Title:
Study of Flexure in Reinforced
Masonry Beams
Author(s):
F. M. Khalaf, J. I. Glanville, and M. El Shahawi
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
5
Issue:
6
Appears on pages(s):
46-53
Keywords:
beams (supports); compressive strength; concrete blocks; finite element method; flexural strength; reinforced masonry; research; structural analysis; ultimate strength method.
DOI:
Date:
6/1/1983
Abstract:
Although masonry has been used as a construction material for many years, current codes and hand-books for design advocate the use of working stress design based on elastic theory, with no guide given to ultimate strength or limit states design principles. Insufficient attention has been given to the fact that masonry is a four-component material (concrete block, mortar, grout fill, and steel reinforcement), that poor bond may exist between concrete fill and block, and that discontinuities exist, even in concrete-filled masonry. This paper addresses in particular the question of whether an ultimate strength design method, similar to that used for reinforced concrete, can be used with reliability and what value of masonry com-pressive strength f’m can be used in that method. Also discussed is the implication of discontinuities charac-teristic of masonry and the effect of these discontinuities on strength and ductility.*