Damage plasticity modeling of concrete block masonry materials: Numerical and experimental study

Masonry walls constructed of brick or block units have tended to suffer more serious damage when subjected to loads of both static and cyclic (such as an earthquake) nature as compared to other concrete or steel structures. Hence, the static and cyclic loading behavior of these masonry building units should be carefully investigated prior to the design and construction of the structures. In this study, a damage plasticity (DP) model for the static and cyclic loading analysis of concrete block masonry units/materials is proposed by modifying the stress-strain regime of the widely used Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) model, to be suitable for concrete block masonry materials. The various parameters of the DP model, which is based on the theory of continuum damage mechanics and plasticity, are calibrated using extensive experimental data. Results of numerical simulations of static and cyclic loading on cylindrical samples of concrete masonry material performed using the DP model implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS are presented. The obtained modeling and numerical data is in close agreement with the experimental data, thus validating the proposed DP model.