Author

KLOUDA, J. K.
Dept. RDI, Technical and Test Institute for Construction – TZÚS Praha

Abstract

The design characteristics of masonry depend particularly on the type and quality of the mortar. The tendency to thinner mortar bed-joints in combination with interlocked dry vertical joints is one of the resulting solutions of the latest development in modern masonry construction. The use of polyurethane foam instead of mortar seems to be one of the very interesting changes from the economical as well as from the practical views on modern masonry. Large and representative samples of masonry walls made of combination of high precision clay masonry units with assembly polyurethane foam have been tested and evaluated by the author. During the research works 2005 – 2009, testing of short-term and long-term load bearing behaviour and the fire resistance of the walls, revealed some new phenomena for that type of masonry. The >pre-normative research< has been carried out on two types of clay masonry products - Austrian and Czech ones. The approvals for the intended use of the masonry on the Czech market - based on the methodology of design by original Czech national standards as well as by Eurocode 6 - have finally been issued. Key words glued masonry, precision masonry units, load bearing capacity, fire resistance, design