Simulation of the out-of-plane behaviour of urm walls by means of discrete macro-element method

Abstract

The seismic response of masonry structures without box-type behaviour is given by a complex interaction between in-plane and out-of-plane behaviours. Previous earthquakes demonstrated that out-of-plane failure mechanisms represent the main cause of structural collapses of UnReinforced Masonry (URM) and historical structures. Previous experimental and analytical studies, investigating the out-of-plane behaviour of URM structures, mostly considered the effects of one-way bending moment. In this regard, recent experimental campaigns and numerical simulations have been conducted in order to investigate the out-ofplane behaviour of masonry walls subjected to two-way bending. These investigations have demonstrated the complexity of this mechanism and stressed the need for accurate numerical tools capable of providing reliable predictions in terms of ultimate strength and failure mechanisms. This paper focuses on the assessment of the dynamic behaviour of a U-shape URM prototype, subjected to shaking table tests, by means of a simplified computational strategy denoted as Discrete Macro-Element Method (DMEM). In this investigation, a comparison between experimental and numerical results was conducted in order to validate the capabilities of the proposed modelling approach. Subsequently, a parametric analysis was carried aiming at determining the influence that masonry mechanical properties, and additional model parameters, have on the out-of-plane nonlinear dynamic response of URM masonry structures.