Mechanics of structure genome applied in the homogenization of masonry reinforced by FRP repointing technique

This paper presents the newly developed Mechanics of structure genome (MSG) technique as an alternative for homogenizing masonry without reinforcement or reinforced by the FRP repointing technique. In the numerical examples analyzed, the results obtained with MSG were compared to those presented by Barbieri and Cecchi (2007), as well as with the finite element method (FEM). For unreinforced masonry, it is observed that the results obtained with MSG are closer to those of the FEM than those presented by Barbieri and Cecchi (2007). For the reinforced masonry, three values were considered for the FRP Young's modulus. The analyses performed show an increase in the stiffness of the reinforced masonry, but the increase in FRP Young's modulus only showed respective growth in the stiffness of the masonry in the horizontal direction. Finally, it is added that the MSG technique has advantages over the solution of a boundary value problem by the FEM, which is the classic and referential formulation for the masonry homogenization process. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper introduces the newly developed MSG technique as an alternative for homogenizing masonry, with comparisons to traditional methods in numerical analyses. The results show that MSG is closer to FEM for unreinforced masonry and can increase stiffness for reinforced masonry, particularly in the horizontal direction. The advantages of MSG over FEM for masonry homogenization process are also highlighted.