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Design of Movement and Control Joints for Masonry

This lesson addresses the movement characteristics of masonry wall systems, and compares the differences between architectural veneer and structural reinforced masonry. Focus is on best practice for design and construction of expansion and control joints to accommodate and/or restrict masonry material movement.…

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Specifying the Right Mortar and Grout for your Projects

After selecting masonry as a system for a project, a designer is faced with many choices of materials. For mortar and grout, one of the key ingredients is cement. With so many cementitious products available in the market, it can be difficult to know which ones are right for your project.…

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Design of Masonry Shear Walls

The design of reinforced masonry shear walls using both the Allowable Stress Design method and the Strength Design method is covered in this lesson.  The requirements for both the design for overturning and the design for shear are explained. The prescriptive seismic detailing requirements for each of three reinforced masonry shear walls types, ordinary, intermediate, and special, are explained, with particular attention to special reinforced shear walls.…

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Masonry Testing 101

Proper testing of masonry products is essential to ensure that materials meet project requirements. There are many mistakes that can be made during product testing, and most of these mistakes can lead to jobs being delayed or stopped, and usually require costly follow-up to determine if there are problems with the resulting construction.…

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Anchor Bolt Design

There were two major changes to the anchor bolt design provisions in the 2016 edition of TMS 402.  One change was to increase the calculated shear crushing strength by 67%.  The other change was to go from a linear interaction equation for combined bending and shear to an elliptical interaction equation. …

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Special Inspection of Structural Masonry

Special inspection is increasingly being required on structural masonry construction projects, and it will likely become commonplace in the coming years. Minimum requirements for Special Inspection and Quality Assurance of masonry recently were updated and modified in TMS 402/602-16. This lesson will overview special inspection, review changes, and highlight key inspection tasks.…

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Nondestructive Evaluation and Testing of Masonry

Nondestructive evaluation methods are valuable approaches for evaluating conditions of existing masonry construction without causing damage. Masonry strength can also be measured in place using in situ test methods, without resorting to destructive sample removal for laboratory testing. Methods discussed during this lesson include mortar hardness testing, pulse velocity measurements, surface penetrating radar, infrared thermography, flatjack testing, and in situ shear tests, with special emphasis on applying these methods for diagnosing both historic and modern masonry construction.…

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Exterior Masonry Walls and Energy Code Compliance

Achieving energy code compliance is becoming increasingly more difficult using the code prescriptive methods. Whole building analysis is one alternative method that will produce more cost effective designs for exterior masonry assemblies. This lesson provides an overview of energy code provisions, reviews energy studies performed utilizing whole building analysis, and provides recommendations for cost effective energy efficient solutions for energy efficient exterior masonry wall designs.…

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Strength Design of Masonry

Strength design was added to TMS 402 Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures in 2002. However, most masonry is still designed by the Allowable Stress Design method. Strength design generally results in more efficient designs than with Allowable Stress Design. This lesson reviews the design assumptions for strength design, and look at the design of beams, bearing walls, and shear walls using strength design.…

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