Application of Acoustic Tests for the Mechanical Characterization of Hollow Masonry Units
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 6
Abstract
Although the use of nondestructive mechanical characterizations has increased (especially resonant methods), standards do not provide a relation between natural frequencies and mechanical properties for complex geometries such as hollow masonry units. This study uses numerical modeling via finite-element analysis (FEA) and impact acoustic tests to evaluate the dynamic elastic modulus of hollow masonry units based on their vibration modes and frequencies. Static and ultrasonic tests defined the reference values for the elastic modulus and an experimental sample comprised of hollow clay and concrete blocks and half-blocks of different geometries and compressive strengths. The results show the values of elastic modulus obtained from ultrasonic, acoustic, and compressive tests were different due to peculiarities of each test. A numerical simulation enabled the determination of the geometrical constants, and an analytical model proposed related vibration frequency and dynamic elastic modulus values for units of regular geometries and provided a reliable approximation for geometrical constants.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This study was partially financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–Brasil (CAPES), Finance Code 001 and by CNPq (Brazilian government agency for research), and Finance Code Nos. 302479/2017-1 and 131224/2018-2.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 6 • June 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 27, 2021
Accepted: Sep 29, 2021
Published online: Mar 16, 2022
Published in print: Jun 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 16, 2022
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