Document Archives

Improved Method of Testing Tensile Bond Strength of Masonry Mortars

• ID:

  336

• ESCSI:

  3750.002

• Author:

  Kuenning, Witt

• Publication Name:

  Journal of Materials

• Type of Publication:

  Journal

• Publisher:

  American Society for Testing and Materials

• Dated:

  1966

• Issue/Volume:

  March

• Other ID:

• Page(s):

  180-202

• Reference List:

  Y

• Abstract:

  An improved method for fabricating and testing couplets of brick and mortar for the determination of tensile bond strength has been devised and evaluated. An apparatus has been designed for fabricating couplets of standard mortar joint thickness. The couplets were tested in direct tension using steel plates resin-bonded to the top and bottom surfaces of the couplet. Comparison of data obtained in direct tension with similar data from tripod tests (such as those of ASTM Method E 149) show that the strengths obtained by tripod methods may be as low as one-third those obtained from direct-tension tests. The difference is greater for high-strength mortars than for low. These effects indicate that when absolute rather than relative strenghts are to be determined, particularly of high tensile bond strengths, the direct-tension test should be used.