Mesoscale analysis of fracture process in brick masonry structures

This paper deals with mesoscale analysis of masonry structures, which involves fracture propagation in brick units as well as along the masonry joints. The brick–mortar interfaces are incorporated in standard finite elements by employing a constitutive law with embedded discontinuity. Macrocracks in bricks are modelled in a discrete way using the same methodology, without any a-priori assumptions regarding their orientation. The proposed approach is computationally efficient as it does not explicitly require the discretization of joints. The accuracy of the approximation is first assessed by comparing the solution with a detailed mesoscale model incorporating interface elements. Later, a numerical study is conducted involving simulation of various experimental tests on small masonry assemblages, as well as single-leaf masonry walls, with running bond pattern, subjected to in-plane loading. The results clearly demonstrate the predictive abilities of the proposed simplified approach.