Composite design method for masonry walls on concrete beams
This paper describes a design method for structures consisting of a vertically loaded masonry wall supported by a reinforced concrete beam, taking account of the composite tied-arch action of the wall and beam. Experimental results have shown that the behaviour of walls on reinforced concrete beams is similar enough to that of walls on steel beams to allow the development of a design procedure for the former using similar principles to that for walls on steel beams. Therefore, the design approach is based on the assumption of triangular distributions of vertical stress at the wall–beam interface, where the length of the distributions are a function of the beam-to-wall relative stiffness. In the design method the beam flexural stiffness is designed to give an adequate distribution of the interface stress so that the maximum stress in the wall does not exceed allowable limits. The beam is also designed with flexural and shear reinforcement sufficient to resist the bending moment, tie force, and shear forces applied by the normal and shear interface loading. Experimental evidence as well as analytical results are cited to support the assumptions and the resulting design method.