ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the test results and the preliminary findings from a series of quasi-static cyclic tests on I-shaped masonry walls with a soft layer bed joint, and discusses their significance in relation to current design practice. It describes the test results and the preliminary findings, and discusses their significance in relation to current design practice. The static-cyclic tests were performed applying computer-controlled displacement steps, which were chosen to have the form of a sinusoidal wave. Test data on the shear strength, deformation capacity, energy dissipation and overall behavior of the I-shaped wallettes with soft layers subjected to static-cyclic loading has been obtained. The use of soft layer membranes is an innovative approach to modify the masonry walls seismic response, that is towards improving masonry structures and making masonry behave better during earthquakes. The effect of layer thickness on the shear resistance of the wallettes with soft layer bed joint is negligible.
