Flexural Tensile Strength of Unreinforced Brick

[MSRIB2894]

First time posting here so forgive my lack of clarity in the query below.

In AS3700 the code states that for the flexural tensile strength of brickwork with any other material is zero unless testing has been undertaken. (Clause 3.3.3b)

For a hit-and-miss brick wall, if horizontal steel flat bars are installed at every fourth course, welded to end columns or embedded into reinforced piers, can the brickwork be designed to span vertically between these supports? Or, due to the lack of tensile capacity or mechanical bond at the brick–steel interface, must the supports be considered free rather than providing top and bottom restraint and thus can only be designed to span horizontally?

I understand that if I was in the middle of the wall I can rely on the self weight of the brickwork above this location and design it for vertical bending, however, for the first few courses this could be an issue.

Secondly are there any papers that have been undertaken to prove whether the tensile capacity is greater than zero?

Thanks for the knowledge

 

[Retrograde]

The attached design guide may be of some interest to you.

 

[bugbus]

I think the bond in tension would be close enough to zero, you'd probably have better luck with some kind of adhesive instead.

 

[MSRIB2894]

The attached design guide may be of some interest to you.

Hi Retrograde,

Thanks for your response, I had a read of that previously as well but it does not quite provide information on the tensile capacity. The document also states on page 7 that "For the purposes of design, the vertical bending strength of such fences is ignored because brickwork, like concrete, although strong in compression is relatively weak in tension. "

 

[MSRIB2894]

I think the bond in tension would be close enough to zero, you'd probably have better luck with some kind of adhesive instead.

Hi Bugbus,

Thanks for the response, seems like it is, however, I was hoping someone else may have found a research paper or test to prove otherwise. I am assuming on site no bricklayer would swap out grout for an adhesive ever so would be a tough ask to ensure this is actually undertaken.

 

[mrlm]

I have found the 2 attached flyers to be helpful.