Compressive Strength of Brick Masonry

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What is Compressive strength of brick masonry?

A wall or column carrying a compressive load behaves like any other strut, and its load bearing capacity depends on the compressive strength of the materials, the cross-sectional area and the geometrical properties as expressed by the slenderness ratio .

 

The compressive strength of a wall depends on the strength of the units used, the bricks or blocks, and the mortar. The assessment of the combined strength of the elements will also be affected by the degree of quality control exercised in manufacture and construction. The slenderness ratio, in turn, depends upon the effective height (or length) and the effective thickness of the wall or column.

Determination of compressive strength (f 'm)in various codes:

* Clay brick with less than 25% voids are considered solids † Table heading reads “compressive strength of unit” ‡ Table heading reads “characteristic unconfined compressive strength of unit” § Based on ASTM E 447-80 (replaced by ASTM C 1388-97—both withdrawn) || Recommended brick prism is six courses high with three head joints # f 'm values are given for specific height/least horizontal dimension ratios assuming 3/8 in. (10 mm) mortar joints ** x–is the arithmetic mean and ? is the standard deviation †† y = log x, y–, and S = arithmetic mean and standard deviation of y, and k is a factor that varies with the number of specimens

Typical Prism For Testing

READ: MASONRY STRUCTURE DESIGN GUIDELINES