Experimental characterization of monumental brick masonry in Nepal

Mechanical properties of masonry play important role in the identification of seismic behavior during earthquakes. As historical earthquakes precisely note that the non-engineered masonry buildings are the most affected structural forms during earthquakes, analytical models should be more representative to capture the real damage mechanisms. Similar scenario was reflected during the 1988, 2011, and 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. However, an extensive literature survey noted that the mechanical properties of Nepali masonry construction are still not well identified and thus require due attention to improve numerical models. To this end, this study aims to identify the mechanical properties for neoclassical monumental masonry constructions in Nepal. In-situ tests, analytical validation using discrete element modeling, and laboratory test results are reported in this paper.