Seismic Performance of Precast Brick‐Engineered Cementitious Composite Panels in Confined Masonry

The present study proposes a novel technique to prepare a precast wall panel where the single brick core was sandwiched between two layers of the engineered cementitious composite (ECC). This precast panel can further be integrated with the reinforced concrete (RC) confining elements. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of a precast wall panel under combined in‐plane (IP) and out‐of‐plane (OOP) loading. The ECC used in preparing the precast wall panel possessed 1.88% tensile strain capacity and 2.17 MPa tensile strength which was developed incorporating polyester fibers, Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), fly ash, and river sand. A two‐bay, half‐scale precast confined masonry (CM) wall, with a single‐brick‐thick masonry core and ECC layers on both sides, was tested. IP loading was applied using a servo‐hydraulic actuator, followed by OOP excitation on a unidirectional shaking table. The experimental results were compared with those from previous tests on a similar specimen without ECC layers to assess the contribution of ECC to the seismic performance of the wall. Results showed that the ECC layers significantly improved both IP and OOP performance. The IP strength of the CM wall with precast ECC panels increased by 2.45 times, with a significant enhancement in OOP stability. The system retained structural integrity throughout loading, with the ECC layer effectively suppressing brittle failure modes.