Stress distribution in masonry walls, loaded in pane, simulated with comsol

The tensile strength of masonry is relatively low compared to its compressive strength and is affected by the direction of the joints and their filling. In masonry with modern thin layer mortar (joint thickness 3 to 5 mm) sometimes the head joints are left open. A total of 13 model-walls was built and for each model four general purpose mortar combinations and three thin layer mortar combinations were used. The linear elastic simulations showed the dependence of the stress distribution on height to length ratio. Tensile stresses were as expected and largest at the bottom of the model-walls. The properties of the head joints affected stress distribution. At the overall level, stresses follow the trend found with homogeneous material properties. Subsequent work will be performed to study the effect of cracking on stress distribution. Finally, numerical simulations and experiments should result in reliable design models and values.