Lateral Load Behavior of Unreinforced Masonry Spandrels

Spandrels, are usually classified as secondary elements and even though their behaviour has not received adequate focus unlike piers, they significantly affect the seismic capacity of the structure. Masonry spandrels are often damaged and the first structural components that crack within Unreinforced Masonry structures. Despite this, existing analytical methods typically consider a limit case in which the strength of spandrels is either neglected, considered to be infinitely rigid and strong or treated as rotated piers. It is clearly evident that such an assumption is not plausible. Hence, reliable predictive strength models are required. This thesis attempts to re-examine the flexural behaviour of spandrels and proposes an analytical model. The model is based on the interlocking phenomena of the joints at the end-sections of the spandrel and the contiguous masonry. The proposed analytical model is incorporated within a simplified approach to account for the influence of spandrel response on global capacity estimate of URM buildings.