Testing masonry blockwork panels for orthotropic shear strength

In this paper the problem of evaluation of the structural response of 1.20 m × 1.20 m blockwork masonry panels under monotonic shear and diagonal-compression tests is investigated. The digital image correlation technique was used to detect the initiation and propagation of damage. The experimental findings were analyzed and simulated also by means of accurate finite element non-linear analyses. The results revealed the non-isotropic shear...