Abstract
Reinforced blockwork with horizontally laid reinforcing bars is used for walls in liquid retaining structures in developing countries. This is the case where, the level of technology in terms of skills and equipment is not in a position to allow successful construction of reinforced concrete walls. Blockwork walls are very sensitive to cracking which cannot be prevented by reinforcement. The major problem for designers is the behaviour of such walls in tension caused by hydrostatic pressure of the stored liquid. This paper reports results of a research work to study the behaviour of reinforced blockwork walls in tension. It was observed that cracking begins at the cross joints and continues vertically through the blocks or propagates into the horizontal joints. Even after severe cracking has taken place, tension stiffening is still offered by mortar and blocks and can be taken into consideration in the calculations of deformations and crack widths. Equations for the calculation of average gross strain are derived from the test results and numerical examples are presented.
Recommended Citation
Shirima, L. (1999). The Behaviour of Reinforced Block-Work Walls in axial Tension. Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET), 23(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.52339/tjet.v23i1.284
Publisher Name
University of Dar es Salaam
Included in
Civil Engineering Commons, Materials Science and Engineering Commons, Structural Engineering Commons