A New Advanced and Simple Procedure for the Nonlinear Static Analysis of Curved Masonry Structures

In many countries, a large part of the building stock is constructed in masonry. Despite the numerous advantages of this material, when it comes to resisting large foundation displacements or seismic actions, the capacity of such structures is not always ensured. In fact, it depends on many factors like the mutual connection between technical elements, the box behaviour, and the interlocking between single units. Moreover, the conditions of the external supports and dead weights matter, as in masonry structures, especially curved ones, they are tightly bonded to the geometry. However, modelling all those interactions in a simplified manner, together with the heterogeneous and nonlinear material properties is quite challenging. This led to the development of a novel procedure involving Elastic Body and Spring models for masonry nonlinear static analysis in Finite Elements. The springs constitute the interfaces between the bodies and allow a Distinct Element-like analysis. The innovation brought by this contribution is the automatization of interface meshing by a Ruled Explicit Meshing tool, intending to diminish the occurrence of human errors and the time demanded for the operation. The general objective is to provide engineers with a straightforward tool to evaluate the (residual) capacity of masonry structures in relation to imposed displacements. This will assist the final user in designing conservation or reinforcement measures when necessary.