## 5 Conclusions  
In this study, effective reinforcing methods for brick masonry members were experimentally investigated, focusing on perforated bricks and a new internal reinforcing material. The following findings were the major findings obtained from this study.  
1. In UBM without any reinforcement, an abrupt strength decrease occurred right after a flexural crack development, showing a load-deflection relationship with a poor deformation capacity. The failure deflection angle was only 0.068%.
2. In IRBM with SI rods, complete bonding deterioration occurred before the maximum strength and expected reinforcing effect could not be obtained. However, the maximum strength was two times that of UBM, and a stable residual strength could be maintained even after the maximum strength declined due to the bending resistances of the rods. SI rods not only increased the maximum strength but also provided better deformation capacities.
3. In IRBM--F, the SI rods fixed by steel plates and nuts provided robust integrities with the brick members and greatly enhanced the structural performance. The maximum strength was demonstrated by more than nine times that of UBM and by more than four times that of IRBM. Moreover, the strength degradation did not occur by an extremely large deformation angle of 1/10. The SI rods were efficiently utilized, and the effectiveness of the proposed material and method was verified.
4. In IRBM--FNM, the mortar filling work was eliminated for better workability as well as cost and material savings. Even in this case, the load-deformation curve was found to be almost the same as IRBM--F. Although sudden strength degradations occurred after the maximum strength, they were found at the large deformation angle of 1/15, and efficient use of the internal reinforcements was also achieved.
5. A maximum strength evaluation was carried out, and the calculation results reasonably agreed with the experimental values. The ratios of the calculations to the experiments of maximum strength were between 0.85 and 1.03 in UBM, IRBM--F, and  
Figure 13: Deformation compatibility condition of IRBM—FNM with unbonded rod.  
IRBM--FNM. The ratio was somewhat small in IRBM, but conservative estimation could be performed considering seismic safety.  
The main purpose of this study was to find out and examine effective reinforcing methods by a new material. Hence, various experimental variables were focused on, rather than the number of specimens, and three-point bending tests were carried out. From the experiments, by fixing the SI rods via steel plates and nuts, the structural stabilities of the brick masonries were enhanced, and the process's effectiveness was successfully verified. For future research, more verification by using a large number of specimens will be also required for practical uses, and it is necessary to investigate, in detail, the seismic behavior when receiving an inverse symmetrical moment assuming an actual lateral load.  
Conceptualization, K.J.; Investigation, K.J., H.C. and C.Q.; Resources, K.J.; Data curation, K.J., H.C. and C.Q.; Writing--review & editing, K.J., H.C. and C.Q.; Visualization, K.J.; Supervision, K.J., H.C. and C.Q.; Funding acquisition, K.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
Not applicable.  
The authors also thank [PERSON] and [PERSON] (Former Undergraduate Students of Meiji University) for participating in the experiment.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.