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Civil-Comp Proceedings
ISSN 1759-3433
CCP: 102
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CIVIL, STRUCTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING COMPUTING
Edited by:
Paper 64

A Multi-Level Interface Model for Damaged Masonry

M.L. Raffa1, F. Lebon2, E. Sacco3 and H. Welemane4

1Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Science
University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
2Laboratory of Mechanics and Acoustics
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
3Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanics
University of Cassino and of Lazio Meridionale, Cassino (FR), Italy
4National Engineering School of Tarbes, University of Toulouse, Tarbes, France

Full Bibliographic Reference for this paper
M.L. Raffa, F. Lebon, E. Sacco, H. Welemane, "A Multi-Level Interface Model for Damaged Masonry", in , (Editors), "Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing", Civil-Comp Press, Stirlingshire, UK, Paper 64, 2013. doi:10.4203/ccp.102.64
Keywords: masonry, interfaces, damage, homogenization, microcracks, unilateral effects, asymptotic analysis.

Summary
The aim of this paper is to propose a new micro-mechanical model in the context of the deductive approach used to derive interface models. This model, based on a previous study introduced previously by Rekik and Lebon, is used to reproduce the damage in masonry by combining structural analysis and homogenization methods. The focal point of this method is to assume the existence of a third material, called interphase, which is a mixture of the two principal constituents of masonry, brick and mortar, and that is the interface between them. This new element presents a low thickness, a low stiffness and a given damage ratio. The mechanical problem of masonry, initially a 3D problem, is solved numerically as a 2D problem using finite element methods. The properties of the interface brick-mortar material are obtained using three essentials steps. First of all, an exact homogenization of a laminates is used to define a first homogeneous equivalent medium named HEM-1. After, the assumption of damaged material is taken into account by using the general framework given by Kachanov to evaluate the global behaviour of the damaged HEM-1 defining thus a second equivalent homogeneous medium noted HEM-2. The last step consists in using an asymptotic analysis technique which is performed to model HEM-2 as an interface or a joint. The properties of this joint are deduced from those of the HEM-2 material as proposed in former papers. Particularly, through the second homogenization are taken into account the variability of microcracks oriented family and simultaneously the opening-closure effects (unilateral behaviour). Numerically this interface is modelled with connector finite elements. Numerical results are compared to experimental ones available in the literature.

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