Shear load capacity in masonry: international standards comparative analysis

Abstract Several structural models aim to predict the behavior of masonry walls. Those are included in technical standards strive to ensure the anticipation of the structural capacity, thereby assuring its safety. Different regions of the world encompass diverse parameters for predicting the lateral capacity of masonry members. This study sought to compare the Brazilian, Canadian, American, Australian, and European masonry standards regarding the shear and flexural capacity specification of walls. Equations derived from the standards were contrasted against finite element modeling results and to reliable formulation from the literature for predicting wall shear behavior. Additionally, an actualization is proposed to the Brazilian standard. The results revealed that while flexural capacity specifications result in comparable values across all standards, the Brazilian standard exhibited the least conservatism in the shear capacity, followed by the Australian, American, Canadian, and European standards. The diagonal shear was the primary mode of panel failure of the walls from the FE (Finite Element) modeling. The suggested adjustments to the Brazilian code, including considering the net area and correction of the initial shear strength (fvk0), result values close to the modeling results.