VICENTE, ROMEU1; VARUM, HUMBERTO2; FIGUEIREDO, ANTÓNIO3; FERREIRA, TIAGO M.4, MENDES DA SILVA, J.A.R.

1) Assistant Professor, University of Aveiro, Department of Civil Engineering, romvic@ua.pt

2) Associate Professor, University of Aveiro, Department of Civil Engineering, hvarum@ua.pt

3) Researcher, University of Aveiro, Department of Civil Engineering, ajfigueiredo@ua.pt

4) Researcher, University of Aveiro, Department of Civil Engineering, tmferreira@ua.pt

For all types of masonry wall construction, no matter the brick or block material, the cutting of chases in order to accommodate electrical cables, piping and other installations is a common practice. In many situations, the cutting of chases in masonry is carried out indiscriminately and with no respect for maximum dimensions and adequate mortar filling. Thus, with this research paper it will be exposed and thoroughly evaluated and discussed the mechanical behaviour of hollowed clay brick masonry walls with chase cutting, within the limits of the Eurocode 6. Therefore, an experimental campaign over twelve wall specimens was carried out, in which the shape and direction of the chase differs (horizontal, vertical and inclined) all with the same depth and width. After the cutting of the chases, it was placed a ring tube to simulate a pipeline, and later the chase was filled with mortar, leaving one of each specimen type with the chase unfilled. All specimens were fully instrumented and tested under vertical central compression. The results obtained in this experimental campaign are discussed and presented in detail.

Keywords: Masonry, chases, mortar joints, compression, strain, stress, cracking pattern