Out-of-plane seismic performance of residential brick veneer walls with gables and window openings

A study has been undertaken to investigate the out-of-plane performance of brick veneer wall systems over wood framing, representing typical U.S. construction practice. First, load vs. displacement tests were conducted on brick-tie-wood subassemblies comprising a variety of brick veneer tie installation conditions. Then, solid brick veneer wall specimens were tested under static and dynamic out-of-plane loading on a shake table, evaluating their overall behavior (including effects of different tie connections). Finite element models have also been developed to capture the seismic behavior of residential brick veneer walls. Additional shake table tests were performed on a full-scale wall panel specimen to further evaluate the effects on brick veneer wall behavior of certain architectural features, including a window opening and a gable region; the experimental testing program and results are presented herein.