Sliding collapse in masonry structures : experimental tests

Abstract

Thirty-three static load tests were carried out in dry masonry walls. These walls have been subjected to their self-weight and to a horizontal load to promote a sliding failure between the blocks. The point of application of the load has been unchanged. All the walls have been constructed with the same ninety eight blocks. The disposition of the blocks have been done randomly in each of the walls to place the imperfections randomly too. The two objectives of this work have been: firstly, to obtain plenty of sliding tests which could enable to form a statistical judgment of the results, and secondly, to compare them with the results from several numerical methods commonly used, especially with the non Standard Limit Analysis (nSLA) ones.