Stiffness plasticity degradation of masonry mortar under compression: preliminar results

Abstract

ResumoThe main goal of this research is to determine the mechanical properties of bedding mortar by assessing the mortar damage onset, the stiffness plasticity degradation and the apparent Poisson´s ratio under compression. Two mortar types, 1:0.5:4 and 1:1:6 (cement:lime:sand ratio), were used and tested at 28 days; specimens had diameter-to-height (d/h) ratios of 0.3 and 1.0. These diameter-to-height (d/h) ratios were chosen to evaluate the effect of confinement caused by the friction between the steel plates of the testing machine and the sample. Numerical models were developed, and their response compared with the experimental results. From the experimental results, it was concluded that there are meaningful differences in their responses with weak and strong mortar types and different d/h ratios. The d/h ratio influences the relationship between the stress and strength and the apparent Poisson´s ratio of the specimen, which is defined herein as the ratio of the horizontal to vertical strain, regardless of cracking of the specimen. The mortar damage onset and stiffness plasticity degradation for both mortar types and d/h ratio are different and depend on the stress/ strength ratio level. All samples with a d/h ratio of 0.3 show a constant decrease in the volumetric strain until failure but with negligible expansion on the horizontal deformation. In contrast, samples with a d/h ratio of 1.0 present an increase of stiffness after development of the first crack, which causes the increase of the sample volume. Numerical simulation and experimental results for mortar 1:0.5:4 with a d/h ratio of 0.3 are similar until approximately 10 MPa, after which the numerical results diverge from the experimental results. For the d/h ratio of 1.0, the vertical strain results are also similar, but the horizontal strains results near failure are very different. The model can not represent the nonlinear increase of the horizontal strain near failure probably because the crack propagation and the stiffness plasticity degradation could not be controlled. For mortar 1:1:6, vertical strains from numerical and experimental results are similar, but again the model can not reproduce the nonlinear increase of horizontal strain near failure.Keywords: bedding mortar, damage onset, vertical strain, horizontal strain, strain difference, confinement effect.O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é determinar as propriedades mecânicas da argamassa de assentamento à compressão, avaliando o início do dano, perda de rigidez e variação do coeficiente de Poisson aparente. Foram testados dois tipos de argamassa, com traços em volume de 1:0,5:4 e 1:1:6 (cimento, cal e areia), testadas aos 28 dias, com corpos de prova de prova cilíndricos com duas relações diâmetro/altura (d/h), de 0,3 e 1,0. Estas relações diâmetro/altura foram escolhidas de forma a avaliar o efeito do confinamento causado pelo atrito entre os pratos de aplicação de carga da prensa e o corpo de prova. Foram desenvolvidos, também, modelos numéricos de maneira a confrontar os res...

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“…At last, it is important to highlight the law that bounds the elastic nonlinear response of mortar. The proposed law follows the Ottosen [26] and the Mohamad [27] models. This is necessary to reproduce important phenomenological aspects related with the Poisson's ratio of mortar, such as: (1) its initial decrease, (2) the significant increase after the uni-axial compressive strength value, and (3) the rapid increase near failure which may reach very high values (range ≈ 0.8 − 0.9) [28].…”

Compressive strength of heterogeneous masonry walls containing blends of brick types

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“…The proposed formulas are compared with some literature experimental values in Fig. 4 [31][32][33][34][35][36].…”