ABSTRACT
The use of formulations based on mathematical programming is becoming increasingly popular for the solution of limit analysis problems related to the modeling of existing masonry structures. The assessment of masonry block structures under lateral loads can be efficiently carried out using computational limit analysis for the evaluation of the collapse load factor and the corresponding failure mechanism. The formulation adopts a rigid body modeling approach and uses a concave model for contact interfaces, for which a no-tension and frictional behaviour is assumed. The chapter presents a novel formulation for rigid block limit analysis of dry jointed masonry structures. A three-dimensional rigid block formulation for limit analysis of masonry structures was presented and applied to the experimental case study of a small scale masonry structure consisting of a front wall and three perpendicular masonry panels with openings.
