1 Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, jmonroe2@stanford.edu
2 Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, andrew.matsumoto@duke.edu
3 Engineer, HDR, Inc., Spokane, WA, ryan.mathis@hdrinc.com
4 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, ganzerli@gonzaga.edu
ABSTRACT
This research aimed to understand the behaviour of water-saturated masonry when subject to flexure. It is known that when masonry is saturated, it loses some of its compressive strength; however, a review of the relevant literature did not confirm that this is true for flexure. This study required a testing apparatus called a “bond wrench” and six- brick masonry prisms to be built to test flexural strength in saturated and ambient laboratory conditions. The bond wrench, built at Gonzaga University in consultation with local industries for welding procedures, consists of a frame, a pressure device, and an analog gauge. Each joint in a prism was tested for failure in flexure by adjusting the bond wrench apparatus; therefore, five data points were obtained fr om each prism. A professional mason with 40 years of experience constructed all 40 prisms used for testing. Twenty of these prisms were built using Type N mortar and the other twenty with Type S mortar; two of the most commonly used mortars in building construction. The prisms were cured in the laboratory and tested at 14 days and 28 days of curing. Half of the prisms were submerged in water two days prior to testing to ensure complete saturation. The remaining prisms were tested dry and the results were compared. The research can be employed to better understand masonry construction subject to flexure in extremely wet environments and in submerged conditions.
KEYWORDS: brick masonry, saturation, flexural strength, prisms, bond wrench
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