Determination of Effective Properties of Masonry Using FEA-Based Homogenization Approach

Abstract

Masonry is a widely used construction method. Masonry is typically heterogeneous in nature, consisting of bricks and mortar joints with varying mechanical properties. Thus, masonry will behave like a composite material with orthotropic material characteristics. However, the material heterogeneity of masonry will be ignored in the analysis of masonry structures, assuming it is a homogeneous, isotropic element, which is not true and leads to incorrect assessment. Thus, it is necessary to predict the orthotropic properties of masonry for the accurate assessment of masonry structures. On the other hand, predicting such orthotropic characteristics of masonry becomes a complex task, due to the presence of material heterogeneity. Therefore, researchers adopted numerical homogenization methods to assess the orthotropic properties of masonry. In this study, the FEA-based homogenization method is proposed to predict the orthotropic properties of masonry. Toward this direction, a small periodic part called the repetitive unit cell (RUC) of the English bond masonry prism available in the literature study is considered and modeled in ABAQUS software for the homogenization process. The constituents of RUC are modeled as a continuum element with linear and isotropic behavior. A series of linear stress analyses of RUC has been conducted using six-far field unit strains. The effective orthotropic properties of masonry can be predicted using the stress–strain relationship obtained from the linear stress analysis of masonry RUC. Finally, the results obtained from the numerical homogenization process are validated with the experimental results available in the literature study. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.