Three-leaf brick masonry walls: FE & DE models

Most Europeans historical buildings are made by brick or stone masonry, often constituted by multiple leaves. A widespread multi-leaf typology is the three-leaf brick masonry wall, which presents two external brick leaves and one inner core consisting of different incoherent materials, with large presence of voids. Brick masonry behaviour tends to brittle failure mechanisms. By reference to solid masonry, multiple leaf walls present a more complex mechanical behaviour, with not simple, but combined collapse mechanisms: their interpretation remains a challenge [1-3]. The literature referred to modelling masonry interface behaviour considers mortar joints reduced to interfaces and internal block interfaces [4]. Here attention is focused on modelling interface between masonry layers: contact relationships between the inner core and the external leaves. This work develops interface models to describe the internal load distribution in a multi-leaf masonry wall, in addition to existing models already adopted for one-leaf masonry elements [5]. Compressive load results are evaluated with reference to experimental data recently obtained by the research group [6] by means of tests carried out at Laboratorio di Scienza delle Costruzioni IUAV (Labsco). This investigation aims to develop a suitable approach to predict the performance of historical masonry wall by FE & DE simulations. Here the two numerical modelling strategies on three-leaf brick masonry walls are presented and compared. References [1] Binda, L., Pina-Henriques, J., Anzani, A., Fontana, A., Lourenço, P.B., “A contribution for the understanding of load-transfer mechanisms in multi-leaf masonry walls: testing and modelling”, Engineering Structures, 28(8), pp. 1132–1148 (2006). [2] Ramalho, M.A., Taliercio, A, Anzani, A., Binda, L. Papa, E., “A numerical model for the description of the nonlinear behaviour of multi-leaf masonry walls”, Advances in Engineering Software, 39(4), pp. 249-257 (2008). [3] Milani, G., “3D upper bound limit analysis of multi-leaf masonry walls”, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 50(4), pp. 817-836 (2008). [4] Lourenço, P.B., Rots, J.G., “A multi-surface interface model for the analysis of masonry structures”, ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 123(7), pp. 660–668 (1997). [5] Baraldi, D., Reccia, E., Cecchi, A., “In plane loaded masonry walls: DEM and FEM/DEM models. A critical review”, Meccanica, 53, pp. 1613–1628 (2018). [6] Boscato, G., Reccia, E., Cecchi, A., “Non-destructive experimentation: Dynamic identification of multi-leaf masonry walls damaged and consolidated”, Composites Part B: Engineering, 133, pp. 145–165 (2018).