Testing and numerical modelling of buckling failure of masonry walls

An experimental and numerical research on the buckling failure of brick masonry walls is presented. The research includes laboratory experiments on the response of a large number of 1/4 scale masonry walls characterized by different combinations of slenderness ratios and loading eccentricities. Experimental results by different authors are also considered and compared with those obtained in the present research.In addition, a detailed numerical simulation of a selection of experiments has been carried out using a well-known micro-modelling technique. The numerical application has provided satisfactory predictions of both the ultimate capacity and lateral deformability of walls up to the buckling failure.The paper includes a discussion on the influence of some relevant parameters, such as the masonry tensile strength, wall slenderness and load eccentricity, on the load capacity of the walls. The application of the analytical method provided by EN 1996-1-1:2005 is also discussed.

Research highlights
► Experimental characterization of buckling failure of brick masonry load bearing walls.
► Method for the construction and testing of 1/4 scale brick masonry walls.
► Numerical simulation of the buckling failure of masonry walls.
► Comparison of different experimental programs on brick wall buckling failure.