Author

Dr. K. RAMAMURTHY* and R. RADHAKRISHNAN** * Associate Professor, Building Technology and Construction Management Division, Department of Civil
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai-600036, India ** Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, N.S.S. College of Engineering, Palghat-678 008, India

Abstract

Different national codes of practice prescribe permissible stresses for the design of laterally loaded masonry. For vertically spanning walls, the flexural strength of masonry parallel to the bed joints has conventionally been attributed to depend on the bond strength between the bedding mortar and the brick as only unrendered specimens have been used in research. But in a majority of the applications of brick masonry, it is rendered for functional and aesthetic reasons. Hence a systematic study has been carried out on the flexural strength normal to the bed joints of brick masonry with different cement-limes of brick and mortar strengths and with and without rendering to determine the effect of this latter addition. The potential enhancements in flexural strength are presented along with a discussion on the overall behaviour. A comparison with code provisions has also been made to emphasise the need to recognise this aspect.