Assessment of masonry buildings subjected to landslide by using the load path method

The increase in the computational capabilities in the last decade has allowed numerical models to be widely used in the analysis, leading to a higher complexity in structural engineering. This is why simple models are nowadays essential because they provide easy and accessible understanding of fundamental aspects of the structural response. Accordingly, this article aims at showing the utility and effectiveness of a simple method (i.e. the Load Path Method) in the interpretation of the behaviour of masonry buildings subjected to foundation settlements due to landslide. Models useful for understanding brick-mortar interface behaviour as well as the global one are reported. The global proposed approach is also validated by using Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization method. Moreover, drawing inspiration from a case study, the article shows that the proposed approach is useful for the diagnosis of crack patterns of masonry structures subjected to landslide movements.