A 3-D DDA damage analysis of brick masonry buildings under the impact of boulders in mountainous areas

In mountainous areas, geological disasters carrying large boulders can cause severe damage to the widely used masonry buildings due to the high impact forces. To better understand the damage of brick masonry buildings under the impact of boulders, a "block-joint" model is developed using threedimensional discontinuous deformation analysis(3-D DDA) to simulate the behaviour of the "brick-mortar" structure. The "block-joint" model is used to capture not only the large displacement and deformation of individual bricks but also the large-scale sliding and opening along the mortar between the bricks. The linear elastic constitutive model is applied to account for the non-plastic deformation behaviour of brick materials. Furthermore, the mechanical characteristics of the mortar are represented using the Mohr-Coulomb and Drucker-Prager criteria. To propose safe structural design schemes and effective reinforcement for brick masonry buildings, seven construction techniques are considered, includingdifferent grades of brick and mortar, effective shear areas and reinforced members. The proposed 3-D DDA model is used to analyse the velocity distribution and the key point displacements of the brick masonry building under the impact of boulders. The results show that upgrading the brick and mortar, increasing the wall thickness, making full use of the wall thickness, and adding a circular beam and structural column are very effective approaches for improving the impact resistance of brick masonry buildings.

Twin lintel belt in steel for seismic strengthening of brick masonry buildings

A single-room,single-storey full-scale brick masonry building with precast RC roofing system was tested thrice under displacement controlled lateral cyclic loading,to assess the effectiveness of the basic repair and seismic strengthening techniques.Initially,the virgin building specimen was loaded laterally to f^tilure.In the second stage,the damaged building was repaired by stitching across the cracks,and tested under the same lateral loading.In the third stage,the twice-damaged structure was repaired once more by stitching and strengthened by twin lintel belt in steel and vertical comer reinforcement, and re-tested.The building strengthened by twin lintel belt in steel showed about 28% higher strength under lateral loading than the virgin building.

Visual Analysis of Domestic and Foreign Building Brick Skin Research Based on Citespace

With the progress of the times and the leap of science and technology,the application of brick materials and the research on the brick skin in modern architectural design have shown a dual-track development trend of returning to tradition and innovation.Based on the core collection database resources of Web of Science and the CiteSpace visual analysis tool,this paper constructed and analyzed the spatio-temporal map of keyword co-occurrence network,cluster structure,mutation phenomenon,time course and regional distribution map of building brick skin research.The study revealed that in recent years,the research on brick materials has spanned the study of single material properties and extensively involved in the broad world of construction,especially in the integration of green energy-saving technology,the innovation of fine construction technology of brick skin,and the frontier exploration of digital technology in brick masonry,which has shown particularly significant research vitality and development potential.

The Arckitbuilding Bricks as a Didactic Tool for Experimentation in Architectural Design： Possibilities and Limitations

This article deals with the usage of building bricks as a didactic material for the development of architectural design. The building brick game chosen for analysis was the Arckit, since it is suitable for the architectural practice. It is estimated that this game can contribute to the design, representation and presentation of projects. In order to investigate in which aspects Arckit presents possibilities of applications, as well as limitations of use, the article approaches the importance of building bricks as a didactic tool and its use in the field of the architectural design process. From a literature review and an empirical experience, this article reports a qualitative research, where the applicability of the Arckit game was checked. Through a critical reflection based on that experience, it was possible to conclude that whereas its limitations to urban form and linked to the formal vocabulary that composes the grammar of these bricks, the Arckit building bricks represent in architecture a playful and experimental way to think and design, fomenting the creativity and the spatial perception, resulting in a particular experience that can make architecture better connected with dreams and joy.

The Properties of the Carbonated Brick Made of Steel Slag-slaked Lime Mixture

The properties of the carbonated brick made of steel slag-slaked lime mixture such as strength, drying shrinkage, water absorption and soundness were mainly investigated. The experimental results indicate that, after carbonation, the strength of the brick increases, its drying shrinkage reduces, and its soundness becomes eligible. The optimal slaked lime/steel slag（SL/SS） ratio for the carbonated brick is 0.2 and the asprepared brick meets the requirements of the Chinese standard for MU20-grade building bricks, additionally, it also demonstrates prominent environmental benefits. The XRD and pore structure analyses indicate that the excellent properties of this carbonated brick are attributed to the formation of carbonate crystals and the dense structure due to the carbonation.

Direct-bonded Magnesite-Chrome Bricks for Kilns and Furnaces of Building Materials Industry

JC 497-92 (96)1 Contents and Applied ScopeThis standard specifies the classification, shapes and dimensions, technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules, marking, packing, transportation, storage and quality certificate of direct-bonded magnesite-chrome bricks for building materials industry. This standard is applicable to the direct-bonded magnesite-chrome bricks for cement kiln, glass melting tank and other industrial furnaces.2 Normative ReferencesGB 2997: Test method for the apparent porosity, water absorption, bulk density and true porosity of dense shaped refractory productsGB 5070: Chemical analysis method for magnesite-Chrome refractoriesGB 5072: Test method for cold crushing strength of dense shaped refractory productsGB 5989: Test method for refractoriness under load of dense shaped refractory products (Differential, with rising temperature)GB 7320: Test method for thermal expansion of refractory productsGB 7321: Sample preparation for testing of dense shaped refractory productsGB 10324: Type definition of refractory productsGB 10325: Piling, sampling, acceptance, storage and transportation of refractory products