ABSTRACT
The advance in computational techniques and computer software made the non-linear analysis of structures possible for the practising engineers. Masonry is a material with low tensile strength. Due to the low tensile strength of unreinforced masonry, the non-linear behaviour is greatly influenced by the normal force, its eccentricity, and the second-order effect. This nonlinear behaviour leads to the question of the basic approach of the partial safety factors and the related material properties in numerical analysis of masonry structures. Under certain conditions, masonry member may crack leading to reduction in the effective cross-section. The partial safety factors can be determined approximately according to the first-order second-moment theory using Hasofer-Lind transformation. It recommends to run two non-linear analysis one using the design value of the compressive strength together with the mean value of the elastic modulus, and the other one using the mean value of the compressive strength together with the design value of the elastic modulus.
