Blockwork Masonry Compressed in Two Orthogonal Directions

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the difference in strength and behavior of unfilled and filled blocks and prisms compressed in two orthogonal directions, normal and parallel, to unit bed face. In some codes and standards no consideration has been given to the way the prisms should be constructed, nor to the way the blocks or prisms should be loaded to meet situations where the acting external forces are applied in a direction parallel to the unit bed face. This paper recommends methods of determining the specified compressive strength of blockwork masonry,