Wallison Medeiros and Guilherme Parsekian
Wallison Medeiros, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos; Rod. Washington Luis, KM 235, São Carlos, SP, Brazil; wamedeiros@ufscar.br
Guilherme Parsekian, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos; Rod. Washington Luis, KM 235, São Carlos, SP, Brazil; parsekian@ufscar.br
ABSTRACT
Until recently, Brazil had several standards for structural masonry, one for each different type of masonry (concrete blocks, clay blocks, or clay brick). Recently, those standards were unified into a single text. The new text bundled together specifications for design, quality control and construction, and testing procedures. Published in August 2020, ABNT NBR 16868-2 Structural
Masonry – Construction Execution and Quality Control, the topic of this article, provides the requirements for sampling and testing, and the conditions of acceptance of structural masonry components and elements in Brazil. Considering structural masonry local reality, especially its extensive use in the construction of buildings, from one-story to multiple story buildings, the
Standard requirements are unique. This paper will show through example the requirements for the materials characterization prior to the beginning of construction and the quality control
specifications during construction, considering a typical Brazilian building according to the new standard. Among the innovations in the new standard, it has been noticed that the requirements
differ depending on the degree of complexity of the project. In addition, several less known aspects are presented, considering the great boldness of the current Brazilian structural masonry, especially when it comes to the construction of tall buildings.
KEYWORDS: Brazilian masonry, buildings, building code, execution, quality control
