Issue 39

V. Salajka et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 39 (2017) 88-99; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.39.10 88 Focussed on Modelling in Mechanics Numerical simulations of tests masonry walls from ceramic block using a detailed finite element model V. Salajka Brno University of Technologye, Czech Republic salajka.v@fce.vutbr.cz, http://www.vutbr.cz J. Klouda Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague, Czech Republic klouda@tzus.cz , http://www.tzus.cz P. Hradil Brno University of Technologye, Czech Republic Hradil.p@fce.vutbr.cz , http://www.vutbr.cz A BSTRACT . This article deals with an analysis of the behaviour of brick ceramic walls. The behaviour of the walls was analysed experimentally in order to obtain their bearing capacity under static loading and their seismic resistance. Simultaneously, numerical simulations of the experiments were carried out in order to obtain additional information on the behaviour of masonry walls made of ceramic blocks. The results of the geometrically and materially nonlinear computations were compared to the results of the performed tests. K EYWORDS . Ceramic blocks; Mathematical model of a wall; Finite Element Method; Nonlinear computations. Citation: Salajka, V., Klouda, J., Hradil, P., Numerical simulations of tests masonry walls from ceramic block using a detailed finite element model, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 39 (2017) 88-99. Received: 11.07.2016 Accepted: 22.09.2016 Published: 01.01.2017 Copyright: © 2017 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. I NTRODUCTION efore its introduction to the market, masonry made from innovative clay hollow blocks filled with mineral wool, had to be tested for functionality and reaching the conformity with calculation models according to the Eurocode 6 [1] and/or Eurocode 8 [2], in more complex cases of load, before it was launched on the market. During the years 2011 – 2014, an extensive project [3-6] devoted to the assessment of the product static characteristics as well as the behaviour of the walls lined from these blocks was realized on Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague, Czech Republic (TZÚS Praha). The basic as well as the extended tests were realized, including the evaluation of its results, B