Ali Abasi, Bennett Banting, and Ayan Sadhu
i Research assistant, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Western University, London, Canada, aabasi@uwo.ca
ii Director of Technical Services, Canada Masonry Design Centre, Ottawa, Canada, Bbanting@canadamasonrycentre.com
iii Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Western University, London, Canada, asadhu@uwo.ca
ABSTRACT
Masonry construction is widely used in the building industry due to its cost-effectiveness and durability. However, the structural properties of early-age masonry are not well-documented, making it difficult to establish reliable design parameters during the initial curing stages. Current Canadian codes primarily address fully-cured masonry structures, with limited guidance on temporary bracing requirements for early-age masonry walls under wind loads. This paper presents an assessment of early-age masonry properties and proposes a methodology for designing masonry walls without temporary bracing. A comprehensive literature review highlights existing research on masonry behavior, focusing on out-of-plane loading conditions and the role of wind-induced pressures during construction. The study employs experimental data of masonry wall tests and numerical modeling result from the recent literature to assess flexural tensile strength development at different curing times. Using a wind velocity-based approach, this research evaluates the stability of masonry walls under varying wind speeds without applying reliability-based load factors. The study introduces a sawtooth model to conservatively estimate masonry tensile strength over key construction stages, ensuring safe design assumptions. The results demonstrate that early-age masonry gains significant strength within the first seven days, allowing for the possibility of eliminating temporary bracing in specific conditions. By establishing thresholds for lateral stability and structural integrity, this research provides practical design guidelines for engineers and contractors, enhancing construction efficiency and safety.
KEYWORDS: Early-age mortar, early-age masonry, out-of-plane strength, monitoring of masonry walls, curing time, wind load, temporary bracing.
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