Comparative study of homogenization techniques in masonry

Resumo

Masonry is a composite material widely used in construction, consisting of individual units, such as bricks or blocks, and mortar joints. This combination results in a highly anisotropic material, which means that its properties can vary significantly in different directions. However, adequately characterizing masonry represents a significant challenge. Due to its composite and anisotropic nature, determining the mechanical properties and structural behavior of masonry requires a careful and precise approach. One of the main difficulties in characterizing masonry is dealing with the variation in the properties of individual components, such as bricks and mortar, as well as the influence of mortar joints on the overall response of the structure. In addition, the presence of imperfections, such as cracks and discontinuities in units and joints, can significantly affect the structural performance of masonry. The analysis and homogenization of masonry have been approached through several techniques, including the Finite Element Method (FEM), which has been widely applied. However, more recent techniques, suchas Mechanics of Structure Genome (MSG) and Finite-Volume Direct Averaging Micromechanics (FVDAM), have also shown promise in this field. FEM has been employed for the analysis of masonry, both for unreinforced masonry cases and for those reinforced with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP). However, MSG emerges as an interesting alternative for masonry homogenization, as it considerably reduces the computational cost compared to FEM. In addition, FVDAM, a relatively new technique, has been used to analyze composite materials and obtain their effective properties. Although it is a technique under development, FVDAM has shown excellent results compared to other numerical approaches. In a pioneering study, FVDAM was applied for the first time to the numerical study of FRP-reinforced masonry. The results obtained were compared with MSG and FEM, demonstrating the good performance of FVDAM with respect to the methods used in the comparison.