Design and construction of buildings used to be on framed structure
incorporating reinforced concrete, steel or timber as structural member to
transmit load to the foundation. Bricks are normally used as infill materials in
these framed structures. However, research has shown that bricks can also be
used as external and internal masonry bearing walls. With the use of structural
masonry construction method, cheaper and faster construction can be achieved.
Savings are obtained by using less formwork and reinforcing steel, reducing
construction time as lesser frames or none are used, and eliminating waiting
time for the structural concrete to cure or gain their strength. Calcium silicate
and sand cement bricks were tested for their mechanical properties.
Investigations were carried out on six masonry bearing walls. Each unit
measured 1000 mm × 1000 mm and a half brick thick. The structural behaviour
due to compressive axial load was investigated and it shows that both bricks
satisfy the requirement as load bearing wall. However, the study concluded
that sand cement brick wall showed better performance, with maximum lateral
displacement of 3.81mm, vertical deflection of 6.63 mm and ultimate load of
448.13 kN.