Health monitoring and control of masonry structures

The development of international standards and codes led to the creation of safe and properly designed fully cured masonry structures capable of withstanding lateral loads induced by wind or earthquakes. However, as the age of masonry plays an important role on its strength, it was reported that before it is fully-cured, masonry is vulnerable to lateral loads. Canadian design codes notably lack guidance on the loads and material resistances necessary for designing temporary support systems during construction. Consequently, designers rely on engineering judgment and experience to estimate reasonable and safe assembly properties of freshly constructed masonry to design temporary bracing. This situation has led to numerous instances of structural damage, waste of materials, and injuries to workers. This project aims to address this gap in the knowledge and it is anticipated that this research provides necessary knowledge on early-age masonry, leading to improved Canadian guidelines needed to design control devices. The assessment of the properties and behavior of early-age masonry, needs both experimental and numerical studies. Several experimental studies on early-age mortar, early-age prisms, and early-age masonry walls have been conducted at Western. Developing numerical models at this stage is necessary which will be accomplished by attending at Globalink program.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ayan Sadhu

Student:

Partner:

Politecnico di Milano

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: