Construction Materials and Testing PDF

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING  A masonry structure is formed by combining masonry units, such as stone, blocks, or brick, with mortar. MASONRY Pyramid of Egypt Great Wall of China Ancient Roman R...

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING  A masonry structure is formed by combining masonry units, such as stone, blocks, or brick, with mortar. MASONRY Pyramid of Egypt Great Wall of China Ancient Roman Ruins  Bricks of nearly uniform size became commonly used in Europe during the beginning of the 13th century. The first extensive use of bricks in the United States was around 1600. In the last two centuries, bricks have been used in constructing sewers, bridge piers, tunnel linings, and multistory buildings. MASONRY  Masonry units can be classified as: MASONRY UNITS concrete masonry units clay bricks structural clay tiles glass blocks stone  Concrete masonry units can be either solid or hollow, but clay bricks, glass blocks, and stone are typically solid. MASONRY UNITS Structural clay tiles are hollow units that are larger than clay bricks and are used for structural and non-structural masonry applications, such as partition walls and filler panels.  a. Concrete Masonry Units Solid concrete units are commonly called concrete brick Hollow units are known as concrete blocks, hollow blocks, or cinder blocks Hollow units have a net cross-sectional area in every plane parallel to the bearing surface less than 75% of the gross cross-sectional area in the same plane MASONRY If this ratio is 75% or more, the unit is categorized as solid UNITS Concrete masonry units are manufactured in three classes, based on their density: lightweight units, medium-weight units, and normal-weight units  a. Concrete Masonry Units Well-graded sand, gravel, and crushed stone are used to manufacture normal-weight units MASONRY UNITS  a. Concrete Masonry Units Lightweight aggregates such as pumice, scoria, cinders, expanded clay, and expanded shale are used to manufacture lightweight units. Lightweight units have higher thermal and fire resistance properties and lower sound resistance than normal weight units. MASONRY UNITS  a. Concrete Masonry Units Concrete masonry units are manufactured using a relatively dry (zero-slump) concrete mixture consisting of Portland cement, aggregates, water, and admixtures. Type I cement is usually used to manufacture concrete masonry units; however, Type III is sometimes used to reduce the curing time MASONRY UNITS Concrete masonry units can be classified as load bearing (ASTM C90) and non–load bearing (ASTM C129). The compressive strength of individual concrete masonry units is determined by capping the unit and applying load in the direction of the height of the unit until failure (ASTM C140)  a. Concrete Masonry Units The compressive strength of individual concrete masonry units is determined by capping the unit and applying load in the direction of the height of the unit until failure (ASTM C140) A full-size unit is recommended for testing, although a portion of a unit can be used if the capacity of the testing machine is not large enough. MASONRY UNITS  a. Concrete Masonry Units Solid concrete masonry units (concrete bricks) are manufactured in two types based on their exposure properties: concrete building bricks (ASTM C55) and concrete facing bricks (ASTM C1634) MASONRY The concrete building bricks are manufactured for general use in non-facing, UNITS utilitarian applications, while the concrete facing bricks are typically used in applications where one or more faces of the unit is intended to be exposed.  b. Clay Bricks The clays used for brick making vary widely in composition from one place to another Clays are composed mainly of silica (grains of sand), alumina, lime, iron, manganese, sulfur, and phosphates, with different proportions. MASONRY Bricks are manufactured by grinding or crushing the clay in mills and mixing UNITS it with water to make it plastic. The plastic clay is then molded, textured, dried, and finally fired.  b. Clay Bricks Clay bricks are used for different purposes, including building, facing and aesthetics, floor making, and paving. Building Bricks Building bricks (common bricks) are used as a structural material, and are typically strong and MASONRY durable. UNITS Facing Bricks Facing bricks are used for facing and aesthetic purposes, and are available in different sizes, colors, and textures.  Floor Bricks Floor bricks are used on finished floor surfaces, and are generally smooth and dense, with high resistance to abrasion. MASONRY UNITS Paving Bricks Paving bricks are used as a paving material for roads, sidewalks, patios, driveways, and interior floors. Paving bricks are available in different colors, such as red, gray, or brown, are typically abrasion resistant, and could usually be vitrified  Facing clay bricks (ASTM C216) are manufactured in two durability grades for severe weathering (SW) and moderate weathering (MW). Each durability grade is manufactured in three appearance types: FBS (face brick standard), FBX (face brick extra), and FBA (face brick architecture) MASONRY Type FBS UNITS Type FBS bricks are used for general exposed masonry construction. Type FBX Type FBX bricks are used for general exterior and interior masonry construction, where a high degree of precision and a low permissible variation in size are required Type FBA The FBA type bricks are manufactured to produce characteristic architectural effects resulting from nonuniformity in size and texture of the individual units.  Mortar is a mixture of cementitious material, aggregate, and water. Mortar can be classified as lime mortar, cement mortar, or masonry cement mortar. Mortar is used for the following functions: bonding masonry units together, either non-reinforced MORTAR or reinforced serving as a seating material for the units leveling and seating the units providing aesthetic quality of the structure  Mortar is manufactured in four types: M, S, N, and O MORTAR  Mortar is manufactured in four types: M, S, N, and O Type M mortar mix has the highest amount of Portland cement and is recommended for heavy loads and below- grade applications, including foundations, retaining walls, and driveways. MORTAR Type S mortar mix offers high compressive strength of over 1,800 psi and high-tensile bond strength. This makes type S mortar mix suitable for many projects at or below grade.  Mortar is manufactured in four types: M, S, N, and O Type N mortar is a general-purpose mix usually recommended for exterior and above-grade walls (including stone veneer) exposed to severe weather and high heat. MORTAR Type O mortar mix has relatively low compressive strength, at about 350 psi. As such, it is used primarily for interior, above-grade, non-load–bearing walls.  Testing Mortar can be evaluated either in the laboratory or in the field. In the laboratory evaluation, the compressive strength of mortar is tested using 50-mm (2-inch) cubes according to ASTM C109. Mortar starts to bind masonry units when it sets. During construction, bricks MORTAR and blocks should be rubbed and pressed down in order to force the mortar into the pores of the masonry units to produce maximum adhesion.  Grout is a high-slump concrete consisting of portland cement, sand, fine gravel, water, and sometimes lime. Grout is used to fill the cores or voids in hollow masonry units for the purpose of: bonding the masonry units GROUT bonding the reinforcing steel to the masonry increasing the bearing area increasing fire resistance improving the overturning resistance by increasing the weight The minimum compressive strength of grout is 14 MPa (2000 psi) at 28 days, according to ASTM C476 GROUT  Plaster is a fluid mixture of portland cement, lime, sand, and water, which is used for finishing either masonry walls or framed (wood) walls. Plaster is used for either exterior or interior walls. Stucco is plaster used to cover exterior walls PLASTER The average compressive strength of plaster is about 13.8 MPa (2000 psi) at 28 days