CMU Wall — Out-of-Plane Design
Design a vertically-spanning reinforced CMU wall for out-of-plane flexure under wind pressure. An inputs sheet drives a strength-design flexure check using the equivalent rectangular stress block for masonry, comparing the factored moment demand against the design moment strength. The template is built to layer on the ASD path, slenderness (P-delta), shear, serviceability, and detailing checks. Fully customizable — adapt the geometry, reinforcement, and load combinations to your project.
What this calculates
Effective depth and reinforcement area for the wall strip, factored out-of-plane moment from wind pressure, equivalent stress-block depth (a) for masonry, nominal and design moment strength (Mn and φMn), and the demand-to-capacity ratio (Mu/φMn). Configurable for ASD or Strength design and simply-supported or cantilever support conditions.
Inputs
ASD or Strength design path per TMS 402
Simply supported (braced top, pinned base) or cantilever (fixed base)
Nominal CMU unit width (actual = nominal − 3/8 in)
Clear out-of-plane span of the wall
Out-of-plane factored wind pressure
Specified compressive strength of masonry (TMS 402 §4)
Reinforcement yield strength (ASTM A615 Gr. 60)
Vertical reinforcing bar designation
Center-to-center spacing of vertical reinforcement
Outputs
Distance to the centroid of vertical reinforcement
Out-of-plane factored moment per foot of wall
Equivalent masonry stress-block depth
Design moment strength with φ = 0.90
Mu / φMn — must be ≤ 1.0
Methodology
Strength design per TMS 402-16 (MSJC) Chapter 9. Out-of-plane flexure uses the equivalent rectangular stress block (0.80·f'm over depth a = 0.80·c) with maximum usable masonry strain εmu = 0.0025 for concrete masonry per Section 9.3.2. The design moment strength φMn (φ = 0.90 for flexure, Section 9.1.4.1) is checked against the factored moment from out-of-plane wind pressure. Factored loads follow the ASCE 7-22 load combinations. Materials per TMS 402 Section 4 (specified f'm) and ASTM A615 reinforcement.
Code References
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