Mechanical characterization of autoclaved aerated concrete masonry subjected to in-plane loading: Experimental investigation and FE modeling

• Mechanical characterization of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) masonry.
• Tests on masonry beams in bending and panels subjected to biaxial loads.
• Tests show an almost isotropic behavior of the masonry.
• A macro-model for the analysis of classical masonry has been adapted to AAC.
• Macro-model used to simulate a full-scale AAC wall subjected to a pushover test.

This paper aims to provide a mechanical characterization of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) masonry with thin bed joints subjected to in-plane loading. To this purpose, a detailed experimental program has been carried out on masonry beams subjected to bending and masonry panels subjected to uniaxial and biaxial loads. The obtained results have highlighted an almost isotropic behavior of the material. The collected data have been applied to calibrate a well-known numerical macro-model available in the technical literature for the analysis of classical masonry structures. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure has been finally verified by simulating the experimental behavior of a full-scale AAC bearing wall, through nonlinear finite element analysis.