36
A. K. Mirasa and C.-S. Chong
researching and industrial activities. Yet, the construction projects inevitably bring
certain direct or indirect negative impact on the environment.
In the construction industry, concrete, as one of the most versatile materials,
require mainly the aggregate and cement paste (Chee et al. 2011). Thus, ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC) is the major substance of the conventional construction
industry. A large number of energy (1000 kg of cement needs 4 GI of energy) is
consumed during the production process of cement, and this process also emits a great
deal of CO 2 (around 1 ton) together with other greenhouse gases (Mehta 2001, 2002).
The conventional masonry brick is another significant construction material and
produced by mixing the raw materials, moulding the mixture, drying and firing until
it acquires the strength as brick. Similar to the cement production, the manufacture
process of the fired bricks caused a huge depletion of resources and consume high
energy that about 300% higher over those of the concrete blocks, therefore, this
process causes the serious environmental degradation owing to the high emissions of
greenhouse gas (Al-Fakih et al. 2019). In order to limit the environmentally unfriendly
effects of the construction, the researchers have been stimulated to develop a new
method for replacing these construction materials.
Reinforced concrete construction (RCC) structure is the youngest structure if
compared to the soil and timber structure (which appeared earliest on earth and
constructed by the original mankind), the masonry structure (which constructs using
stone or brick and commonly used in the early society of ancient civilization) and
the steel and other metal structures (that invented after the Industrial Revolution)
(Guo 2014). Yet nowadays, RCC structure has become the most used structure in
modern and contemporary architecture of many countries due to its continuously
improving performance, manufacture techniques, construction methods and a variety
of application scope (Guo 2014 and Ling 2018).
Contrary to RCC structure, the application scope of the masonry structure is very
much narrow. Indeed, a load-bearing masonry structure is commonly designed as
a vertical cantilever member for sustaining the permissible compressive and shear
stress (without tension) with the principles of engineering mechanics. The transferring of moment from floor-to-wall connection is not allowed and the lateral force is
assumed to be supported by the diaphragm action of the roof slab or the above floor
that acts as a beam (Bureau of Indian Standard 1991). The load-carrying capacity of
the masonry structure principally depends on its slenderness ratio. When the slenderness ratio rises, the crippling stress of the wall decreases due to the elastic instability.
In general, the masonry structure may fail owing to the excessive stress or buckling
effect (Bureau of Indian Standard 1991).
In terms of masonry standard, the strength of conventional masonry wall basically
depends on the strength of the mortar and the relative values of unit strength of
brick and mortar strength (Ahmad et al. 2011). Since the interlocking brick wall
is constructed with none or less mortar, the strength of interlocking brick wall can
be improved. Furthermore, the interlocking mechanisms of the interlocking brick
construction system highly enhance the continuing of the wall. Whereas, the grout,
vertical and horizontal reinforcements that have been used to strengthen the wall
also increase the buckling resistance of the interlocking brick. A detailed discussion
A. K. Mirasa and C.-S. Chong
researching and industrial activities. Yet, the construction projects inevitably bring
certain direct or indirect negative impact on the environment.
In the construction industry, concrete, as one of the most versatile materials,
require mainly the aggregate and cement paste (Chee et al. 2011). Thus, ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC) is the major substance of the conventional construction
industry. A large number of energy (1000 kg of cement needs 4 GI of energy) is
consumed during the production process of cement, and this process also emits a great
deal of CO 2 (around 1 ton) together with other greenhouse gases (Mehta 2001, 2002).
The conventional masonry brick is another significant construction material and
produced by mixing the raw materials, moulding the mixture, drying and firing until
it acquires the strength as brick. Similar to the cement production, the manufacture
process of the fired bricks caused a huge depletion of resources and consume high
energy that about 300% higher over those of the concrete blocks, therefore, this
process causes the serious environmental degradation owing to the high emissions of
greenhouse gas (Al-Fakih et al. 2019). In order to limit the environmentally unfriendly
effects of the construction, the researchers have been stimulated to develop a new
method for replacing these construction materials.
Reinforced concrete construction (RCC) structure is the youngest structure if
compared to the soil and timber structure (which appeared earliest on earth and
constructed by the original mankind), the masonry structure (which constructs using
stone or brick and commonly used in the early society of ancient civilization) and
the steel and other metal structures (that invented after the Industrial Revolution)
(Guo 2014). Yet nowadays, RCC structure has become the most used structure in
modern and contemporary architecture of many countries due to its continuously
improving performance, manufacture techniques, construction methods and a variety
of application scope (Guo 2014 and Ling 2018).
Contrary to RCC structure, the application scope of the masonry structure is very
much narrow. Indeed, a load-bearing masonry structure is commonly designed as
a vertical cantilever member for sustaining the permissible compressive and shear
stress (without tension) with the principles of engineering mechanics. The transferring of moment from floor-to-wall connection is not allowed and the lateral force is
assumed to be supported by the diaphragm action of the roof slab or the above floor
that acts as a beam (Bureau of Indian Standard 1991). The load-carrying capacity of
the masonry structure principally depends on its slenderness ratio. When the slenderness ratio rises, the crippling stress of the wall decreases due to the elastic instability.
In general, the masonry structure may fail owing to the excessive stress or buckling
effect (Bureau of Indian Standard 1991).
In terms of masonry standard, the strength of conventional masonry wall basically
depends on the strength of the mortar and the relative values of unit strength of
brick and mortar strength (Ahmad et al. 2011). Since the interlocking brick wall
is constructed with none or less mortar, the strength of interlocking brick wall can
be improved. Furthermore, the interlocking mechanisms of the interlocking brick
construction system highly enhance the continuing of the wall. Whereas, the grout,
vertical and horizontal reinforcements that have been used to strengthen the wall
also increase the buckling resistance of the interlocking brick. A detailed discussion