• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.181-194
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• 2006

The masonry is a complex heterogeneous material and its shear deformation and fracture is associated with very complicated progressive failures in masonry structure, and is investigated in this paper using a mesoscopic mechanical modelling, Considering the heterogeneity of masonry material, based on the damage mechanics and elastic-brittle theory, the newly developed Material Failure Process Analysis (MFPA) system was brought out to simulate the cracking process of masonry, which was considered as a three-phase composite of the block phase, the mortar phase and the block-mortar interfaces. The crack propagation processes simulated with this model shows good agreement with those of experimental observations by other researchers. This finding indicates that the shear fracture of masonry observed at the macroscopic level is predominantly caused by tensile damage at the mesoscopic level. Some brittle materials are so weak in tension relative to shear that tensile rather than shear fractures are generated in pure shear loading.