Experimental research on masonry mechanics and failure under biaxial compression

This study aimed to develop a simple and effective method to facilitate the experimental research on mechanical properties of masonry under biaxial compressive stress. A series of tests on full-scale brick masonry panels under biaxial compression have been performed in limited principal stress ratios oriented at various angles to the bed joints. Failure modes of tested panels were observed and failure features were analyzed to reveal the mechanical behavior of masonry under biaxial compression. Based on the experimental data, the failure curve in terms of two orthotropic principal stresses has been presented and the failure criterion of brick masonry in the form of the tensor polynomial has been established, which indicate that the anisotropy for masonry is closely related to the difference of applied stress as well as the orientation of bed joints. Further, compared with previous failure curves and criteria for masonry, it can be found that the relative strength of mortar and block has a considerable effect on the degree of anisotropy for masonry. The test results demonstrate the validity of the proposed experimental method for the approximation of masonry failure under biaxial compressive stress and provide valuable information used to establish experimentally based methodologies for the improvement of masonry failure criteria.