Damage Detection, Quantification and Modelling in Masonry Structures

A special issue of CivilEng (ISSN 2673-4109). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural and Earthquake Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2022) | Viewed by 8336

Special Issue Editors

School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Interests: masonry structures; numerical analysis; experimental testing; damage monitoring
Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics Laboratory, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
Interests: masonry structures; numerical analysis; constitutive modelling; strain localization; non-destructive testing; experimental testing
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Masonry structures represent a large percentage of the existing building stock of residential, vernacular and monumental architecture. This building stock is often located in regions featuring tectonic earthquakes, induced seismicity and soil subsidence. These effects can be detrimental to the aesthetic value, resilience and structural stability of masonry structures through the accumulation and propagation of structural damage. Effective intervention on these structures requires that sustained damage not only be successfully detected, but also rationally quantified.

Damage monitoring and inspection tools for masonry are abundant in engineering practice and research literature, making use of both established and emerging technology and methods. Photogrammetry, laser scanning, digital image correlation, acoustic emission and dynamic identification are but a few techniques used for the detection of damage arising in masonry structures under mechanical loading, both in the field and in the lab. However, the quantification of detected damage in terms relevant for structural analysis, namely for the calculation of stiffness and capacity reduction at the material or structural element level, remains tentative and applied in case-by-case instances.

This Special Issue aims at compiling and disseminating new advances and applications in damage detection and non-linear analysis of masonry structures. We invite contributions in damage detection, quantification and documentation, detailed case studies and advances in nonlinear analysis for decisively promoting research related to structural assessment and analysis of damaged masonry structures.

Submitted papers will undergo rigorous peer review with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of all research outcomes.

Dr. Anastasios Drougkas
Dr. Savvas Saloustros
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Masonry structures
  • Damage detection
  • Structural monitoring
  • Non-destructive testing
  • Digital documentation
  • Safety assessment
  • Non-linear analysis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 5801 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of the Tension–Compression Behavior of Tie Connections in Brick Masonry Walls
by Javier Ortega, Nuno Mendes and Graça Vasconcelos
CivilEng 2022, 3(2), 441-455; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/civileng3020026 - 21 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2097
Abstract
Brick masonry veneer walls connected to infill walls inserted in a reinforced concrete (RC) frame are a common constructive system in Portugal. The stability of the veneer wall is ensured by ties that make the connection with the masonry infill walls. These ties [...] Read more.
Brick masonry veneer walls connected to infill walls inserted in a reinforced concrete (RC) frame are a common constructive system in Portugal. The stability of the veneer wall is ensured by ties that make the connection with the masonry infill walls. These ties enable the transferring of out-of-plane loads to the main structure due to wind, and particularly due to earthquakes. However, the characterization of the seismic behavior of these tie connections is an insufficiently explored topic. The present paper shows a numerical investigation that aims to simulate experimental results of tension and compression tests performed on masonry prisms connected by means of steel ties. The main objective of the present research is to obtain a better understanding of the complex structural behavior of this specific construction system to then develop simplified numerical tools to be used in engineering practice for the seismic design and retrofitting of brick masonry veneer walls. The numerical results match well the experimental ones, and the validated approach can be used in the future to carry out parametric analyses to evaluate the influence of material and geometric properties of the tie and masonry, as well as the type of action and construction details. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Damage Detection, Quantification and Modelling in Masonry Structures)
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17 pages, 38704 KiB  
Article
Numerical Analysis of an Earthen Masonry Structure Subjected to Blast Loading
by Demiana Tse, João M. Pereira and Paulo B. Lourenço
CivilEng 2021, 2(4), 969-985; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/civileng2040052 - 09 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2791
Abstract
Historic monuments and construction capture the knowledge of civilizations of the past and are a source of pride for people of the present. Over the centuries, these buildings have been at risk from natural and man-made causes. The Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage [...] Read more.
Historic monuments and construction capture the knowledge of civilizations of the past and are a source of pride for people of the present. Over the centuries, these buildings have been at risk from natural and man-made causes. The Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Granada, Spain, is one of such places. This paper aims to evaluate the structural performance of the Torre de la Vela, a tower in the Alhambra, under blast loads. The loads were based on historical records of barrels of gunpowder and were modeled as simplified pressure profiles using existing empirical equations. The effect of impulsive loading on the material properties was accounted for using dynamic increase factors, determined experimentally by previous authors. The model was created using finite element methods (FEM) and the problem was solved using explicit dynamic analysis available in Abaqus/Explicit. Using the failure volume damage index, a blast load applied outside and inside of the building would create a low damage level, which should be treated with caution given the occurrence of localized damage. The removal of elements exceeding a given damage threshold led to more visible damage patterns than the Concrete Tension Damage option in Abaqus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Damage Detection, Quantification and Modelling in Masonry Structures)
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15 pages, 10645 KiB  
Article
Discrete Rigid Block Analysis to Assess Settlement Induced Damage in Unreinforced Masonry Façades
by Ryan Ehresman, Nathan Taylor, Bora Pulatsu and Ece Erdogmus
CivilEng 2021, 2(3), 541-555; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/civileng2030030 - 09 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2215
Abstract
In this study, a system of discontinuous rigid blocks is employed to simulate the possible damage mechanisms in unreinforced masonry (URM) façades and load-bearing frame systems subjected to settlement using the discrete element method (DEM). First, the employed modeling strategy is validated utilizing [...] Read more.
In this study, a system of discontinuous rigid blocks is employed to simulate the possible damage mechanisms in unreinforced masonry (URM) façades and load-bearing frame systems subjected to settlement using the discrete element method (DEM). First, the employed modeling strategy is validated utilizing the available experimental results presented in the literature. Once there is a good agreement between the computational models and experimental findings, a sensitivity analysis is performed to quantify the influence of the input parameters defined in the DEM-based numerical model. Finally, the proposed modeling strategy is further utilized to assess the damage pattern that may develop in a URM façade due to uniform and non-uniform settlement profiles. The results of this study clearly show that the discrete rigid block analysis (D-RBA) provides robust numerical solutions that can be employed to visualize and assess the possible damage patterns and related collapse mechanisms of URM masonry systems as an alternative modeling strategy to standard continuum-based solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Damage Detection, Quantification and Modelling in Masonry Structures)
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