Numerical investigation on masonry panel under diagonal compression

Masonry is a commonly used construction material with complex behaviour under different load conditions that can be predicted using Finite Element (FE) modelling. This study presents the FE modelling and analysis of a masonry panel, under the diagonal load, followed by a validation using an available experimental work. The FE model was developed and validated considering the simplified micro-model in ABAQUS 6.14. The FE analysis showed that the simplified micro-model of masonry can fairly simulate the behaviour of masonry panels under diagonal loads in terms of initial stiffness, shear strength, and failure mechanism. The numerical to experimental shear strength ratio was found to be 0.84. In addition, the observed failure mechanism, i.e., joint sliding in the FE model resembled the experimental observation. Further, the FE model was utilized to understand the behaviour of masonry panels including strut formation, development shear stress, etc. under diagonal load.