TABBAKHHA, MARYAM1; MODARESSI FARAHMAND-RAZAVI, AREZOU2

1) Post doctoral research scientist, Columbia University, Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, mt2949@columbia.edu

2) Professor, Ecole Centrale Paris, Laboratoire MSS-Mat, arezou.modaressi@ecp.fr

 

Masonry structures are home to a large population of the world, especially in the developing countries. Failure of masonry structures under earthquake and wind loads, results in fatal catastrophes frequently. Hence, evaluating the vulnerability of masonry construction under cyclic loads is a key factor in risk analysis. In this study, unreinforced masonry walls with opening with different dimensions, are subject to cyclic loads in order to find the effect of opening’s dimension on crack pattern of the wall and lateral strength of the system. A 3D finite element micro-model is developed in this study to capture the main characteristics of behavior of unreinforced masonry wall under cyclic loads. Bricks are assumed to remain elastic and nonlinear behavior of wall supposed to happen in the joints. A multi-surface yield function considering tension, shear and compression failures of joints as well as stiffness degradation due to cyclic loads are defined into the model. The masonry wall with different opening is subject to in-plane and out-of-plane loads. The results are discussed and compared together to obtain a better understanding of the behavior of masonry wall under cyclic loads.

 

Keywords: Unreinforced masonry wall, opening, cyclic behavior, cyclic behaviour, micro model