Numerical Study on the Dynamic Behavior of Masonry Walls Subjected to Blast Load

Document Type : Original research paper

Authors

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Qalyubia, Egypt

Abstract

Hazardous blast loads pose significant structural challenges to buildings and infrastructure.
Masonry walls, widely used in commercial, manufacturing, and residential constructions are susceptible to blast loads due to their rigidity and limited energy dissipation capacity. Understanding the effects of blast loads on masonry walls is essential for designing structures capable of withstanding such forces, thereby minimizing structural damage and ensuring occupant safety. This study investigates the impact of explosive loading on masonry walls, encompassing failure mechanisms, and strategies to evaluate and mitigate blast damage. ABAQUS/Explicit 2017 was used for a numerical evolution to assess eight masonry wall cases, comparing the performance of clay- brick masonry walls including as well as without a core made of reinforced concrete under blast loads and to figure out the importance of lateral wall support. The outcomes demonstrated that the resistance throughout clay-brick masonry walls to explosions decreases in terms of maximum displacement, stresses, and damage patterns as wall thickness increases. Conversely, walls with thicker RC cores demonstrated significantly improved performance by absorbing most of the energy from the air blast. Furthermore, side-supported walls outperformed free-standing walls in terms of displacement, stress distribution, and overall damage resistance, with the latter experiencing total collapse in several scenarios.

Keywords

Journal of Engineering Advances and Technologies for Sustainable Applications
Volume 1, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
Special Issue, Selected papers from The International Conference on Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ICETS 2025)
July 2025
Pages 27-37

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