E.F.P. BURNETT, M.A. POSTMA
ABSTRACT
This paper documents a study to assess the likely performance of masonry ties in tensile pullout from day masonry. Four different proprietary ties were tested, namely a Z-tie, a straight dovetail, a corrugated dovetail and the Helifix HRT60.
The test procedure for most of the tests involved simple monotonic pullout of the tie from a brick couplet. An initial in-plane vertical compressive stress of either zero or 33
kPa (690 pst) was applied to the brick couplet. The relevant American, British and Canadian standards for pullout testing of ties from brick couplets require different amounts of vertical clamping during testing. The theoretical and experimental aspects of the clamping force and its consequences are discussed.
All the tie systems tested performed satisfactorily. However, the failure mechanism and the nature and extent of damage, as well as the bursting forces imposed on the brick couplet varied considerably.
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