Suitability Of Cooked Clay Bricks Produced In Santiago De Cuba For Confined Masonry

Abstract

The serious housing problem in the province of Santiago de Cuba demands earthquake-resistant housing solutions that contribute to reducing the consumption of cement and steel, materials that are currently very scarce. The Community Architect Technical Services Company and the University of Oriente evaluate the use of the structural system of load-bearing masonry walls confined with terracotta bricks. There are uncertainties regarding the suitability of the bricks produced in the territory for this purpose; Therefore, the research is aimed at evaluating its potential for structural use. To do this, the impact on the quality of the bricks, the chemical composition, granulometry, plasticity index, contraction and absorption of the clays available in the Vega Honda, Maceira Vaquería and El Sitio deposits, concessioned in the territory, is assessed. The quality of the production of the main tiles in the territory is analyzed, showing that the bricks do not comply with the resistance specified by the NMX-C-036-ONNCCE standard for type A (20 MPa), and those that do comply for types B and C (12 MPa and 8.0 MPa), is due to a decrease in dimensions (89.5% exceed the standardized tolerances). 89.5% of the bricks comply with the absorption established by the Mexican standard NMX-C-037-ONNCCE-2013 for moderate efforts, types B and C (16% and 18%), but none meets that required for type A (12%), for high efforts. The tiles do not have the ideal technological conditions, which affects the quality of the bricks.