Unit 1

Introduction, Masonry units, materials and Types

Syllabus:

History of Masonry, characteristics of brick, stone, clay block, concrete block, stabilized mud block. Masonry units
– strength, modulus of elasticity and water absorption. Masonry materials – classification and properties of
mortars, selection of mortars

Introduction:

Masonry is one of the oldest forms of construction known to humanity. The terms masonry refers generally to
brick, tile, stone, concrete-block, etc., or combination thereof. Bonded with mortar. However, many different
definitions of masonry are in vogue. The international building code (IBC 2000) defines masonry as “a built up
construction or combination of building units or materials of clay, shale, concrete, glass, gypsum, stone or other
approved units bonded together with or without mortar or grout or other accepted methods of joining. ASTM
(American society for testing and materials E631) defines masonry as construction usually in mortar of natural
building stone or manufactured units such as brick, concrete block, adobe, glass, block tile, manufacture stone or
gypsum block. The McGraw Hill dictionary of scientific and technical terms defines masonry as “construction of
stone or similar materials such as concrete brick”. A commonality in these various definitions is that masonry
essentially is an assemblage of individual units that might be of the same or different kind. And that have been
bonded together in some way to perform intended function. An increasing discussion about the various
definitions can be found.

From structural engineering perspective masonry is classified as plain masonry and reinforced masonry. Plain
masonry or masonry units refers to natural or manufactured building units of burned clay, concrete, stone, glass,
gypsum or other similar building units or combination thereof. Made to be bonded together by a cementitious
agent. Plain masonry refers to a form of construction that depends on high compressive strength of masonry
units like plain concrete, plain masonry possess little tensile strength , therefore it can be used as an efficient
building material for structures or structural elements that must resist tensile forces. For example: plain masonry
because of its poor tensile resistance, cannot be used for horizontal spanning structural elements such as beams
and slabs that resist loads in flexure and thereby are subjected to tensile stresses. Similarly, it also cannot be used
for columns subjected to eccentric loads that will produce tensile stresses in them. To alleviate this draw back,
plain masonry is reinforced with steel reinforcing bars, which generally enhance strength of masonry in tension
as well as in compression. This form of masonry construction is referred to as reinforced masonry. Stated simply,
reinforced masonry construction is “masonry construction in which reinforcement acting in conjunction with the
masonry is used to resist forces.

History of Masonry:

History of masonry construction truly can be considered the account of the beginning of civil engineering. Natural
availability of stones has been responsible for masonry being the oldest building material known to humans. Wall
The first use of stones for any forms of construction was perhaps random rubble dry masonry. A form of
construction in which stones of various sizes were stacked randomly on top of each other to build the wall without
the use of any mortar (hence, the term dry masonry). Smaller stones were used to fill the voids between the large
stones. This form of construction is still in use today in some third-world countries. Used mainly for building
temporary walls fences for rural farm areas and land and for retaining walls. Sometimes mud was used to bond
the stones together. A small variation of random rubble masonry uses horizontal and vertical bonds of lime or
cement mortar at regular intervals in otherwise dry wall unreinforced masonry has been in use for several
centuries throughout the world, and is still in use today for construction of buildings and dams.

Following the natural stone came the man-made building material called brick. The art of brick building is reported
to be some 10,000-20,000 years old. Called adobe, they evolved as sun dried mud. Sun dried bricks are known to
be widely used in Babylon, Egypt, spain and south America.

Since masonry and timber were practically the only construction materials used until about 1850, and since most
wood structures built prior to that time decayed rapidly, the study of architecture prior to 1850 is essentially the
study of masonry. This introduction, though quite broad, is by no means complete. It is intended to give an
overview of architectural history from the perspective of masonry, in major regions of the world.

1. In middle East 8,000 – 4,000 BC

a) Mesopotamia 8,000 BC – beehive domes - ten thousand years ago. Specifically, we start in Mesopotamia
(the “land between two rivers”), in the valley formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in what is now
Iraq.
b) The ancient city of Ur, Iraq: 2125 – 2025 BC - built 4,000 years ago, lies in what is now Iraq, and was built
of fired clay masonry. The Assyrians had learned that sun-dried clay masonry, placed in an oven (kiln) at
high temperatures, would become much harder and stronger, and would not dissolve when exposed to
water.

c) The ancient city of Babylon, built hundreds of years later, had walls with an outer coating of glazed brick.
Since building the city of Ur, the Assyrians had learned to fire clay masonry units twice, the second time
at a higher temperature, with a coating of sand, to produce a glassy exterior. The photo on the right is a
half-scale reproduction of the Ishtar Gate, one of the gates of Babylon.

d) A thousand years later, in what is now the Iraqi city of Ctesiphon, the Assyrians built a masonry vault
with a span of 83 ft. It stands today.
2. Egypt 5000 BC – first century AD

a) Sakkara, Egypt – brick pyramid – 3,900 BC: The earliest Egyptian pyramids, built over 6,000 years ago, did
not have the smooth triangular shape that they acquired later. Their dependence on masonry is very
clear. This pyramid at Sakkara, almost 6,000 years old, is made of sun-dried clay units.

b) Gizeh, Egypt – Sphinx & pyramids (3,733 – 3,566 BC): These pyramids at Gizeh, built three hundred years
later, were faced with sandstone, giving them the shape that we know today.
 c) Stonehenge, England (3100 BC): These stone monoliths at Stonehenge in England, constructed at about
the same time, show a much more rudimentary architecture, but an equally impressive construction
technology. Their stones were brought from more than 30 miles away.

3. Greece (700 BC – 146 BC):

a) Parthenon, Athens – Acropolis (447 – 432 BC): The Parthenon, built on the Acropolis overlooking
Athens, is one of the world’s most impressive historical monuments. It was designed to be
architecturally attractive. The columns are narrower at the top than the bottom, giving it an apparent
lightness in spite of its massive construction.

b) Erectheion, Athens (421 – 405 BC): As shown in this slide of the Erechtheion, a temple constructed
near Athens at about the same time as the Parthenon, the Greeks had learned how to combine
structure and art.
4. Rome (146 BC – 365 AD):

a) Rome – Coliseum (72 – 80 AD): The Coliseum was a large stadium, used for many types of public
spectacles,
Including gladiatorial contests. In addition to being distinguished by its uses, the Coliseum was also a
masterpiece of structural engineering. Its walls were built entirely of fired clay masonry (more about
that later), and were covered with marble. The Romans were master engineers. They perfected the
circular arch, and invented the flat arch.

b) France- Pont du Gard (150 AD): It has three levels: the lowest for wheeled and horse-mounted traffic;
the next for pedestrian traffic; and the highest for the open water channel. Still visible today are the
projecting stones used to support the shoring for the arches

5. Byzantine Empire (324 – 1500 AD):

a) Istanbul, Turkey – Hagia Sophia, 532 – 537 AD: Between 532 and 537, in the last days of the Holy Roman
Empire, the church of Hagia Sophia was built. It is distinguished by a masonry dome almost 180 feet
in diameter. After the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire in 1450, this Christian church
was converted to a Muslim mosque, and the minarets were added in 1453 AD.
6. China (5,000 BC – 1500 AD):

a) Bridge over Grand Canal (605 AD) & Great wall (214 BC): The Grand Canal, completed in 605 AD, was 100
ft wide and 1000 miles long. It was spanned by many masonry bridges that were elegant examples of the
circular arch. And the Great Wall of China, completed in 214 BC, was originally built to keep Mongol tribes
out. It is stone and fired clay unit masonry; its immense scale is difficult to convey by a picture.

b) Temple of Heaven, Beijing (1420 AD): The Temple of Heaven, also in Beijing, has roofs of distinctive
glazed tiles and a stunning architectural shape.

7. Islamic Empire (622 – present): We now go back to the Middle East, where the religion of Islam began in 622
AD. At its greatest extent, the Muslim Empire reached from India to southern Spain. In terms of pure form, Muslim
architecture is often regarded as the finest in the world.
 a) Dome of the Rock – Jerusalem (688 AD) & Masjid – I – Jami Mosque, Isfahan, Iran (1150 AD): The Dome of
the Rock in Jerusalem, finished in 688 AD, is notable for its simplicity and mosaics. The Maslid-I-jami
Mosque in Isfahan, Iran, finished in 1150 AD, is a masterpiece of masonry. Note how the masonry arches
that support the masonry dome are almost lace-like. A similar technique was developed in Europe to
reduce the weight of masonry domes.

b) Taj Mahal - Agra, India (1630 – 1653 AD): The Taj Mahal, southeast of Delhi in Agra, India, was built
between 1630 and 1653 AD. It is regarded by many as the most beautiful building in the world. Note the
distinctive Muslim arches, pointed rather than circular like Roman arches.

8. Romanesque Architecture (800 – 1300 AD)

a) Pisa, Italy - Duomo Baptistery (1063 – 1092), Campanile (1174): Another example of the same technique is
seen in the Duomo (Dome), Baptistery, and Campanile (bell tower) of Pisa, Italy. The Duomo and
Baptistery were built between 1063 and 1092 AD; the Campanile was finished almost 100 years later, due
to foundation problems that have made it famous.
9. Gothic Architecture (1100 – 1500)
a) Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France (1163 – 1235): Notre Dame Cathedral, built in Paris, France between
1163 and 1235, is an excellent example of Gothic church architecture. It is symmetrical. The photo at the
left shows the buttresses supporting the side and back walls. The photo on the right shows the Gothic
arches.

10. Modern Masonry

a) Skyscrapers – Chicago, USA (1890’s) & Monadnock building, 1889: After the disastrous fire of 1870,
downtown Chicago was built anew, in many cases with buildings of bearing-wall masonry. One of the most
famous of these is the Monadnock Building, 16 stories tall. Its bearing walls are 1 foot thick at the top
floor, and 6 feet thick at the base, increasing in thickness from the top to the bottom of the building by
about 4 inches every floor. The Monadnock Building is still in use today.
 b) Santigo, chile (1980) & Los Angeles, California (1975): This next slide shows examples of masonry bearing
wall buildings in zones of high seismic risk. The photo on the left shows a four-story apartment complex,
built in Santiago, Chile using reinforced masonry codes from the US. The building was undamaged by the
1985 Chilean earthquake. Subsequent analysis showed that the building would have remained essentially
un-cracked under ground shaking of about 0.15 g, and would have withstood ground shaking of more
than 0.40 g without collapse. The building on the right, a 17-story hotel near Los Angeles, California, was
built in 1975, and remained in operation during and after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

That’s the first 10,000 years – the next 10,000 are up to you.

Characteristics of Brick:
 Soft
 Porous
 Outer crust is harder and more dense than the inner material
 Fireproof
 Long life when properly maintained
  Low maintenance when properly laid
 Found in wide range of colors and textures
 May be cast in decorative molds
 May be carved
 Bricks made during the 18th and 19th centuries were soft and porous; they absorbed 20-25% of their
weight in water (by the end of the 19th century, 10% or less was considered the accepted maximum).
 Soft, underburned bricks may absorb as much as 35% of their weight in water; the absorbency factor is
important to know when comparing modern bricks with historic ones

Characteristics of stone:
Stone is extensively used in construction industry. Not every stone can give great results because it depends upon
various factors which assign different properties to stone. Main Characteristics of a Good Building stone are
following.

 Appearance & color – Uniform color, darker shades are preferred. Should be free from clay holes, bands or
spots.
 Structure – Not dull in appearance, crystalline homogenous, close and fine grained is good. Stratification should
not be visible.
 Weight – Heavier are compact, less porous and are good for hydraulic structures.
 Strength – Generally compressive strength is needed. Igneous rock stones are stronger.
 Hardness– Resistance to abrasion, friction and wear. Its measured on Moh’s Hardness scale.
 Toughness – Withstands impact, vibrations, moving and dead loads.
 Dressing – Uniform texture and softness for fine surface finish. Important for face work of public buildings.
 Porosity and Absorption – Exposed surface absorbs rain water which forms acids causing crumbling action. Less
porous stones absorb less fluid hence are more durable.
 Seasoning – Hardening and weathering affect due to evaporation of quarry sap and formation of crystalline
film. 6 to 12 months for proper seasoning is essential to make the stone worth using in construction
applications.
 Weathering – Should withstand rains, frost, wind and all other extremities in weather.
 Resistance to fire – If free from calcium carbonate or oxides of iron, it will show considerable resistance to fire.
 Durability – Compact stones are more durable.
 Cost – Should have minimum cost in quarrying, transportation, dressing and installation.
Characteristics of clay block:

Modern clay blocks are precision engineered walling units designed to be thermally and acoustically efficient.
During manufacture clay is prepared with sand, straw or recycled materials, extruded, dried and fired. The
addition of these other materials helps enhance their unique properties as they are burned off during firing
leaving behind innumerable small holes and connecting pores. The air trapped within these pores helps retain
heat and reduce sound transmission. After firing the blocks are precision ground within +/- 0.5mm allowing for
the construction of highly accurate and precise walls.

Although facing bricks or a modern wall cladding system are options, traditionally clay blocks are best finished
with lime render to allow the building to 'breathe'. Although on first appearance the price of each unit can be a
little higher than other construction methods, when costs for materials and laying are taken into account clay
blocks become an attractive, cost effective and realistic alternative to traditional brick and block cavity walls. In
some cases using a clay block construction system can also help increase the overall value of the project in
question.

 Available in wide variety of natural colors and texture

 High compressive strength
 High thermal mass
 excellent sound insulation
 Toxicity and breathability
 Fire resistance
 Durability and moisture resistance
 Less Environmental impact during their manufacture than most other building materials
 Clay block does not rust or warp
 Resistant to attack from insects.
 They require very little immediate or on-going maintenance

Characteristics of concrete block:

Made from a mixture of Portland cement, blended cement, various types of aggregates, and water.
 Also referred to as concrete masonry units (CMU).
 Advantages: Inexpensive, lightweight, durable, easy to install, fireproof, low maintenance, and could be
ornamented.
 Face plates were used to create a variety of surface finishes, including cobblestone, brick, ashlar and rock
face (the most common type); more decorative finishes included designs of scrolls, wreaths and roping.
 Typical size manufactured is nominally for a stretcher block 8 by 8 by 16 inches; this was the standard size
manufactured by 1930 (actual dimensions 8 by 7 3/4 by 15 3/4 inches).
 They may be solid or hollow with two or three cores for such stretcher blocks; various other types of
standard shapes are also often available and one should consult the local market to determine availability.
 Block ends may be flat or flanged.
 Compressive strength and fire resistance of the each block is dependent upon the block's configuration.
 Lightweight aggregates were introduced around 1917 and cinder blocks were patented.
 Advantages of using cinder blocks included its strength, ability to receive nails and ease of installation.
 Lightweight aggregates were either natural materials, by-products or manufactured.
 Natural aggregate materials included pumice.
 By-products aggregate materials included cinders and slag; Pottsco or Celocrete is one example of slag
product used around 1930 in the manufacture of blocks; Way lite is another example introduced in the late
1930s.
 Manufactured aggregate materials included expanded shale, clay and slate; Haydite is one example of an
expanded shale product used in the early 1920s in the manufacture of blocks.

Characteristics of Stabilized mud block:

Soil mixed with cement could be compacted at optimum moisture in to a high density block using a machine.
Such a block can be termed as ‘Stabilized Mud Block’ (SMB). The soil used for making mud blocks should have low
clay content (10 to 15%) and high sand and silt content (60 to 70%). The cement content in the stabilized soil will
be at least 5% by weight.

The stabilized mud blocks are characterized by –

1. Moderate compressive strength (5.5 N/mm2),

2. Low thermal conductivity,
3. High water absorption,
4. High fire resistance and good sound absorption.
5. SBMs are extensively used in low cost building constructions.
6. Fly ash, iron-ore tailing, and red mud (from aluminium plants) can be used for SMB production thereby
eliminating environmental problems associates with disposal of such waste products.

Masonry Units – strength, modulus of elasticity and water absorption:

Introduction to masonry units:

Masonry typically is laid of prefabricated units of different materials, shapes and sizes. The common types of units
usually rectangular in shape and can be broadly classified as clay bricks, clay tiles, concrete blocks, light weight
cellular concrete blocks, sand-lime bricks and natural building stones.
Masonry Units of shapes other than rectangular, particularly bricks are also available. Both clay and concrete
masonry units (CMU) are available in several colors, textures and aesthetics appeal as desired by engineers and
architects.
Masonry construction typically involves placement of masonry units one by one which is like any other type of
construction such as steel, concrete and wood a time consuming process and weather dependent. To reduce the
construction time, the concept of prefabricated masonry was developed and is becoming increasingly popular.

Masonry units, as noted below, can be classified in a variety of ways as shown in the table below:
unfired clay masonry units adobe
fired clay masonry units roofing tile
drain tile
refractory brick
wall tile
glazed facing tile (terra cotta, ceramic veneer)
structural clay products
structural tile
facing tile
glazed
textured
floor tile
brick (solid, frogged, cored, hollow)
facing and building brick
glazed brick
floor and paving brick
industrial
paving
patio
chemical resistant brick
sewer brick
chimney lining brick
 concrete masonry units concrete block (solid, hollow)
other masonry units glass
stone (artificial shape)
rock (natural shape)

Strength of masonry unit:

Different types of masonry units such as mud blocks, stones, burnt clay bricks, concrete blocks (solid or hollow),
fly ash, gypsum blocks can be used for masonry construction and strength of each unit varies depending on their
composition and process of manufacture. Generally, bricks and concrete blocks are widely used for masonry wall
construction and they have high compressive strength. Using good mortar in masonry wall construction also
increases compressive strength.

Compressive strength test:

The method of testing of solid and perforated bricks for compressive strength as per IS: 3495 (part-1)-1976 is
briefly explained as follows:

1) Solid bricks:
 The brick specimen are immersed in water for 24hours.
 Then they are removed from water and the frogs are filled and flushed with the face of brick with
1:1 cement sand mortar.
 The sample are cured for 4 days (one day under damp jute bags and three days in a clean water).
 Then the specimen is placed in a compression testing machine with flat faces horizontal and
mortar filled face upwards.
 The load is applied at the rate of 14 N/mm2 min till the brick specimen fails.
 The maximum load which the specimen fails is divided by the average bed area of the bed faces
of the brick to get the compressive strength.

2) Perforated bricks:
 The samples are immersed in water at room temperature for 24 hours.
 The perforated faces of the specimen are kept horizontal in the compression testing machine.
 Load is applied axially at the same rate till the specimen fails and the maximum load at failure is
noted.
 The maximum load at which the specimen fails is divided by the average net area of the two faces
under compression to get the compressive strength.
Flexural strength test:

 The brick specimen is immersed in water at room temperature for 24 hrs.

 The test specimen is placed centrally on self-aligning bearers A, B and C of the testing machine as shown
in fig below.
 The load is applied at a uniform rate not greater than 300 N/mm through bearer C,
 The individual breaking load is recorded and the flexural strength is calculated by the formula.

F = 3PL/2B𝐷 2
Where,
P = load in Newton’s
F = flexural strength of the brick in N/mm2
L = span in mm
B = width of brick in mm
D = depth of brick in mm

Water absorption test:

There are two types of water absorption test specified by IS: 3495 (part-II)-1976 for brick which are briefly stated
below:

1) 24 hour immersion cold water test:

 Over dry brick specimen is weighed and then immersed in cold water for 24 hrs.
 It is weighed again.
 The difference in weight indicates the amount of water absorbed by the brick and from which the
percentage of water absorption is determined.
 2) 5 hour boiling water test:
 After taking the over dry weight of the brick specimens, these are immersed in water.
 The water is boiled for about six hours and then allowed to cool down to room temperature.
 The weight of the brick is again taken.
 The percentage of water absorption is found out by using these two weights.

Modulus of elasticity:

 Bricks in India have a wide range of elastic moduli depending on the location.
 Bricks in South India have moduli ranging from 300 MPa to 1000 MPa.
 In the gangetic belt the moduli of bricks varies from 3000 MPa to 16,000 MPa. Accordingly, the masonry
using such bricks can also be expected to have similar range of values.
 Typical moduli values for Hollow concrete blocks for various mixes varies from 6300 MPa to 17,000 MPa.
 It was found that adequate amounts of fine fractions leads to denser mixes and corresponding higher
moduli.
 Use of fine additives like fly ash also increased the modulus.
 The Elastic moduli of brick masonry in India were studied and two situations were considered:
Compressive stresses normal to bed joints and compressive stresses parallel to bed joints.
 Table 1 below shows typical moduli of brick masonry for different mortars.

Table 1: Elastic modulus of Brick masonry

 Table 1 shows that the masonry modulus when the loading is normal to bed joints is often close to the
brick modulus. However, in the case of loading parallel to bed joints a higher modulus is seen. This is due
to the fact that 1:6 CM has a much higher modulus and the bed joints and bricks behave like springs in
parallel.
 These studies show that brick masonry will have widely differing moduli in different parts of India.
  Bricks from the gangetic belt, with a modulus of more than 3000 MPa can be expected to give rise to
masonry of modulus around 2500 MPa,
 Where as in South India brick masonry will have modulus between 300 to 1000 MPa.
 The masonry modulus will be an important input in computing the natural frequencies of masonry
buildings in different regions of India.
 Strength and elasticity of bricks in India is as shown in table 2.

Table 2: Strength and elasticity of bricks in India

Masonry materials – classification and properties of mortars, selection of mortars

Introduction to masonry and its materials:

Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the
term masonry can also refer to the units themselves.

The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone, cast stone,
concrete block, glass block, stucco, and tile.
Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction. However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar
and workmanship, and the pattern in which the units are assembled can significantly affect the durability of the
overall masonry construction.

 Masonry units:

Choice of masonry units is generally made from the consideration of:

(a) Local availability,
(b) Compressive strength,
(c) Durability,
(d) Cost, and
(e) Ease of construction.
Brick has the advantage over stone that it lends itself to easy construction and requires less labor for laying. Stone
masonry, because of practical limitations of dressing to shape and size, usually has to be thicker and results in
unnecessary extra cost. Thus, the first choice for a building at any place, would be brick, if it is available at
reasonable cost.

 Mortar:
Mortars are intimate mixtures of some cementing materials such as cement, lime and fine aggregate (such as
sand, burnt clay/surkhi, cinder, etc). When only fat lime is used, which sets very slowly through the process of
carbonation, it becomes necessary, for the sake of better strength, to use some pazzolanic material, such as burnt
clay/surkhi or cinder. Plasticizers are used in plain cement-sand mortars to improve workability.

Bond between mortar and masonry units depends on suction rate of masonry units. Masonry units, which have
been previously used in masonry would not possess adequate suction rate and may not develop normal bond
and compressive strengths when reused. It is therefore not advisable to reuse such units in locations where stress
in masonry is critical.

Requirements of good mortar:

 Requirements of a good mortar for masonry are strength, workability, water retentivity and low drying
shrinkage.
 A strong mortar will have adequate crushing strength as well as adequate tensile and shear strength.
  It is necessary that mortar should attain initial set early enough to enable work to proceed at a reasonable
pace. At the same time it should gain strength within reasonable period so that masonry is in a position
to take load early.
 A workable mortar will hang from the trowel and will spread easily.
 A mortar with good water retentivity will not readily lose water and stiffen on coming in contact with
masonry units, and will remain plastic long enough to be easily adjusted in line and level. This property of
good water retentivity will enable the mortar to develop good bond with masonry units and fill the voids,
so that masonry has adequate resistance against rain penetration.

Main Characteristics and constituent materials of different types of mortar are as shown in table below:
Sl. Mortar type Constituent material Characteristics
no
1 Lime mortar Lime and sand Good workability, slow
setting, low modulus, better
water retentivity.
2 Cement mortar Cement and sand Poor workability, high
modulus
3 Composite mortar Cement, lime and sand Good workability, better
water retentivity
4 LP mortar LP cement and sand Good workability, better
water retentivity, slow
setting, low modulus
5 Cement-soil mortar Cement, soil and sand Good workability, better
water retentivity, slow setting
6 Cement-pozzolana mortar Cement, pozzolana and sand Good workability, better
water retentivity

Properties of mortar:
Apart from development of stiffness and strength for the fresh and set mortar, properties like workability, water
retentivity, development of bond with the masonry unit, etc. are also important for proper masonry behavior.
Details of some of these properties are discussed in this section.

1) Strength of mortar:
 Mortar compressive strength is weakly related to the masonry strength.
 Increase in mortar strength does not significantly increase the masonry compressive strength. For
example generally 8 to 10 fold increase in cube compressive strength of mortar could result in only 5
to 75% increase in compressive strength of masonry.
  It is general practice to select weak mortar and strong brick or block combination for the masonry
construction.
 Typical cube compressive strength values of commonly used mortars are given in table below.

For a given flow value of 100%, compressive strength of 1:6 cement mortar, 1:1:6 cement-Iime mortar and
1:2:6 cement soil mortar is in the same range of about 5.5Mpa.
It should be noted here that addition of soil to conventional cement mortar (1:6) did not alter the mortar
compressive strength even though there is dilution of cement content of the mix.
Pure lime mortars and LP mortars generally lead to very low mortar compressive strength values as shown in
Table below
2) Workability:
 Workability of the mortar should be such that it allows the mason to spread the mortar easily and
adheres well to the masonry units.
 Apart from the composition of the mix, generally water-cement ratio affects the workability.
 Workability of the fresh mortar can be measured by the tests, viz. Dropping ball test (BS 4551), Cone
impression test (I.S. 2250) and Slump test (A.S. 1289).
o Dropping ball test and cone impression tests generally do not give consistent results and
o Penetration (of the ball and cone) is affected when the water-cement ratio is >1.1 especially
in case of pure cement mortars.
 Flow table test specified in BS 4551 can be easily adopted to measure/quantify the workability of fresh
mortar expressed as flow value.

Table: flow values for fresh mortars collected from various construction sites

3) Water retentivity:
 Fresh mortar is sandwiched between bricks/blocks during construction.
 Moisture flow can take place from water rich mortar joint to the brick.
 The amount of water sucked by the masonry unit like brick from the mortar depends upon the porosity
and moisture content of the brick at the time of construction and the ability of the mortar to retain water
against brick suction.
 Thus water retentivity can be defined as the ability of the mortar to retain water against the suction of
the brick or block.
 Mortar-has cementitious materials, thus initially it requires certain amount of water for the hydration
Process and development or strength. If the water loss from the mortar is large, this leads to low water-
 cement ratio and improper hydration of the fresh mortar, there by affecting the mortar characteristics
and the bond development.
 Water retentivity of the mortar depends upon various factors like the mix proportion, water cement ratio,
type of cementitious binder, etc.

Figures:
Typical flow pattern for cement soil mortar
Influence of water cement ratio on flow of mortar

4) Development of Bond (adhesion) with the brick or block:

 There should be good bond between the mortar and the brick or block for the masonry to perform
satisfactorily.
 Bond strength becomes significantly important when the masonry has to resist tensile and shear
stresses.
 Large number of parameters pertaining to bricks/ blocks, mortars and construction practices influence
the masonry bond strength.
 Surface characteristics of masonry unit (pore size distribution, porosity, etc.), moisture content of the
unit at the time of laying, absorption characteristics of the unit, mortar composition are some of the
important characteristics influencing brick-mortar bond.
 Brick mortar bond strength can be measured by testing masonry in either direct tension or flexural
tension.
 Brick-mortar interfacial bond strength can also be measured by conducting a shear bond test.
 Leaner cement mortars lead to low bond strength values.
  Flexural bond strength increases with increase in strength of cement mortar (increase in cement
content) for both burnt brick and soil-cement block masonry.
 Cement soil mortars give superior bond strength when compared to 1:6 cement mortar
 Bond strength for 1:4 cement mortar and 1:1:6 cement-soil mortars are comparable even though
there is a large difference in the cement contents of these mortars.
 It is clear that cement soil mortar instead of cement mortar can be recommended for masonry
construction.

Table: flexural bond strength of masonry using different types of mortar

5) Drying shrinkage of mortars:

 Shrinkage that takes place during hardening of the mortar can be called as drying shrinkage.
 A part of drying shrinkage is recovered on immersion of mortar in water.
 With time the rate of drying, drying shrinkage decreases.
 The drying shrinkage of mortar could depend on various factors like water cement ratio, cement
content, type of cement / grading, clay content of soil, curing period etc.
 Drying shrinkage of mortar can cause shrinkage cracks within as well as at the unit-mortar interface
and it can also result in impaired bond between masonry unit and mortar.

6) Stress-strain characteristics and modulus of mortars:

 The nature of stresses developed in a masonry assemblage especially the lateral stresses developed
in the mortar and the masonry unit greatly depend upon the relative modulus of the mortar and the
or block. Thus the behavior of the masonry is influenced by the stress-strain characteristics of the
masonry materials.
 The stress strain relationships for various mortars are shown in Fig. below.
 Initial tangent modulus and the strain values at the peak stress for these mortars are given in Table
below.
 Table: modulus and strain values for various mortars Fig: stress-strain curves for various mortars

Selection of mortars:
Selection of mortar for masonry construction depends upon several factors- Some of these factors are discussed
below –

1) Type of masonry and the strength of individual masonry unit:

 Type of masonry means whether it is brickwork, stone masonry, concrete block work, etc.,
 It is preferable to have a lower modulus mortar - higher modulus masonry unit combination for
satisfactory performance of masonry.
 Lower modulus mortars will be able to accommodate movement due to settlement, temperature and
moisture changes.
 Stone has very high modulus and will absorb very little water from the fresh mortar bed, and hence for
stone masonry used for superstructure slightly richer mortars are preferable to develop good bond
strength.

2) Use of masonry:
 Masonry is used for variety of applications like foundation, superstructure (walls), roofing panels,
retaining structures, shell structures like domes, vaults etc.
 Generally for applications like foundations it is preferable to use leaner and lower modulus mortars which
can accommodate movements due to settlements etc.
 Super structure is subjected to both gravity loads and lateral loads due to wind etc.
 Some walls may have to be designed to resist tensile stresses.
 Similarly roof panels and masonry shells are subjected to tensile stresses. In such cases the mortar has to
be carefully selected to give maximum tensile resistance for the masonry.
3) Load carrying capacity of the masonry:
 Based on the masonry strength required to resist gravity loads masonry unit strength and mortar strength
combination gives the basic compressive stress required. For example I.S. 1905 code gives a table to
choose basic compressive strength of masonry based on a combination of mortar strength and brick
strength.

4) Moisture penetration, frost resistance, etc.

 Impervious mortar is essential to keep away the rain water entry into inside of the buildings, prevent
leakage of water retaining masonry structures etc.
 Composite mortars generally are more impervious than the pure cement mortars.
 Mortars with masonry cement and use of plasticizer additives have better resistant to frost attack during
construction.