Investigation of Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix Composite Wrapped Stack Bonded Brick Masonry under Compressive Load

Masonry construction is the most ancient construction practice that is still in use in the modern era. Some of the existing masonry structures have survived for several hundreds of years. Most of the existing masonry structures were built using available knowledge or as per the available codes of practice. With passage of time these masonry structures are in need of restoration and strengthening as many of the structures have become part of cultural heritage with a high social value Brick masonry is composite material composed of two materials with different properties: stiffer clay bricks and relatively softer mortar. In structural applications, brick masonry is used primarily as a compression carrying member. Under compression, the resulting shear stresses at the brick-mortar interface produce an internal state of stress which consists of tri-axial compression in mortar and biaxial tension coupled with axial compression in bricks. A clear understanding of the strains in brick and mortar at different stages of loading and their relation to the uniaxial response of masonry is not currently available. Proper understanding of the stress states in individual material properties and failure in compression of masonry will lead to improvements in Engineering and design practices.