Reliability of Unreinforced Masonry Bracing Walls - Probabilistic Approach and Optimized Target Values

Bracing walls are essential members in typical masonry structures. However, design checks are only performed rarely in Germany. The reason for this is a paragraph in the German design code DIN 1053-1 that allows for the neglection of this design check. This paragraph is based on different construction methods than they are the current state of the art. Additionally, the capacities according to current design codes have been calibrated on basis of previous de-sign codes and experience. Consequently, the provided level of re-liability remains unknown. In this paper, a systematic analysis of the provided level of reliability is conducted. Analytical models for the prediction of the shear capa-city of the walls are analyzed and assessed with test data to identify the most realistic model. A complete stochastic model is set up and the reliability of typical bracing walls is determined. It is differed bet-ween the theoretical level of reliability and the “actual” level of relia-bility taking into account the realistic utilization of the walls. Finally, an optimal target value for the reliability is derived by full-probabilistic optimization to be able to assess the previously deter-mined provided reliabilities. An efficient use of masonry in the de-sign according to DIN 1053-1 can be verified.