Review and evaluation of the bond wrench test: assessment of its characteristics, applications and limitations

Details

Supervisors

Saraiva Esteves Pacheco De Almeida, João ; Godio, Michele

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil des constructions, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

The present study focuses on evaluating the flexural bond strength of masonry using the bond wrench test (BWT). The research begins by reviewing the existing literature on the BWT, with a specific emphasis on the test’s applications and limitations. Subsequently, the study explores the influence of variations in the BWT configuration through experimental investigation to understand their impact on test results. For this purpose, a total of 60 bonds from masonry prisms made of clay bricks and cement mortar were tested. The main conclusion of this study is that joint precompression is the sole parameter influencing BWT results, which contrasts with the existing literature. This divergence from previous research is attributed to the inherent weakness of the bonds tested in the present study. This weakness was highlighted by the fact that 30% of the joints tested failed during BWT installation process, prior to the start of the test. These results encourage further research to extend the generalisation of the findings to stronger masonry bonds and various material combinations.