Seongwoo Jo (UT Austin)
NSF NEES Masonry
Testing Setups for Quasi-static CMU Specimens
November 15, 2007
TESTING SETUPS FOR QUASI-STATIC CMU SPECIMENS
UT Austin
Seongwoo Jo and Richard E. Klingner
SUMMARY
As part of the NSF NEES masonry project, quasi-static and shaking-table CMU specimens will be
tested out-of-plane and in-plane. In this document, testing setups for quasi-static CMU specimens are
reviewed.
1.
OVERVIEW OF QUASI-STATIC CMU TEST SPECIMENS
NSF NEES masonry testing will include quasi-static testing of six CMU specimens.
specimens are described in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1
Those
Matrix of Concrete Masonry Unit Test Specimens
ANCHOR AND
REINFORCEMENT
Vertical reinforcement ratio is
0.0014 (five #4 reinforcing bars);
horizontal reinforcement ratio is
0.0011 (three #4 reinforcing bars
and twelve W1.7 wires). W1.7
two-wire joint reinforcement at 16
in. vertically in CMU with W1.7
wire double eyes and pintles at
16 in. horizontally (SDC D)
Vertical reinforcement ratio is
0.0011 (two #4 reinforcing bars);
horizontal reinforcement ratio is
0.0022 (three #4 reinforcing bars
and twelve W1.7 wires). W1.7
two-wire joint reinforcement at 16
in. vertically in CMU with W1.7
wire double eyes and pintles at
16 in. horizontally (SDC D)
Vertical reinforcement ratio is
0.0014 (five #4 reinforcing bars);
horizontal reinforcement ratio is
0.0011 (three #4 reinforcing bars
and twelve W1.7 wires). W1.7
three-wire,
ladder-type
joint
SPECIMEN
DESCRIPTION
8-ft wide by 8-ft high
LOADING
Quasi-static
Shaking Table
Out-ofInOut-ofInPlane
Plane
Plane
Plane
UT
UCSD
CMU 1
CMU 1
4-ft wide by 8-ft high
8-ft wide by 8-ft high
1
UT
CMU 3
UCSD
CMU 3
UT
CMU 2
UCSD
CMU 2
UT
CMU 2
(MC)
UCSD
CMU 2
(MC)
Seongwoo Jo (UT Austin)
NSF NEES Masonry
Testing Setups for Quasi-static CMU Specimens
reinforcement at 16 in. vertically
with W1.7 cross wires at 16 in.
horizontally (SDC E)
Vertical reinforcement ratio is
0.0011 (two #4 reinforcing bars);
horizontal reinforcement ratio is
0.0022 (three #4 reinforcing bars
and twelve W1.7 wires). W1.7
three-wire,
ladder-type
joint
reinforcement at 16 in. vertically
with W1.7 cross wires at 16 in.
horizontally (SDC E)
4-ft wide by 8-ft high
November 15, 2007
UT
CMU 4
UCSD
CMU 4
UT
CMU 4
(MC)
UCSD
CMU 4
(MC)
All specimens use 30 mil EPDM flashing at base that is not self-adhering. All specimens use nominal
8x8x16-in. LWT CMU (C90); ASTM C270 Type S PCL mortar (for the parallel specimens with MC,
Type S masonry cement mortar) by proportion for CMU and clay wythes; nominal 4-in. clay units,
standard modular (C216, not 100% solid); and ASTM C476 coarse grout by proportion.
2.
2.1
TESTING SETUP FOR QUASI-STATIC, OUT-OF-PLANE CMU SPECIMENS
General Description of Quasi-static, Out-of-plane CMU Specimen Testing
A typical testing of quasi-static, out-of-plane CMU specimens is shown in Figure 2.1. A test
specimen consists of CMU backup (4 ft in plan and 8 ft-8 in. in elevation) and clay masonry veneer (8
ft in plan and in elevation). The specimen will be loaded by a 100-kip hydraulic ram with  9-in.
stroke connected to a compressed air-driven hydraulic pump. The distance from the top surface of the
base beam to the centerline of out-of-plane support is 8.33 ft. Area loading will be simulated by
"whiffle-tree".
Figure 2.1
Testing of quasi-static, out-of-plane CMU specimens (8- by 8-ft)
2
Seongwoo Jo (UT Austin)
NSF NEES Masonry
Testing Setups for Quasi-static CMU Specimens
November 15, 2007
Out-of-plane loading system consists of three parts; a loading braced-frame part, a "whiffle-tree" part,
and a reaction braced-frame part. Two steel columns, one steel beam, and two steel braces compose
the loading braced-frame part, whereas one steel beam, sixty two rectangular steel tubes, and one
hundred twenty four threaded rods compose the "whiffle-tree" part. Two steel columns, one steel
beam, four steel cables, and twelve steel angles compose the reaction braced-frame part.
2.2
Testing Setup Details for Quasi-static, Out-of-plane CMU Specimens
This section describes details of a loading braced-frame part, a "whiffle-tree" part, and a reaction
braced-frame part. Especially, the "whiffle-tree" part is checked for vertical load distribution and outof-plane load capacity. The loading braced-frame part consists of two steel columns (W12x58), one
steel beam (W12x120), and two steel braces (W12x26).
The "whiffle-tree" part consists of one steel beam (W12x65), sixty two steel tubes (two HSS
6x6x3/8’s, four HSS4x3x1/4’s, eight plus sixteen HSS2x2x1/4’s, and thirty two HSS2x2x1/8), and
one hundred twenty four threaded rods (four 1" rods, eight plus sixteen ¾" rods, thirty two ½" rods,
sixty four ¼" rods). Limit states of "whiffle-tree" are divided into three; steel tube’s flexural yielding,
threaded rod’s tensile or compressive yielding, and buckling of the whole "whiffle-tree". Based on 36
ksi of steel yield stress, nominal flexural yielding capacity is 1121 psf, whereas threaded rod’s
yielding capacity is 1326 psf. Nominal buckling capacity was calculated with "SAP2000". Half the
"whiffle-tree" part was modeled (Figure 2.2) and analyzed, where the model included CMU wythe
with thickness 7.625 in. only and clay wythe was ignored. The result for nominal buckling capacity
was 1269 psf. All of the three capacities are far above the expected flexural capacity of specimens
(349 psf). The vertical load distribution from the "SAP2000" calculation is shown in Table 2.1,
which displays essentially uniform load distribution.
Figure 2.2
SAP2000 Model for half the "whiffle-tree" part to calculate buckling capacity and
vertical load distribution
3
Seongwoo Jo (UT Austin)
NSF NEES Masonry
Testing Setups for Quasi-static CMU Specimens
Table 2.1
November 15, 2007
Vertical Load Distribution in "Whiffle-tree"
Row from top
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Relative load
0.319
0.306
0.314
0.307
0.307
0.314
0.307
0.319
The reaction braced-frame part consists of two steel columns (W12x65), one steel beam (W12x120),
four steel cables of 1-inch diameter, and twelve steel angles (L5x3x3/8).
3.
3.1
TESTING SETUP FOR QUASI-STATIC, IN -PLANE CMU SPECIMENS
General Description of Quasi-static, In-plane CMU Specimen Testing
A typical testing of quasi-static, in-plane CMU specimens is shown in Figure 3.1. A test specimen
consists of CMU backup (4 ft in plan and 8 ft-8 in. in elevation) and clay masonry veneer (8 ft in plan
and in elevation). The specimen will be loaded by a 100-kip hydraulic ram with  9-in. stroke
connected to a compressed air-driven hydraulic pump. The distance from the top surface of the base
beam to the centerline of in-plane loading is 8.33 ft.
Figure 3.1
Testing of quasi-static, in-plane CMU specimens (4- by 8-ft)
In-plane loading system consists of three parts; a braced-frame part, a loading beam part, and an outof-plane supporting part. Two steel columns, one steel beam, and four steel cables compose the
braced-frame part, whereas two steel beams, two steel pipes, and four threaded rods compose the
loading beam part. One column, two rectangular steel tubes, two steel angles, and two steel plates
compose the out-of-plane supporting part for stability.
4
Seongwoo Jo (UT Austin)
NSF NEES Masonry
Testing Setups for Quasi-static CMU Specimens
3.2
November 15, 2007
Testing Setup Details for Quasi-static, In-plane CMU Specimens
This section describes details of a braced-frame part, a loading beam part, and an out-of-plane
supporting part. Especially, the braced-frame part is checked for in-plane load capacity, in-plane
flexbility, and out-of-plane flexibility. The braced-frame part consists of two steel columns (W12x65),
one steel beam (W12x120), and four steel cables of 1-inch diameter. It is assumed that columns are
hinge-connected to the floor; the horizontal force is assumed to be resisted by two cables only in each
direction. The slope of cables is 10/8. Horizontal capacity of the braced frame is 245 kips (Equation
2.1) based on nominal flexural capacity of the W12x120 beam and 114 kips (Equation 2.2) based on
nominal tensile capacity of 1-inch cables.
f y  S 36ksi  163in.3
Mn
Pbeam 


 245kips
L
L
96in.
4
4
4
8 ft
8 ft
Pcable 
 2  Tn _ cable  
 2  91.3kips  114kips
12.8 ft
12.8 ft
   
Equation 2.1
Equation 2.2
The total displacement of the braced frame at expected flexural capacity (6.7 kips) of test specimens
will be 0.038 in. (Equation 2.3-2.5) and the total flexbility of the braced frame is 0.0057 in./kip.
(Equation 2.6)
PL3
6.7kips  96in.
Equation 2.3

 0.004in.
48EI 48  29,000ksi  1070in.4
 6.7kips   12.8 ft  12in. 
P L
2 
ft 
8 ft
8
ft
2 



 0.034in.
2
12.8 ft Eeff Aeff 12.8 ft
20,000ksi  0.471in.
3
 beam 
 cable
 
 total   beam   cable  0.004in.  0.034in.  0.038in.

1
0.038in.
 total 
 0.0057 in.
kip
K total
P
6.7kips
Equation 2.4
Equation 2.5
Equation 2.6
The out-of-plane flexibility of the braced frame is 0.0703 in./kip that was calculated with "SAP2000"
(Figure 3.2). In the "SAP2000" model, columns were hinge-connected to the floor and fixedconnected to the beam.
5
Seongwoo Jo (UT Austin)
NSF NEES Masonry
Testing Setups for Quasi-static CMU Specimens
Figure 3.2
November 15, 2007
"SAP2000" model to calculate out-of-plane flexibility of the braced frame
The loading beam part consists of two steel beams (W12x65), two steel pipes (3½-inch diameter with
¼-inch thickness), and four 1-inch threaded rods as shown in Figure 3.3. With these components and
a 100-kips hydraulic ram, only compression loading will be applied to CMU test specimens in each
direction.
Out-of-plane supporting part consists of one column (W12x65), two rectangular steel tubes (HSS4x3)
with ¼-inch thickness, two steel angles (L5x3x3/8), and two 1-inch plates as shown in Figure 3.3.
Teflon sheets will be attached to CMU wythe, steel angles, and 1-inch steel plates to minimize the inplane friction resistance from out-of-plane support.
Figure 3.3
Loading beam and out-of-plane supporting parts for in-plane testing
6