Assessment of stone masonry walls with deterioration at their base using non-linear finite element analyses

Masonry walls are exposed to various potentially damaging factors, which arise due to common environmental effects or accidental actions. Local damage on a masonry wall operating as a primary load carrying component may trigger partial or full collapse of the wall and of the structural system it is supporting. Therefore, reliably assessing (potentially) damaged masonry walls is a crucial aspect in maintaining the desired safety level and decide the appropriate retrofit measures possibly required. In the present work, the influence of deterioration at the base of stone masonry walls on their structural response is investigated. For this purpose, plane stress non-linear Finite Element (FE) analyses are performed for various wall configurations and base deterioration scenarios. Hence, the in-plane lateral strength is computed for walls, which are artificially damaged by notionally removing masonry material from the walls' base. By comparing the remaining carrying capacity of a 'damaged' wall with the carrying capacity of the corresponding intact wall, the structural damage tolerance of the deteriorated wall can be quantitatively assessed. The results obtained demonstrate the effects of base deterioration on the lateral resistance of stone masonry walls and facilitate the decision making process for a possible small- or large-scale intervention.