Modelling approaches of the in-plane shear behaviour of unreinforced and FRP strengthened masonry panels

The paper presents different finite element modelling approaches. developed with a commercial software, for the analysis of the behaviour of unreinforced and FRP strengthened masonry walls when their are subjected to a predominant shear load. Three models are analyzed, having different complexity levels. These models are used for the simulation of diagonal compression tests on masonry panels. The numerical simulations are compared with experimental results and the reliability of the different finite element models is discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.