A localized mapped damage model for orthotropic materials

•An orthotropic damage model based on mapping of isotropic scalar models is presented.•The model can reproduce experimental failure loci of wood, FRP and masonry.•A crack-tracking technique is used for FE simulation of discrete crack propagation.•The numerical model is validated via FE analysis of mixed mode fracture in masonry.

This paper presents an implicit orthotropic model based on the Continuum Damage Mechanics isotropic models. A mapping relationship is established between the behaviour of the anisotropic material and that of an isotropic one. The proposed model is used to simulate the failure loci of common orthotropic materials, such as masonry, fibre-reinforced composites and wood. The damage model is combined with a crack-tracking technique to reproduce the propagation of localized cracks in the discrete FE problem. The proposed numerical model is used to simulate the mixed mode fracture in masonry members with different orientations of the brick layers.