Masonry Magazine June 1966 Page. 25
Testing Program For
Architectural Students
At Rice University
HOUSTON, TEXAS Bricklayers, mason contractors and brick manufacturers begin their mutual cooperation with the architectural profession at a very early age in Houston. Bill Bartlett, MCAA Houston Chapter member, arranged with Professor Nat Krahl, Rice University, to build 20 brick prism test specimens for structural testing by architectural students. Jack Stubbs, Apprentice Coordinator in Houston, supplied the labor force from the Houston apprenticeship class while the brick and other materials were supplied by the Clay Products Association of the Southwest.
Ten specimens were built with poor workmanship (deeply furrowed bed joints, buttered head joints and no mortar in the collar joints). The other ten specimens had completely filled joints. ASTM type S mortar was used in half with type N in the other half to illustrate the effect of good workmanship and proper mortar proportioning on the strength of masonry.
Architectural students at Rice witnessed the construction of the various brick piers and actually built two of their own. One month later, they saw the specimens loaded to failure in a compression testing machine.
Sidelight of the endeavor is that one of the specimens built by the architectural class reached a higher strength than one built by the apprentices. No matter which pier had the highest strength, this type of public relations effort by the masonry industry will do much to create a better working relation between our industry and the architectural profession.
MASONRY
June, 1966
25