Introduction to Masonry Structures

7. Introduction to Masonry Structures Masonry, is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound by mortar, the term masonry can also refer to units themselves. Masonry Unit, means an individual unit which is bonded to similar units with the help of mortar to form a masonry element (e.g. wall, column, pier etc.). Masonry units, such as brick, tile, stone, glass brick or concrete block generally conform to the requirements specified in the 2003 International Building Code (IBC) Section 2103. Common Masonry Units : Brick, Stone, Marble, Granite, Steel, Adobe(is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material (sticks, straw, and/or manure), which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun.) Like, Concrete, Masonry provides compressive strength and very less tensile strength to achieve tensile resistance. If Masonry Structures are reinforced by steel bars together, they are called reinforced masonry. 7.1 Use of Masonry Structures Applications: 1. Masonry is commonly used for the walls of building, retaining walls and monuments. 2. Brick and concrete block are the most common type of masonry used in industrialized nations and may be weight bearing or veneer. 3. Concrete blocks especially those with hollow core; offer various possibilities in masonry construction. They provide great compressive strength and are best suited to structures with light transverse loading. 4. Filling some or all the cores with concrete or concrete with steel reinforcement(typically rebar) offers great tensile and lateral strength with structure. Advantages of Masonry Structures 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The use of bricks and stones can increase thermal mass of the building. Masonry is very heat resistant so it can provide good fire protection. Masonry walls are weather resistant. The cost of the structure is much cheaper compared to RCC structures. Does not require big plants and machineries. Masonry is environment friendly.

Disadvantages of Masonry Structures 1. 2. 3. 4. Extreme weather causes degradation of masonry. Masonry tends to be heavy and must be built upon a strong foundation. They are not suitable in tropical climate with heavy heat and rain condition. Floor plans has to be repeated as eccentricity.
Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures

7.2 Construction Technology English bond, Flemish bond, Rat-trap bond Terminologies Bond: a pattern in which bricks is laid. Stretcher: a brick laid horizontally flat with long side of brick exposed on the outer face of the wall, Header: a brick laid flat with short end of brick exposed. Soldier: a brick laid vertically with narrow side exposed, Sailor: a brick laid vertically with broad side exposed. Rowlock or Bull Header: a brick laid on long, narrow side with small or header side exposed, Shiner: a brick laid on long, narrow side with broad side exposed. Since the masonry consists of large number of individual units joined together with mortar so as to form a one mass, it is necessary to lay the units in such a way that under the load, units act jointly.

A. STRETCHER BOND In this bond, stretchers are used in all courses with a lappage of halfbrick. This bond is adopted in half brick masonry such as partition and cavity wall.

Fig. Stretcher Bonds

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures

B. HEADER BOND In this bond, only headers are used in all courses with a lappage of half brick width. This bond is adopted in the walls curved in plans for better alignment in foundation footings, footing of walls for better transverse load distribution and corbels for better anchorage.

Fig. Header Bond for a Wall Curved In Plan C. ENGLISH BOND In this bond, bricks in the facing are laid as the alternate header and stretcher courses. The stretcher course is formed of structures, having minimum lap of one quarter of brick length.This bond is considered to give the best strength in masonry and is mostly adapted in all load-bearing masonry.

Fig. English Bond

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures

D. FLEMISH BOND (also known as Dutch Bond) In this bond, in each course, header and stretchers are used alternatively. Flemish Bonds are of two types: a. Single Flemish Bond In this bond, only one face is provided with Flemish bond while bonding consists of English Bond.

Fig. Single Flemish Bond b. Double Flemish Bond In this bond, both front and back is provided with Flemish bond.

Fig. Double Flemish Bond

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures

E. RAT-TRAP BOND(also k/a Chinese Bond) A Rat-trap bond, also known as Chinese bond, is a type of garden wall bond similar to Flemish, but consisting of rowlocks and shiners instead of headers and stretchers (the stretchers and headers are laid on their sides, with the bed face of the stretcher facing outward). Here, Bricks are laid on edge such that shiner and rowlock are visible on the face of masonry. This gives the wall an internal cavity briged by rowlock. The main advantage of this bond is economy in use of bricks, giving a wall of one-brick thickness with fewer bricks than a solid bond.

Fig. Rat-Trap Bond

7.3 Hollow Block and Compressed Earth Block

1. HOLLOW BLOCK CONCRETE BLOCK: Concrete Blocks are cast masonry units that can be made with different types of aggregate sand, crushed stone and gravel, but material such as volcanic cinders, expanded slag and especially treated shale or clay may also be used.

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures

There are various kinds of concrete blocks which may be used for different kinds of masonry construction, a choice can be made based on texture availability or types or shapes in a particular area, local codes or insulation factors.

Fig. Hollow(Concrete) Blocks CLAY BLOCKS: Hollow clay blocks are made up of selective clay or diatomaceous (fossilized) earth which is dried and burnt. The clay blocks are used to build foundations, walls and other structural members. In this block, thermal insulation is very good. 2. COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK (CEB) The compressed earth block is the modern descendant of the molded earth block, more commonly known as the adobe block. The idea of compacting earth to improve the quality and performance of molded earth blocks. Advantages: a. The production of the material using mechanical presses varying in design and operation marks a real improvement over traditional methods of producing earth blocks. b. Compressed earth block production is generally linked to the setting up of quality control procedure which can meet requirements for building products standard norms.

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures 7

7.4 Masonry as Infill Walls Masonry infill walls are used as the interior partitions and as exterior walls to form a part of the building envelope in multi store buildings. Masonry infill is often used to fill the void between the vertical and horizontal resisting elements. An infill wall enhances considerably the strength of structures. According to Nepal National Building Code (NBC 109:1994) Clause 15.1 Infill Panels and Non-Structural Walls a) In-fill panel walls in a building shall be designed to ensure that they act together with the frame in full composite action. b) The seismic load at each level shall be distributed to the individual wall in proportion to the product of each wall's thickness and length. This product is representative of the diagonal strut area and thus of the wall's shear stiffness. c) Any frame is to be designed to resist all the gravity loads without any assistance from the infill walls as these walls may either fail or be very severely damaged in a large earthquake. d) The centre of rigidity of the infill walls (except face wall) shall be as near as possible to the centre of rigidity of the complete system of walls. e) An infill wall shall be so designed that it sustains minimum damage during any deflection of the supporting structure during an earthquake and shall be designed to resist all action resulting from in-plane and face loads. f) The minimum thickness of an infilled wall shall be the same as that of partition walls, and its openings should be as small as possible and cover not more than 10 % of the panel area. The preferable location of an opening in a wall is outside the central two-thirds of the sides and away from the corners. If the opening must be near the centre of the wall, it shall be bounded by a reinforced concrete beam 75 mm thick, the other dimension to be equal to thickness of wall and reinforced with two 10 mm diameter Fe 415 grade bars longitudinally and 5 mm diameter Fe 550 grade bar link ties . g) Partition walls shall have a minimum thickness of 115mm and shall have horizontal reinforcement (one 6 mm diameter bar in each face) in every sixth course of blockwork. h) If the infill wall is constructed in a Category I or II building, the thickness of infill wall shall not be less than 230 mm.

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures 7.5 Reinforced and Un-reinforced Masonry 8

A. MASONRY: UNREINFORCED An unreinforced masonry building (UMB) is a type of building where load bearing walls, nonload bearing walls and other structures such as chimney are made up of bricks, adobe, tile or other masonry materials that is not braced by reinforcing beams. URM structures are vulnerable to collapse in an earthquake. Characteristics: i. ii. iii. iv. The walls are weak in resisting horizontal forces. They lack ductility and toughness. The walls are heavy(they have high mass leading to high inertial forces) Diaphragms are excessively flexible (insufficient lateral support for the walls). B. MASONRY: REINFORCED Reinforced masonry structures are those in which reinforcement bars (rebars), reinforcement grids, plates or fibres have been incorporated to strengthen the structure\
Reinforcing extends the characteristics like ductility, toughness and energy absorption of masonry structures that is very necessary in structures subjected to dynamic forces of earthquake. Reinforcing steel also resist shear and tensile force generated by the dynamic load.

Fig. Reinforced Hollow Unit Masonry

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.

Introduction to Masonry Structures 9

Fig. Rebars {A rebar (short for reinforcing bar), also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel, rerod, or a deformed bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression. It is usually formed from carbon steel, and is given ridges for better mechanical anchoring into the concrete.} Horizontal bands with vertical reinforcements at corners and junctions of walls are provided to integrate the structure and steels are provided around the openings to prevent the diagonal cracks that tend to radiate from the corners of openings.

Compiled By: Saurav Shrestha (2066 Batch/BCE) Kantipur Engineering College.