Nonlinear Analysis of Masonry Buildings Under Seismic Actions with a Multifan Finite Element

This paper presented an innovative method for nonlinear simulation of masonry structures under seismic loading conditions. The method is based on a macro-modeling formulation of a masonry panel. A new finite element (FE), called a “multi-fan” (MF) element, is developed on the macro scale, whereby the stress field within the panel is determined at each load step by minimizing the current complementary potential energy. Because only one element is required to model a single masonry panel in the structure, this approach enables a reduction in the total number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) of the system and the total computational effort. The ability of the proposed approach to estimate the ultimate capacity of masonry walls was analyzed both by comparing its predictions with available experimental results and through FE analyses based on a micro-modeling approach. The comparisons show satisfactory accuracy at both the global and local levels. Therefore, the new macro-element can be effectively used in safety assessments of masonry buildings.