Associação Portuguesa de Mecânica Teórica, Aplicada e Computacional (APMTAC)
Abstract
Despite considerable experimental and analytical research in the past, modern
regulations still adopt very conservative simplified formulas for the compressive strength of
masonry. The present paper contributes to the understanding of masonry under compression,
using a novel non-linear homogenisation tool that includes the possibility of tensile and compressive
progressive damage, both in the unit and mortar. The simplified homogenised model
uses an iterative procedure and a few ingenious micro-deformation mechanisms, being able
to accurately reproduce complex simulations carried out with non-linear continuum finite
element analysis, at a marginal cost of CPU time and with no convergence difficulties
