Using Brick Masonry as a Brace Wall Panel

[David Choi]

I am currently designing the lateral braces for a 3-story building in Philadelphia, PA. The building has a brick masonry facade that could also be used for shear resistance. After calculating the wind loads for the building, I determined the shear stress due to the wind for the first floor.

The mortar used for the brick masonry is Type S. My objective is determining the strength of the mortar joints to see if it can handle the wind shear stress. I looked online for possible values and found it to be around 50 psi for the limit. I was wondering if this is correct?

I used this sheet for reference, page 3, Review of Design Provisions #2.

http://www.hms.civil.uminho.pt/ibmac/1979/106.pdf

If I'm incorrect, is there a way I can determine the strength?

 

[JAE]

Depending on your applicable code - you probably need to review TMS 402 (previously ACI 530).

https://masonrysociety.org/product/tms-402-602-2016/

This has values for clay masonry shear I believe. (for example - Look in section 8.3.5.1.3 of TMS 402-13)







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[LECT12]

Agree with JAE, follow TMS402. Also, check your tensile stress in the mortar as that is probably the controlling factor.