Experimental and numerical study of multi-leaf masonry walls

A research programme was carried out with the aim of investigating the mechanical behaviour of multiple-leaf stone masonry walls. A number of experimental tests were performed on three-leaf specimens, consisting of two external leaves made of stone bricks and mortar joints, and an internal leaf in mortar and stone aggregate. The specimens differed from each other in terms of interface geometry, stone nature, and loading conditions. A numerical model was developed to predict the nonlinear response of the specimens. The model is characterized by a damage tensor, which allows one to describe the damage-induced anisotropy accompanying the cracking process. Comparisons between the predicted and measured failure loads are quite satisfactory in most of the studied cases. The numerical procedure still needs to be improved to accurately describe the post-peak behaviour, by avoiding mesh-dependency effects related to the strain-softening behaviour of the material.