Unreinforced masonry (URM) is a construction of brick or concrete block unit that is joined together using mortar, without steel reinforcement. Because of the heterogeneous nature and difference in mechanical properties of the masonry elements, analyzing and capturing the structural behaviour of URM walls under various loading conditions is therefore complex. In recent decades, research efforts have been focused on addressing and understanding the compressive behaviour of URM walls from the experimental viewpoint. However, from the existing experimental literature, there is a significant degree of variation in the mechanical and geometric properties of URM walls, especially the comprehensive comparison of apparently equivalent test parameters, which has yet to be examined. It is therefore necessary to highlight and critically examine major results derived from the experimental literature to better understand the performance of URM walls under compressive loads. This review paper presents the assessment performance with regard to axial compressive tests on URM walls, along with comprehensive comparisons among the experimental literature findings on the basis of masonry construction methods and various influencing parameters. Emphasis in the literature has been placed chiefly on the masonry elements, design provisions, axial load, slenderness ratio, openings, and stress–strain response. Based on observations from the study, experimental development trends have been highlighted to identify and outline potential directions for future studies.

The cold spray or Supersonic Particle Deposition technique has great potential for producing ceramic nanostructured coatings. This technique operates at a processing temperature that is low enough to preserve the initial feedstock materials’ microstructure. Nevertheless, depositing ceramic powders using a cold spray can be challenging because of the materials’ brittle nature. The interaction between substrate and particles is significantly influenced by substrate attributes, including hardness, material nature, degree of oxidation and temperature. In this study, the effect of the substrate’s remaining oxide composition on the adhesion strength of an agglomerated nano-TiO₂ coating was investigated. The results showed that the coating adhesion strength increased for hard materials such as stainless steel and pure chromium as the annealed substrate temperature also increased from room temperature to 700 °C, indicating thicker oxide on the substrate surface. TiO₂ particles mainly bond with SUS304 substrates through oxide bonding, which results from a chemical reaction involving TiO₂-OH⁻. Chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) is thermodynamically preferred in SUS304 and provides the OH⁻ component required for the reaction. SUS304 shows a thermodynamic preference for chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃), and this enables Cr₂O₃ to provide the necessary OH⁻ component for the reaction.

Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) is a composite member consisting of a steel tube filled with concrete, resulting in an enhanced structural element used in various types of construction. This research investigates the flexural strength of CFST members with varying steel tube thicknesses of 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm and different shapes: square, rectangular, and circular. The study aims to determine the flexural strength of each shape. Fifteen beams with different cross-sections and plate thicknesses were tested experimentally in the lab. The results indicated that 2.0 mm thick CFSTs, regardless of shape, exhibited superior strength and deformation resistance compared to thinner and hollow beams. This underscores the significance of using thicker plates and concrete to enhance structural integrity and durability. Notably, rectangular CFSTs demonstrated a 91.84% increase in strength, while circular beams showed greater deflection resistance, highlighting the importance of careful material selection and design choices in structural engineering to optimize performance and resilience under stress.

This study focuses on analyzing the buckling properties of imperfect spherical shells, accounting for the uncertainty parameters of a spherical shell under external pressure. These parameters include geometric imperfections, thickness variations, material property variations, and boundary condition variations. A numerical analysis method utilizing ABAQUS is employed, incorporating these various uncertainty imperfection parameters into the numerical models. The study examines the influence of these factors on critical buckling load, mode shapes, and stress distribution. The results demonstrate that an increase in shell thickness leads to an increase in the spherical shell buckling load. Correlations between the imperfection parameters and the critical buckling load are established, providing crucial insights for design and analysis purposes. Furthermore, the study reveals the occurrence of various buckling modes and failure mechanisms, which is crucial for understanding the structural behavior of imperfect spherical shells subjected to external pressure.