A study was carried out into extending the use of the mixed discrete–continuum approach for advanced numerical analysis of masonry retaining walls. This included incorporation of soil plasticity, irregular wall morphology and application to a real-life scenario to identify the causes of observed damage patterns. Backfill soil was simulated by way of a deformable continuous medium, while masonry units were represented as polyhedral rigid blocks interacting with each other. Upon validation, the approach was used to simulate the behaviour of an historical masonry retaining wall suffering from severe cracks, large deflections and partial collapse due to material degradation and differential soil settlement. To understand the progressive response of the structure better, a parametric analysis was performed on the tensile strength of masonry when the system was subjected to differential settlement. Further static analyses were performed to assess the capacity of the wall under uniform surcharge pressure. The results demonstrated the sensitivity of the macro behaviour of the wall to the tension capacity of masonry. The study also showed that the proposed modelling approach can provide useful performance information on existing retaining walls that are vulnerable, and that such validated numerical models should be used to determine any interventions and repairs.

中文翻译：

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使用混合离散连续体方法对砌体挡土墙进行高级分析

进行了一项研究，以扩展混合离散-连续体方法在砌体挡土墙的高级数值分析中的使用。这包括结合土壤的可塑性、不规则的墙体形态以及在现实生活中的应用，以确定观察到的损坏模式的原因。回填土通过可变形的连续介质进行模拟，而砌体单元则表示为相互相互作用的多面体刚性块。经验证，该方法用于模拟由于材料退化和土壤差异沉降而遭受严重裂缝、大挠度和部分倒塌的历史砖石挡土墙的行为。为了更好地理解结构的渐进响应，当系统受到差异沉降时，对砌体的抗拉强度进行了参数分析。进行了进一步的静态分析以评估壁在均匀超载压力下的容量。结果表明墙体的宏观行为对砌体的抗拉能力很敏感。该研究还表明，所提出的建模方法可以提供有关脆弱的现有挡土墙的有用性能信息，并且应使用此类经过验证的数值模型来确定任何干预和维修。结果表明，墙体的宏观行为对砌体的抗拉能力很敏感。该研究还表明，所提出的建模方法可以提供有关脆弱的现有挡土墙的有用性能信息，并且应使用此类经过验证的数值模型来确定任何干预和维修。结果表明墙体的宏观行为对砌体的抗拉能力很敏感。该研究还表明，所提出的建模方法可以提供有关脆弱的现有挡土墙的有用性能信息，并且应使用此类经过验证的数值模型来确定任何干预和维修。