Continuum modeling of periodic brickwork

Continuum models of periodic masonry brickwork, viewed at a micro-level as a discrete system, are identified within the frame of linearized elasticity. The accuracy of various identification schemes is investigated for standard and micropolar continua, which are directly compared with the help of some numerical benchmarks, for different loading conditions that induce periodic and non-periodic deformation states. It is shown that periodic deformation states of brickwork are exactly reproduced by both continua, provided that a suitable identification scheme is adopted. For non-periodic states micropolar continuum is shown to better reproduce the discrete solutions, due to its capability to take scale effects into account. Both continua are asymptotically equivalent as the characteristic length of the discrete system tends to zero, while providing an upper and a lower bound of the discrete solution.