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Water penetration in cracked clay brick masonry before and after repointing

Kahangi shahreza, Seyedmohammad LU (2024) In Construction and Building Materials 420.
Abstract
This research study investigates the response of clay brick masonry with different crack widths before and after repointing subjected to water spray. In doing so, 3-course masonry prisms containing artificial cracks were exposed to a water spray during 23 hours of testing. Forty-nine cracked 3-course masonry prisms were prepared with a crack width varying between 0.3 mm and 0.9 mm, whereas thirteen specimens were built without known cracks for comparison. The results indicate a reasonable correlation between the crack width and the average water penetration rate. Compared to the reference specimens, those with crack widths of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 mm showed average water penetration rates of 1.7, 2.4, 3.0, and 5.1 times higher,... (More)
This research study investigates the response of clay brick masonry with different crack widths before and after repointing subjected to water spray. In doing so, 3-course masonry prisms containing artificial cracks were exposed to a water spray during 23 hours of testing. Forty-nine cracked 3-course masonry prisms were prepared with a crack width varying between 0.3 mm and 0.9 mm, whereas thirteen specimens were built without known cracks for comparison. The results indicate a reasonable correlation between the crack width and the average water penetration rate. Compared to the reference specimens, those with crack widths of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 mm showed average water penetration rates of 1.7, 2.4, 3.0, and 5.1 times higher, respectively. Further, a strong correlation was observed between the saturation level and the start of water penetration. In the reference specimens, water penetration started when the water content reached above 90% of the saturation capacity. Depending on the crack width, water penetration in the cracked specimens started when the saturation level was between 72 – 87%. The specimens were repointed and once again exposed to water spray. On average, the water penetration rate decreased by around 54% in the reference specimens and between 47 – 74% in the specimens with cracks. Raking of the specimens during repointing revealed that many head joints contained voids and gaps, confirming that head joints are probably the weakest part of clay brick masonry concerning water penetration. The results show that repointing has the potential to significantly reduce water penetration in clay brick masonry with and without known cracks exposed to water spraying. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Repointing, Water penetration, Cracked masonry, Clay brick masonry, Saturation level, Dampness
in
Construction and Building Materials
volume
420
article number
135631
pages
18 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85187721782
ISSN
0950-0618
DOI
10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135631
project
Rational and Relevant Repointing of Clay Brick Facades - Technology, Conservation, and Economics
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
56fc42ac-79ca-4e28-a84d-047f4e06a297
date added to LUP
2024-03-04 00:04:47
date last changed
2024-04-19 11:12:44
@article{56fc42ac-79ca-4e28-a84d-047f4e06a297,
  abstract     = {{This research study investigates the response of clay brick masonry with different crack widths before and after repointing subjected to water spray. In doing so, 3-course masonry prisms containing artificial cracks were exposed to a water spray during 23 hours of testing. Forty-nine cracked 3-course masonry prisms were prepared with a crack width varying between 0.3 mm and 0.9 mm, whereas thirteen specimens were built without known cracks for comparison. The results indicate a reasonable correlation between the crack width and the average water penetration rate. Compared to the reference specimens, those with crack widths of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 mm showed average water penetration rates of 1.7, 2.4, 3.0, and 5.1 times higher, respectively. Further, a strong correlation was observed between the saturation level and the start of water penetration. In the reference specimens, water penetration started when the water content reached above 90% of the saturation capacity. Depending on the crack width, water penetration in the cracked specimens started when the saturation level was between 72 – 87%. The specimens were repointed and once again exposed to water spray. On average, the water penetration rate decreased by around 54% in the reference specimens and between 47 – 74% in the specimens with cracks. Raking of the specimens during repointing revealed that many head joints contained voids and gaps, confirming that head joints are probably the weakest part of clay brick masonry concerning water penetration. The results show that repointing has the potential to significantly reduce water penetration in clay brick masonry with and without known cracks exposed to water spraying.}},
  author       = {{Kahangi shahreza, Seyedmohammad}},
  issn         = {{0950-0618}},
  keywords     = {{Repointing; Water penetration; Cracked masonry; Clay brick masonry; Saturation level; Dampness}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Construction and Building Materials}},
  title        = {{Water penetration in cracked clay brick masonry before and after repointing}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135631}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135631}},
  volume       = {{420}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}