STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF FIRED CLAY HOLLOW BRICK MASONRY

Abstract

Masonry is a heterogeneous material that consists of units and joints. Units are such as bricks, blocks, ashlars, adobes, irregular stones and others. Mortar can be clay, bitumen, chalk, lime/cement based mortar, glue or other. However, the performance of a structural masonry element is dependent upon the properties of the constituent materials and the interaction of the -materials as an assemblage. Therefore, it is important to first consider the properties of the constituent materials: clay and shale units, mortar, grout and steel reinforcement, etc. Similarly the behaviour of their combination as an assemblage is also important. The masonry units known as Resource efficient bricks (Hollow/perforated bricks) were used for this project. In this project three types of Hollow/perforated bricks were used, viz; HB1, HB2 and HB3 with different sizes and amount of perforation. Testing of constituent material and masonry assemblage were carried out to evaluate the structural and mechanical properties like compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio, shear modulus, etc. of these masonries. Four numbers of replica specimens were casted and tested for each type of masonry unit. The testing was done as far as possible as per the established Standards. During the process, construction facts like ease of construction and material requirement were also observed. Subsequently, pier analysis of an assumed hollow masonry building was conducted using the material properties of HB2 brick masonry established in the study. The comparisons were made with the solid brick masonry building. The report was concluded with the suggestion for the compatibility of these hollow/perforated bricks for the structural use of unreinforced masonry. Keywords: Resource efficient bricks, Hollow/perforated bricks, Structural properties, Mechanical properties, Prism Test, diagonal compression test, Pier analysis.