Assessment of Compressive Strength of Historic Mixed Masonry

Abstract

The majority of load-bearing masonry structures of historic buildings are built of mixed or stone masonry composed of regular or irregular (so-called quarry) masonry units – bricks, sedimentary and metamorphic rock – pos­sessing often very different physical and mechanical characteristics. The identification of residual mechanical properties of stone or mixed masonry of irregular walling units requires the application of a suitable diagnostic method, the as­sessment of the phase of degradation processes and the choice of an appropriate probabilistic model for the strength of mixed masonry. The presented experimental research involves the analysis of the heterogeneity (homogeneity) of mixed masonry of a church from the 17th century. The probabilistic model for masonry strength is developed on the basis of destructive and non-destructive testing of masonry units and mortar. It appears that the probabilistic approach leads to a design value by 75% higher than the deterministic approach.

Lightweight Concretes with Improved Water and Water Vapor Transport for Remediation of Damp Induced Buildings

“…In that case, compressive strength decreased dramatically in dependence on growing perlite content—from 28.8 MPa of reference up to 0.1 MPa in the case of fully substituted traditional aggregate with perlite. In studies aimed to assess the compressive strength of old/historic brick and mixed masonries presented by, e.g., Sykora et al [ 54 ], Matysek et al [ 55 ] and Witzany et al [ 56 ], mean compressive strength values around 20 MPa, but also in some cases decreasing up to 5.0 MPa [ 56 ] or 3.5 MPa [ 55 ] (with dependence on the used experimental technique and, in particular, the homogeneity of tested structures), were reported. In this context, waste aggregate filled concretes with a content reaching up to 25 vol.% could be considered as a good alternative to mixed masonries reaching average compressive strength values of about 20 MPa.…”

Matrix of Affordable Housing Assessment: A Development Process

“…Suitable material selection, proper stability testing, and ample knowledge of the properties of the materials are important factors for determining the durability and life cycle of a building [44]. This is particularly important when introducing new materials for building façades because building façades are highly vulnerable to defects [45,46].…”