Research Projects

Indian building stock is predominantly composed of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls, which are susceptible to damage due to lateral loading scenarios like earthquakes. Structural mechanics simulation-aided design of URM walls for lateral loading scenarios is the current practice, predominantly finite element (FE) based and working at various scales (micro, simplified-micro, and macro). Micro-scale approaches allow for the heterogenous representation of unit, mortar, and unit-mortar interfaces, but they become ill-posed in certain loading scenarios. The discrete element method (DEM) has gained interest from the masonry community, but it is loading scenario specific and has been a topic of discussion among researchers. The proposed proposal aims to address this gap by developing a novel damage-plasticity DEM framework for the quasi-static discontinuum analysis of URM. The DEM framework will govern the damage-plasticity model, with experimental validation studies to account for expected failure modes in URM under quasi-static loading. An out-of-plane response analysis study will be demonstrated on a representative URM wall under cyclic loading to provide detailed model prediction capabilities while simulating various failure modes. The project is expected to culminate in a robust DEM framework for URM, with great potential for performance-based design of URM structures. The project investigator plans to extend the DEM framework to other quasi-brittle materials, such as rock and reinforced concrete.