The investigations [1] demonstrate that the two-shearfield test is a suitable method for the determination of the shear capacity of masonry. The testing equipment is mounted directly on the wall in order to retain realistic boundary conditions like stiffness, load and prior damage.
The behaviour factor q and the capacity curves of certain masonry walls can be directly obtained from the experimental results and realistic material behaviour in earthquake design can be represented. In particular, existing masonry can be assessed realistically with methods like the response spectrum, the push-over and the capacity spectrum by using the two-shearfield test.