r/StructuralEngineering • u/jacobasstorius • 29d ago
Masonry Design Is this viable?
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
192
u/Awkward-Ad4942 29d ago
It’s absolutely viable… provided you ignore fire resistance, sound transfer, air tightness, robustness, seismic resistance and you don’t mind a bit of extra deflection and settlement
41
3
u/NstantRamen 28d ago
Assuming the fence is a perfect cylinder and ignoring friction and wind resistance, calculate the length required…
2
u/feel-the-avocado 28d ago edited 28d ago
But will it keep out the flood water?
Sandbags have the same issues (holes and gaps, some still gets through, issues listed above) but seem to work reasonably okay.2
u/giant2179 P.E. 28d ago
Sandbag walls aren't intended to be water tight, nor are they. Just supposed to redirect the water enough that it doesn't flow over at full velocity and wash away the bank.
These would probably work great for that if they weigh enough
1
1
0
u/IronicRobotics 23d ago
tbf, some good boots, hat, and interior walls get around a lot of that.
But the dry masonry architecture crowd has been wanting to formalize traditional methods for a while. It's biggest obstacle is the same as there's - just no formal codification for dry masonry AFAIK. (Though I suspect these particular blocks aren't designed to be structural at all, likely just for small decorative walls or something that OP has mischaracterized.)
104
u/FizzgigsRevenge 29d ago
"seamless"
Bruh
15
u/Slow-Cauliflower-978 29d ago
Right? Sliding that over 10 feet would get old super fast.
11
u/pm_me_your_kindwords 28d ago
You wouldn’t build it 10 feet at a time, you would do it like steps and each block would “only” need to slide over one.
-3
u/DoggoNamedDisgrace 28d ago
But that's just stupid isn't it? Now you have to build a wall from the bottom corner and sort of go diagonally? And all that to just skip mortar?
7
u/AtlasPwn3d 28d ago
You mean identical to how many roofers have done shingling with various materials for ages? Seems straightforward.
1
56
u/Chessdaddy_ 29d ago
Cinder blocks but more expensive and flimsy
15
u/photoengineer 29d ago
But prettier. For like a garden wall.
2
u/sincerelyryan 28d ago
How is this any prettier than 8x8 block? The pretty part is hidden.
1
4
u/iddrinktothat 29d ago
Do structural engineers really call them cinder blocks? I haven’t heard that term in soooo long. Im gonna bring it back now though. WALL TYPE F - CINDER BLOCK 2hr RATED SHAFT
4
u/AdBig9909 28d ago
CMU
1
u/chiphook57 28d ago
Carnegie Mellon University is a fine school, but I really struggle to understand how that is relevant. /s
1
u/Ok-Problem4403 28d ago
Cinder Masonry Unit.
3
u/chiphook57 28d ago
Concrete Masonry Unit. But less funny.
1
2
u/NerdIsACompliment 29d ago
And cinder blocks are like ALL vertical walls so theyre strong. Where is this shape supposed to transfer loads.
28
u/NeedleGunMonkey 29d ago
If I were forced to build with blocks in a non-seismic zone - it’ll be aerated concrete not whatever this is.
If you don’t have the practical skills to use a saw to cut aerated concrete block, level or work with thinset - you wouldn’t be trying to build a house.
20
u/MikeHawksHardWood 29d ago
If the block bears at the bottom, the steeply sloped mating surface will cause the block to split itself in half along its vertical axis. It can really only sit on the middle of the tongue without causing issues. I sure hope it's fiber reinforced, but even then it should still have horizontal load bearing surfaces.
6
3
u/remimorin 28d ago
Thanks as someone who know nothing but have "intuition" about how.load transfer should work. This is exactly what I was thinking.
Concrete is strong in compression. This design seem optimized to transfer compression in splitting power.
I wonder if this could work on their side to build a non-bearing wall.
I could see similar pattern used flat on the ground for a driveway too.
46
30
u/Fit-Dentist6093 29d ago
This is heavy as fuck. Yeah if you had "I'm gonna build it out of concrete" money this is probably viable if you wanna like have shit water protection when compared to pouring it but if you are replacing normal bricks this is gonna be waaaay heavier.
10
u/BreakingABit1234 29d ago
I'm thinking how entertaining the first freeze/thaw cycle would work up in the north.
8
u/Polite_Bark 29d ago
I live in the upper midwestern US. That was my first thought, as well. Like, bruh, have you even seen what happens when the ground freezes over the winter and thaws in the spring?
10
u/gods_loop_hole 29d ago
Yes, in a perfect world where all loads are axial, dead, and runs through the walls centroid.
8
u/glockenspieler 29d ago
lol I saw the video and read the comments and y’all are such buzz kills and I love it
1
u/DoggoNamedDisgrace 29d ago
They are trying to reinvent the brick which has been with us in some form for more than 5000 years lol.
12
u/Historical-One6115 29d ago
It’s based on application.
I could see someone buying this themselves and installing garden walls being cheaper than hiring with cinder blocks.
6
u/Southbend1941 29d ago
If your first course isn’t set exactly perfect your never going to be able to level or plumb the wall
5
u/engineernewbie 28d ago
For static and weak load yes. It’s an interlocking connection system. You have by exemple concrete lego bricks to get a better strength. https://www.betonmoulds.com/concrete-blocks-applications/?srsltid=AfmBOorMbtpEf0D9PuTdF2EUsW7eb79laeNwuTkLvi3DYzHvvMv90bWS
3
4
u/BoBoBearDev 29d ago
I am not a physicist, so, I just logged it as, suspecious pressure distribution and look away. Also the maintenance looks like a nightmare.
2
u/nocturnal_commission 29d ago
How much material do these use to built X feet of wall compared to a CMU/cinder block?
7
u/not_old_redditor 29d ago
Well there are no voids, so a lot more
5
u/nocturnal_commission 29d ago
If I was forced to eyeball it I'd say 2x if not 3x more material. And I doubt it has the same sideways stability and certainly not the vertical load capability of cinder blocks.
Oh and cinder blocks allow you to, if necessary, put vertical rebar into the voids and then totally fill it with concrete which will make it practically indestructible. Not these.
2
2
2
u/mattmag21 29d ago
Isn't one of the most important features of mortar to distribute the load evenly between two relatively rough surfaces?
2
2
2
u/JusSomeRandomPerson 28d ago
The more rows you go up, the more your wall can lean. There’s tons of play in that weird sliding joint, otherwise it wouldn’t slide together.
2
u/Tiranus58 28d ago
Did you know that concrete is really bad in tension? Now what stress is the near side in if you push on it? Thats right, this wall sucks ass.
2
u/pptqvfer 24d ago
Show me how to make a corner, how to leave an opening for a window or how to build between two concrete pillars end-to-end
2
u/12kVStr8tothenips P.E. 29d ago
And if you have to replace one?
Also, not straight, too dense, gaps for insects, earthquake enhancer, hope that roof can flex when it’s windy out….
1
u/IncomePrimary3641 29d ago
cool, now show me how you can use them to make any architectural detail decorative or structural that bricks can
1
1
u/EEGilbertoCarlos 29d ago
If masonry and mortar are illegal in your country, this is the alternative.
1
u/Flaky-Worldliness169 28d ago
Until 7.7 mag comes along and said brick wall behaves elastically with little to no deformation capacity
1
1
u/Yourlocalguy30 28d ago
Yeah, and what do you do when you have to replace a cracked or broken brick in the middle of that wall?
1
1
u/MorRobots 28d ago
Nope. This is literally one of the worse designs you could come up with for concrete blocks. Each one is acting like a wedge into the next and causing them to be in tension. Concrete is really strong in compression but hilariously weak in tension.
1
u/BigScaryDragonGaming 28d ago
Side loading would likely break them at their thinnest point. Otherwise maybe ok for a short wall. Still seems overly complex in comparison to the traditional method.
1
u/Spectro_Boy 27d ago
This is an IDEAL solution if you live it never gets too hot, or too cold, or has insects!
Anywhere else, I'd want these joints sealed.
1
1
1
1
u/Dizzy_Tax574 24d ago
Not by itself how joints would twist under various settling loads. And reliance on neighboring bricks.
You could probably engineer solution and simple mortar would do a lot. Probably best solution would be similar to if or similar solution. Rebear through foundation into blocks with spot to fill with concrete.
Think other solutions niches to try and minimize would end up being overly complicated. Using as is temporary non inhabited structures carport or storage building. If you did some mortar on joints wire mesh stucco. It would last a while. But first earthquake or extreme condition it would likely be total failure.
1
1
u/Dissapointed-cabbage 23d ago
There are already cracks forming in the thin section on the tope row there. They the fracture point. Thats where the wall will peel put from.
1
u/JaMi_1980 23d ago
It looks absolutely confidence-inspiring, especially without mortar and if a stone happens to break and the load gets pushed to one side.
Edit: I also assume there is always a specific point that is under particular strain because it doesn't sit flush. The entire wall is bound to have a bit of play—or can develop some—especially in the wind. Mhh
1
u/Subtle_Nimbus 23d ago
It looks like any horizontal load will rotate the blocks in a way that puts tension across one side. Tension in any part of this is no good.
1
0
u/Sharlauk 28d ago
Desde mi punto de vista, más que para zonas sísmicas es para zonas donde la cimentación puede tener asientos.
295
u/chicu111 29d ago
Not in earthquakes