A comprehensive numerical study on examining the failure mechanisms of masonry walls via continuous micro modeling

Modeling the failure mechanisms of masonry structures is one of the most challenging issues in structural engineering. This study presents nonlinear analysis to determine the failure mechanisms of masonry walls via continuous micro modeling. The stages of creating a continuous micromodel and applying a nonlinear material model and failure criteria to determine the failure mechanisms of masonry walls are presented. The study systematically and comprehensively examines the failure mechanisms of masonry walls via continuous micro modeling considering different structural scenarios such as dynamic effects and short column effect. Distributions of stresses, strains, occurred under cyclic loads for the masonry walls are determined in dynamic analysis. Nonlinear finite element analyses on masonry walls are performed to investigate the effects of design parameters such as bond style and mortar thickness. Nonlinear structural behavior of confined masonry walls having different infill ratio are analyzed and failure mechanisms of walls are investigated. It was seen that to determine the failure mechanisms of masonry walls, continuous micro modeling technique can be used efficiently in nonlinear structural analysis.