Experimental Study on Effect of Mortar and Base to Height Ratio on StressStrain Characteristics of Brick Prism

Abstract

The uniaxial monotonic compressive stress-strain behavior and other characteristics of unreinforced
masonry and its constituents, i.e., solid clay bricks and mortar, have been studied by several laboratory tests. Based on
the results and observations of the comprehensive experimental study, nonlinear stress-strain curves have been obtained
for bricks, mortar, and masonry. The compressive strength of masonry is the most important material property for the
design of structural masonry. The behavior and strength of masonry prisms under compressive loading has been a
fundamental research topic. The main objective of the present study is to determine the optimum mix ratio of cementsand mortar to obtain maximum compressive strength. Bricks are used to determine the compressive strength of brick
prisms. Conventional red brick of size 225x100x75 are used for test. Bricks are arranged in English bond pattern with
too many layers as per requirement. Each layer of bricks is bonded with the 12mm thickness mortar. We made three
number of sample of height of 30cm, 60cm, and 120cm. For the average value of compressive strength is taken into
account we made prism for 1:4 and 1:8 ratio of cement mortar. Brick prism is cured using gunny bags. Compressive
strength is determined at 28 days curing time, by using “Universal Testing Machine” and also obtained stress-strain
characteristics.