Simulation of Masonry Wall Failure and Debris Scatter

This paper outlines a methodology for the simulation of masonry wall failure and debris scatter. The aim of this work is to develop simulation techniques which can be used to assess and improve the design of building structures subject to high explosive loading. Masonry walls are constructed from bricks that are modelled as individual parts with tiebreak and single surface contact types. A key requirement of this work is to accurately predict the final landing position and scatter pattern of any bricks. If the acceleration of a separated brick is significantly high, the trajectory and final landing position of the brick will be influenced by air-drag. In this work we simulate the air-drag force using a user FORTRAN subroutine and demonstrate its accuracy with comparison to theory. The strength of the mortar-masonry brick bond is validated by comparison with laboratory experiments conducted in previous work showing close agreement. A series of simulations are then presented which demonstrate the failure and debris scatter of a simplified building structure.