ABSTRACT
The transient dynamic response of clay brick masonry walls of varying aspect ratios against low-velocity impact loading is focused on in the present study. The experiment and numerical investigations were performed on 110 mm thick masonry walls of 1.2 × 1.2 m (height (h) × breadth (b)) against a 60 kg mass impactor with a hemisphere nose shape with a velocity of 1.98 m/s. Further, the aspect ratio of the wall was varied by reducing the breadth from 1.2 to 0.25 m, corresponding aspect ratio (h/b) of 1.33 to 4.8, whereas the height of the wall kept constant, i.e., 1.2 m. It was observed that the aspect ratio has a marginal effect on the peak force; however, it changes the failure pattern significantly. Further, numerical simulations were carried out using ABAQUS/Explicit, and the Drucker-Prager model and traction separation law were used to simulate the brick and interface joints, respectively. The FE simulation results were found to be in close proximity to experimental observations with a deviation of 14% for peak force. Also, it was observed that the energy absorption capacity of walls with a lower aspect ratio, i.e. square walls, is more compared to the higher aspect ratio walls, i.e. rectangular walls.
