Influence of bed joint orientation on interlocking grouted stabilised mud-flyash brick masonry under cyclic compressive loading

This paper describes a series of laboratory tests carried out to evaluate the influence of bed joint orientation on interlocking grouted stabilised mud-flyash brick masonry under uniaxial cyclic compressive loading. Five cases of loading at $0^{\circ}$, $22.5^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, $67.5^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$ with the bed joints were considered. The brick units and masonry system developed by Prof. S.N. Sinha were used in present investigation. Eighteen specimens of size $500mm{\times}100mm{\times}700mm$ and twenty seven specimens of size $500mm{\times}100mm{\times}500mm$ were tested. The envelope stress-strain curve, common point curve and stability point curve were established for all five cases of loading with respect to bed joints. A general analytical expression is proposed for these curves which fit reasonably well with the experimental data. Also, the stability point curve has been used to define the permissible stress level in the brick masonry.