Title: Out-of-plane seismic response of a masonry façade using distinct element methods

Authors: Mattia Schiavoni; Angela Ferrante; Georgios Panagiotis Salachoris; Chiara Mariotti; Francesco Clementi

Addresses: Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy ' Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil (LMGC), CNRS, University Montpellier, 163 Rue Auguste Broussonnet, 34090 Montpellier, France ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy

Abstract: Damage surveys after earthquakes showed that unreinforced masonry buildings are prone to local failure modes related to out-of-plane mechanisms of walls caused by the poor connection with the orthogonal walls. Otherwise, if the masonry element rises isolated it may be subject to overturning mechanisms rather than in-plane collapse. Nowadays, several methods can be used to evaluate collapses. These methods require quite a high computational cost, not beneficial to practitioners. Advanced numerical models can be applied, such as the discrete element and non-smooth contact dynamics methods, which treat the masonry as a set of either rigid or deformable blocks that can slide and impact each other. In this paper, an ancient (isolated) masonry wall is analysed, and the results provide the first comparison between two numerical models to estimate the influence of the intervention placed on the top of the wall.

Keywords: masonry wall; nonlinear dynamic analyses; non-smooth contact dynamics method; NSCD; damage cumulation; restoration interventions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2024.135237

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2024 Vol.9 No.1/2, pp.67 - 79

Received: 01 Jun 2022
Accepted: 21 Sep 2022
Published online: 03 Dec 2023 *

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