Numerical investigation of AAC unit arrangement effect in ASTM E-519 diagonal shear test

In this thesis study, in the Diagonal Shear Test (ASTM E-519), which was used to determine the mechanical properties of masonry walls, the effect of unit element arrangement for Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) wall samples was numerically investigated. Although the relevant specification specifies at least the test sample sizes, no information is given about the brick arrangement in the sample. Considering this, the effect of joint (mortar) position change between AAC units on experimental results was investigated by keeping the building technique and unit type constant. The computer model, whose experimental data were prepared based on a reference study in the literature, was numerically verified and derived. The material properties required for the study were obtained by using the reference experimental study and the relevant international technical codes. Simplified micro-modeling technique was used in the numerical study. In this technique, the mortar thickness was neglected and taken into account with special interface elements representing inter-brick behavior. Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) theory was used to determine the damage status of aerated concrete. This thesis consists of five main parts. In the first part, general information about the scope of the study is given. The second part is about the literature summary. In the third part, there is an explanation of numerical modeling and computer modeling. In the fourth part, details about the experimental and numerical studies referenced are described. Finally, in the fifth part, all the analysis results were presented and the necessary comparisons and interpretations were made, and the graphs and tables obtained were evaluated.