Upper Bound Limit Analysis of Quasi-Periodic Masonry by Means of Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO)

In the present paper, the upper bound of the failure surface of quasi-periodic masonry is estimated by means of Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO). This allows to overcome the difficulties in using methods which have been tailored for periodic masonry. With this approach, the domain is discretized with a great number of points which are the boundaries possible discontinuities associated with a failure mechanism. The effective pattern of discontinuities at failure is estimated, through usual methods of limit analysis, by minimizing a suitable function. In particular, the present paper shows the first results obtained for a masonry with a quasi-periodic and a random texture, assuming that the discontinuities can appear only in the mortar joints and according to Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion.