A new block-based approach for the analysis of damage in masonries undergoing large deformations

A new block-based elasto-damage model for describing masonry structures has been recently proposed (Tran et al. in Mech Res Commun 118:103802, 2021), where the used constitutive elastic and damage behavioral laws were inspired from granular micromechanics. Preliminary results hinted at the realistic masonry deformation modes which could be obtained, as well as the importance of the damaging characteristic lengths featured in the model. The present work is an extension of that previous paper and presents a more detailed derivation of the model, along with a finer parametric study of the damaging characteristic lengths. Qualitative results hint at how those characteristic lengths allow to model interactions between normal and tangential deformations of the mortar, thus opening the way for future development and quantitative studies of the model.