Innovative masonry blocks for partition walls

• Author(s): Vasconcelos, Graça ; Poletti, Elisa ; Medeiros, Pedro ; Mendonça, Paulo ; Carvalho, Pedro ; Cunha, Sandra ; Camões, Aires ; Lourenço, Paulo B.
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/17618
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Partition walls; Blocks; Composite materials; Experimental validation
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

This paper intends to propose a non structural system of partition walls with monolithic blocks based on a composite material resulting from an admixture of cork and textile fibers combined with a non cement binder, gypsum. These blocks consist of two half blocks which have to be connected during laying process. The developed blocks were first tested under compressive and flexural loading in order to derive their mechanical behaviour. Different curing conditions were applied to the blocks during their production in order to evaluate the effect on eth behaviour. The variables analyzed included curing temperature and period of curing, ambient humidity in which the blocks were prepared. This study aims at obtaining insight on the influence of these parameters on the mechanical behaviour of the blocks and at providing guidelines for their use in construction sites.