Author

VACULIK, J. and GRIFFITH, M.
University of Adelaide, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering
MAGENES, G.
University of Pavia, Department of Structural Mechanics

Abstract

A method for predicting the flexural capacity of unreinforced masonry walls using a collapse mechanism based analysis is presented in this paper. A set of hybrid mechanisms are proposed involving a combination of out-of-plane flexural deformation along the main panel and in-plane shear deformation in the connecting return walls. The accuracy of the analysis is assessed by comparisons with results of tilting-table experiments on dry-stack masonry, which show that predictions made by the analysis are in good agreement with the experimentally measured collapse loads and observed collapse mechanisms. A significant aspect of the proposed method is that it is based entirely on mechanics principles and does not rely on any empirically calibrated parameters.

Key words
Masonry walls; bending; virtual work; collapse mechanism