Abstract An experimental investigation was carried out to study the behavior of ferrocement bolted shear joints. Twenty-eight different pin-loaded ferrocement plate configurations and eight control specimens were tested. The test variables were the type of mesh (square, hexagonal, mixed), mesh orientation ( 0 90 ° or ±45 °), number of mesh layers (2 to 8 corresponding to a volume fraction from 1.68% to 6.72%), and ratio between end distance and hole diameter ( e d = 4 or 6 ). Three failure modes were observed, net tensile section failure, cleavage failure, and crushing compression failure at the bolt. Cleavage failure was predominant for e d = 4 , and net-section tension failure or compression crushing for e d = 6 . The strength of the mesh reinforcement was closely related to the strength of the specimens that failed in the cleavage and net-section modes. Prediction equations are developed based on the Limit analysis Lower Bound Theorem to predict the net tension or cleavage failure loads, and a conservative equation is proposed to predict compression crushing failure. A comparison was made with other prediction equations available in the literature.
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