Use Of Masonry Research Articles

Development and Properties of Recycled Biomass Fly Ashes Modified Mortars

The production of biomass fly ash has been increasing every year in Europe, reaching 5.5 million tons in 2020. Fly ash produced by burning biomass is not yet accepted in the standards as a substitute material for cement in mortar and concrete. In a first approach, the substitution limit of biomass ash is determined by comparing the mechanical strengths (among others, compressive strength), fresh state properties and hardened properties of mortars produced with fly ash with those of mortars produced with coal fly ash (EN 450-1 and ASTM C618). Masonry and rendering mortars have been designed with different substitution rates of fly ashes from wood combustion in thermal power plants. Although there is an overall decrease in performance, mortars made with biomass ash retain properties that make them suitable for use in masonry (loss of 13% compressive strength for masonry mortars with 10% substitution rate after 90 days) or rendering (loss of 20% compressive strength for rendering mortars with 10% substitution rate after 90 days). Water absorption and porosity (24.1 and 23.7% for masonry and rendering mortars, respectively) are, however, not significantly modified, which potentially contributes to good durability properties.

The strength of complex compressed reinforced concrete structures utilising hollow concrete blocks

Structures in which elements from different materials work together are successfully used in various combinations. Recently, new, effective construction materials and products have appeared. In complex or multi-component structures, elements made of materials with different physico-chemical or strain-strength characteristics should be sensibly combined for joint work. The more fully the properties of the components’ materials are utilised, the more efficient the design itself is. By analysing global practice, it can be seen that small concrete blocks have become widespread. The use of masonry made of hollow concrete blocks in modern construction differs from traditional ones in that the void area (up to 70%) makes it possible to create complex high-strength load-bearing structures by filling them with monolithic reinforced concrete. This also enables speeding up the construction process itself and reducing the cost of work on the construction site. The purpose of the study was to examine the strength of centrally compressed columns composed of hollow blocks and concrete filling with different transverse and longitudinal reinforcements, as well as to improve their calculation methodology. Experimental studies of centrally compressed columns, with different percentages of reinforcement using hollow concrete blocks as permanent formwork, have been carried out. The article presents the results of the research on strength, but the results of the strain studies were not included in this work. The proposed method of calculating complex constructions can be applied in design practice. A good correlation was observed between the experimental results and the results of the analytical model.

A Review of Various Masonry Blocks Employed in Wall Construction

This comprehensive review explores the diverse range of masonry blocks commonly utilized in contemporary wall construction. It aims to provide insights into the various types of masonry blocks available in the construction industry, their characteristics, applications, and advantages. By examining these materials in detail, this review contributes valuable information to architects, engineers, builders, and construction professionals, assisting them in making informed decisions about the selection and use of masonry blocks in their projects. Additionally, the abstract may summarize the key findings, trends, and considerations discussed in the full review.

Definition of the most commonly used ceramic brick for construction in Ecuador: Type and dimensions

In Ecuador, 95.9% of housing is built with the use of masonry. Current construction practice in Ecuador shows that masonry is mainly used as enclosing or partition elements and they are not considered as part of the resistant structural system even though masonry walls can work as an active structural element and their work is defined by their geometry and the mechanical properties of the bricks, mortar and their contact interaction. The aim of this work is to characterise the type and geometry of the most commonly used ceramic brick for construction in Ecuador and the particularities of its production. For this propose, field data were collected in 48.9% of the Ecuadorian territory, where 79.19% of the country's population is concentrated and statistical data processing was performed. The results show that the production of bricks in Ecuador is mainly artisanal and 92% of the factories produce solid bricks. The research showed that there are no scientific works on the geometrical characterisation of bricks in Ecuador. The data analysis shows that there is a regional influence in the average brick dimensions, where bricks produced in the coastal region are 35 × 19 × 7 cm; in the central-northern Andes 28.0 × 11.0 × 9.0 cm; in the southern Andes 25.7 × 13.0 × 7. 5 cm with CVlength = 1.21%, CVwidth = 1.31%, CVheight = 3.07%; and, in the Amazon region 25.1 × 11.8 × 7.2 cm, with CVlength = 0.92%, CVwidth = 1.27 %, CVheight = 2.36%. An important identified fact is that only 4.8% of brick manufacturers in Ecuador comply with the national standard dimensions.

Arch and Cable Suspended Bridges

An arch bridge is a mainly horizontal deck with an arch as its load-carrying structure. The arch works by transferring the weight and other external vertical loads into a horizontal thrust on the abutments placed at both sides. When the main load on the arch is the homogeneously distributed deck weight, and the arch is properly shaped, the arch rib is subjected to pure compression along its whole extension. Both tensile forces along the arch rib and shear forces transversal to it are absent. Bending moments vanish as well. This has made possible the use of masonry for arch bridges, which uses materials such as stone, brick, and concrete that are strong in compression but very weak to tension and shearing. In the following sections, we determine mathematically this optimal arch shape, which turns out to be a parabola. The novelty is that these well-known results are obtained using just basic algebra and trigonometry, without any mention of infinitesimal calculus, including in the demonstration of the absence of shearing forces. Subsequently, the method is extended to cable suspended bridges.

The Compressive Strength of Adobe Block Masonry Walls

Masonry is a composite material that is fabricated using natural and/ or artificial units that are joined together with mortar. The natural units include stone amongst others, while the artificial includes bricks and blocks that could be made out of concrete or fired clay products as well as adobe (stabilised or unsterilized). The wide spectrum of the units used in masonry wall fabrication demands that appropriate tests should be conducted to determine their compressive strength and by extension the effectiveness of the wall masonry in performing its inherent architectural design functions of the building such as environmental protection of its inhabitants. An experiment was conducted (i) to determine the structural suitability of stabilised adobe block masonry under uniform and concentrated loading and (ii) to determine adobe block masonry design guidelines. All block units for the test masonry were fabricated using the appropriate Portland cement: sand mix of 1: 11 identified using mix trials for the adobe block categories that were greater than 11.1 N/mm2. The concrete mix was prepared using a concrete mixer and moulded. Moulding was conducted using modified standard 6-inch adobe block mould that led to a 300 mm x 150 mm x 100 mm block. The blocks were cured for seven days under polythene sheets. There were two sets of masonry tests running in parallel; (1) the compressive strengths of the simulated stabilised adobe block masonry under uniformly distributed loads (prism tests) with three different mortar regimes; weak (1:8), medium (1:5) and strongest (1:3) and (2) masonry characteristic compressive strengths under concentrated loads (wall tests) using only the medium mortar mix (1:5). Prism specimens (300 mm x 150 mm x 460 mm) and wall specimen (920 mm x 150 mm x 460 mm) had three replications and cured under laboratory ambient environment conditions for 28 days prior to testing. Test specimens were subjected to compression under uniaxial uniformly distributed loads applied vertically and continuously at a rate of 1 N/mm2/minute to failure. There were 3 wall tests running parallel for each of the 4 block Portland cement proportions at the 1:5 mortar mixes. Data were analysed using MS Excel featuring descriptive statistics. Confidence intervals (95%) using the Student t-test were used to compare variations between and within specimens. Vertical deformations and time to failure were analysed using video tapes through Daub 2.0, video editing free download software. The results indicated that with the prism tests the increase in Portland cement masonry block proportion from 5% - 15% (3.0 N/mm2 - 15.4 N/mm2) significantly increased the masonry characteristic compressive strength at all mortar compressive strengths. However, the masonry characteristic compressive strengths were significantly less than that of the corresponding block. This trend was similar to the wall tests. At high block and low mortar compressive strengths, prism failure was initially by vertical tensile cracking through the mortar followed by the block, whereas at high masonry block and mortar strengths, failure was sudden and typically manifested by initial vertical tensile cracking and eventually side splitting of the block and mortar.Wall failure at low concentrated loads, was initially manifested by vertical cracks along the joint directly below the load point, and at its edges on both sides of the wall. The proposed design guidelines for stabilised adobe block masonry included mortar designations (a), (b) and (c) with masonry mortar proportions by volume (cement: sand) of 1:3, 1:5, and 1:8, respectively, under uniform and concentrated loads were proposed for use in adobe block masonry for agricultural structures.

The Effect of the Calcined Dam’s Mud as Supplementary Cementitious Materials on Thermal Insulation

In Algeria, the calcined dam's mud is a local renewable waste that proved its use as a supplementary cementitious material (SCMs) with similar mechanical performances and better resistance to several physical and chemical attacks than Portland cement. In the same context, the main objective of the work is to evaluate the effect of this calcined mud on thermal conductivity, which was never tested. To concretize this goal, one mortar based on control cement (CEMI) and three others based on modified cement by replacing CEMI by 10% to 30% Wt rates with the calcined mud of Chorfa dam have been prepared and cured before being put to the test procedure. Compressive strength, apparent density, water absorption after immersion, and thermal conductivity at three degrees of saturation state (saturated, outdoors, and dried state) were tested. The results show that using 10% to 20% replacement rate is characterized by good free lime and calcium hydroxide consumption that produces C-S-H gel, fills pores, decreases porosity, and increases density. The thermal conductivity of mortars based on the calcined mud in all states was lower compared than the control mortar, at saturated state by 16.28%, 17.83%, and 18.60% for the mortars 10%, 20%, and 30% (of cement replacement) respectively, at outdoors state by 5.5%, 4%, and 17.5% and dry state with 8.39%, 20.65%, and 38.07%. 10% to 20% mud replacement is beneficial for use in masonry and plastering wall applications of a building's envelope. 30% replacement rate can be developed and used in environments with minimal class expositions.

Experimental study on compressive strength of Interlocking Hollow Block System (IHBS) using fly ash

Interlocking Hollow Block System (IHBS) is a reasonable solution for conventional block masonry due to its structural ability and building capability. In addition, economic and ecological building of brickwork can be achieved by incorporating fly ash into IHBS. The main aim of the research is to produce interlocking compressed hollow block that satisfy the standard requirement as in Eurocode 6. The study is essentially divided into 2 phases, block production and block compression testing. This paper studies on the compressive strength of interlocking hollow clay block with various compositions including laterite soil, cement, sand and fly ash. The optimum mix design is achieved with minimum compressive strength of 7 MPa, which comply with the standard BS 5628-1:1992 Code of practice for Use of masonry – Part 1: Structural use of unreinforced masonry. Test result on addition of fly ash revealed that the optimum fly ash content was 2% with the highest compressive strength of 10 MPa. The results of this study show that the proposed block mixture meets the standard strength requirements and the structural performance of the masonry block is improved by adding fly ash into the mix design.

Petrography of construction and demolition waste (CDW) from Abruzzo region (Central Italy).

The density, colour and texture, plus mineral and chemical features of 18 ceramic-like CDW samples from the Abruzzo region (Central Italy) were characterised. The concretes, natural stones, tiles, roof-tiles, bricks and perforated bricks are either aphanitic to porphyric. Concretes and natural stones are grey to white and tend to be>2.0g/cm3; the masonries are brown to reddish and close to<2.0g/cm3. Concrete and natural stone are rich or even exclusively made up of calcite, with high amounts of CaO (>40wt%) and LOI (volatiles, CO2+H2O). The masonries are instead calcite-, CaO- (<25wt%) and LOI-poor (<8wt%) but enriched in SiO2 (45 to 70wt%) stabilised as quartz and/or cristobalite, with significant amount of Al2O3 (12 to 20wt%). S and Cl contents are similar among concrete, bricks and perforated bricks. The petrography of CDW concretes is similar among geographical areas with abundance of limestones used as aggregates. However, in limestone-poor areas CDW are SiO2- and Al2O3-rich, reflecting the prevalent use of masonry and/or silicate-rich construction materials, implying that each geographical area is characterised by peculiar CDW composition. Therefore, the knowledge of mesoscopic, physical and petrographic aspects has to be known for planning adequate sorting methods, promoting upcycling reusing applications. Some of the studied CDW samples are susceptible to release relative high Cr and As content.

Numerical simulation of masonry walls strengthened with vegetal fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites and subjected to cyclic loads

The growing concern for the preservation of old buildings and the wide use of masonry in the construction of civil works has led to a great development of specific techniques to strengthen masonry structures. FRCM (fabric reinforced cementitious matrix) of vegetal fibres arises as a strengthening option to be considered because low cost, low density, recyclability and biodegradability brought by vegetal fibres. In this study, numerical models were used to represent masonry walls unreinforced and strengthened with FRCM (hemp, cotton and glass). The numerical model presents a new way of simulation of FRCM systems and their failure pattern. This was validated by comparison to previous experimental and analytical results. Results showed that proposed model is an effective calculation tools to reproduce the maximum shear of masonry walls strengthened with FRCM and subjected to cyclic loads, with variations between 7 and 15% with respect to the experimental and analytical. The numerical model was also useful to reproduce the walls hysteresis behavior, although showed some inability to reproduce the reversible crack opening-closing that was observed in the experimental tests.

Effect of masonry infill on analytical fragility response of RC frame school buildings in high seismic zone

ABSTRACT This study aims at determining the effect of masonry as an infill on the vulnerability of reinforced concrete frame buildings by using fragility assessment. Refined linear and nonlinear structural models were developed, from data collected through professional surveys, using the PERFORM-3D platform. Nonlinear – static and dynamic – analyses were carried out, for fifteen ground motions, to examine the plastic behavior of the models. Subsequently, the vulnerability was assessed using fragility relationships. The fragility parameters were determined by employing the Maximum Likelihood Method (MLM). The results indicated a decrease in the probability of exceedance for specific damage states of the structures with respect to seismic intensity for masonry infill frames. From fragility curves, it is concluded that although the use of masonry as an infill temporarily enhances the capacity of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Frame buildings as the probability of exceedance for masonry infilled RC frames is significantly reduced due to the increase in the overall stiffness of the structure.

Technological properties of soil-cement bricks produced with iron ore mining waste

Soil-cement brick is a composite obtained by mixing soil, cement, and water in previously established proportions. This material is an alternative for urban or rural construction, as it offers several advantages for its use in masonry, such as the addition of waste. For the addition of waste into cement materials the waste from iron ore extraction process has been highlighted Thousands of tons of this waste are generated on a daily basis large mining companies, leading to air pollution and the occupation of large physical spaces. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of replacing different percentages (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%) of soil by this mining waste on the properties of soil-cement bricks. The raw materials used were: soil (A-4 classification), CPV-ARI cement, and solid mining waste, which were characterized by physicochemical analysis. The mix ratio used for bricks production was 1:9 (cement:soil), where soil was replaced by different waste percentages. Technological properties such as: dry density, water absorption, immersion mass loss, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and microstructure were determined. The results indicated that the added mining waste positively influenced the density of cement bricks in the soil. In addition, up to 40% of the waste could be incorporated into the brick, considering the current characterisation standards.

The design of self-compacting structural mortar containing steelmaking slags as aggregate

Self-compacting structural mortars (SCSM) incorporating slags from electric steelmaking as aggregates are manufactured and tested in this study. Their design requires careful proportioning and grading of the aggregates to prevent the negative impacts of slag on mixture workability. In general, these mixes with 60% of the natural aggregates in volume substituted by the slag aggregates met in the fresh state the prescriptive conditions of current normative standards for self-compacting mixes. The internal structure of the hardened mixes, characterized by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT), revealed the typical features of quality mortars. Shrinkage tests at room temperature and accelerated potential expansion tests at higher temperatures were also performed on the mixtures, to evaluate their long-term dimensional stability. The mechanical properties of the mortars over time also showed good behavior in terms of both compressive and tensile strength and suitable stiffness values. Globally considered, the characteristics of these mortars manufactured with slag in both the fresh and the hardened state were satisfactory for use in masonry and construction.

The Influence of Temperature Impact on the Strength of Adhesion of Polyurethane Glue-foam with Masonry Products

The use of masonry on glued polyurethane foam joints can significantly increase labor productivity in the construction of stone buildings. One of the factors restraining the introduction of polyurethane foam adhesive into the practice of construction of stone buildings is insufficient knowledge of the influence of temperature effects on the adhesion of adhesive-foam to masonry products. In order to obtain data on the adhesion strength of polyurethane joints with masonry products under temperature influences, 28 prototypes of masonry were tested, aged in laboratory conditions and also subjected to heating to 100ºC and 200ºC. Tests of masonry samples were carried out in accordance with STB EN 1052-5. Based on the experimental studies carried out and new data on the influence of temperature effects on the adhesion strength of polyurethane joints with masonry products were obtained.

Experimental work for mechanical properties of brick and masonry panel

The use of Masonry panels in building construction has been popular in most of the parts of the world. However, the use of bricks and brick masonry in different parts of the world being of different nature in terms of quality, size, workmanship of construction, etc. It is yet a topic of interest to researchers to identify the mechanical properties, like Young’s modulus of elasticity and shear modulus of brick masonry panels. It is essential to know the characteristic of brick masonry panels in order to evaluate the responses of masonry walls for any kind of loading. Individual bricks do possess better compressive capacity as compared to masonry walls. Masonry walls are bound together with either mud mortar or by cement sand mortars of various mixes as per the strength requirements. The essential strength properties in engineering are basically the compressive strength and the modulus of elasticity. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard is the most popular for testing bricks and brick masonry for these properties so far. Here, the study has been concentrated in finding the compressive strength of brick, mortar and brick masonry. The study is also done for Young’s modulus of elasticity of brick as well as that of masonry wall. Similarly, the study is extended to find the modulus of rigidity of brick masonry panel. The study is done experimentally for the samples that are generally used in Kathmandu, Nepal. The samples include bricks, cement and sand particularly available in Kathmandu region.

Crack monitoring in historical masonry with distributed strain and acoustic emission sensing techniques

The analysis of crack patterns and crack growth is one of the most important steps in the assessment of structural damage in historical masonry. In a search for integrated and accurate monitoring techniques for crack measurements in masonry, several novel techniques based on distributed strain monitoring and acoustic emission (AE) sensing have been investigated in an experimental test campaign. Aim of the test program was to develop integration procedures for the strain and AE sensors, analyse their use for crack monitoring specifically in historical masonry and assess their robustness and efficiency with respect to the experimentally observed crack pattern. The applied techniques were integrated optical fibres with distributed fibre Bragg grating sensors (FBGs), stereo-vision digital image correlation (DIC) without the use of a speckle pattern, optical fibre sensors for acoustic emission sensing (AE-FOS), piezo-electric transducers for acoustic emission sensing (AE-PZT) and LVDTs. While the latter two were applied as reference techniques, the former three were under investigation as novel application. This paper discusses the efficiency of the monitoring techniques with respect to their use in masonry, explains the developed integration procedures, and relates the obtained data sets with the deformations and crack pattern obtained in a full-scale masonry wall test. Additionally, the effects of temperature fluctuations are investigated. The configurations that were developed proved effective for crack monitoring in historical masonry. The highest sensitivity and robustness was observed for the integrated optical fibres with FBGs.

USE of MASONRY as a STRUCTURAL MATERIAL – a REVIEW

USE of MASONRY as a STRUCTURAL MATERIAL – a REVIEW

Bond behaviour between textile reinforcement and mortar under tensile loading / Verbundverhalten zwischen textiler Bewehrung und Mörtel unter Zugbeanspruchung

AbstractExtensive experimental investigations are currently being carried out on various selected materials covering a wide range of properties to achieve a deeper knowledge about the bond performance of textile reinforced mortar (TRM) for masonry strengthening. The objective of the tests includes investigations of the bonding behaviour between alkali‐resistant glass textile reinforcement and mortar under tensile loading to determine the required anchorage and overlapping lengths of the reinforcement in the mortar‐based material. This article describes the test methods used as well as the results obtained so far. This research will also examine debonding of the mortar‐based reinforcement system and the masonry surface under shear load. The definition of these bond parameters is necessary for the design of textile‐reinforced masonry components, which will be developed in the near future. The research is also intended to contribute to the finding or even designing of matching alkali‐resistant glass textiles specifically for use in masonry.

The evaluation of damage mechanism of unreinforced masonry buildings after Van (2011) and Elazig (2010) Earthquakes

On March 8th, 2010 Karakocan-Elazig earthquake of magnitude 6.0 occurred at a region where masonry and adobe construction is very common. Karakocan-Elazig is located in a high seismicity region on Eastern Anatolian Fault System (EAFS). Due to the earthquake, 42 people were killed and 14’113 buildings were damaged. Another city, Van located at South east of Turkey is hit by earthquakes with M = 7.2 occurred on October 23rd, 2011 at 13:41 (local time), whose epicenter was about 16 km north of Van (Tabanli village) and M = 5.6 on November 9th, 2011 with an epicenter near the town of Edremit, south of Van and caused the loss of life and heavy damages. Both earthquakes killed 644 people and 2608 people were injured. Approximately 10’000 buildings were seriously damaged. There are many traditional types of structures existing in the region hit by earthquakes (both Van and Elazig). These buildings were built as adobe, unreinforced masonry or mixed type. These types of buildings are very common in rural areas (especially south and east) of Turkey because of easy workmanship and cheap construction cost. Many of those traditional type structures experienced serious damages. The use of masonry is very common in some of the world's most hazard-prone regions, such as in Latin America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and other parts of Asia, the Middle East, and southern Europe. Based on damage and failure mechanism of those buildings, the parameters affecting the seismic performance of those traditional buildings are analyzed in this paper. The foundation type, soil conditions, production method of the masonry blocks, construction method, the geometry of the masonry walls, workmanship quality, existence of wooden beams, type of roof, mortar between adobe blocks are studied in order to understand the reason of damage for these types of buildings.

Los materiales alternativos estabilizados y su impacto ambiental

El presente trabajo es resultado de investigaciones desarrolladas a partir de la experimentación de materiales alternativos para la edificación, en especial, relacionado con Bloques de Tierra Comprimida (BTC), que han sido estabilizados con hidróxido de cal y cemento, buscando cumplir con las Normas Mexicanas, en el apartado referente a materiales para uso en mampostería de las edificaciones y así corroborar que estos materiales cumplen con requisitos de calidad, al igual que los materiales convencionales, aunado a la realización del análisis de ciclo de vida (ACV) en dos poblaciones de BTC’s estabilizados con cementantes, buscando determinar su impacto ambiental y finalmente poder contrastarlos con las bases de datos existentes de materiales convencionales.