Tonight we are going to talk about types of masonry units.

From Wikipedia on CMUs: Those that use cinders (fly ash or bottom ash) are called cinder
blocks in the United States, In Australia they are also called Besser blocks and Besser bricks,
because the Besser Company was a major supplier of machines that made concrete blocks.
1. No slump or low slump concrete placed into forms
2. Forms are vibrated to consolidate concrete
3. Then the forms are immediately removed.
****KEEP UNITS DRY****************
• Unit size/shape produced using a mold box
• Nominal vs. actual dimensions
• Cores (cells) accommodate reinforcement & grout or insulation
• Unit size/shape produced using a mold box
• Nominal vs. actual dimensions
• Cores (cells) accommodate reinforcement & grout or insulation
• 2 - 8” standard CMU
• 1 - ”C” shape unit (column)
• Partition plate separates units, core assembly in place; shoe slides down
from above mold compacting concrete and pushing out of mold.
Check with local manufacturers - sizes, shapes, strength
Concrete Masonry Units:
CMU
Actual mortar joint of 3/8” less
Nominal 8”, 10”, 12” wide by 8” high by 16” long
Actual 7 5/8” wide, 9 5/8” wide, 11 5/8” wide by 7 5/8 high by 15 5/8”long
Medium weight units are the most common in the northwest
In ASTM C90-11b, (which will is referenced in the 2013 MSJC/2015 IBC) the web
area requirements were reduced based on a structural analysis of actual amount of
web area needed. The reduced web area will result in saving material for
sustainability, reduced weight for ergonomics/foundation load/seismic design,
and increased energy efficiency. New unit shapes can be developed. Current 3
web units still comply and are expected to be available for quite some time.
2200 - 2400 psi is typical
• The nominal dimension is actual dimension + mortar joint (3/8-5/8”).
• The average wt is 120 pcf vs 150 pcf for concrete.
Depending on the location of the mine the color may be different. Retrofits,
additions, and repairs become challenging. Engineer/ Architect will require
mockups. Require material from the same source. Color is due to minerals
and effected by the firing process. Color is integral and does not fade with
time (don’t need to repaint a brick building).
Most common way bricks are manufactured is by extruding it through a
press. Can also be molded or formed where manufacturing facilities don’t
have larger expensive presses. Brick is extruded through a press. Press has
interchangeable plates to make different kinds of brick.
Picture of a brick after being extruded and color, texture is added.
Brick is run through a die that can be smooth, rough, or brushed to create
different textures.
Glazes are added to influence the color.
Wet Brick contains a moisture content of 7-30%. Before the brick is fired this
water is evaporated in a drying chamber at temperatures ranging from 100
to 400 degrees for 24-48 hrs.

Heat is supplied from the kilns used to fire the brick.

Brick is sent through a tunnel kiln and fired for a duration of 10-40 hrs. Temp = up
to 2,000 degrees.

Three phases 1) drying (a physical process). 2) Vitrification. 3) Cooling.

By going through a chemical-transforming, vitrification process in the kiln, the

minerals in the clay/shale unit fuse together and become a material that looks
great, lasts an incredibly long time and needs practically no maintenance.

Vitrification is the progressive partial fusion of a clay, or of a body, as a result of a

firing process. As vitrification proceeds the proportion of glassy bond increases and
the apparent porosity of the fired product becomes progressively lower.[4][5]
Vitreous bodies have open porosity, and may be either opaque or translucent.

•8-10,000 psi product after firing

Brick is sent through a tunnel kiln and fired for a duration of 10-40 hrs.
Temp = up to 2,000 degrees.

Three phases 1) drying (a physical process). 2) Vitrification. 3) Cooling.

By going through a chemical-transforming, vitrification process in the kiln,

the minerals in the clay/shale unit fuse together and become a material that
looks great, lasts an incredibly long time and needs practically no
maintenance.

Vitrification is the progressive partial fusion of a clay, or of a body, as a

result of a firing process. As vitrification proceeds the proportion of glassy
bond increases and the apparent porosity of the fired product becomes
progressively lower.[4][5] Vitreous bodies have open porosity, and may be
either opaque or translucent.
And finally stored for shipment.
HCM
Actual mortar joint of 1/2” less.
Nominal 4”, 5”, 6”, 8, 10, 12” wide by 4” high by 12” or 16” long. 10 inch and 12 inch are
special order $$$$$$.
Actual 2.5”, 5.5”, 7.5”, 9.5”, 11.5” wide by 3.5” high by 11. 5” or 15.5” long.
During an actual building design, call local suppliers for locally manufactured dimensions
and check with the project architect.
Minimum thickness requirements for shells and webs of hollow units are established by
ASTM C 652 Specification for Hollow Brick (Hollow Masonry Units Made From Clay or
Shale). Many manufacturers exceed the minimum thickness requirements given, so it is
advisable to request actual unit dimensions for design purposes
The ASTM numbers are a function of the age of the specification. The lower
the number the older the specification.
Probably the most relevant ASTM Standard for Bricks is C216, Covering
Durability and Appearance. Durability Grades are dependent on the
weathering condition and Appearance is selected based on the use of the
brick. Most bricks we saw tonight classify as FBA.
This is the table listing material properties

Compressive strength is pretty self explanatory (cover avg. of 5 and indiv.)

5 hr boil - durability indicator - note individual/avg. criteria and these are

max.

Saturation coef. C/B ration - 24 hour cold versus boil

max. values

Again just indicators of durability.

If brick doesn’t meet numbers in table 1, still may meet C216

1) Bricks have a tendency to absorb water.
2) Not all the pours in a brick will fill with water after 24hours and boiling
the brick for 5 hours after it has been soaked for 24 then dividing the
Absorbtion by the total absorbtion give you a C/B ratio.
• So what does the Saturation Coefficient mean? It’s a measure of how
porous brick is

• The primary pores absorb the cold water and the secondary pores absorb
the boiling water. Essentially the secondary pores are the pores than can
be assumed to be empty after a moisture cycle and absorb the expansion
of the moisture contained in the brick.

• Too high of an absorption rate is undesirable because it causes rapid

drying of the mortar, poor bond strength, and makes walls difficult to
construct.

• Field Test: place a quarter-sized drop of water on a brick and if it takes

less than 1.5 minutes to absorb then fail the test.
3. Multiple‐Wythe Brick Units:
Bricks come in many sizes and shapes.
For this class’s designs, assume bricks are standard modular size so that three courses of
brick are equal to one nominal 8‐inch course. Work with multiples of 8” coursing.
Nominal standard module: 4” wide by 2‐2/3” high by length picked by architect; usually
nominal 8”.
Actual 3‐5/8” wide by 2‐1/4” high by 7‐5/8” or 11‐5/8” long with 3/8” joints.
OR An equivalent standard module: nominal 4” x 2‐2/3” x 8 “
Actual 3‐1/2”x 2‐1/4” x 7 ½” with ½” joints.
There is a tremendous selection of sizes and shapes so check with your project architect
and refer to BIA’s webpage, www.BIA.org, Technical Note 10B, for the sizes and joints
required based on the actual project selection.
Autoclave Aerated concrete is simply speaking a concrete material similar in
some respects to the concrete you walk on but with a twist. That twist being
Aluminum powder. The other characteristic that separates it from
traditional concrete is that is is cured by autoclave method. Autoclave is not
new technology to the masonry industry. In fact, twenty years ago there
were cmu manufactures using the auto clave process to cure cmu in 24
hours verse the normal 30 day cool mist process. To give you an example of
the function of autoclave, just look at a pressure cooker that some of you
may have in your kitchen. If you use one of these to cook with meals that
usually took hours to make can be done in minutes.
Getting back to AAC. It is this autoclave process that interacts with the
chemical reaction of concrete materials and aluminum that produces AAC.

Aluminum powder reacts with calcium hydroxide (lime) and water to form
hydrogen. The hydrogen gas foams and doubles the volume of the raw mix
creating gas bubbles up to 3mm (⅛ inch) in diameter. At the end of the
foaming process, the hydrogen escapes into the atmosphere and is replaced
by air.
Vibrant Dry Tamp Method - Vibratory ramming of earth moist, zero-slump
concrete against a rigid mold until it is densely compacted.
Wet Cast Method - Pouring of measurable slump concrete into a mold and
vibrated until it becomes densely compacted.
Machine Made - Vibration and compaction of earth moist, zero slump
concrete in steel molds through computerized automation.
Historically – 1) fill voids, serves as a seating bed to place the blocks,
2) workability, well bonded, weather resistant
3) Mud, tar, clay, lime and sand, cement
Masonry Cement has poor bond strength and not used in moderate to high
seismic areas or reinforced masonry.
(currently prohibited in SDC D)
Improves workability, bond, and water retention, and may retard or reduce
strength. Bond strength is most important.
As the cement decreases and the lime increase the strength goes down but
the water retention increases. So you need a balance between water
retention and strength or lime and cement.
1) Strength, filler, shrinkage resistance.
2) Should be free of deleterious or organic impurities.
3) This is NOT concrete sand. Concrete sand has a maximum aggregate
size that is too large for mortar and does not have enough fines <200. By
comparison 5% passing the 200 sieve for mortar sand and less than 2%
for concrete sand.
MSJC Table SC-1, page S-32.
MSJC table SC-2, page S-32
1. Onsite with a paddle type mixer,
2. Pre-blended mortar: can be helpful in tight construction areas. Silo
introduces water to the dry mix in an auger screw at the base of the silo.
Keeps debris out of mortar.