tailieunhanh - Heavy Construction Lecture #11 - Brick Masonry

Before writing was invented, cities in the Indus valley and in Sumer (present Iraq) had developed sophisticated masonry. The Sumerians built tall buildings seven stories high with baked clay bricks (circa 4,000 BC). They were the Biblical builders of the ill-fated tower of Babel, also built with masonry, which was a city situated 20 miles south of present-day Baghdad. Further development of masonry were brought forth by the Babylonians, Egyptians and ancient Chinese. Many of their structures are still standing. The Romans perfected the use of masonry with their bridges, aqueducts and their domes. . | L Prieto-Portar 2008 Heavy Construction Lecture 11 Brick Masonry A brief background of masonry. Before writing was invented cities in the Indus valley and in Sumer present Iraq had developed sophisticated masonry. The Sumerians built tall buildings seven stories high with baked clay bricks circa 4 000 BC . They were the Biblical builders of the ill-fated tower of Babel also built with masonry which was a city situated 20 miles south of present-day Baghdad. Further development of masonry were brought forth by the Babylonians Egyptians and ancient Chinese. Many of their structures are still standing. The Romans perfected the use of masonry with their bridges aqueducts and their domes. These domes the Pantheon was the world s largest until recently were the extension of their knowledge of the semi-circular arch expanded into three-dimensions made entirely with masonry. It is interesting to note that the Middle ages lost much of Rome s technology except for masonry. Brunelleschi s dome in Florence for the Santa Maria di Fiori church became the world s largest dome made entirely from masonry and built without scaffolding Since prehistoric times up until the mid-1800s wood stone and masonry were the primary building materials. However by the late 1800s two new products had been developed structural steel and reinforced concrete. Masonry has taken a secondary role ever since primarily because it is very labor intensive wall heights are limited and their weight required large and expensive foundations. A modern variant to the brick is the concrete masonry unit CMU which has reduced the cost of masonry for residential construction. During the later 20th century an improved older material became popular steel reinforced masonry. It provides a better structural support to weight ratio with an improved resistance to severe weather. Another new product is the use of high strength mortars. These mortars not only were capable of greater wall heights but provided an improved .