Compressive and shear behaviour of masonry panels: experimentation and numerical analysis

The compressive and shear behavior of masonry is here studied both experimentally and numerically. An experimental campaign has been carried out on 9 square-shaped one leaf masonry panels, reproducing historical masonry. Tests have been done for evaluating the elastic and shear moduli in both plane directions, with 6 panels rotated by 90 degrees, leading to vertically aligned bed joints, and 3 panels maintained with horizontal bed joints. Compressive tests were executed on 6 masonry panels, 3 of them rotated by 90 degrees. Initial shear strength and shear modulus parallel to bed joints are evaluated through shear tests on 9 masonry triplets. Shear tests are performed on 3 rotated panels, applying an horizontal distributed load, without vertical compression. Attention is paid to the service load state: only the initial phase of the tests is studied. Numerical models are proposed for representing actual masonry behavior, both discrete [1] and continuous [2,3], standard and micropolar, obtained by homogenization procedures [4]. Several numerical analyses are performed for simulating the experimental tests on masonry triplets and panels. The mechanical elastic parameters of both discrete and continuous models are calibrated starting from laboratory data of masonry constituents and then by fitting the results of the initial phases of the experimental tests on masonry specimens.