Model validation and parametric study on the blast response of unreinforced brick masonry walls

Numerical simulations are carried out to estimate the response and damage of unreinforced brick masonry walls subjected to explosive blast loading based on the transient dynamic finite element program LS-DYNA. A previously developed dynamic plastic damage model was used for brick and mortar. A new model for strain rate effects of bricks and mortar is included in the numerical analysis. The results obtained from the numerical models are compared with field test data and good agreement can be found. Parametric studies are conducted to evaluate the effect of material strength, boundary conditions, and thickness of the wall on the blast response of unreinforced brick masonry walls. It was found that boundary conditions and wall thickness significantly affect the blast response, while the effect of material strength is relatively small.