th

15 International Brick and Block

Masonry Conference

Florianópolis – Brazil – 2012

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MASONRY SAMPLES FOR

THEORETICAL MODELING

Sayari Arash
PhD, Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj Branch, Iran, sayari_51@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Due to different geometries and material properties, masonry is considered as an anisotropic
composite material. Mechanical properties of the masonry walls are very important
parameters that affect the behaviour of masonry walls under loading.
The mechanical properties of masonry are more complicated than mechanical properties of
other construction materials. Elastic modulus (or Young’s modulus) is one of the most
important parameters in determination of the stiffness of structural elements prior to cracking
and is calculated according to the linear part of stress-strain curves. In addition, in order to
develop the theoretical modelling, mechanical properties including elastic modulus (Young’s
modulus) and compressive strength must be taken into account.
In this research, different experiments are designed to measure the elastic modulus and
compressive strength of masonry and mortar samples. The results are compared with the
published results in this subject area.

Keywords: Masonry, Mechanical properties, Elastic modulus, compressive strength

INTRODUCTION
Masonry is considered as an anisotropic composite material because of different geometries
and material properties of masonry, including: shape of units (bricks/blocks), dimensions of
units, perforations, slenderness ratio, strengths of materials, modulus of elasticity of materials,
water absorption, etc. (Zilch et al., 2001).

The mechanical properties of masonry are more complicated than mechanical properties of
other construction materials (Velazquez-Diams et al., 2000 and 1998). Elastic modulus (or
Young’s modulus) is one of the most important parameters in determination of the stiffness of
structural elements prior to cracking and is calculated according to the linear part of stress-
strain curves. According to Wolde-Tinsae et al. (1993), elastic modulus of masonry walls is
not related to properties of brick units, mortar joints, grout or h/t ratio (of samples)
individually; but is a function of all of mentioned parameters. Woulde-Tinsae concluded that
it is the best option to calculate the value of elastic modulus according to the compressive
strength of masonry samples, because compressive strength is also influenced by mentioned
parameters.

According to EC6, the compressive strength and elastic modulus of masonry samples should
be determined from either results of or in the absence of tests in terms of equations 1 and 2 as
below:

= K. . (1)
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15 International Brick and Block
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Florianópolis – Brazil – 2012

Where:
is characteristic compressive strength of masonry [N/mm²];
K: is a constant, which is a function of the type of masonry units and mortar
is normalised average compressive strength of units [N/mm²];
is average compressive strength of mortar [N/mm²];
and : are constants, for general purpose mortar =0.7 and =0.3
and

E= . (2)

Where:
E: is modulus of elasticity of masonry [N/mm²];
: is a constant equal to 1000 according to UK National Annex to EC 6;
is characteristic compressive strength of masonry [N/mm²];

For the linear and elastic behaviour of masonry walls, equivalent modulus of elasticity is a
function of physical and mechanical characteristics of brick and mortar (Francis et al., 1971)
given in equation 3:

= + +2 ( + ) (3)

= , = (4)

Where is the elastic modulus of masonry; and are the thicknesses of mortar and
brick, respectively; and are elastic modulus of mortar and brick respectively; and
are the Poisson’s ratio of mortar and brick, respectively

According to Farshchi (2008) for the lateral loading on masonry walls, elastic modulus can be
calculated from equation 5.

= (5)

Where:
: Elastic modulus of mortar = 30× compressive strength of mortar;
Elastic modulus of brick = 125× compressive strength of brick;
: Elastic modulus of masonry sample;
: Thickness of brick units;
: Thickness of mortar joints;
ICBO (1991) recommended the equation 6 for calculation of the elastic modulus of masonry
walls.

= 750 (6)
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15 International Brick and Block
Masonry Conference

Florianópolis – Brazil – 2012

Where:
: Elastic modulus of masonry;
: Compressive strength of masonry walls;

According to the above discussion, different researchers suggested different amount for
mechanical properties of the masonry samples. In this research, different experiments are
designed to measure the elastic modulus of masonry and mortar samples. In addition,
according to direct relation between compressive strength and the elastic modulus,
compressive strength of these samples is also measured.

TEST SET UP FOR MEASUREMENTS OF ELASTIC MODULUS AND COMRESSIVE

STRENGTH
Three different categories of samples were constructed for measurement of the elastic
modulus and compressive strength as below (Photo 1):
۰ Masonry cubes of 215mm×215mm×215mm dimensions.
۰ Mortar cubes of 100mm×100mm×100mm dimensions.
۰ Mortar cylinders with diameter equal to 150mm and height equal to 300mm.

Masonry cubes Mortar cubes Mortar cylinders

Photo 1: Samples used for experimental study

According to UK National Annex (NA to BS EN 1996-1-1:2005) three types of mortar M2,

M4 and M6 were used for production of the masonry and mortar samples (Table 1). The
cement type was Portland cement and the type of lime was Hydraulic lime.

Table 1. Different types of mortars (Table 2 of UK National Annex to EC6)

a) MASONRY CUBES
The frog type of London brick (Hanson, 2010) and Ibstock brick were used for construction
of the masonry cubes. Nine masonry cubes were constructed in the material laboratory with
three different types of mortars (M2, M4 and M6) and two different types of bricks (Table 2).
The thickness of the mortar layers between bricks rows was nominal 10mm.
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15 International Brick and Block
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Florianópolis – Brazil – 2012

To check possible variation of compressive strength, the masonry samples constructed from
London bricks are tested at two different ages (40 days and 4 months). For Ibstock it was
decided to use 4 months period of curing.

Table 2. Detail of the masonry samples

No. Of Brick type Mortar Ratio (Sand; Mortar type Curing period
Sample Cement; Lime) according to EU6 (Day)
1 London Brick 6,1,1 M4 40
2 London Brick 6,1,1 M4 40
3 London Brick 6,1,1 M4 40
4 Ibstock 8,1,0 M2 115
5 Ibstock 4,1,0 M6 115
6 Ibstock 6,1,1 M4 115
7 London Brick 8,1,0 M2 115
8 London Brick 4,1,0 M6 115
9 London Brick 6,1,1 M4 115

All samples were checked to have a horizontal surface using a bubble level. After the
construction of each sample, it was left for more than 28 days to allow for curing and to
achieve its maximum design capacity.

Two different tests were performed for each masonry sample: direct measurement of elastic
modulus and measurement of uni-directional compressive strength.

In order to directly measure the elastic modulus of masonry samples, three pairs of bases for
DEMEC gauges with 150 mm distance were attached to each sample using a special glue
(Photo 2). Before attaching the bases to the samples, exact position of bases on the samples
were indicated and using a steel brush loose and uneven areas were removed from the location
of the DEMEC bases, and all dust was removed using a vacuum cleaner.

150 mm

53 mm 54 mm

Photo 2. Attaching DEMEC bases to a sample

After curing of the glue joining DEMEC bases to the sample, axial compressive load with the
rate of 1kN/sec was applied to each sample. The load was applied in the steps of 10 kN,
distributed on the surface of the sample. After each step of loading, the displacements were
measured using a DEMEC gauge.
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Florianópolis – Brazil – 2012

For all cubic masonry samples in Table 2, compressive strength was measured using a
compression-testing machine. The load was applied at the same rate as before to the
horizontal surfaces of the samples.

b) MORTAR CYLINDERS
Due to the required information for calculation of the elastic modulus of masonry according
to equation 3 and equation 5 it has been decided to conduct additional testing of cylinder
mortar samples.

Three mortar cylinders were constructed with type M4 of mortar (sand 6; lime 1; cement 1).
All samples were checked to have a horizontal surface using a bubble level. After
construction of each sample, it was left for more than 28 days for curing and developing its
design capacity.

Two different tests were performed on each sample: direct measurement of elastic modulus
and measurement of uni-directional compressive strength.

In order to directly measure the elastic modulus of mortar samples, axial compressive load
with the rate of 1kN/sec was applied to each sample. The load was applied in the steps of 10
kN, distributed on the surface of the sample. After each step of loading, the deformation was
measured using a mechanical strain gauge attached to the sample.

For all samples, the compressive strength was measured using a compression-testing machine.
The load was applied at the same rate as before to the horizontal surface of the samples.

c) MORTAR CUBES
Twelve mortar cubes (100mm×100mm×100mm) were constructed with three different types
of mortars. Six samples were of type M4, three of M6 and three of M2 (Table 3).

To check possible variation of compressive strength, the cubic samples constructed from type
M4 of mortar are tested at two different ages (40 days and 4 months). For types M2 and M6
of mortar, it was decided to use 4 months period of curing.

Table 3. Detail of the mortar cubes

No. of Mortar Rate (Sand, Mortar type Curing period
Samples Cement, Lime) according to EU6 (Day)
1 6,1,1 M4 40
2 6,1,1 M4 40
3 6,1,1 M4 40
4 6,1,1 M4 115
5 6,1,1 M4 115
6 6,1,1 M4 115
7 4,1,0 M6 115
8 4,1,0 M6 115
9 4,1,0 M6 115
10 8,1,0 M2 115
11 8,1,0 M2 115
12 8,1,0 M2 115
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For all samples in Table 3, the compressive strength was measured using a computerised
compressive testing machine. The load was applied at the rate of 1 kN/sec on the horizontal
surface of the samples.

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF MASONRY SAMPLES

For the samples that were constructed from London bricks and mortar type M4, the average
elastic modulus is 3750 N/mm² (Figure 1). In addition, the average value for compressive
strength for these samples is 3.7 N/mm² (Figure 2). Masonry sample with 4 months curing
had 6% higher strength in comparison to the average strength of the samples with 40 days
curing.

London Brick, Mortar M4 3842.3

4000 3765.2 3722.2 3675.4
Elastic modulus (N/mm²)

3000

2000
Average=3751.3 N/mm²

1000

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4
Figure 1. Elastic modulus of masonry samples (London Brick, Mortar M4)

London Brick, Mortar M4

4 3.7 3.7 3.8
Comressive strength(N/mm²)

3.5

2
Average=3.7 N/mm²
N/mm²
1

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4
Figure 2. Compressive strength of masonry samples (London Brick, Mortar M4)

Average value of elastic modulus and compressive strength of different masonry samples
obtained from the experimental study are presented in Table 4.

The results show that elastic modulus and compressive strength of masonry samples
constructed with London bricks and mortar type M6, are larger than those of other masonry
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Florianópolis – Brazil – 2012

samples. In addition, the masonry samples constructed with London bricks and mortar type
M2, showed the lowest elastic modulus and compressive strength compared to the other
masonry samples.

Table 4. Elastic modulus and compressive strength for masonry samples (Test)
Bricks Mortar Elastic modulus (N/mm²) Compressive strength (N/mm²)
London brick M4 3750 3.7
Ibstock M2 3148 3.0
Ibstock M6 4977 5.1
Ibstock M4 3780 3.6
London brick M2 3102 3.0
London brick M6 5040 5.2

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF CYLINDER MORTAR SAMPLES

The average value for elastic modulus and compressive strength of cylinder mortar samples
(M4) are 2870 N/mm² and 3.6 N/mm², respectively (Figures 3, 4).

4000
Cylinder, Mortar M4
2906.6 2878 2827.9
3000
Elastic modulus (N/mm²)

2000
Average=2870.8 N/mm²
1000

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3

Figure 3. Elastic modulus of mortar cylinders (Mortar M4)

Cylinder, Mortar M4
4 3.6 3.6 3.6
Compressive strength

3
(N/mm²)

2 Average=3.6 N/mm²

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
Figure 4. Compressive strength of mortar cylinders (Mortar M4)

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS FOR CUBIC MORTAR SAMPLES

For three different types of mortars M2, M4 and M6; the average uni-directional compressive
strengths for cubic samples are presented in Figures 5 to 7 and Table 5.
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Cubic samples, Mortar M4

Compressive strength (N/mm²)

4 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.7

2
Average=3.65 N/mm²
1

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6
Figure 5. Compressive strength of cubic mortar samples (Mortar M4)

Cubic samples, Mortar M6

4.9 5 5
5
Compressive strength

4
(N/mm²)

2
Average=5.0 N/mm²

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
Figure 6. Compressive strength of cubic mortar samples (Mortar M6)

Cubic samples, Mortar M2

Compressive strength (N/mm²)

3 2.7
2.6 2.6

Average=2.6
1 N/mm²

0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
Figure 7. Compressive strength of cubic mortar samples (Mortar M2)

Table 5. Compressive strength of cubic mortar samples (Test)

Mortar Compressive strength, N/mm²
M6 5.0
M4 3.65
M2 2.6
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Comparision of the above results show that mortar cubes M6 have higher value of
compressive strength than other cubic samples.

APPLIED ELASTIC MODULUS

For calculation of the elastic modulus of masonry according to Francis (1971) in the equation
3 and Farshchi (2008) in the equation 5, the value of elastic modulus for mortar is assumed to
be 2870.8 N/mm² which is the estimated value from our experiments. In addition, value of
elastic modulus for the brick according to Farshchi is assumed to be 125 times of the
compressive strength of the brick. As the compressive strength of London brick is 25 N/mm²
(Hanson, 2010), thus elastic modulus of this type of brick is equal to 3125 N/mm².
The elastic modulus for masonry walls (constructed from London bricks and mortar type M4)
achieved from different sources is presented in Table 6.

Table 23. Elastic modulus of masonry from different sources

Source Elastic Modulus of masonry, E (N/mm²) Equation
Direct measurement 3750 -
(Figure 1)
EC6 E= 1000. = 1000×3. 7= 3700 2
ICBO (1991) = 750 750×3.7= 2775 6

Francis = + +2 ( + ) 3
(1971)
E= 6960

Farshchi = E= 3605 5
(2008)

The elastic modulus measured in this research is closest to the one calculated by equation
suggested by EC6 (Figure 8).

8000
Elastic modulus (N/mm²)

6960
7000

6000

5000
3750 3670 3605
4000

3000 2722

2000

1000

0
Direct EC 6 ICBO (1991) Francies Farshchi
measurment Source (1971) (2008)

Figure 8. Comparison of the elastic modulus from different sources for masonry samples
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CONCLUSION
The main results of this study are summarised as follows:
1. Estimation of elastic modulus for masonry samples and mortar is confirmed to be
close to the suggested values from EC6.
2. The results for ultimate compressive strength of the mortar M4 via cylinders and via
cubes are almost identical which is different from testing of corresponding concrete
samples.

REFERENCE
۰ EC6, EN 1996-1-1:2005 Eurocode 6, (2005). Design of masonry structures-Part 1-1:
General rules for reinforced and unreinforced masonry structures. CEN.
۰ Farshchi, D.M., Motavali, M., and Marefat, M.R., (2008). A theoretical investigation
on the seismic retrofitting of historical masonry buildings using FRP post-tensioned
systems. PhD thesis, Tehran university.
۰ Francis, A.J., Horman, C.B., and Jerrems, L.E., (1971). The effect of joint thickness
and other factors on the compressive strength of brickwork, proceeding of the 2ed
international brick masonry conference, H.W.H. west, ed, British Ceramic Association,
Stoke on Trent, 31-37, UK.
۰ Hanson, (2010). “Guide to London Brick.”, Available at
<http://www.ribaproductselector.com/Docs/9/04729/external/COL604729.pdf?ac=>
[Accessed on 10, September 2010], Hanson building products.
۰ ICBO Evaluation Services, Inc., (1997). Acceptance criteria for concrete and
reinforced and unreinforced masonry strengthening using fibre reinforced composite
system. ACI 25-R2-0497 (BCG/BNH), International conference of building officials,
Whittier, California.
۰ UK National Annex to Eurocode 6, (2005). Design of masonry structures – Part 1-1:
General rules for reinforced and unreinforced masonry structures. (NA to BS EN 1996-
1-1:2005).
۰ Velazquez-Dimas, J.I., Ehsani, M. R., and Fellow, (2000). Modelling out-of-plane
behaviour of URM walls retrofitted with fibre composites. Journal of composites for
construction, November 173.
۰ Velazquez-Dimas, J.I., (1998). Out-of-plane behaviour of URM walls retrofitted with
fibre composites. PhD Thesis, Faculty of civil engineering and engineering mechanics,
The University of Arizona, USA.
۰ Wolde-Tinsae, A.M.R., Atkinson H., and Hamid A. A., (1993). State-of-the-Art
Modulus of Elasticity of Masonry. In Proceedings of Sixth North American Masonry
Conference. The Masonry Society. Boulder, Colorado. USA.
۰ Zilch, K., Schatz, M., (2001). Masonry construction manual. Published by institute fur
international architektur documentation GmbH, Munich, pages 92-95.