METHODS USED IN TESTING MASONRY SPECIMENS FOR BENDING, TENSION, AND SHEAR'

B Y h-ORMAN

W. KELCH

ABSTRACT

Twenty-four walls, 4 / feet wide, 5I/a feet high, some 8 inches and some 12 inches l2 thick, werr tested for bending alter aging sixty days and six months, respactively. It was shown that aging of lime mortar is essential. Failures in shearing stress were also due to immature mortar. Brick masonry withstands earthquake shocks when mortar is matured by aging. An outline o the more extensive tests is given. f

I. Purpose of the Investigation

Whether warranted or not, the Pacific Coast is considered by some as a district in which there is occasional earthquake activity of varying intensities and consequence. It has become the practice of some architects and engineers in certain localities to take this possible activity into consideration in the design and construction of buildings. A study of the nature of earthquake forces and their effect upon structures discloses the fact that the most damaging of the horizontal, vertical, and transverse earthquake waves is the direct horizontal wave which will be referred to herein as the earthquake. It is also found that the earthquake stress is not comparable to wind stress. In skeleton frame structures, analysis shows that the forces tending to distort the rectangular bents into rhomboids induce stresses into the walls contained within the bents which must be resisted either by shear or by compression or tension in a diagonal direction, as is accomplished in bridge or roof truss design. The earthquake stresses in the skeleton frame building are found to increase from the top story down in increments by the weights of the various stories, the earthquake stress being a function of mass times acceleration, or weight times the intensity of the earthquake. Thus in designing walls sufEciently strong to resist distortion their values must be known for compression, tension, and shear. In bearing wall buildings, the earthquake force may induce shear or direct bending in the first story, or secondary bending of the entire building as a unit. A great deal of work has been done at the Bureau of Standards and elsewhere in determining the compressive strengths of masonry. These, of course, were direct compression strengths and cannot safely be assigned to wall panels subjected to compression in a diagonal direction. Nor can the compression strengths be calculated into terms of horizontal shear
Presented at the Annual Meeting, AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Toronto, Ont., February, 1930 (Terra Cotta Division).

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without knowing the tensile value of the masonry, or the cohesive and adhesive values of the mortar. It was for the purpose of determining the values of masonry composed of solid and hollow fired clay units in terms of bending (modulus of rupture), tension, adhesion, and cohesion of different mixtures of mortars and for values of cement-lime mortars t o steel bars, that this Institute undertook to program an elaborate series of experiments and tests in California.

11. Experiments

12 inches thick. The materials used were standard load-bearing tile, Heath cube load-bearing tile, wire-cut common brick, sand-mold common brick, laid in Arnerican bond and Flemish bond. The mortar used in the masonry was composed of 1 part Portland cement to 6 parts of a commercial ready-mixed lime mortar which supposedly contained 1 part lime to 3 parts sand according to the Los Angeles city ordinance. A contract was let for the construction of all of the walls t o be built in accordance with good job practice. They were constructed on the FIG. 1.-Transverse or bending test ground in a large room of a building apparatus. at the California Institute of Technology under the direction of Franklin Thomas and were allowed t o cure or dry in the open without protection for 60 days. The testing apparatus consisted of steel angle irons and I-beams in the shape of a yoke passing around the top and bottom of the walls at the back and loaded by pressing on bearings a t the third points of the face of the wall. The load was applied at the dead center of distributing b e a m by means of a calibrated hydraulic jack equipped with a load gage, as shown in Fig. 1. It was found that all of the walls tested, failed by the lack of adhesion of the mortar, as shown in Fig. 2. FIG.2.-Bending failure by mortar adhesion. There was little or no diffuencc between wire-cut and sand-mold brick and load-bearing tile walls of the same thickness. It was known from experience with this class of masonry a n d

Bending (Modulus wide by 5 feet 6 inches high; some 8 inches and some of Rupture)

Twenty-four walls were constructed 4 feet 6 inches

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this mixture of mortar that when older buildings have been cut into it has been impossible to separate the mortar from the units as occurred in these tests. These specimens a t 60 days were therefore obviously underaged. At the age of six months sections of these walls were again tested, specimens were cut from them and an increase up to 100% for the brick walls and a higher percentage of increase for the load-bearing tile walls was found. These failures were partially by cohesion. This again confirmed the opinion that cement mortars containing lime require at least six months and undoubtedly longer for curing before being tested for values which may be considered approaching the ultimate. It is firmly believed that this will apply also to values in the direct compression strength of masonry walls wherein the tensile strength or cohesion of the mortar is an element. A number of samples were made up of three brick, one on top of Shear the other, thus having two mortar joints. After curing for two months these were tested by supporting the outer two brick and applying a load on the center brick endwise. These failures were in adhesion. Other specimens were made of six brick, being three courses high having two mortar joints which were tested similarly by supporting the two outer courses and applying a load on the center course of two brick. These failures likewise were by adhesion a t the end of two months. At the same time the walls were constructed, some specimens were assembled for direct and diagonal shear. The direct shear specimens were constructed as wallettes 21 inches long x 8 inches thick, 8 courses high. These were tested by turning the wallette on end and supporting the specimen on the 3 courses of brick each side of the center 2 courses. The load was applied on top of the 2 center courses a t the end of 2 months. The results of these tests were most erratic; some values were high and some were low, relatively speaking. The failures were by adhesion but were not confined to FIG.3.-Method of attempt to detert h e 2 m o r t a r j o i n t s in wh ich mine shear. the failure was supposed to occur. In some cases the failure stepped over as shown in Fig. 3. Upon close observation i t was determined that the failures of the specimens being tested for shear were successive failures rather than simultaneous failures. T h a t is, the failure first occurred in some local area which immediately and successively transferred to other small areas until the entire specimen failed. Tests of identical specimens a t the age o six months showed the same erf

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ratic values which substantiated the fact that this method is erroneous for attempting to arrive a t the shearing value of masonry, because if the mortar behaved as i t did with the walls high shearing values a t the six months period should have been obtained. Such, however, was not the case. Shearing values can only be obtained truely through tests by torsion and such tests of masonry would be very difficult to make. When the proper values are assigned to masonry for compression and tension, shear can be calculated with sufficient accuracy.

111. Compression on Diagonal

In an attempt to assign a value to masonry for compression on a diagonal, specimens 17 x 17 inches x 8 inches thick were constructed and tested in a diagonal position in the testing machine by placing them on a steel angle and applying a load through a steel angle t o which was welded a flat plate, thus assuring the specimen in a true 45-degree position as shown in Fig. 4. Some of these specimens failed by tension, which occurred partially through the brick themselves but within the lines of compression between the top and bottom angles. Most of them, however, failed by adhesion. The FIG.4.--Method of attempt to d e t u specimen being so small in proportion mine compression on diagonal. t o the size of the angles used for applying the load, i t is difficult to form a conclusion as to what kind of a result was obtained. It was planned to calculate the failure value into terms of shear on the mortar joint but observation of the test method shows that such a procedure would be erroneous, besides being underaged. The numerical values obtained for the different specimens tested a t 2 and 6 months in this same manner were also most erratic showing again a fallacy in the test method.

IV.

Present Testing Program

With these experiments as a background, this Institute has programmed a series of tests at the University of California a t Berkeley under the supervision of Raymond E. Davis, Professor of Civil Engineering. This program includes tests for modulus of rupture o specimens composed of stifff and soft-mud common brick, face brick, medium- and hard-fired loadbearing tile, with the different units laid wct and laid dry, some moistcured or 14 days and some cured in dry air. These specimens will be tested as beams, being of 2 sizes; solid brick 12 x 12 inches x 54 inches

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FIG.5.-General view. Tests a t Univ. of California, 1929-30.

high, load-bearing tile 12 x 24 inches x 54 inches high and also a series of beams built up of unit on top of unit 24 to 36 inches high. Specimens were also crossed upon each other to ascertain the adhesive or cohesive value of the mortars laid wet and dry. Six different mixtures of mortars have been programmed. A set of brick specimens are also being used in which are embedded steel reenforcing rods to ascertain the adhesion bond between the cement-lime mortars and the steel. One set of 8 beams or piers have been manufactured for testing at the age of 6 months upon the top of which there was a load applied each day following their assembling. This load was applied in increments so as to

FIG.Ci.-Beams

and mortar adhesion-cohesion specimens.

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FIG.7.-solid

brick beams and load-bearing hollow tile beams.

simulate the first story masonry work of a $-story building in order to determine whether or not the additional weight of the superimposed brickwork applied to the masonry during its period of setting has any effect on its strength for modulus of rupture. The loads were applied by means of an apparatus of steel plates, rods, and springs which were previously calibrated to determine the amount of pressure applied, each day for 20 days. With the exception of the steel bond and of a few of the variables, these specimens have been made in triple triplicate so that 3 specimens will be tested a t each age of 2 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Mortar briquets and cylinders have been made which have been tested since the age of 7 days, 28 days, etc.

FIG. &-Brick beam after one break as cantilever.

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FIG.S.-Brick in position for test on value of mortar in direct tension.

It is hoped that a t the end of 12 months there will be sufficient information so that with a given strength mortar, a given type of unit, and a given condition of assembly and curing, masonry true values for bending and shearing strengths can be accurately predicted. If these findings develop what it is believed they will, that cement mortars containing lime require a greater time than 2 months to attain their relatively final strength, then additional tests should be made on the compres-

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sive strengths of walls similar to those made a t the Bureau of Standards, for ages greater than 2 months. A full report and paper will be written on the subject of these tests when the present program is completed. Figures 5, 6, and 7 show a portion of the test specimens. Figure 8 shows a large brick beam having been broken in the testing machine. It will be noted th a t 2 cantilever brakes are made on each beam thus giving 6 results for each set of 3 specimens. Figure 9 shows a specimen in position for testing the adhesive or cohesive or tensile value of the mortar joint. The metal cylinder on top is a universal ball bearing. The first 2 months tests have already been made. Without attempting a discussion a t this time, it was nevertheless interesting to note that in the tests for modulus of rupture and for adhesion bond as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the failures found were by adhesion between the lower surfaces of the joints and the upper surfaces of the units as laid by the mason. This was directly contrary to common supposition.
CLAYPRODUCTS IKSTITUTE CALIFORNIA OF Los ANGELES, CALIF.