A novel pixel limit analysis homogenization model for random masonry

The application of homogenization techniques to non-periodic masonry structures is apparently in disagreement with the very idea behind homogenization itself, which is the possibility to identify a repetitive cell able to generate the masonry pattern under translation. However, few past works have attempted to overcome this issue with satisfactory results. One side issue arising when dealing with such an irregular masonry pattern is the generation an effective finite element mesh starting from the image of a randomly-assembled masonry panel. In this work, a Matlab code able to create a mesh directly from a picture is presented, and is subsequently employed in a broader code for the derivation of homogenized failure surfaces for in-plane loaded masonry test-windows.