Applications of Smart Bricks for Strain Field Reconstruction in Masonry Walls: Numerical Analysis and Shaking Table Tests

Abstract

Masonry structures are particularly vulnerable to seismic loads due to their brittle and nonhomogeneous behavior. Therefore, assessing their conditions after significant events is especially critical: this could be achieved through a reliable monitoring system able to identify significant variations of strains and stresses which could induce cracks. To this aim, the authors developed a new clay-based smart brick sensor as a novel solution for strain monitoring of masonry elements fully integrated into the wall components. This paper is aimed at (i) improving understanding and modeling of the smart brick properties and (ii) investigating the application of such sensors for reconstructing the strain fields into masonry elements subjected to a variety of loading conditions. A particular attention is devoted to analyzing the optimal configuration for the detection of changes in the load paths. To this aim, a FE micro-modeling approach is first applied to a masonry wall. Then, a shaking table test on a full-scale masonry building is presented and results are compared to a FE macro-modeling simulation.