Diagonal Compressive Tests on Double Wythe Brick Ancient Masonry Panels Unreinforced and Reinforced with Innovative Cement Based Materials: Advanced FE Simulations

Abstract

The paper presents the numerical results obtained testing a series of masonry panels. The experimental campaign is characterized by some in-situ diagonal compressive tests performed on both unreinforced and reinforced walls with overall dimensions equal to 1000 × 1000 × 300 mm3. The present study is intended to analyze from a numerical point of view, the behavior of ancient double wythe brick masonry panels subjected to in-plane diagonal compressive loads. To this scope, two different types of strengthening have been applied on the tested walls: (i) TRM (Textile Reinforced Mortar) materials symmetrically applied on the panel and (ii) an asymmetric reinforcement made with a layer of TRM materials and with a NSM (Near Surface Mounted) technique on the other. A series of numerical analyses have been carried out by means of a sophisticated heterogeneous micro-modeling technique, by means of which bricks, mortar joints and the strengthening systems have been modeled separately. In detail, a Concrete Damage Plasticity model, already implemented into the FE software Abaqus, has been used to describe the possible crushing and cracking failures of the constituent materials. Finally, the numerical outcomes have been comparatively assessed with respect to the experimental results and the damage patterns obtained at the end of the tests, showing a promising agreement.