Behaviour of Masonry Wall Constructed using Interlocking Soil Cement Bricks

According to the masonry standard the compressive strength is basically dependent on factors such as the mortar strength and the relative values of unit and mortar strength. However interlocking brick has none or less use of mortar. Therefore there is a need to investigate the behavior of masonry walls using interlocking bricks. In this study a series of tests have been conducted; physical properties and compressive strength of brick units and masonry walls were constructed from interlocking bricks and tested under constant vertical load at different eccentricities. The purpose of the experimental investigations is to obtain the force displacement curves, analyze the behavior of masonry walls. The results showed that the brick is categorized as common brick (BS 3921:1985) and severe weathering grade (ASTM C62). The maximum compressive stress of interlocking brick wall is 3.6 N/mm2 and fulfilled the requirement of standard for residential building.

Authors:

• Ahmad Z.
• Othman S. Z.
• Md Yunus B.
• Mohamed A.

Keywords:

• Interlocking brick
• soil-cement brick
• masonry wall
• compressive strength
• eccentricities

References:

[1] Venkatarama Reddy, B.V., Lal, R., and Nanjunda Rao, K.S., "Influence of joint thickness and mortar-block elastic properties on the strength and stress developed in soil-cement block masonry", ACSE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol. 21, pp. 535-542, 2009.
[2] Walker, P.J., "Strength, durability and shrinkage characteristics of
cement stabilised soil blocks", Cement Concrete Composites, vol. 17,
pp. 301-10, 1995.
[3] Reddy, B.V., "Steam-cured stabilised soil blocks for masonry construction", International Journal Energy Building, vol. 29, pp. 29-
33, 1998.
[4] Venkatarama Reddy, B. V., and Gupta, A., "Characteristics of soilcement
blocks using highly sandy soils", Materials and Structures,
vol.38, no. 6, pp. 651-658, 2005.
[5] Kwon, H.M., Le, A.T., and Nguyen, N.T., "Influence of soil grading on
properties of compressed cement-soil", KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, vol.14, No.6, pp. 845-853, 2010.
[6] Venkatarama Reddy, B.V., and Prasanna Kumar, P., "Cement stabilised
rammed earth. Part A: compaction characteristics and physical
properties of compacted cement stabilised soils", Materials and Structures, vol.44, no.3, pp. 681-693, 2011.
[7] Kenai, S., Bahar, R., and Benazzoug, M., "Experimental analysis of the effect of some compaction methods on mechanical properties and
durability of cement stabilized soil", Journal of Materials Science, vol.41, no.21, pp. 6956-6964, 2006.
[8] Walker, P.J., and Stace, T., "Properties of some cement stabilized
compressed earth blocks and mortar", Materials and Structures, vol.30,
no.9, pp. 545-551, 1997.
[9] Henry, A.W., Sinha, B.P., and Davies, S.R., Design of masonry structures, London, E&FN Spon, 1987
10] Lenczner, D., Elements of load bearing brickwork, Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1972.
[11] Bakhteri, J., Sambamivam, S., "Mechanical behaviour of structural
brick masonry: An evaluation", Proceedings of 5th Asia-Pasific
Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, Malaysia, pp.305-
317, 2003.
[12] Smith, R.C., Materials of construction. New York, McGraw-Hill Inc,1973.
[13] Graham, C.W., and Burt, R., "Soil block home construction",
Proceedings of Building Technology (BTEC) Sustainable Buildings III
Conference, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2001.