Crack development depending on bond design for masonry walls under shear

Abstract

Walls are the most important vertical load-carrying elements of masonry structures. Their bond designs are different from one country to another. This paper presents the shear effects of some structural bond designs commonly used for masonry walls. Six different bond designs are considered and modeled using finite element procedures under lateral loading to examine the shear behavior of masonry walls. To obtain accurate results, finite element models are assumed in the inelastic region. Crack development patterns for each wall are illustrated on deformed meshes, and the numerical results are compared.