Assessing the potential for the use of reinforced masonry as an alternative to reinforced concrete lintels in building construction

Abstract

This study focuses on the experimental and numerical comparison of the flexural behavior of concrete beams and masonry beams. Different specimens for the construction of lintels with concrete block masonry have been tested for comparison with their reinforced concrete counterparts. Reinforced masonry beams with three hollow cell concrete blocks and with steel reinforcement have been built and tested in a three-point loading test configuration. Numerical modeling of the masonry beams was then performed using Abaqus software, based on the Finite Element Method, and compared with experimental results to validate the simulation, this was followed by a parametric study of masonry beams to better understand their flexural behaviour. Span-to-depth ratios and reinforcement ratios are the main parameters analyzed in this study. In conclusion, it was verified that the span to depth ratio and reinforcement ration greatly affect flexural behaviour of masonry beams. It was clear that horizontal bed joint reinforcement increases the flexure strength of masonry beams. However, the masonry beams showed lower ductility than the reinforced concrete beams under similar loading and span conditions. It was also noted that a deeper analysis should be made regarding the would-be effect of vertical reinforcement on the global flexural behavior of the masonry beams.