Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Engineering Structures, sa.353, ss.1-21, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
ArchBrick is an arch-type perforated hollow clay brick with an optimized internal void arrangement, developed to improve the seismic response of masonry buildings. In this study, ArchBrick was evaluated through a continuous unit–panel–building numerical workflow. At the wall scale, masonry panels assembled with ArchBrick and with a conventional vertically perforated reference brick of identical outer dimensions were analyzed under the ASTM E519 diagonal compression protocol for five mortar classes. Panel analyses were also conducted for five different void ratios ranging from 0.35 to 0.70. From these analyses, the peak response and wall-level mechanical properties were obtained and used for an ArchBrick–reference comparison. The results showed that ArchBrick increased peak load by approximately 20–47 %, depending on the mortar class, and exhibited a later onset of performance degradation relative to the reference under comparable conditions. Owing to the arch-shaped internal geometry, the wall response showed a more moderate reduction with increasing void ratio. Given the Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBEC-2018) 50 % void-ratio limit for load-bearing masonry units, a practical 65 % void configuration was also examined. Finally, in shell-based two-storey building macro models, a building constructed with 65 %-void ArchBrick walls was compared with a counterpart constructed with conventional 50 %-void reference brick walls. The 65 %-void ArchBrick building maintained a comparable lateral response while remaining lighter. It reduced interstory drifts and lowered base shear demand compared to the conventional 50 %-void reference brick building. These findings suggest that ArchBrick provides a practical pathway to lighter yet drift-efficient masonry buildings, supporting more resilience-oriented seismic design.