Title: Observation of crack initiation zone in brick masonry couplets under compression using X-ray microfocus computed tomography and digital image correlation

Authors: Naveen Shetty; Georgios Livitsanos; Els Verstrynge; Dimitrios G. Aggelis; Danny Van Hemelrijck; Koen Van Balen; Martine Wevers

Addresses: Building Materials and Building Technology Division, Department of Civil Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium ' Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Brussels, Belgium ' Building Materials and Building Technology Division, Department of Civil Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium ' Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Brussels, Belgium ' Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Brussels, Belgium ' Building Materials and Building Technology Division, Department of Civil Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium ' Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Abstract: The constituent materials of masonry include different brick and mortar types with various properties. The difference in the stiffness properties of these materials influence the observed failure modes under compression. The general theory of the failure mechanisms in brick masonry under compressive loading relies on the difference between the relative elastic modulus of brick and mortar. The aim of this paper is to visually examine the above theory about the behaviour of masonry under compression using a high-resolution X-ray micro-CT scanner. Additionally, full-scale couplets have been tested under compression with the application of stereo-vision digital image correlation (DIC). The failure progression in masonry which evolves from the initiation of micro cracks, over the propagation into macro cracks has been clearly evidenced. Overall, the results from DIC positively confirm the observation from X-ray micro-CT.

Keywords: masonry; compression; failure mechanisms; X-ray computed tomography; digital image correlation; DIC.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2020.111800

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2020 Vol.5 No.4, pp.518 - 537

Received: 08 Dec 2018
Accepted: 07 Jun 2019
Published online: 15 Dec 2020 *

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