Masonry Magazine April 1988 Page. 9
Recommended Reading
ACI/ASCE 530
By Mario J. Catani
After ten years of effort (including 22 full committee meetings and countless task group meetings) three new masonry design and construction documents are available for public review. They are currently undergoing the standardization procedures of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Concrete Institute (ACI). It is anticipated that the documents will receive "Standard" status by mid-year. It has been a long road, but the rewards will be tremendous for the industry.
A major meeting was called in 1978, with an attendance roster representing the powers of the masonry and standards worlds. There was one item on the agenda: How do we address the problems of inconsistencies and fragmentation in the masonry design standards used in practice? That day, ASCE, ACI, NBS, ANSI, BIA, NCMA, PCA, and TMS* proposed a far-reaching solution: Develop an entirely new masonry design standard. The new documents would be prepared so that they could be adopted by reference into the major model codes used in the U.S. The original sponsors of existing standards agreed to withdraw their standards in favor of one all-encompassing masonry design standard. A committee was formed to begin work on the creation of a design standard, a standard specification, and commentary. Houston, Texas was the site of the historic first meeting of the Joint ASCE/ACI 530 Committee on Masonry Structures, held in November of 1978.
530 Combines Brick and Block
The new design standard (usually referred to as the code) and the standard specification represent major breakthroughs for the masonry industry. The most important difference between these new standards and the existing design standards is that the new standards cover the rational design and construction of brick masonry and concrete block masonry, as well as composites of brick and block, and brick and block cavity walls. This is the first document of this kind available in the United States. In addition to consideration of brick and block together, the new set of standards departs from the present brick and block design standards in several ways.
Standard Specification
The concept of a standard specification for construction of masonry is new. Previously, there has been no standard specification that has been law. With the new documents, masonry standards can be used the way wood and steel standards have been used for years the code and the specifications are combined. Since the design code references and adopts the standards specification, the standard specification will become law at the same time the design code does. This means that architects and specification writers, in addition to structural engineers, need to be educated regarding these new standards. The standard specification must be adopted in total. Special conditions related to specific projects must be handled in project specifications.
As planned, the standard specification will always be printed with the design code, but will also be available alone for use on a construction site.
About The Author
Mario J. Catani, President of Dur-O-Wal, and former head of the Portland Cement Association's Engineering and Research Division, has spent the last ten years deeply involved in the development of the 530 Standard. As chairman of the committee responsible for the new masonry standard, Mario is uniquely qualified to provide the background and overview of this major accomplishment.
*American Society of Civil Engineers, American Concrete Institute, National Bureau of Standards, American National Standards Institute, Brick Institute of America, National Concrete Masonry Association, Portland Cement Association, and The Masonry Society.