Masonry walls are usually built with individual blocks, and they are highly discontinuous and nonlinear. Therefore, it is very difficult to simulate their failure behavior with typical finite element methods. A combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) is employed in this paper to examine the failure of dry-joint masonry walls subjected to uneven support settlement. With finite elements incorporated into discrete elements, both the deformation of masonry blocks and the interaction between them can be predicted accurately. Additionally, a cohesive fracture model is implemented to account for the potential rupture of masonry blocks. Examples are validated with data from experimental and numerical sources, indicating that the FDEM is able to simulate the collapse of masonry walls well. Further simulations with the consideration of floor load and block fractures reveal that the existence of floor load will decrease the support settlement capacity of masonry walls. Once the dominant fracture damage occurs, the structures collapse quickly with very small support settlement.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Masonry wall, failure, support settlement, dry-joint, combined finite-discrete element method
Research Division:	Engineering
Research Group:	Civil engineering
Research Field:	Structural engineering
Objective Division:	Construction
Objective Group:	Construction design
Objective Field:	Civil construction design
UTAS Author:	Chan, AHC (Professor Andrew Chan)
UTAS Author:	Cheng, YY (Ms Yingyao Cheng)
ID Code:	151989
Year Published:	2021
Web of Science® Times Cited:	4
Deposited By:	Engineering
Deposited On:	2022-08-09
Last Modified:	2022-09-12
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