:

M = 2.2 for the calculus at the ultimate limit state (ULS)
with the elements for masonry of class I and mortar for
general use (G) performant or of prescription, in normal
control conditions;
M = 2.5 for the calculus at the ultimate limit state (ULS)
with the elements for masonry of class II and mortar made
in site conditions, and in normal control conditions;
M = 3.0 for the calculus at the ultimate state (ULS) with
the elements for every class and in low control conditions;
M = 1 for the calculus at serviceability limit state (SLS).
Normal control conditions mean that:
the works are supervised permanently by specialized
personnel;
the designer controls the works;
the technical responsible of the owner verifies regularly
the works.

Low control conditions mean that:
the works are not supervised permanently;
the designer rarely controls the works;
the technical responsible of the owner does not control the
materials quality and the works quality.
Selection of materials Masonry units
Types of elements for masonry

clay masonry units;
calcium silicate masonry units;
aggregate concrete masonry units ( with dense
aggregate or lightweight aggregate);
autoclaved aerated concrete masonry units;
manufactured stone masonry units;
natural stone masonry units.

Masonry units may be Category I or II:

category I units with a declared compressive strength
with a probability of failure to reach it not exceeding 5 %

category II lower confidence level than for I.
Grouping is defined with limits on:

volume of all holes
volume of each hole
declared value of thickness of web and shells
declared value of combined thickness of web and shells.
Depending on the geometrical characteristics, the masonry
elements could be in two groups:

Group I
clay masonry units 240x115x63;
clay masonry units with circular holes;
lightweight concrete units with holes volume 25%;
autoclaved aerated concrete masonry units.

Group II

clay masonry units with rectangular holes
lightweight concrete units with holes volume between
25% and 50%;
ordinary concrete units with the volume holes between
25% and 50%.
The masonry units with vertical holes could be used if there
are followed the conditions:

the holes volume is 50%;
the thickness of external web and shells te15mm;
the thickness of internal web and shells ti10mm;
the vertical internal walls are continually realized on the
whole length element.
The grouping units depending on the exterior profile
of the element:
Depending on the exterior profile of the sides elements,
the masonry units could be classified as follows:

elements with plane sides;
elements with place for mortar;
elements with place for mortar and additional prints for
mortar;
elements with shapes
Masonry:
An assemblage of masonry units laid in a specified
pattern and joined together with mortar.

Reinforced masonry:
Masonry in which bars or mesh, usually of steel, are
embedded in mortar or concrete so that all the materials
act together in resisting forces.
Prestressed masonry:
Masonry in which internal compressive stresses have been
intentionally induced by tensioned reinforcement.

Confined masonry:
Masonry built rigidly between reinforced concrete or
reinforced masonry structural columns and beams on all four
sides (not designed to perform as a bending resistant frame).

Masonry bond:
Disposition of units in masonry in a regular pattern to achieve
common action.
The mechanical properties of the masonry elements
The compressive strength of masonry units

The compressive strength of masonry units, to be used
in design, shall be the normalized mean compressive
strength, fb.
In the case when the compressive strength is assessed in
accordance with specific standards and is declared by the
producer as mean resistance, this value will be converted in
normalized compressive strength , in order to take into
account the high and width of the masonry elements, by
multiplication with a factor.
Transformation factor and f
b
values for clay and concrete elements

Masonry element

fact
or
f
med

(N/mm
2
)
10 7.5
Clay bricks 240x115x63mm 0.81 8.1 6.1
Clay bricks with vertical holes 240x115x88mm
290x240x138mm
0.92 9.2 6.9
Clay bricks with vertical holes 240x115x138mm 1.12 11.2 8.4
Clay bricks with vertical holes 290x140x88mm 0.87 8.7 6.5
Clay bricks with vertical holes 290x140x138mm
290x240x188mm
Blocks with holes of ordinary and light concrete
290x240x188mm
1.07 10.7 8.0
Mortars
Classification

Depending on the way of realization, the mortars could be:
factory made masonry mortar;
site made mortars.

Depending on the composition definition, the mortars could
be:
designed mortars (declared performances);
prescribed mortars (declared proportions plus compressive
strength declared using publicly available references).
Compressive strength of mortars
The masonry mortars are classified depending the
mean compressive strength, expressed by the letter M
followed by the compressive strength value expressed
in N/mm
2
(for example: M5 mortar with the mean
unitary strength f
m
= 5N/mm
2
).The masonry mortars
must have f
m
> 1N/mm
2
.

Building type
Structural walls Unstructural walls
Elements Mortar Elements Mortar
Lasting
buildings
All the
importance
class
f
med
>10 M10 f
med
>10 M5
f
med
10 M5 f
med
10 M2.5
Temporary
buildings
M2.5 M1
Compressive strength of masonry
Characteristic compressive strength of masonry
When there are not data concerning the loads, the
characteristic compressive resistance fk realized with general
use mortar (G) for normal loads on the horizontal joints, will be
estimated depending on the compressive strength of the
masonry units and of the mortar:
30 . 0 70 . 0
m b k
f Kf f =
where:
K constant coefficient depending on the masonry element type
and of the mortar type;
fb normalized compressive strength of the masonry element,
on the perpendicular direction on the horizontal joints, in N/mm2;
fm mean compressive strength of mortar in N/mm2.
Values of the K coefficient

Masonry element type
Coeff. K
Full clay bricks 0.50
Clay bricks with vertical holes 0.45
Blocks of ordinary and light concrete 0.50
Small blocks of autoclaved aerated concrete 0.50
This formula may be used if there followed the following
requests:

the element strength for the masonry is fb75N/mm2;
the mortar resistance fm 20N/mm2 and fm 2fb;
the variation coefficient of the resistance of the masonry
elements is 25%;
all the joints are full of mortar;
the masonry thickness is equal with the breadth or the length
of the element, so that there is no mortar joint parallel with the
wall face; in the case when there is a joint parallel with wall face
the value is reduced with 20%.
Typical wall bonds relative to longitudinal joints
The unitary designed compressive strength of masonry

M
k
z d
f
m f

=
where:
-m
z
is the working condition coefficient
-f
k
characteristic compressive strength of masonry
-
M
partial factor for material
Shear strength of masonry in horizontal joint


The characteristic initial shear strength in horizontal
joint (f
vk0
)

Elements for masonry
Mean strength of mortar f
m
(N/mm
2
)
M10 M5, M2.5 M1
Clay elements 0.30 0.20 0.10
Ordinary and light concrete 0.20 0.15 0.10
Autoclaved aerated concrete - 0.15 0.10
The characteristic shear strength of masonry, fvk, realized
with mortar for general use of masonry (G) , with all the
joints full of mortar, will be chosen equal with smallest value
from:

For elements for masonry from group I

fvk =fvk0 + 0.4d
fvk =(0.034fb + 0.14 d)
For elements for masonry from group II
fvk = fvko + 0.4 d
fvk =0.9(0.034 fb + 0.14 d)

where:
fvk0 unitary characteristic initial strength to shear strength
d perpendicular compressive unitary stress on the shear
plan in the masonry wall;
fb normalized compressive strength of masonry elements.
The unitary characteristic shear strength in horizontal joint f
vk
for elements of clay
masonry from group I:

f
b

N/m
m
2

Morta
r
Unitary compressive stress
d
(N/mm
2
)
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
10.0 M10 0.340 0.368 0.382 0.396 0.410 0.424 0.438 0.452 0.466 0.480
M5/2.5 0.240 0.280 0.320 0.360 0.400
M1 0.140 0.180 0.220 0.260 0.300 0.340 0.380 0.420 0.460
7.5 M10 0.269 0.283 0.297 0.311 0.325 0.339 0.353 0.367 0.381 0.395
M5/2.5 0.240 0.280
M1 0.140 0.180 0.220 0.260 0.300
5.0 M5/2.6 0.184 0.198 0.212 0.226 0.240 0.254 0.268 0.282 0.296 0.310
M1 0.140 0.180
The unitary characteristic shear strength in horizontal joint f
vk
for elements of
clay masonry from group II:

f
b

N/mm
2

Morta
r
Unitary compressive stress
d
(N/mm
2
)
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
10.0 M10 0.319 0.332 0.345 0.358 0.371 0.384 0.397 0.410 0.423 0.436
M5/2.5 0.240 0.280 0.320
M1 0.140 0.180 0.220 0.260 0.300 0.340 0.380
7.5 M10 0.243 0.256 0.269 0.282 0.295 0.308 0.321 0.334 0.347 0.360
M5/2.5 0.240
M1 0.140 0.180 0.220 0.260
5.0 M5/2.6 0.166 0.179 0.192 0.205 0.218 0.231 0.244 0.257 0.270 0.283
M1 0.140
For the marked values, the characteristic value is given by the strength in horizontal
joints, and in the others by normalized strength of the element
The designed unitary shear strength in horizontal joint
M
vk
z vd
f
m f

=
The unitary tension strength from bending
perpendicular on the masonry plan
In the case of bending, produced by perpendicular forces
on the masonry plan, it will be taken into account the
strength corresponding to the following failure cases:

the bending strength in a failure plan parallel with the
horizontal joints, fx1;
the bending strength in a failure plan perpendicular on
the horizontal joints, fx2 .
Flexural strength. a. Plan of failure parallel to bed joints; b. Plan of failure
perpendicular to bed joints
The unitary characteristic strength for bending perpendicular on the
masonry plan

Element
type
Mean strength of the mortar
M10, M5 M2.5
f
xk1
f
xk2
f
xk1
f
xk2

Clay
masonry
units
0.240 0.480 0.180 0.360
Autoclaved
aerated
concrete
0.080 0.160 0.065 0.130
M
xk
z xd
f
m f

1
1
=
M
xk
z xd
f
m f

2
2
=
The designed unitary tension strength from bending perpendicular on
the masonry plan

Calculus of buildings with structural masonry
walls
General calculus principles
To design the usual buildings with masonry structure, the
calculus model is based on the following simplifying
assumptions:

masonry is a material supposed homogeneous, isotropic
and with an elastic answer till the ultimate stage;
the sectional characteristic of masonry walls is assessed
for the gross section (unfissured);
the results get by models based on the upper mentioned
are affected by correction factors, so that will be obtained a
better concordance with results from tests.
The model must take into account simultaneously the
following specific aspects:

the complex character of the constitutive law - that is
usually non-linear;
the particularities of the law - depends on the element
proportions and the masonry type (simple/reinforced);
the strength and stiffness degradation is caused by the
repeated incursion in the plastic range;
the particularities of the dissipation phenomenon
depends on the masonry type.
Calculus of structures to vertical loads
1. Calculus model for vertical loads
The structural walls are vertical elements that take
over the gravitational loads brought by floors and
transmitted to the foundation.
The structural walls are considered cantilevers fixed
- at the underground floor level (in the case of
buildings with underground) and
- at the superior level of foundations (in the case of
buildings without underground).
The walls can be loaded simultaneously with
vertical loads and horizontal ones that are acting
perpendicular on the wall plan:
loads from earthquake for the walls types;
loads from wind for the exterior walls;
loads from ground pressure for the outline walls
from the underground level;
forces caused by horizontal forces produced
arches, vaults or wooden frames;
loads from operating (furniture or equipments
suspended).
The calculus model must take into account :

the particularities of the vertical loads;
eccentricities of bending moments produced
by horizontal loads;
wall slenderness.
2. Calculus method for vertical loads
Determination of axial compressive strength in
structural walls
The compressive strength in a section is made of:

loads from afferent areas of floors placed under the
calculus section level;
own weight of the wall part placed over the calculus
section.
In the case of floors that transmit loads on two directions, the
walls takeover the loads from areas get by the bisecting lines.
These loads are considered uniformly distributed on the wall
length. In the case of walls with holes, it is added from the
breadth of hole that border the wall.
In the case of walls with complex shape, T,L, I, it is
considered that through the masonry bonding or by
concrete columns from the intersections or ramification it is
realized an uniform distribution of compression strength on
the whole area of wall.
For concentrated loads or for loads distributed only on
certain areas it is admitted that the stresses repartition is
made after inclined lines at 30.In the case of walls with
holes, the route is changed.
In practice, the design of loadbearing walls and columns is
reduced to the determination of the value of the
characteristic compressive strength of the masonry (fk) and
the thickness of the unit required to support the design
loads.
Once fk is calculated, suitable types of masonry/mortar
combinations can be determined from tables, charts or
equations.
The basic principle of the design can be expressed as

design vertical loading design vertical load
resistance

in which:
- the term on the left-hand side is determined from the
known applied loading and
- the term on the right is a function of fk, the slenderness
ratio and the eccentricity of loading.
If it were possible to apply pure axial loading to walls or
columns then the type of failure which could occur would be
dependent on the slenderness ratio = the ratio of the effective
height to the effective thickness.

For short columns, where the slenderness ratio is low,
failure would result from compression of the material, whereas
for long thin columns and higher values of slenderness ratio,
failure would occur from lateral instability.
It is virtually impossible to apply an axial load to a wall or
column since this would require a perfect unit with no
fabrication errors. The vertical load will, in general, be
eccentric to the central axis and this will produce a bending
moment.
Assessment of eccentricities of vertical loads
The eccentricities are coming from many sources:

a. constructive structure, that may involve deviation of
vertical loads flow from one level to another;
b. imperfections from execution, structure geometry,
homogeneity of materials, relative positions of elements;
c. effects of some local loads, of lower intensity than the
dead and seismic loads.

The effects of these eccentricities are additional bending
moments that act perpendicular on the maximum
resistance/rigidity plan.
These effects are introduced by reducing coefficients of
the resistance capacity estimated as for ideal axial loads.
a. Eccentricities resulted from structure
composition
The eccentricities coming from the structure
composition are produced in areas where is produced the
vertical forces transfer from a level to another and is the
result of:

eccentrically superposition on vertical direction of walls
from the adjacent floors;
eccentrically support of slabs on the walls;
support on walls of some slabs with different loads and
spans.
The resulted bending moments resulted from the
mentioned eccentricities varies linear on the wall height
between the maximum value at the upper side of the wall,
and zero to the inferior side of it.
Eccentricities from the structure composition

+
+
=
2 1
2 2 1 1
0
N N
d N d N
e
i
where:
N
1
load from the wall of the
superior level;
d
1
eccentricity with which is
applied the load N
1
;
N
2
- loads from slab/slabs that
are directly supported by the wall;
d
2
eccentricities with which
are applied the loads N
2

cm
t
e
a
0 . 1
30
> = cm
h
e
et
a
0 . 1
300
> =
b. Eccentricities from the execution imperfections
(accidental eccentricity)
The accidental eccentricities of vertical loads (e
a
) may be
caused by the following execution imperfections:
-relative displacement of the median plans of walls from the
two adjacent levels;
-deviations from the nominal value of the walls thickness;
-deviations from the vertical position of the wall;
-lack of homogeneity of materials.

The accidental eccentricity is introduced with the greatest
value between the values:

where: t wall thickness
h
et
floor height.
Table 1. The value of the calculus eccentricities e
a


Height of the
floor (m)
Wall thickness (cm)
25,0 30,0 37,5 45,0
3,00 1,00 1,25 1,50
3,20 1,07
3,40 1,13
3,60 1,20
3,80 1,27
4,00 1,33

+
=
2 1
) (
) (
N N
M
e
i hm
i hm
12
2
et h
hm hi
h p
M M = =
c. Eccentricities from the bending moments
produced by horizontal forces perpendicular on the
wall plan
The eccentricities of vertical force corresponding to
moments M
hm(i)
is given by:

where:

p
h
is the uniformly distributed load
N
1
load transmitted by the superior wall;
N
2
the reactions sum of slabs that are supported by the wall.
3. Calculus of masonry structures to horizontal loads
The wind action is taken into account only for:

calculus of eccentricities of vertical force resulted from
bending moments when the wind action is perpendicular on
the faade;
calculus of the pitched roofs;
verification of strength and rigidity of facades of glass of big
dimensions.
Calculus model for horizontal seismic load

The fixed section of the structural walls for the horizontal
forces will be taken:

at the higher level of socle, in the case of buildings without
basement;
at the slab over basement, for buildings with dens walls
(honey comb system) or for the rare walls (cellular system)
when there are additional walls in the basement
over the foundation level with rare walls, if there are not
additional walls in the basement.
The lateral stiffness of a masonry wall depends on:

geometry of the wall;
static conditions at the extremities: double fixed , or
cantilever;
deformability proprieties of the brickwork: elasticity modulus
(longitudinal and transversal).
For the active walls on each direction of the building, as
participant to overload the seismic load, it is necessary to
delimitate the length of the active flange equal with the
wall thickness and on each side is added the smallest
value from:
In compressed area:
- htot/5 where htot is the total height of the structural wall;
- of the distance between the structural walls that are
connected with a transversal wall;
- the distance to the end of the transversal wall on each
side of the core;
- from the free height of the wall (h).
In tensioned area:
- from the free height of the wall (h);
-distance to the end of the transversal wall on each side of
the core.
The holes in flange with maximum dimension h/4 may be neglected ,
and holes with dimensions > h/4 will be considered margins of flange.
The structural model must emphasize the elements:

the general composition of the structure:
- the ensemble geometry and of each under ensemble;
-the connection between the structural under ensemble
and the connection between the components of each
under ensemble;

distribution of the level mass, in plan and in the height;

stiffening characteristics and the damping capacity.
The multistoried buildings, with reinforced concrete slabs
rigid in their plan, are modeled as elastic system with three
freedom degrees (two horizontal translations and one
rotation around the vertical axis) for each level.
In the case of buildings with structural regularity, the calculus
is made taking into account two plan models, each of them
being made of all the structural walls on one main direction.
In this case, for buildings with rigid slabs in horizontal plan,
each plan model is an elastic dynamic system with one
freedom degree for each level. It is considered that the
seismic force acts successively and independently on each
main direction, and the seismic answers are not superposed.
For buildings without structural regularity, the calculus
model will take into account the spatial character of the
seismic action and of the structure answer.
The rigidity of the structural elements must be
estimated taking into account the deformability from
bending and from shear. It is used the elastic rigidity of
the unfissured masonry.

The rigidity from bending and shear of the fissured
masonry will be equal with half of the elastic rigidity of
the unfissured masonry.
For the simple masonry, the effect of the coupling beams
will not be considered.
They will be constructively reinforced, so that the failure of
the coupling beam from bending will precede:
the failure of the beam from shear strength;
the failure of the support from the local crushing of the
masonry.
The rigidity of the structural elements must be estimated
taking into account the deformability from bending and from
shear. It is used the elastic rigidity of the unfissured masonry.

The rigidity from bending and shear of the fissured
masonry will be equal with half of the elastic rigidity of the
unfissured masonry.
Calculus method for horizontal loads
Usually it is admitted the linear elastic behaviour of the
material.
The unlinear static calculus method follows, according to
the increasing of lateral loads, the evolution of the loading
till their successively exit from working state.
The ultimate carrying capacity of the structure is
considered as being get when the plastic joint of mullions is
produced, and they take over at least 15% from the seismic
load .

The use of the unlinear static calculus method is not
justified for buildings with structural masonry walls.
Calculus of horizontal seismic force for the
building ensemble

For buildings with structural regularity, the calculus of the
seismic force is calculated with the method of lateral forces
associated to the fundamental vibration mode. In this method,
the dynamic character of the seismic load is simply represented
by static force (equivalent static method).
For buildings without structural regularity, the seismic
forces for the building ensemble will be determined with the
method of modal calculus with answer spectrum.
m T S F
d b
) (
1 1
=
where:
F
b
= basic shear strength corresponding to the fundamental
mode;
S
d
(T
1
)= ordinate of the answer spectrum corresponding to the
fundamental period T
1
;
T
1
= fundamental period of vibration
m = total mass of the building as the sum of the levels
masses;
= correction factor that takes into account the contribution
of the fundamental mode by the effective modal mass
associated to it, with values:
= 0.85 if T
1
T
c
and the building has more than 2 levels
= 1.0 for other situations
For the calculus of seismic forces, it will be taken into
account the over resistance coefficients (u/1), that have in
view the resistance reserves coming from many sources:

redundance of the structural system (plastic joints from the
mullion base are not produced simultaneously),
over resistance of the reinforcement,
favourable effects of some constructive measures.
The behaviour factors for masonry structures (q) are
established as a function of masonry type, regularity class
and the over resistance factor (u/1) where:

u represents 90% from the horizontal seismic force for
which, if the effects of the other actions remain constant, the
structure gets the maximum value of the capable lateral force;
1 represents the horizontal seismic force for which, if the
effects of other actions remain constant, the first structural
element gets the ultimate resistance (bending with centric
compression or to shear strength).
For buildings with nniv2, the values u/1 as follows:

-masonry with elements from group 1 and 2:
unreinforced masonry u/1=1.10
reinforced masonry u/1 = 1.25

-masonry with elements from group 2S: reinforced and
unreinforced masonry u/1 = 1.00
Regularity Behaviour factor q for masonry type
Plan Elev
ation
ZNA ZC ZC+AR ZIA
Yes Yes 2.00
u
/
1
2.50
u
/
1
3.00
u
/
1
3.50
u
/
1

No Yes 2.00
u
/
1
2.50
u
/
1
3.00
u
/
1
3.50
u
/
1

Yes No 1.75
u
/
1
2.00
u
/
1
2.50
u
/
1
3.00
u
/
1

No No 1.50
u
/
1
1.75
u
/
1
2.00
u
/
1
2.50
u
/
1

For the structures with one level, the q values are reduced with 15%.
Calculus of stresses in structural walls

For buildings with stiffened slabs in horizontal plan, the
seismic force is distributed to the structural walls
proportional with the lateral stiffness of each wall.

For buildings with slabs with unsignificant stiffness, the
seismic force is distributed to the structural walls
proportional with the mass of each wall.
The basic shear strengths for structural walls estimated through an
elastic linear calculus may be distributed between the walls on the same
direction, with the condition that the global balance is ensured and that
the shear strength in every wall is not reduced/increased with more than
20%.
i
i
et v
I
S
M L A =
,
sup inf
M M M = A
When the walls have a composed section (I,T,L), the vertical sliping
strength in the section between the core and the flange (L
v,et
) is
calculated for a floor with the relation:

where:

M
inf
= bending moment in the section from the base of the floor for
which is calculated the sliping force
M
sup
= the same , in the section from the base of the upper floor.
S
i
= static moment of the ideal section of flange to the mass centre of
the ideal section of the wall;
I
i
= moment of inertia of ideal section of wall.
The geometric characteristics of the ideal section
(S
i
and I
i
) is determined using the equivalent coefficient n
ech

d
cd
ech
f
f
n
-
= 75 . 0
Calculus of deformations and lateral displacements in
the wall plan
For the calculus of deformations and lateral displacements of masonry
walls under seismic load, it will be used:

1. for unreinforced masonry (ZNA):
geometric characteristics of the unfissured section;
from the elasticity modulus of short period (Ez);
from the transversal elasticity modulus.

2. for confined masonry (ZC) and with reinforced core (ZIA):
geometric characteristics of unfissured section;
from the equivalent longitudinal elasticity modulus, of short duration
(EZC (ZIA));
from the equivalent transversal elasticity modulus (GZC (ZIA)).
Calculus models for perpendicular loads on the wall plan

For the calculus of bending moments under the effect of
perpendicular loads on the their plan, the walls are
considered to be elastic slabs fixed up and down, on the floor
slab, and lateral, on the stiffening walls (perpendicular on the
considered wall plan).

In the case of underground walls, for the bending moment
calculus given by the ground pressure, the wall will be
considered fixed or plastic hingh at the foundation level and
elastically fixed at the floor level over the underground level.
Calculus methods for perpendicular loads on the
wall plan
For wall without holes, the bending moments produced
by perpendicular forces on the wall plan may be
calculated by help of elastic plates theory.

In the case of walls with holes, for the bending
moments calculus, the walls will be divided in half panels
which may be calculated using the rules for full panels.
Calculus models to perpendicular forces for walls with holes
As simplification, the bending moments may be
assessed neglecting the effect of lateral supports, as for a
vertical continue band in the slabs direction. It is accepted
that the bending moments in the slabs direction and those
in the middle of the floor height are equal and are
estimated with:

12
2
et h
hm hi
h p
M M = =
M
hi
= bending moment in the slabs right
M
hm
= bending moment at the middle of the floor height.
ph is the uniformly distributed force from the wind action, or is the
mean force on the floor height, in the case of seismic loads
The simplified model for the perpendicular loads on the wall plan for multistoried
buildings
The slabs calculus

The slabs are dimensioned for:

vertical loads, died and from exploiting
horizontal loads acting in median plan of the slab.
The verification of slabs resistance and stiffening is necessary
for the following categories:

multistoried buildings with rare walls (cellular system);
buildings of hall type, for the roof slab;
buildings with big holes in slabs;
buildings with prefabricated slabs (to verify the joints
capacity).

For buildings with dense walls (honey comb system) this
verification is not necessary.
Calculus model

For buildings with simple shapes in plan, (rectangular)
the internal forces (shear strength and bending moment)
produced by horizontal forces, the slab will be considered as
a continue beam, supported by structural walls.

In the case of slabs with complicated shapes, with big
holes and with big concentrated loads, it will be adopted
models and methods that will emphasize their behaviour.
Calculus method

The total force for a slab is equal with the seismic
force applied at that level. This force may be considered
linear distributed on the slab length, the resultant passing
through the rigidity centre of the structure from that level.
In this hypothesis, the extreme values will be:

) 6 1 (
min max/
L
d
L
S
p
RG niv
=
S
niv
seismic force applied on the slab level
d
RG
between the mass centre (G) and rigidity centre (R)
L building dimension perpendicular on the calculus direction
The reaction from the supporting section of the slab
on a structural wall is proportional with the sum of the
resistance capacity to shear strength of all the wall
mullions:

R
Rdi
niv i
V
V
S F

=
where V
R
resistance capacity to shear strength of building on
the calculus direction.
The bending moment and the shear strength in slab is determined
from the conditions of static balance under the effect of loads p and
reactions Fi.
For buildings with structural regularity, with all slabs
identical and where the seismic force is linear distributed
on the height, the verification will be made only for the
last level, where Sniv has a maximum value.
Calculus of the masonry walls strength
The calculus model will take into consideration :

wall geometry;
supporting conditions of the wall;
peculiar conditions for loads application;
resistance and deformability proprieties of masonry;
execution conditions.
The geometry wall concerns to:
- the shape of the transversal section;
- ratio between height and thickness;
- presence of weak zones ( slots, recesses).

The supporting conditions refers to:
- supporting way at the slab level;
- lateral supporting way;
- holes effects on the supporting conditions.
The peculiar conditions for loads application refers to:
- application eccentricities resulted from the constructive
structure;
- eccentricities resulted from execution imperfections;
- effects of loads of long duration.

The resistance and rigidity proprieties refer to:
- constitutive law of the masonry -;
- rheological proprieties of masonry;
- compatibility of specific ultimate deformations of masonry
and concrete (in the case of ZC, ZC+AR, ZIA).
The designed resistance of structural walls is determined
for:
internal forces caused by forces acting in the median plan
of the wall:
centric force (NRd);
bending moment (MRd);
shear strength (VRd);
vertical sliping force in walls with composed sections
(VLhd).
internal forces caused by forces acting perpendicular on
the median plan of the wall;
bending moment in parallel plan with the horizontal joints
(MRxd1);
bending moment in a perpendicular plan on the horizontal
joints (MRxd2).
Calculus hypothesis
The assessment of internal forces and deformation in masonry
elements is based on the following hypothesis:

plane section hypothesis;
the tension strength of masonry on perpendicular direction on
horizontal joint is zero.
the relation between internal forces and specific deformation is
rectangular for the ultimate limit state (ULS);
the relation between internal forces and specific deformation is
triangular for service limit state (SLS).
Geometric characteristics of the horizontal section of
the wall

The dimensions of the transversal section of the walls are
net dimensions, meaning without plaster.
The walls with holes with maximum dimensions 0.2lw
could be considered as full walls, if the hole is placed in the
middle third of the level height, and the full masonry to the wall
end is with less 20% greater than the minimum values given
above.
The holes in flange with maximum dimension h//4 may be
neglected, and those >h/4 could be considered as margins of
the flange.
Unitary strength of masonry, concrete and reinforcement

M
k
z d
f
m f

=
where:

M
= 1.50 for structural walls and nonstructural
from the importance class I

M
=1.0 for all the elements what ever the
importance class.
Compression strength of unreinforced masonry with
burned clay elements
The centric compression strength for an element is
determined with:

d m i Rd
Af N
) (
u =

i(m)
coefficient for the strength reduction because of the
effect of the element slenderness and of the eccentricities of
loads in extreme sections (
i
) and respectively in the section
from 2/3 from the element height measured from the base
(
m
);
A area of the transversal section of the element;
f
d
compression strength
For masonry walls with rectangular section, the equation
became:

d m i Rd
tf N
) (
) 1 ( u =
where

t wall thickness
N
Rd
(1) designed strength of the rectangular wall on 1m.
t
e
i
i
2 1 = u
t e e e e
a hi i i
05 . 0
0
> + + =
The assessment of the coefficient of resistance
reduction
i

The coefficient of strength reduction in sections from the
wall extremities (
i
)- up and down- depends on the
eccentricity of the loads applying and will determined:

where t wall thickness;
e
i
eccentricity related to the wall plan, in the section from the
wall extremity, calculated with:

e
0i
eccentricity caused by all the loads over the calculus level
e
hi
eccentricity caused by forces applied perpendicular on the wall plan;
e
a
accidental eccentricity
k m mk
e e e + =
a hm i m
e e e e + =
0
3
2
t
e
h e
m
ef k
u = 002 . 0
The assessment of the coefficient of strength reduction
m

For the masonry elements with clay units, with all the joints filled, the
reduction coefficient will be taken from the table 6.1. depending on the
ratio h
ef
/t and e
mk
/t where e
mk
is the calculus eccentricity in the central
area of the wall ( at 2/3h
et
measured from the wall base) is given by:

where:

and

where:
e
k
- eccentricity caused by curgere lenta

- coefficient of curgere lenta

Assessment of the effective height of the wall (hef)

The effective height of the wall is established depending on
the panel dimensions and the connection conditions with the
adjacent elements (slabs and perpendicular wall).

In order to be considered lateral supports, the elements that
are ending the wall must have a rigidity comparable with that
of the wall which they stiffening.
A masonry wall is considered to be stiffened if it is tied by
bonding with a masonry wall perpendicular on it that fulfils
the following conditions:

- the length of the stiffening wall is 1/5 from the floor
height;
- the stiffening wall thickness is from the wall
thickness which is stiffened;
- in the case of a wall with holes in the stiffened wall
vicinity, its length must fulfill the conditions from the figure:
The wall stiffening with transversal walls
In the case of the wall of 240mm, the stiffened walls of 120mm are
considered only stiffened element and are not considered active walls for
the seismic load.
The stiffening of a wall may be ensured by the help of some
masonry columns ( pilaster) with thickness 3t and the distances
between their axis d20t , t is the thickness of the wall which is
stiffened.
The real thickness of the wall with pilasters is:
t t
w calc
=
Walls strengthening with masonry pilasters
The effective height of the masonry wall is calculated:

h h
n ef
=
where:

n
(n=2..4) - coefficient that takes into account the
supporting conditions and the number of sides of the wall;
h free height of the wall;
l
w
length of the horizontal section of the wall.
The coefficients n:

wall supported on a reinforced concrete or wood
on both sides 2 = 0.75

wall supported on a reinforced concrete or wood
on one side 2 = 1.00
2
3
16
12
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
w
l
h

h
l
w
5 , 1
3
=
2
3
3
16
12
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
w
l
h

h
l
w
2
3
=
2
3
3
1
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
w
l
h

2
3
1
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
w
l
h

The coefficients
3
(for the stiffened wall on a vertical side) and
4
(stiffened
wall on two vertical sides) are determined from the table 6.3 as function of
free height of the wall.

Values
2
Values
3
Values
4

h3,5l
w
h>3,5l
w
hl
w
h>l
w

0,75
1,00
Compression strength of walls made of reinforced
masonry ZC, ZC+AR, ZIA
d
cd
ech
f
f
n
-
= 75 , 0
-
cd
f
d
f
The walls strength will be estimated by transforming the mixed
section in a ideal section of masonry using the equivalent
coefficient n
ech


where:
= compression strength of concrete from concrete core


m=0,75 coefficient of working conditions

= compression strength of masonry
The calculus is made as in the case of simple masonry walls.
Local compression strength of walls under the
concentrated loads effect
For a wall made of simple masonry , the local compression strength because of
concentrated loads is calculated with:
d b cl Rd
f A N | =
,
where:
max
) 1 . 1 5 . 1 )( 30 . 0 1 ( 0 . 1 | | s + = s
ef
b l
A
A
H
a
where:
= increasing coefficient for concentrated loads;
a
l
= distance from the end of the wall till the closed limit of the area on which is
transmitted the load;
A
b
= the area on which is transmitted the load;
H = the wall height from the base till the level where the load is applied;
A
ef
= loaded area;
A
ef
= tL
ef
where
t
A
L
b
ef
2 . 2
s
is the effective length for taking over of the load measured from the middle of the
wall resulted from the unloading the vertical load to an angle of 60 with the
horizontal line.
max =1.25 if 2a1/H = 0

max =1.50 if 2a1/H 0

For 0.0 <2a1/H1.0 the values will be get by linear interpolation
between the values max mentioned before.

The eccentricity of the concentrated load, compared with the median
plan of the wall, will not exceed from the wall thickness.
Design strength to axial load and bending in median plan
of the masonry walls
General conditions for calculus

The general hypotheses are:

hypothesis of plan sections;
in the case of reinforced masonry (ZC and ZIA) the
concrete works together with the masonry till the ultimate
state; the ultimate deformations (ub) of the concrete could
not exceed those for the masonry (uz);
the tension strength of masonry is neglected;
in the ultimate state, the unitary stresses in the
compressed area of the masonry is considered to be
uniformly distributed; the same is for concrete;

d
sd
zc
f
N
A
8 . 0
=
zc Sd Rd
y N M =
Walls of masonry without reinforcement

The design strength for bending (M
Rd
) will be estimated
as follows:
1. It is estimated the area of the compressed zone


2. It is calculated the distance y
zc
from the centroid of the
wall till the mass centre of the compressed area
3. It is calculated the design strength to bending (M
Rd
)

t f
N
x
d
Sd
Rd
8 . 0
=
) (
2
Rd w
Sd
Rd
x l
N
M =
When the wall is rectangular with a length l
w
and a
thickness t , the relations became:

-The depth of the compressed zone
-The bending moment
In the case of a rectangular wall with the length l
w ,
the upper
relation become :
Ed w Rd
N l M 2 . 0 =
Fig. The calculus of the design strength to bending action with axial force for
the masonry without reinforcement
t f
N
x
d m i
Sd
Rd
) (
8 . 0 u
=
m
u
When the axial force is eccentrically to the wall plan, the
depth compressed zone will be calculated:

where
is the coefficient for the strength reduction
In the case of masonry walls without reinforcement at
which the bending in the wall plan is produced by the
seismic force, the design strength to bending action
associated to axial force (N
Ed
) will be determined as for
non-seismic loads, but with the limitation of area on which
are developed tension stresses by the condition:

sc zc
r y 2 . 1
Where:
r
zc
= distance from the mass centre of the horizontal section
till the limit of the central core being placed at the same
part as the compressed fiber.
Walls with confined masonry with or without
reinforcement in horizontal joints

The hypothesis for the calculus for design strength to
bending (MRd) associated to axial force from seismic loads
are:

Are neglected:

the strength to unitary stresses of tension of concrete in
the concrete core from the extremity subjected to tension;
the mortar strength from the horizontal joints;
the concrete section and the reinforcement from the
intermediate concrete core;

Are taken into account the contribution of the vertical confined
elements:
the section of the concrete core from the compressed extremity;
the reinforcement of the both concrete core from the extremities.

In the ultimate state, the deformation state, in the balance
situation is the following:
at the compressed extremity there are registered the maximum
values of specific deformations of masonry/concrete;
in the reinforcement from the concrete core at the tensioned
extremity is registered the curgere strength of steel.

The compression stresses block in masonry and/or concrete is
rectangular and is developed on a depth of 0.80x, where x is the
distance from the neutral axis till the most compressed fiber.

Figure The calculus of the design strength to
bending with axial force for confined masonry
In the case of elements from group 2 and 2S for which uz<ub :

For the extremities without flanges of wall, the specific
deformation of masonry, at the limit with the concrete core, will
not be greater than the maxim specific deformation, and the
maxim specific deformation in the concrete will not exceed
c =-3.0

For the extremities with flanges, the maximum specific
deformation of concrete (ub) will not be greater than the
maximum specific deformation of masonry.

Figure The ultimate specific
deformations at confined masonry
walls
If it is not necessary an exact calculus, the design strength at
bending (MRd) associated to the design axial force (NEd), for
a confined masonry wall of anyhow shape, may be estimated
by summation the design strength to bending of the ideal
section of simple masonry MRd(zna,i) with the design
strength to bending corresponding to the concrete core from
the extremities MRd (As).
) ( ) , ( As M i zna M M
Rd Rd Rd
+ =
The design strength to bending of the ideal section of the
simple masonry is calculated in the following assumptions:
It is valid the plane sections hypothesis;
The area of reinforced concrete of the compressed cores
may be replaced by an equivalent area of masonry; the
equivalence coefficient nech is equal with the ratio between
the basic value of the design strength for compression of the
concrete from the cores (fcd*) reduced with the working
conditions coefficient m = 0.75 and the design strength for
compression of the masonry (fd):
d
cd
ech
f
f
n
-
= 75 . 0
The compressive stresses block has a rectangular shape, with
a maximum value equal with 0.80fd;

Maximum depth of the compression area will be
xxmax=0.30lw where lw is the wall length
With these assumptions results:
The ideal section area for the compressed masonry :
d
Ed
zci
f
N
A
8 . 0
=
The bending moment of the ideal section of masonry:
zci Ed Rd
y N i zna M = ) , (
Where yzci is the distance from the mass centre of the wall
till the mass centre of the compressed zone of the ideal
section of masonry.
The design strength for bending given by the reinforcement
in concrete cores MRd (As) is calculated:
yd s s s Rd
f A l A M = ) (
where:
ls = distance between the mass centre of the two concrete core from
the extremities;
As = the smallest area from the two concrete cores;
fyd = the calculus strength of the reinforcement from the concrete
cores.
Masonry walls with reinforced core

Assumptions:

Plane sections hypothesis;
The masonry, concrete and the reinforcement have a ductile
behaviour defined by the curves -;
The parallel layer of masonry and concrete work together till
the ultimate stage;
The compression stresses block in the ultimate state is
rectangular with a depth xconv=0.80x where x is the
distance from the most compressed fiber till the neutral axis
of the horizontal section of the wall;

The specific deformations in the ultimate state of masonry
and concrete are equal ub=uz=-3.0 if there are used
masonry elements from the group 1;

The reinforcement in the mean layer is uniformly
distributed along the wall.
In this case the design strength for bending (MRd)
associated to design axial force (NEd) is calculated by
summing the design strength for bending of the ideal section
of the masonry without reinforcement with the design
strength of the reinforcement from the mean layer
) ( ) , (
) (
as Rd i zna Rd Rd
M M ZIA M + =
The equivalent thickness of the ideal section of
the masonry without reinforcement is:

m ech z ech
t n t t + = 2
where:
t
z
is the layers thickness of the external masonry
t
m
the thickness of the mean layer of mortar/concrete
(grout)
n
ech
equivalent coefficient
The design strength of reinforcement, MRd(as) is
yd w s s Rd
f l a a M
2
4 . 0 ) ( =
Figure The design strength for bending with
axial force for masonry with reinforced core
The design strength to shear force of the structural
walls of masonry

1. Assumptions
It is considered that the shear unitary stresses given by
the design shear strength are uniformly distributed on the
length of the compressed zone of the wall. The length of
the compressed zone results from the design stresses
(bending moment, axial force) resulted from the loading
group.
In the case of the walls in the shape of I, L, T, the design
strength to shear stresses is equal to the design strength to
shear force of the core (rectangular section)
2. Walls without reinforcement

The design strength to shear force VRd of walls without
reinforcement will be calculated with:
c vd Rd
tl f V =
where:
fvd design unitary strength to shear of the wall;
t thickness of the core ;
lc length of the compressed zone of the core.
The unitary compression stress (d) used for the unitary
strength (fvd) will be calculated considering that the vertical
load from the loads group, NSd or NEd, is uniformly
distributed on the compressed zone of the wall.

In the case of walls with a composed section (L,T,I), in the
compressed zone for which is determined d there are
included also the flanges with the dimensions settled as
mentioned above.
3. Walls with confined masonry
The design strength to shear force, VRd, is get by summing
the design strength to shear force of the masonry without
reinforcement (VRd1), and the design strength to shear force
get because of the reinforcement from the concrete core from
the compressed extremity of the wall (VRd2)
2 1 Rd Rd Rd
V V V + =
VRd1 will be determined as above.
For the shear force from the seismic action, VRd1, will be
determined in the same way, but it will be reduced by
multiplying it with a sub unitary coefficient settled by P-100.
VRd2 will be calculated with:
yd asc Rd
f A V 2 . 0
2
=
Where:
Aasc area of reinforcement from the concrete core from
the compressed core;
fyd design strength of the reinforcement from the
compressed concrete core.

4. Walls of confined masonry and reinforcement in
horizontal joints (ZC+AR)
3 2 1 Rd Rd Rd Rd
V V V V + + =
The design strength to shear force is calculated:

V
Rd1
and V
Rd2
has the same significance as above.
V
Rd3
is the design strength of the reinforcement from the
horizontal joints is calculated, in the case of walls with total
height (h
tot
wall length l
w
)

ysd
sw
w Rd
f
s
A
l V 8 . 0
3
=
where:
lw = length of the wall;
Asw = aria of the reinforcement from the horizontal joint;
s = distance on the vertical direction between two
successive rows of reinforcement;
fysd = design strength of the reinforcement from the
horizontal joints.

When htot < lw then lw will be replaced by htot .
5. Walls with reinforced core
The design strength at shear force will be determined by:

Rda Rdb Rdz Rd
V V V V + + =
where:
V
Rdz
is the design strength to shear force of the
masonry;
V
Rdb
is the design strength to shear force of the
mean layer of concrete
V
Rda
is the design strength to shear force of the
horizontal reinforcement from the mean layer
z c vd Rdz
t l f V =
f
vd
is the design strength at shear of masonry
l
c
is the length of compressed zone
t
z
is the total thickness of the two layer of the masonry.
6. The design strength at vertical sliding associated with
bending
The design strength to vertical sliding force at the connection
between the core and flange of a wall with a composed
section (I,L,T) and in the vertical weakened areas is
calculated on the floor height assuming that the shear unitary
stresses are uniformly distributed on the floor height.
M
vk
L et Lhd
f
t h V

0
=
where
V
Lhd
design strength at sliding on the floor height
h
et
- floor height
t
L
wall thickness in the section where is calculated the strength;
f
vk0
the characteristic strength at shear of wall under the compression
stress equal with zero;

M
- safety coefficient