NONLINEAR MACROSCOPIC FINITE ELEMENT MODEL FOR MASONRY WALLS.

A macroscopic finite element model which includes both transverse shear effects and nonlinearity due to cracking has been developed for masonry. These features are accommodated using a multi-layered model which can handle general in-plane and out-of-plane loading conditions simultaneously. It is capable of tracing the crack progress and cracking pattern in the plane of the wall and modifying the stiffness of the cracked elements only in the cracked layers. These layers can correspond to face shell(s) in a hollow block wall or wythe(s) in the case of a multiwythe wall.