MODELLING OF IN-PLANE BEHAVIOR OF MASONRY WALLS USING DISTINCT ELEMENT METHOD

In most of masonry structures, walls are known as the major load-resisting elements. When an earthquake occurs, damage or failure in these elements could lead to total destruction of masonry structure. Due to low flexibility and poor shearing and bending resistance, masonry structures are highly vulnerable. Hence, correct recognition of masonry walls behavior under applied forces and their failure mechanisms could help in determining the resistance of masonry structures against earthquake and if they need retrofitting. One of the approaches in behavior modeling of discontinuous environments is the distinct element method, which is suitable for blocky structures analysis. This study focuses on the investigation of masonry walls behavior under vertical and lateral loads and verification of the distinct element method results using 3Dec software. The results obtained from distinct element method analysis were compared to the data resulted from experimental tests on two specimens, one with and the other without opening. Acceptable results in shearing capacity and failure mechanisms of masonry walls were obtained. Therefore, it is concluded that the numerical distinct element method could be used as a reliable method for studying the behavior of masonry walls.