Fahimeh Yavartanoo and Damon Bolhassani
i Postdoctoral researcher, ABC LAB, The City College of New York (CCNY), New York, USA, fyavartanoo@ccny.cuny.edu
ii Assistant Professor, The City College of New York (CCNY), New York, USA, mbolhassani@ccny.cuny.edu
ABSTRACT
Masonry structures have been used in construction for centuries due to their durability, ease of maintenance, and availability of materials. However, in recent years, with the rising costs of labor and the pressures of conserving natural resources, which have led to a scarcity of traditional materials, masonry has lost its edge against steel and concrete. Moreover, traditional unreinforced masonry structures are often considered vulnerable under seismic conditions due to their brittle nature and high mass. While these concerns have influenced design preferences in some regions, modern innovations such as reinforced or confined masonry have demonstrated improved seismic performance and remain widely adopted. This study aims to further advance masonry design by exploring lightweight, structurally optimized units using the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) approach. This method reduces material usage while maximizing surface coverage, enhancing sustainability, and providing high structural strength, making them highly cost-effective. Their lightweight nature also facilitates easier transportation and handling, reducing labor demands. Furthermore, their unique and visually appealing design allows for use as combined structural and non-structural elements or as architectural elements such as decorative walls or facades. First, three TPMS units, P.Schwarz, Gyroid, and Hybrid, were designed, and their performance was evaluated experimentally and numerically. All TPMS units showed good mechanical performance under compression, though Gyroid was superior to P. Schwartz, and Hybrid had the higher resistance among them. Then, by applying Finite element (FE) models developed in ABAQUS, two types of assemblages were designed using TPMS units to investigate the behavior of prisms and diagonal tension assemblages to compressive load.
KEYWORDS: TPMS units, Minimal surface, Masonry structures, Finite element models, ABAQUS.
063-Bolhassani.pdf
