Case Study: University Hassan First achieves safer heritage restorations and prevents masonry damage with Dassault Systèmes' Abaqus FEA

University Hassan First - Customer Case Study

University Hassan First researchers faced a key preservation challenge: replacing centuries-old masonry with modern block-and-mortar often caused incompatibility and stress‑shielding that cracked or crushed legacy brick and mortar. To investigate and prevent this damage they turned to Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA, a solution provided by Dassault Systemes, to model the mechanical interaction between ancient materials and contemporary repair mortars.

Using Dassault Systemes’ Abaqus, the team simulated a range of material stiffnesses (MOE variations of about 1–30× for joints and 40–120× for blocks), produced worst‑case stress‑shielding visualizations, and identified internal compressive stresses that would lead to failure. The simulations enabled restorers to fine‑tune repair materials, avoid costly trial‑and‑error on fragile sites, and speed analysis dramatically (from hours to about 15 minutes), helping protect historic structures and inform restoration standards.

University Hassan First

Hicham Fihri-Fassi

Professor of Mechanical Engineering