Publication: Effect of opening on structural behaviour of interlocking hollow block wall
Loading...
Date
2024-06-01
Authors
Ayagi, Musa Kabiru
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The construction industry is one of the world’s most important sectors due to its large size, diversity, and complexity. Concrete hollow block (CHB) is commonly used in building construction, particularly for multi-story buildings, factories, and residential structures. The area around the opening is axially loaded and stress
concentration occurs when there are irregularities in the material of a structural component that cause an interruption to the flow of stress near the corners of the opening. However, some of the numerical analysis has not been supported by experimental work in the laboratory, and the effect of opening size and position, aspect ratio of the wall panel, loading arrangement, and boundary condition have not been verified. Therefore, to identify the impact of opening on CHB wall via parametric studies, appropriate experimental and numerical analysis techniques are needed to be carried out to investigate the parameters which may influence the behaviour and failure pattern of axially loaded CHB wall panel based on the failure modes. Constant vertical axial load was applied on top of the wall panels until failure, characterized by different combinations of boundary conditions. The results showed that the presence of openings reduced the strength of the wall panel. It was also observed that the opening percentage had a significant impact on the strength of the wall. Cracks in wall panels A1-B2 began at the top layer of the wall and progressed downwards as loading increased until failure at 160, 172, 204, and 132
kN, respectively while wall panels C1-C4 failed at an average load of 504, 502, 342, and 406 kN respectively. This research work established significant data and is expected to help in the design and analysis of axially loaded CHB walls with openings. The findings also revealed that all considered boundary conditions have only a minor impact on the overall wall response under axial load considered in this study.