Estudio de la rotura de la fábrica de ladrillo bajo solicitaciones de tracción y cortante

Study of the brickwork masonry failure under tensile/shear loading

At present the knowledge about brickwork failure is limited. On the experimental field the study has been focussed on the compression and compression/shear mechanisms. The available numerical models are difficult to apply by the practitioners. This paper shows the summary of an experimental benchmark made to study the failure of the brickwork masonry under tensile/shear loading. The double-edge notched specimen geometry was adopted for testing. The influence of the inclination of the brick lines was studied: specimens with three orientation angles of the brick lines respect to the loading direction were adopted (0, 90 and 45 degrees). The paper presents a numerical model for the failure of the brickwork masonry under tensile/shear loading. The model is based on the cohesive crack approach. The experimental results of the first part of the paper are simulated. The numerical model only includes parameters with physical meaning and measurable by standard methods. The proposed model may be used by the practitioners in an easy way.