Experimental Evaluation of Lightweight AAC Masonry Wall Prisms with Ferrocement Layers in Compression and Flexure

Abstract

An experimental program is designed to evaluate the performance of lightweight autoclaved aerated concrete masonry wall strengthened using ferrocement layers, in a sandwich structure, under in-plane compression and out-of-plane bending. The 25 mm thick ferrocement mortar is reinforced with steel welded wire mesh of 1 mm diameters at 15 mm spacing. Different types of shear connectors are used to evaluate their effect on failure loads. The effect of different design parameters on the wall strength are considered including wall thickness, mortar strength, and type and distribution of shear connectors. A total of 20 prisms are tested in compression and 5 prisms are tested under bending. The proposed ferrocement strengthening technique is easy to apply on existing wall system and results in significant strength and stiffness enhancement of the tested wall specimens. © (2012) Trans Tech Publications.