Author(s)

M. Cuomo & G. Ventura

Abstract

Numerical investigation of a material model for stone and masonry structures M. Cuomo, G. Ventura di Catania, Italy INTRODUCTION The analysis and the prediction of the mechanical response of masonry structural elements is still an open problem, in spite of the great number of investigations carried out for the determination of the constitutive relations of the material, and for the definition of an effective numerical model. The task is particularly hard for several reasons. First of all, for the large scatter of masonry materials and typologies. Furthermore, the direct measure of mechanical properties of masonry materials is quite difficult, for many reasons, among which can be mentioned: 1) the masonry is an aggregate, and therefore its properties are strongly dependant on the disposition of the elements and on their interaction; 2) the scale at which experiments have to be carried out depends on how much the rnicromechanics of the phenomenon has to be accoun

Keywords