Performance Characteristics Evaluation of Current and Environmental-based Solutions of Infill Masonry Walls of Reinforced Concrete Buildings - Assessment of Mechanical and Hygrothermal Characteristics

Abstract

The evaluation of the building´s performance, particularly concerning its hygro-thermo-mechanical behavior, entails that external environmental actions should be considered together with the mechanical loads acting in the building, aiming for a realistic behavior analysis. That adequate analysis could contribute to the improvement of the patterns of safety and comfort of the buildings, which meet the increased social demand for their upgrade, as well as to minimize the anomalies in their envelope, such as cracking and water penetration. Therefore, innovative solutions have been used progressively, in the last decades, for the construction of unreinforced masonry (URM) infill walls of the envelope of buildings with reinforced concrete structure (RCS buildings), particularly to enhance their capacity to face the normal subjected mechanical loads and hygrothermal actions, mainly those related with temperature and moisture variations. Moreover, ultimately, the crescent concern about environmental issues in building construction, especially related to climate changes, has led to an intense search for new construction solutions of unreinforced masonry (URM) infill walls in their envelope, which could, particularly, reduce the environmental impact of the building and increase their energy efficiency, while assuring adequate levels of indoor comfort and durability of the buildings. The aim here is to analyze the hygro-thermo-mechanical behavior of URM infill walls, particularly evaluating the basic performance characteristics of current and environmental-based solutions of masonry walls of buildings. Initially, basic elements about masonry wall characteristics are described, particularly referring to the main types of masonry units and mortar joints, with a description of the current and environmental-based solutions mainly based on masonry units made with bio-based and waste materials. Subsequently, a general description of the relevant performance requirements of these types of URM infill walls is presented. Finally, relevant mechanical and hygrothermal properties of particular types of masonry units are assessed.