A Comparative Experimental Study of the Modulus of Elasticity of Bricks and Masonry

One of the parameters identified as influencing the structural response of buildings is the dynamic Modulus of Elasticity of masonry. The Longitudinal Vibration Test Method and the Ultrasonic Pulse Methods were developed for the dynamic testing of concrete specimens. These two dynamic procedures are to be tested on masonry prisms to provide a verification of the methods. The first aim of this paper is to experimentally investigate the use of high frequency sinusoidal dynamic loading to determine the dynamic Modulus of Elasticity of masonry. The second aim is to compare the dynamic Modulus of Elasticity results to the Young’s Modulus obtained using quasi-static methods. The third aim is to compare the masonry prism results to masonry unit results for the Young’s Modulus, to determine the ratio of Young’s Modulus to the peak stress for the prisms and to calculate the Young’s Modulus for the mortar. A test rig has been developed for measuring the elastic properties of masonry prisms under uniaxial static loading. The dynamic and quasi-static samples were tested from the same population of masonry prism samples. A single type of mortar was used for all experimental work.