SD 441: DESIGN OF MASONRY

STRUSTURES
1.0 INTRODUCTION TO MASONRY STRUCTURES

Masonry has been used in the construction of buildings for thousands of

years and it has been the most widely used material in civil engineering
buildings. For instance, most of the ancient historical buildings in Egypt,
Mesopotamia, etc, or old transport engineering structures are made up of
masonry. It is believed that at around 4000 BC, the secret of masonry arch
construction was discovered, and was firstly applied in the valley of rivers
Tigris and Euphrates - Mesopotamia. In about 2500 BC, Egyptians had
mastered the masonry arch principle and applied it to construct temples and
pyramids. Records of arch bridges in Greek and Middle East date back
from 600 BC to 400 AD.

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The Romans were the first nation who took masonry arch
construction into action and developed it in their Empire;
Mediterranean and Europe. They built roads and bridges from
masonry construction for they knew that their success depended
on efficient permanent communication.

Despite that the term ”masonry” refers to various kinds of

materials with quite different mechanical responses, it can
always be regarded as a composite material, where a collection
of units (stones, clay bricks, concrete blocks) are arranged and
bonded with mortar. Its mechanical properties inherit from its
composite nature in a complex behaviour which depends on a
strong non-linear combination of the shape, size and mechanical
properties of elements or parts of its micro-structure.
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However, these various kinds of masonry have in common some general
mechanical characteristics. Mechanical problems encountered in masonry
structures are often the result of weak tensile strength. When dry stones bond
structures, it is assumed that, joints cannot distribute any tensile stress.
Likewise, in ancient buildings, where mortar have degraded with time, tensile
strength of joints may be neglected. In more recent works, modern cements
are able to bear larger tensile stresses, but joints still remain the weak spot
from a structural point of view. Such micro-mechanical behavior leads to an
overall behavior of masonry undergoing softening effects as a result of
decohesion. Large localized strains are often generated in joints leading to
cracks formation. Direct tensile failure (mode I) and shear failure (mode II) in
joints are the most important causes of collapse in masonry structures.

Nevertheless, cracks are often signs of accommodation under a given load

rather than premonitory signs of dangerous situations. Besides these two
preponderant phenomenon of failure, other failure mechanisms may be
considered such as brittle failure of units first in tension and crushing of units
and mortar under large compressive load.

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1.1 Brick/Block Masonry

Masonry construction originally meant the art of building structures with

stones, but nowadays, masonry means to build structures from materials
such as concrete blocks, stones, bricks, clay tile products, gypsum blocks
and sometimes glass bricks that consist of units held with mortar. The
performance of any masonry building depends on the use of proper design
methods, appropriate details, construction methods and use of materials with
sufficient structural requirements.

Bonding
The systematic arrangement of laying bricks and bonding together with
mortar to form a unified mass which can transmit the applied loads
without failure is termed as brick masonry. Since bricks are light in
weight, uniform in size and easier in handling; they are very convenient
construction material for most of the structures, e.g. foundations, walls,
retaining walls, columns, culverts, floors, etc. The strength of brick-work
depends upon the quality of bricks and type of mortar used.
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To join the individual bricks together
to produce a compact mass, a
binding material is required. Mortars
are used as binding materials in
brickwork. Following are the P
common mortars used for bonding
bricks:
(1) Mud Mortar,
(2) Lime Mortar
(3) Cement Mortar
(4) Cement – Lime Mortar

Bonding is made in such away that Distribution of load

straight joints are avoided, so that
the load applied to the brickwork be Figure 1.1: Bonded wall
distributed to the bottom at a
dispersion angle of around 45° as
shown in Figure 1.1.
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 P
If there are straight vertical joints,
the wall will neither be stable nor
strong, and there is a possibility
of differential settlement since
just a small part of the wall will
carry the load. (ref. Fig. 1.2)
Straight joint
The selection of mortar depends P
upon the type of finish desired,
the superimposed load, the
weathering agencies and the
importance of the structure. For
the construction of temporary
buildings or structures, mud
mortar is used and for important Settlement of the loaded section
structures of permanent nature,
Figure 1.2: Effect of straight joint or
cement mortar is preferred. poor bonding
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 Brickwork Terms
(1) Course. A complete layer of bricks laid on the same bed is
known as course and its thickness of one mortar joint
(2) Frogs. These are depressions provided in the face of the bricks.
There are two reasons for the provision of frogs:
(a) To form a key with mortar in order to prevent
sliding of bricks on their beds.
(b) To reduce the weight of the brick and hence
economy in the cost of materials and transport.
(3) Bed. The bottom surface of the brick when it is laid flat is known
as bed (215 x 102.5 mm).
(4) Stretcher. The side surface of a brick visible in elevation when
the brick is laid flat is known as stretcher (215 x 65 mm).
(5) Header. The end surface of the brick when it is laid flat is known
as header (102.5 x 65 mm).

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(6) Arrises. The edges formed by the intersection of plane surfaces of
a brick are known as arrises and in good quality bricks they are
straight and sharp.
(7) Perpends. These are vertical joints between bricks either in
longitudinal or cross directions They are also known as cross
joints.
(8) Quoin. The external corner or angle of a wall surface is know as
quoin.
(9) Facing, Backing and Hearting. The exposed surface of a wall or
structure is known as facing; the internal surface of the wall or
structure is known as backing; and the portion in between the
backing and facing is called as hearting or filling.
(10) Lap. The horizontal distance between two perpends in two
successive course is known as lap.

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 Brick details
Frog

Arrises

Header face
Stretcher face
Bed face (bottom)

Figure 1.3: Brick/Block details

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Mortar Joint Thickness

The mortar joint is the

weaker element of
masonry construction. The
thicker the mortar joint the
weaker is the resulting
masonry. The common
joint thickness is 10 mm
and minor variations on
this thickness will not
usually be critical.

Figure 1.4

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(ii) Bonds

Masonry bricks may be bonded header

in different patterns known as stretcher

bonds. Some of the frequently

used bonds are: closer
- Stretcher bond
- Header bond Course 2
- English bond
- Double Flemish bond
- Single Flemish bond
- Racking bonds
(herring bone and
diagonal bonds) Course 1

Figure 1.5: Flemish bond

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Course 2 Course 2

Course 1 Course 1

Figure 1.6:
Stretcher bond,
Elevation Elevation
and header bond
(a) Stretcher Bond (b) Header Bond

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Figure 1.7: English bond (1½ brick)

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Figure 1.8: Reinforced masonry

Figure 1.9: Masonry Arches

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 Some Masonry Buildings

Figure 1:10
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 Figure 1.11

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1.2 Stone Masonry
Stone masonry is the art of building structures in stones. Stones may be used for
the construction of foundations, columns, walls, beams, lintels, arches, etc, of
buildings. Dams, retaining walls, and other structures can also be built from
stones. Stones are available in nature, and after working/cutting to the required
shapes, they provide strong, durable and economical material for construction.
The availability of stones limit their use as they are not available every where.
Structurally, stones provide higher strength, are more durable and weather
resistant than bricks/blocks.

Quality of stones required for masonry work

•Stones for masonry work have to be strong in the same manner as those used
for producing coarse aggregates. For building purposes, stones from
sedimentary rocks are the best because they have a better regular shape.
•The size of the stones shall be in such away that the length dimension does not
exceed 5 times the thickness dimension.
•The worked/dressed stones should be laid in position such that the whole stone
is surrounded by cement mortar so as to provide a strong bond and ensure even
distribution of the loads.
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 STONE ARCH BRIDGE
Wearing course

gravel

Foundation
Stone masonry bridge

Figure 1. 9: Stone arch bridge

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HISTORIC BUILDINGS AT KOLOGNE - GERMANY

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BUNDESTAG INSIDE WALL IN BERLIN

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