What is the difference between Conventional Cement Concrete Hollow Bricks and ULTRA BRICKS?

There are lot of differences ...

ULTRA BRICKS

Ingredients

• 12 mm metal, 6mm metal, M-sand, Crusher sand & cement
• Designed mix for minimum voids & maximum density, as such the bricks will take more loads.

Shape

• Designed in such a way that the cross walls of successive layers will come just one above the other so that the web will also take the load. There for it will have more area per brick to take the vertical load.
• As there is no notch vertical joints can be filled properly.
• Vertical reinforcement can be provided to make the wall ductile as envisaged in IS 4326 :1993

Conventional Hollow Blocks

Ingredients

• Generally mixed aggregate & crusher dust
• Not Designed mixed, as such voids are more and not suitable for load baring walls.

Shape

• Cross walls (web) will not take the load (only the long walls will take the load) hence less area per brick to take the vertical load. As there is notch vertical joints has to be filled from the top, and filling will be laborious and will not be proper.
• Vertical reinforcement cannot be provided.

Comparative Study :

Conventional Brick (Clay) work Vs ULTRA BRICKS work

( Excluding cost of labor and transportation )

( Material requirement for 10 sq. m with cement mortar 1:6 )

Note: Super Bricks are "Solid Blocks"

Material requirement for 10 sq. m

Features of Earthquake Resistant Building Construction using ULTRA BRICKS

• Earthquakes may cause devastating destruction to the infrastructure, but they may not kill the people directly. What kills the people during earthquake is the collapse of building structures in which they are living!
• Our traditional construction practices of un-reinforced load bearing brick masonry and poorly detailed RCC framed building structures are the root causes for the death toll of thousands and lakhs of people during earthquakes in our country.
• Though it is not feasible and economical to construct earthquake-proof buildings, it is possible to design and construct cost effective and structurally efficient earthquake-resistant buildings of shear wall structural system.

Are there advantages over conventional brick (clay) work?

Yes there are...

• Three sizes (Ultra 20, 16 and Ultra 10) and two grades (A- 50 kg / cm2, B - 35 kg / cm2) to choose for different types of works.
• Vertical reinforcement can be provided as envisaged in IS 2185 (Part1-1979, re-approved in 2003) to make the wall ductile and EARTH QUAKE RESISTANT with out additional work expense and expert labor force.
• As joints (both horizontal & vertical) are less compared to the conventional bricks, ULTRA BRICK work will take more loads and the consumption of cement and sand are also low.
• As the unit weight is less compared to the conventional brick work, the structural design will be cheap.
• About 6 % more carpet area will get for the same plinth area.
• Wiring can be done with out chasing the brick work.
• Inside room temperature will be less by about 4 to 5 degree C.
• Brick sizes are suitable for adopting Vasthu Sasthra.

Features of Earthquake Resistant Building Construction using ULTRA BRICKS

Technique:

Reinforcing the hollow concrete brick Masonry, by taking advantage of hollow spaces of brick.

Concept :

In Reinforced Hollow Concrete Brick Masonry, elements are designed both as load bearing walls for gravity loads and also as shear walls for lateral seismic loads, to safely withstand earthquakes. This structural system of construction is known as shear wall - diaphragm concept, which gives three-dimensional structural integrity for the buildings.

Structural Features:

• Masonry element is vertically reinforced with steel bars and concrete/grout fills, at corners, junctions, jams of doors, windows, and openings, through the continuous vertical cavities of ultra bricks.
• Similarly, masonry element is horizontally reinforced with steel bars and concrete/grout fill at plinth, sill, lintel and roof levels, as continuous RC bands, at respective levels.
• Grid of reinforcement can be built into masonry element without any extra shuttering and it reduces the scope for corrosion of reinforcement.
• As there is reinforcement bars in both vertical and horizontal directions the structural integrity in all the three dimensions is achieved.

Structural Advantages

• In this construction system, structurally, each wall and slab behaves as a shear wall and a diaphragm respectively, reducing the vulnerability of disastrous damage to the structure/building, during the natural hazards.

Due to the uniform distribution of reinforcement in both vertical and horizontal directions, through masonry element, increased tensile resistance and ductile behavior of elements could be achieved. Hence, this construction system can safely resist lateral or cyclic loading, when compared to other conventional masonry construction systems. This construction system has also been proved to offer better resistance under dynamic loading, when compared to other conventional systems of construction.

Constructional Advantages

• No additional formwork or any special construction machinery is required for reinforcing the hollow block masonry.
• Only semi-skilled labour is required for this type of construction.
• It is a faster and easier construction system, when compared to the other conventional construction systems.
• It is also found to be a cost-effective disaster resistant construction system, as explained in the next section.

Architectural and Other Advantages

• This construction system provides better acoustic and thermal insulation for the building.
• Only semi-skilled labour is required for this type of construction.This system is durable and maintenance free. It is a faster and easier construction system, when compared to the other conventional construction systems.

Conclusions

Reinforced Hollow Concrete Block Masonry (RHCBM) is a feasible disaster resistant building construction system.

• The studies on comparative cost economics reveal that RHCBM is a cost effective construction system.
• It has additional advantages of increased floor area and lighter dead weight (i.e. it attracts lesser seismic forces).

The extensive experimental programme has revealed that RHCBM construction technique is structurally more efficient, not only because of its higher ultimate load capacity, but also due to its improved ductility when compared to the conventional reinforced or un-reinforced brick masonry. Hence, RHCBM can be adopted as a disaster resistant construction system for box type construction.