Material evaluation and structural monitoring of early-age masonry structures
Abstract
During the initial construction period, “early-age” masonry walls are susceptible to lateral loads induced by wind or earthquake, which may result in damages or catastrophic failures. To mitigate such consequences at construction sites, temporary bracings are adopted to provide lateral support to masonry walls until they are matured enough to serve as the inherent lateral system of the structure. However, current temporary bracing guidelines provide oversimplified design due to the lack of available information on the material properties of early-age masonry. Moreover, there are no existing techniques for monitoring masonry walls to detect cracks due to construction activities. This thesis presents innovative techniques for the structural health monitoring of early-age masonry structures at construction sites. The stress-strain behavior of early-age masonry structures that have been cured for 3 to 72 hours was estimated through a detailed uniaxial tensile testing program. A 3D microscopic numerical model with cohesion-based interaction surfaces was developed to accurately estimate the tensile behavior and failure patterns of early-age masonry assemblages. A novel hybrid image processing and deep learning algorithm are then proposed for the efficient crack detection in masonry structures at the construction site. Finally, a general discussion on the results, contributions, and future research are provided.