Masonry walls have pinched deteriorating hysteretic behaviors which can be simulated through MultiLinear Plastic link elements in SAP2000. In this way your model would be a macro model in which the whole wall was replaced with a link element. But if you go for micro models with explicit modeling of bricks, it is better to use a general purpose FE software. Even in the latter case you can still use SAP2000 but your model might fail to converge for highly nonlinear behaviors.
Hello, Seyed said that the wall will be a link element. What if i model a bridge or dome ? Its very irregular shape. is it possible to use macro model in SAP2000 ?
What if i use nonlinear links at each connection point ? In this way, I think that i can model bricks/stones as linear elements but mortar as nonlinear element(Since I will not model the mortar explicitly, it will be a simplified micro model). However, which cyclic model or material model can model the behavior of mortar ? Does anyone know ?
Have someone carried out such analysis in SAP2000?