ORIGINAL ARTICLE Finite element model application to flexural behavior of cement stabilized soil block masonry David A. Weed . Adam G. Tennant . Mohammad Hosein Motamedi . K. Gourav . Craig D. Foster . B. V. Venkatarama Reddy Received: 27 November 2019 / Accepted: 2 May 2020 Ó RILEM 2020 Abstract A finite element model for cement-stabi- lized soil block (CSSB) masonry members—including nonlinear stress-strain relationship—has been devel- oped and compared with experimental results. Pri- marily, this model serves as a simulation tool to study various problems for a large number of stress–strain state and loading conditions of CSSB masonry elements. The model presented is characterized by several parameters experimentally ascertained through triaxial and other testing. Furthermore, these parameters allow the model to capture the elastic, plastic, and softening behavior of CSSB masonry. From a constitutive behavioral standpoint, at small strain levels, the material is approximated as linear elastic. Plastic deformation of the material is captured with a modified version of the Sandia Geomodel, which is specifically designed to replicate geological material behavior. Lastly, at localized softening failure, a damage-like constitutive model which takes into account the normal and shear traction balance on the slip-weakening surface is employed. This model includes cohesion degradation as well as friction under compression. Within the finite element framework, the Strong Discontinuity Approach is used to track localized material failure from element to element. In addition to this, a novel method for modeling interfaces in finite elements is used to replicate the behavior of brick-mortar interfaces. The two featured experiments which are simulated in this study are D. A. Weed ANSYS, Inc. Chicago, Evanston, IL 60607-7023, USA e-mail: david.weed@ansys.com A. G. Tennant Department Engineering, 2030 Business and Engineering Center 8600 University Blvd Evansville, Perry Township, IN 47712, USA e-mail: atennant@usi.edu M. H. Motamedi BaseHealth INC, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, USA e-mail: motamedi@basehealth.com K. Gourav Department of Civil Engineering, The National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru 570008, India e-mail: gouravmys@gmail.com C. D. Foster (&) Department of Civil and Materials Engineering (M/C 246), Engineering Research Facility, 842 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607-7023, USA e-mail: fosterc@uic.edu B. V. V. Reddy Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India e-mail: venkat@iisc.ac.in Materials and Structures (2020)53:61 https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-020-01490-z