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DOI: 10.15862/20SATS425 (https://doi.org/10.15862/20SATS425)

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Smagin I.V., Likhacheva S.Yu. Modeling of crack formation in masonry as a brittle composite material. Russian Journal of Transport Engineering. 2025; 12(4). Available at: https://t-s.today/PDF/20SATS425.pdf (in Russian). DOI: 10.15862/20SATS425

Modeling of crack formation in masonry as a brittle composite material

Smagin Ilya Vasilievich
OOO «KM-CENTER», Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
E-mail: i13vs@ya.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5284-2464
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=1278068

Likhacheva Svetlana Yurevna
Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
E-mail: lihsvetlana@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8029-6643
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=369043

Abstract. This review provides a critical synthesis of continuum-based approaches for modeling crack formation and propagation in unreinforced masonry. Unlike conventional chronological or model-by-model summaries, the analysis is structured around four fundamental challenges inherent to smeared and embedded crack formulations: kinematic decomposition of strain/stress fields, tensile crack initiation and post-cracking softening, compressive behavior of cracked material, and shear transfer across cracks or mortar joints.The evolution of methodologies is traced from classical rotating crack (J.G. Rots models) and modified compression field theory (MCFT) for concrete to specialized adaptations for masonry, such as the disturbed stress field model (DSFM) by Facconi et al. and discrete-joint models (e.g., JMM). A systematic comparison reveals a consistent trend: the transition from isotropic damage concepts to explicitly anisotropic, structure-aware formulations that account for masonry’s inherent heterogeneity (unit / joint composition).The study identifies two major methodological tensions: the parametric paradox, where improved physical fidelity leads to an unmanageable number of phenomenological parameters with no clear experimental calibration path, and the idealization conflict between continuum smearing techniques and the discrete, joint governed reality of masonry failure. Special attention is given to shear transfer models — from aggregate interlock laws for concrete to friction cohesion based joint formulations — as the key differentiator between material specific approaches.

Keywords: masonry; continuum crack models; strain decomposition; crack shear transfer; homogenization; strength criteria; plastic theory

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