Masonry wall with reinforcing apparatus

Abstract: A reinforcing apparatus (8) is fitted in each n-th bed joint (4). The horizontal reinforcement (10) of the reinforcing apparatus is embedded in a mortar layer (20) of the bed joint (4). Vertical reinforcing elements (16, 18) of adjacent rein­ forcing apparatuses (8) are arranged two by two in the verti­ cal recesses (22) of the building stones (2) overlapping each other at least in part and embedded in a mortar mass (26). This way, a horizontally and vertically reinforced masonry wall is obtained, which can be constructed in practice in accordance with the usual method of construction.

Description: The invention relates to a reinforced masonry wall structure, comprising a number of building stones, arranged in subsequent horizontal courses, separated from each other by subsequent horizontal bed-joints. It is known to provide a masonry wall with a number of horizontal reinforcing iron structures, which are planar iron wire structures, embedded in the mortar layer in every one or two, or in general, in every n-th horizontal bed joint, such as described in the German Patent 2.402.653. It is also known to provide masonry walls with a vertical reinforcement, by providing the wall with vertical reinforcing wires or wire structures, running from the top to the bottom of the so reinforced wall, through openings in the building stones, as shown in the draft of DIN 1053, part 3, published in 1957. It is further known to combine both the above horizontal planar wire reinforcement structure, with a vertical reinforcement consisting of vertically running reinforcing wires, as described in DE-A-3 000 151. In this latter reinforcement, the horizontal wire structures are laid the one after the other in the subsequent bed joints as the building progresses. The vertical wires are inserted afterwards, in large vertically aligned openings in the building stones throughout the entire height of the wall, which openings are filled afterwards with mortar that then surrounds the vertical wires. In order to keep the vertical wires in position before the filling with mortar, the horizontal reinforcing structures are provided with eye-formed loops in the wires, which are very well vertically aligned, so that the vertical reinforcing wires can easily be vertically inserted in their respective vertical openings troughout the wall. This needs an exact positioning of the horizontal structures. To that purpose, the horizontal wire reinforcement structure is provided with a number of short vertically downward protruding elements, of the length of a fraction of the heighth of the building stones, and fitting with the edges of said vertical openings in the stones of the underlying course. Such horizontally and vertically reinforced wall needs consequently a rather meticulous positioning of the building stones, and a rather complicated operation afterwards of entering the vertical reinforcing wires and filling vertical openings from top to bottom with mortar, which only allows the use of stones with rather large vertical openings, and certainly doesnot allow the use of conventional masonry techniques with more conventional building bricks. The invention consequently aims at providing a horizontally and vertically reinforced masonry wall structure, of which the building doesnot need special positioning care, and can be occur with the known conventional non-delicate masonry techniques. This problem is solved by conceiving a masonry wall structure that still comprises a number of reinforcing iron structures having a horizontal reinforcing element, embedded in a mortar layer in every n-th horizontal bed joint, where said reinforcing structure still comprises a number of vertical protruding elements, and where said horizontal and vertical reinforcing elements still form an integral three dimensional structure, but where the vertically protruding elements are reinforcing elements, and where such elements of adjacent reinforcing iron structures are arranged two by two in vertical recesses in the building stones in an overlapping relationship and embedded in a mortar mass, whereby said overlapping elements of adjacent reinforcing iron structures form a continuous vertical reinforcement. A vertical reinforcement is realized indeed, not by means of continuous vertical wires, but by the concatenation of the vertically protruding elements of subsequent reinforcing iron structures, via the overlappings that are embedded in the mortar. When building such wall, the vertically protruding elements of the reinforcing iron structures are to be put into vertical recesses in the building stones. As the total heighth of a pair of overlapping vertically protruding elements is of the order of magnitude of the distance between the horizontal elements of adjacent reinforcing structures, such structures can be fitted in the course of the usual manual method of constructing masonry walls. In so doing, the horizontal reinforcing elements are embedded in a mortar layer of a bed joint and the building stones are slipped over the vertically protruding elements and/or the latter are introduced into vertical recesses of building stones, depending on the direction in which the vertical reinforcing elements are fitted. Then, the vertical recess only needs to be filled with a mortar mass. The arrangement is carried out in such a way that vertically protruding elements of two adjacent reinforcing structures are arranged two by two in the vertical recesses overlapping each other at least in part and embedded in the mortar mass. Although the vertically protruding elements extend vertically only over a limited height, a bond is obtained between adjacent vertically protruding elements due to the two-by-two overlapping arrangement in the recess and the embedment in the mortar mass, the result of which corresponds to that of a vertical continuous reinforcement. Basically, it is possible to use reinforcing structures in which the vertically protruding elements extend in only one vertical direction, upward or downward. This embodiment makes it easier to stack the reinforcing structures for storage and transport, but it certainly makes the laying of building stones more difficult as these have to be lifted higher and have to be slipped over the vertically protruding elements. It is also difficult to introduce such vertically protruding elements into the partly filled recesses of the building stones of several courses. An embodiment, whereby the vertically protruding elements extend in both directions, is therefore more advantageous, as the total height of the vertically protruding elements is then distributed over two directions, so that when fitting the reinforcing apparatus on a bed joint, the downwards pointing protruding elements are put into vertical recessses of building stones already laid up. Then, only reinforcing elements with half the total height, over which the building stones are to be slipped, still jut out upwards. A particular embodiment of the reinforcing structure in the masonry wall is characterized in that the horizontal reinforcing element has at least two horizontal reinforcing irons, which are connected to each other by means of cross-connections, to which the vertically protruding elements are attached. A further embodiment of the reinforcing structure is characterized in that the horizontal reinforcing element has at least two horizontal reinforcing irons, which are connected to each other by means of zigzag running cross-connections, whereby the vertically protruding elements are attached to the horizontal reinforcing irons. Preferably the vertical protruding elements are shaped as brackets or bracket-shaped. The bond or connection between the vertically protruding elements that are to be arranged two by two is considerably improved by these bracket-shaped vertically protruding elements. In the embodiment of the reinforcing structure, whereby the brackets are arranged under an oblique angle with respect to the horizontal reinforcing irons, the stackability of the reinforcing structures for storage and transport is considerably improved. In the embodiment of the reinforcing structure, whereby the width B of the bracket-shaped vertically protruding elements approximately corresponds to the distance A between the horizontal reinforcing irons, the reinforcement is moved towards the peripheral areas of the masonry wall and this certainly requires building stones with wider vertical recesses. In case, the width B1 of the bracket-shaped vertically protruding elements corresponds to not more than half the distance A between the horizontal reinforcing irons, then smaller recesses in the building stone will suffice, whereby the reinforcement then suitably concentrates on the vertical centre plane of the masonry wall. Preferably the bracket-shaped vertically protruding elements are provided with a bulge or protruding part. The brackets are connected to the horizontal reinforcing elements at the bulge by means of welding joints. An advantageous embodiment of the masonry wall according to the invention, when using large building stones, is characterized in that the reinforcing structures are fitted in every bed joint (n = 1) and in that the height (H) of the vertical reinforcing elements approximately corresponds to twice the height (h) of a building stone. In case the masonry wall is built up of smaller building stones, such as common bricks, then the embodiment of the masonry wall is characterized in, that reinforcing structures are fitted in every second bed joint (n = 2) and in that the height (H) of the vertically protruding elements corresponds to at least three times the height (h₁) of a building stone. The masonry wall can be characterized in that the vertical recesses of the building stones receiving the vertically protruding elements are located at half the length of the building stones and at the interface between horizontally adjacent building stones. Higher strength values are obtained with an embodiment of the masonry wall, whereby the vertical recesses receiving the vertically protruding elements are each time located at a distance of 1/4 from the lateral end faces of the building stones. With such reinforcing structures, masonry walls can be constructed which have a calculable tensile strength and a higher static load taking capacity and which stand out because of improved resistance against cracks and earthquakes. Exemplary embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of part of a masonry wall with a reinforcing structure with wide vertically protruding elements ; Figure 2 represents a masonry wall in accordance with the representation of figure 1, with a reinforcing structure with narrow vertically protruding elements ; Figure 3 represents a masonry wall in accordance with the representation of figure 2, with a modified arrangement of the vertical recesses of the building stones; Figure 4 represents part of a masonry wall, in a front view of the wall face, with large building stones and reinforcing iron structures with vertically protruding elements that are twice as high as the stones ; Figure 5 represents part of a masonry wall, in a front view of the wall face, with small building stones and reinforcing iron structures with vertically protruding elements that are three times as high as the stones ; Figure 6 is a schematic representation of another reinforcing iron structure, used in the invention ; Figure 7 is a schematic representation of another reinforcing iron structure, used in the invention ; Figure 8 is a schematic representation of another reinforcing iron structure, used in the invention ; Figure 9 shows a cross-section of part of a masonry wall, in which the reinforcing iron structures have the vertically protruding elements that are welded to the horizontal reinforcing element under an oblique angle ; Figure 10 shows part of two stacked reinforcing iron structures according to figure 9 ; Figure 11 shows a cross-section through four stacked reinforcing iron structures according to figure 9 ; and Figure 12 shows part of three stacked reinforcing iron structures. Figure 1 shows a part of a masonry wall, which is built up of large-sized building stones 2 in normal stretching bond. Reinforcing iron structures 8 are fitted in the bed joint 4 between the courses 6 of the building stones 2. Each of these reinforcing iron structures consists of a horizontal reinforcing element 10, which has two parallel running reinforcing irons 12 ; which are connected by a cross-connection 14. The reinforcing irons 12 and the cross-connections 14 lie in one plane. Vertically protruding elements 16, 18 are attached to the cross-connection 14, the reinforcing element 16 pointing up and the reinforcing element 18 pointing down. These vertically protruding elements are bracket-shaped and have a width B, which corresponds to the distance A between the reinforcing irons 12 of the horizontal reinforcing element 10. In the present example, the total height H of the vertically protruding elements corresponds to approximately twice the height h of a building stone 2. Suitably, the total height H is chosen so that the vertically protruding elements leave such a distance from a bed joint, that the mortar of the bed joint penetrating into the recess does not hinder the introduction of the vertically protruding element into such a recess. The vertically protruding elements 16, 18 are protruding upward and downward with respect to the plane through the horizontal reinforcing element 10 over a distance, which substantially corresponds to the distance between two adjacent bed joints 4 of the masonry wall. The horizontal reinforcing element 10 is embedded in the mortar layer 20 of a bed joint 4. The downwards pointing vertically protruding elements 18 are put into vertical recesses 22 of the building stones 2. These vertical recesses 22 are each time located at a distance of a fourth of the length l of the building stone from its end faces 24. As further appears from figure 1, the upwards pointing protruding elements 16 of the reinforcing iron structure 8 fitted in the last bed joint 4 also extend each time into the vertical recesses 22. So, the upwards pointing protruding elements 16 of the last bed joint 4 lie two by two with the downwards pointing protruding elements 18 of the adjacent bed joint in the vertical recess 22 and are there embedded in a mortar mass 26. This arrangement creates a bond between the protruding elements 16, 18 in the vertical recess 22, so that the vertically protruding elements 16, 18, which in themselves only have a limited height, act as a vertical armouring or reinforcement which extends over the whole wall height. The manufacture of the masonry wall is extremely simple, as the separate building stones in the bottom course are joined together in the normal way, whereupon is fitted the reinforcing iron structure, which can have a length of from 2 to 4 meter for instance. To this end, the downwards pointing protruding elements 18 are introduced so far into the vertical recesses 22 until the horizontal reinforcing element 10 rests upon the upper bed-surface of the building-stone course. After that, the vertical recesses 22 are filled with mortar mass 26 and the mortar layer 20 is applied to the upper bed-surface and hence to the horizontal reinforcing element 10, until the latter is embedded in the mortar layer. Now, the following course of building stones 2 can be laid, their vertical recesses being slipped over the upwards pointing protruding elements 16, so that an appropriate staggering of the building stones is obtained with respect to the preceding course of building stones. After that, the reinforcing iron structure 8 is placed upon the new course of building stones, the downwards pointing protruding elements 18 being put into those vertical recesses of the building stones 2, in which has already been fitted the upwards pointing protruding elements 16 of the preceding reinforcing apparatus 8. After that, the vertical recesses 22 are filled with the mortar mass 26 and the mortar layer 20 is applied to the bed surface. The further building of the wall continues in an analogous way. Figure 2 again shows part of a masonry wall with reinforcing iron structures 8a, the same parts again being provided with the same reference marks. In the case of figure 2, the vertically protruding elements 16a, 18a have a width B₁, which is smaller than half the distance A between the reinforcing irons 12. Correspondingly, the vertical recesses 22a in the building stone 2 are also less wide than in the exemplary embodiment of figure 1. This causes the vertical reinforcement to concentrate in the horizontal centre plane of the masonry wall and the strength of the building stone in the peripheral areas is increased by the less wide recesses 22a. Figure 3 shows another part of a masonry wall, which corresponds to the one of figure 2, but where the vertical recesses 22b and 22c differ from those of figure 2. The vertical recesses 22b are located at half the length L of the building stone 2a and the vertical recesses 22c are formed by grooves 28 in the end faces 24 of building stones 2a laid end-to-end. As a result, the vertically protruding elements lie alternately in vertical recesses 22b and 22c. This measure further simplifies the construction of the masonry wall, whereby a certain weakening due to the location of the vertical recess 22c in the butt joints of building stones laid end-to-end has to be accepted, however. Figure 4 shows part of another masonry wall, in a front view of the wall face of the masonry wall, where the reinforcing iron structure 30 only presents one type of vertically protruding elements 32, which are attached to the horizontal reinforcing element 34. These vertically protruding elements 32 have a total height H, which again corresponds to approximately twice the height h of a building stone 2. Unlike the masonry walls of the figures 1 to 3, the vertically protruding elements in the case of the masonry wall of figure 4 are usually not put into vertical recesses of an underlying building stone, but the building stones are each time slipped and laid over the vertically protruding elements 32. It is also possible, though, to provide the reinforcing iron structure 30 with downwards pointing vertical reinforcing elements 32, but the reinforcing iron structures cannot be fitted then until the building-stone courses have been laid up. In this case, the vertically protruding elements have to be introduced from above into the vertical recesses of the building stones. Figure 5 shows a part of a masonry wall with reinforcing iron structure 30 that are analogous to those of figure 4, where smaller building stones 36, i.e. common bricks, are laid up, however, and where the reinforcing iron structure is only fitted in every second building-stone course. The total height H of the vertically protruding elements 32 can correspond to approximately three or four times the indicated height h₁ of a building stone 36. In the first case, the vertically protruding elements only combine, i.e. overlap, over 2/3 of the height H of the vertically protruding elements. Figure 6 shows a reinforcing iron structure 8b that is built in a similar way as the reinforcing iron structure 8a of the figures 2 and 3, where, however, per cross-connection 14 between the reinforcing elements 12 of the horizontal reinforcing element 10 two vertically protruding elements 16b and 18b are each time arranged two by two upwards and downwards. In the case of such a reinforcing iron structure, the reinforcement is moved to the peripheral layers of the masonry wall. Figure 7 shows another reinforcing iron structure 8c, the vertically protruding elements 16c, 18c, respectively, of which are arranged shifted sideways from cross-connection 14 to cross-connection 14 with respect to the centre plane. As a result, an improved vertical reinforcement is also obtained in the peripheral areas of the masonry wall, which is, however, less effective than the reinforcing iron structure in accordance with figure 6, but which uses less material for it. Figure 8 shows another reinforcing iron structure 8d, the horizontal reinforcing element 10d of which has two longitudinally extending reinforcing irons 12, which are interconnected by zigzag running cross-connections 38. Bracket-shaped vertically protruding elements 16d, 18d are attached to the outside or inside face of the horizontal reinforcing irons 12. If necessary, additional cross-connections can be fitted at right angles between the reinforcing irons near the vertically protruding elements. Figure 9 shows a cross-section of a part of a masonry wall, whereby still another reinforcing iron structure 8e is used. This reinforcing iron structure 8e corresponds approximately to the reinforcing iron structure 8d, shown in figure 8 ; but the vertically protruding elements 16e, 18e, which are shaped as brackets 40, are situated obliquely with respect to the horizontal reinforcing irons 12. These brackets 40 form an angle α with the reinforcing irons 12 in the cross-section, shown in figure 9. As can be seen in figure 8, the bracket-shaped vertically protruding elements 16d, 18d are parallel to the horizontal reinforcing irons 12. A first advantage of the reinforcing iron structure 8e, shown in figure 9, is, that only one welding point is needed for attaching or connecting a bracket 40 to a horizontal reinforcing iron 12. Figure 9 shows schematically the welding electrodes 42 for connecting a bracket 40 to a horizontal reinforcing iron 12. A second advantage of the reinforcing iron structure 8e, shown in figures 9, 10 and 11, is, that a great number of these reinforcing iron structures 8e can easily be stacked, which is advantageous for lowering the transport costs. Figure 12 shows another embodiment of the bracket. The vertically protruding elements, shaped as a bracket 44, show a bulge or protruding area for improving the welding connection of this bulge to the adjacent reinforcing iron 12. During the welding operation of a bracket 40, 44 to the adjacent or corresponding reinforcing iron 12, it is possible that this bracket 40, resp. 44 is pressed into the reinforcing iron 12 ; which leads to serious problems for stacking these reinforcing iron structures or makes stacking of these structures impossible. Therefore it can be necessary to weld a small distance holder between the bracket 40, resp. 44 and the adjacent or corresponding reinforcing iron 12, so that the reinforcing iron remains completely free. The stackability of these reinforcing iron structures is then improved. It is possible to think of numerous other exemplary embodiments. In the examples shown, there is each time one pair of vertically protruding elements available per building stone. In case of higher loads, it is also possible that two pairs of vertically protruding elements are provided per building stone. In case of lower load requirements on the other hand, it is possible that only every n-th building stone of a building-stone course is provided with such a vertically protruding element. The vertically protruding elements can also be simple straight bars or can have a widening of the cross-section at the free ends, ending in a hook for instance. The reinforcing iron structures can be made in accordance with the usual guidelines for reinforcements, i.e. be made corrosion-resistant, either consisting of corrosion-resistant material or being provided with an appropriate coating. The latter can be made of zinc or synthetic material for instance. The separate components of the reinforcing iron structure can be made of round or flat material and can have an appropriate, profiled surface that is usual for reinforcing irons. Suitably, the bars of the reinforcement have a relatively small cross-section of from 4 to 8 mm for instance. If necessary, it is also possible to utilize thicker bars of up to 15 mm for instance. Moreover, it is possible to make the separate elements of the reinforcing iron structure out of bars of different diameters, the vertically protruding elements having a larger cross-section than the horizontal ones. All the elements or components of the reinforcing iron structure are preferably made of steel and connected to each other by welding joints. The recesses in the building stones which are used for receiving the vertically protruding elements, can have a certain extension longitudinally of the building stone so that a building stone the end face of which is provided with mortar can be laid laterally thereof. List of reference marks : A Distance between the reinforcing irons B Width of the vertically protruding elements B₁ Width of the vertically protruding elements H Total height of the vertically protruding elements h Height of the building stone h₁ Height of the building stone l Length of the building stone 2 Building stone 2a Building stone 4 Bed joint 6 Course 8 Reinforcing iron structure 8a Reinforcing iron structure 8b Reinforcing iron structure 8c Reinforcing iron structure 8d Reinforcing iron structure 8e Reinforcing iron structure 10 Horizontal reinforcement 10d Horizontal reinforcement 12 Reinforcing iron 14 Cross-connection 16 Vertically protruding element 16a Vertically protruding element 16b Vertically protruding element 16c Vertically protruding element 16d Vertically protruding element 16e Vertically protruding element 18 Vertically protruding element 18a Vertically protruding element 18b Vertically protruding element 18c Vertically protruding element 18d Vertically protruding element 18e Vertically protruding element 20 Mortar layer 22 Vertical recess 22a Vertical recess 22b Vertical recess 22c Vertical recess 22e Vertical recess 24 End face 26 Mortar mass 28 Groove 30 Reinforcing iron structure 32 Vertically protruding element 34 Horizontal reinforcing element 36 Building stone 38 Cross-connection 40 Bracket 42 Welding electrode 44 Bracket

Claims: A reinforced masonry wall structure comprising a number of building stones (2) arranged in subsequent horizontal courses (6), separated from each other by subsequent horizontal bed-joints (4), and further comprising a number of reinforcing iron structures (8), having a horizontal reinforcing element (10) embedded in a mortar layer (20) in every n-th horizontal bed joint, said reinforcing iron structures (8) comprising a number of vertically protruding elements (16,18), said horizontal and vertical reinforcing elements forming an integral three dimensional structure, characterized by the fact that the vertically protruding elements (16,18) are reinforcing elements, and that such elements of adjacent reinforcing iron structures are arranged two by two in vertical recesses (22) in the building stones, in an overlapping relationship and embedded in a mortar mass (26), said overlapping elements of adjacent reinforcing iron structures forming a continuous vertical reinforcement. A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which the reinforcing iron structures have their vertically protruding elements (30, 32) in only one of the upward or downward directions. A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 2, in which said reinforcing iron structures (30) are fitted in every bed joint (4) (n = 1) and in which the heighth (H) of the vertically protruding elements (30, 32) corresponds to at least twice the heighth (h) of a building stone (2). A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 2, in which said reinforcing iron structures (30) are fitted in every second bed joint (4) (n = 2) and in which the heighth (H) of the vertically protruding elements (30, 32) corresponds to at least three times the height (h₁) of a building stone (36). A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which the reinforcing iron structures (8) have their vertically protruding elements (16, 18) in both upward and downward directions. A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which said overlapping protruding elements overlap each other over at least the heighth of a building stone. A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which said reinforcing iron structures (8b) comprise at least two horizontal reinforcing irons (12), that are connected to each other by cross-connections (14), to which the vertically protruding elements (16b, 18b) are attached. A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which said reinforcing iron structures (8d) comprise at least two horizontal irons (12) that are connected to each other by means of zigzag running cross- connedtions (38), and in which the vertically protruding elements (16d, 18d) are attached to the horizontal reinforcing irons. A reinforced masonry wall according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said vertical recesses (22) in the building stones of subsequent courses are located alternately at half the length (22b) of the building stone and at the interface (22c) between horizontally adjacent building stones. A reinforced masonry wall according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said vertical recesses (22) in the building stones of subsequent courses are located alternately at a distance of 1/4th of the length of the building stone, from the one, respectively the other end face (24) of the building stone. A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which said vertical reinforcing elements (16,18,32) are shaped as a bracket (40,44). A reinforced masonry wall structure according to claim 1, in which the brackets (40, 44) are arranged under an oblique angle (α) with respect to horizontal reinforcing irons (12) that form part of the horizontal reinforcement.

Inventors: REINLE ERWIN, VAN DE LOOCK GUIDO, REINLE, ERWIN, VAN DE LOOCK, GUIDO
Applicants: BEKAERT SA NV, N.V. BEKAERT S.A.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: E04B2
IPC codes: E04B2, E04G5, E04G11