1 Professor and Director of the Masonry Research Laboratory, Civil and Architectural Engineering Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
2 Ph. D. Candidate, Civil and Architectural Engineering Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia. PA 19104, USA
ABSTRACT
Development of a limit states design code for masonry is currently underway. A key design parameter is the modulus of rupture of masonry. It is required to determine the cracking load which represents an important serviceability limit state. The bond wrench has been recently used as a convenient way of determining the modulus of rupture of clay brick masonry. However, the applicability and validity of this test to predict the cracking moment of full-scale grouted concrete masonry walls needs to be verified. This paper utilizes the experimental results of the US-Japan Coordinated Program on Masonry Building Research to provide information on the modulus of rupture determined from testing masonry prisms using the bond wrench and from full-scale wall tests. Correlations between the results of the prisms and the full-scale walls are presented. The full-scale wall and bond wrench test results are shown to be comparable. It is concluded that the bond wrench test technique is an appropriate method for determining the modulus of rupture of grouted concrete masonry.
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