Comparative analysis of the stability performance of solid and perforated brick masonry structures
Chaimae Khanfri, Ouadia Mouhat, Younes El Rhaffari, Fatima El Mennaouy
Abstract. Around the world, unreinforced masonry (URM) walls remain widely used, particularly as infill walls, often featuring openings for the installation of doors and windows. These structures are particularly vulnerable to lateral loads, highlighting the need to analyze their structural behavior to propose suitable reinforcement solutions. In this article, the stability performance of masonry structures was analysed under repeated load cycles through simulations performed in Abaqus, studying their energy dissipation capacity and sensitivity to seismic demands. Simplified microscopic simulations are performed founded on the finite element technique, combining the Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) theory for brick modeling and a cohesive approach to analyze the failure mechanism of the joints. The study focuses on two masonry wall configurations under cyclic loading: a solid panel (without openings) and a panel with an opening. The objective is to compare their response by analyzing the deformation modes as well as the corresponding load–displacement curves. The findings show that the presence of openings reduces the overall wall strength and generates localized cracking around these openings, which constitute weak zones.
Keywords
Masonry Structure, Stability Performance, Repeated Load Cycles, Solid Panel, Abaqus
Published online 1/10/2026, 7 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Chaimae Khanfri, Ouadia Mouhat, Younes El Rhaffari, Fatima El Mennaouy, Comparative analysis of the stability performance of solid and perforated brick masonry structures, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 58, pp 47-53, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903933-7
The article was published as article 7 of the book Emerging Research in Materials for Environment, and Civil Infrastructure
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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