Title: Effect of concrete block height variation to the shear bond strength of thin layer mortared masonry

Authors: Julian Ajith Thamboo; Manicka Dhanasekar

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil 32360, Sri Lanka ' Science and Engineering Faculty, School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia

Abstract: Thin layered masonry employs thin mortar joints laid with minimally skilled masons. However, the applicability of this masonry system relies on units made with tighter control of their height. The standard unit height variation is tolerated up to ±2.5 mm, suitable for 10 mm thick conventional masonry. The units of such variation in height cannot, obviously, be employed in the construction of the thin layer mortared masonry. This paper addresses the effect of the variation of the height of the concrete blocks to the shear bond characteristics of thin layer mortared concrete masonry through experimental program and numerical investigations. The results have exhibited that the variability in the height of the units can adversely influence the shear bond strength of the masonry. Variation of height more than ±1 mm from a standard unit height is shown structurally detrimental.

Keywords: unit height tolerance; thin layer mortared masonry; shear bond strength; polymer-cement mortar; digital image correlation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.092461

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2018 Vol.3 No.2, pp.174 - 193

Received: 25 May 2017
Accepted: 29 Oct 2017
Published online: 21 Jun 2018 *

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