Mattia Calò, Daniele Malomo, Giammaria Gabbianelli and Rui Pinho
Mattia Calò, Ph.D. student, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, 3 Via Adolfo Ferrata, Pavia, Italy, mattia.calo01@universitadipavia.it
Daniele Malomo, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street, Montréal, QC, Canada, daniele.malomo@mcgill.ca
Giammaria Gabbianelli , Postdoctoral Fellow, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia, 15 Piazza della Vittoria, Pavia, Italy, giammaria.gabbianelli@iusspavia.it
Rui Pinho, Full Professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, 3 Via Adolfo Ferrata, Pavia, Italy, rui.pinho@unipv.it
ABSTRACT
Recent technological advancement has enabled earthquake engineering researchers to develop numerical models of increasing complexity, capable of duly reproducing even the smallest
structural detail. In the case of masonry structures, however, because of their discrete and heterogeneous nature, computational performance tends to decrease exponentially as a function of the adopted refinement level, thus confining the applicability of advanced micro-models to reduced-scale problems. For this reason, simplified modeling strategies are still largely preferred when dealing with particularly complex masonry assemblies, albeit possibly obtaining unconservative predictions especially in the case of out-of-plane-governed responses, which are typically neglected. Similarly, the effect of e.g. bond pattern, local wall-diaphragm interaction, impact phenomena and collisions are often not accounted for numerically. In current literature, however, the influence on numerical accuracy of the abovementioned simplifications has been only marginally investigated so far, while code-based modeling guidelines are missing. Thus the
question posed in the title: “how detailed should your masonry model be?”. To seek an answer, the incremental dynamic response of a shake-table-tested full-scale unreinforced masonry building specimen has been simulated in this work using a super-detailed micro-model, and the results obtained compared with those of a number of identical models in which the degree of idealization
of specific elements has been purposely dwindled. Preliminary outcomes suggest that the impact of certain modeling choices are more significant than others, and that its extent significantly depends on the considered damage level.
KEYWORDS: macro-modeling, micro-modeling, Applied Element Method, collapse analysis, shake-table test, unreinforced masonry
