Assessment of compressive behavior of concrete masonry prisms partially filled by general mortar

Abstract

The usage of general mortar for embedding and partially filling of units in 12 masonry prisms is evaluated through compressive tests. Filled and unfilled prisms were 13 tested in order to verify the differences on their compressive behavior. Four mortar 14 mixes with three water/cement ratios for each mix were used in tests. Results indicated 15 small differences between filled and unfilled masonry prisms. Mortar had a small 16 influence in the compressive strength of the masonry. However, a more significant 17 influence could be observed on secant elastic modulus, compressive fracture energy and 18 deformations of masonry prisms. Besides, an analytical model to represent the stress vs. 19 strain diagram of masonry prisms is proposed. The analytical model depends on the 20 compressive strength of mortar and masonry prism. Furthermore, results indicated that 21 the usage of general mortar for embedding and filling masonry prisms can be a solution 22 in terms of building technology.