M. J. Guzman1 and S.L. Lissel2
1Graduate Student, Dept of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, mguzmanc@ucalgary.ca 2Assistant Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, sllissel@ucalgary.ca
ABSTRACT
Shear resistance is an important part of the design process of masonry beams. Section 12.3.5 of CSA S304.1-94 gives the parameters for masonry shear design. All clauses in this section are based on previous research, some of them developed many years ago. The objective of this paper is to study the background of these clauses for a better understanding of the standards for masonry design. Masonry beam shear design is based on the Simplified Method for Design for Shear in Flexural Regions in the Concrete Design Standard (CSA A23.3) but also on the research work of Suter, Hendry and Keller at Carleton University. They studied the parameters that influence shear resistance of masonry (concrete and brick) beams so that improvements to the Canadian design standard could be made. The CSA S304.1 has recently been revised and published in 2004. The clauses pertaining to masonry beam shear design have been revised and so a comparison between the 1994 and 2004 editions will be presented.
KEYWORDS: beams; brick; block; shear; codes.
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