Experimental determination of the dynamic modulus of elasticity of masonry units

One of the parameters that has been identified as influencing the structural response of buildings is the dynamic Modulus of Elasticity of masonry units. The first aim of this paper is to experimentally investigate the use of high frequency sinusoidal loading to determine the dynamic Modulus of Elasticity of masomy units. The Longitudinal Vibration and the Ultrasonic Pulse methods were originally developed for the dynamic testing of concrete specimens. These testing procedures are appropriate as each applies only a minimum stress to the masonry units. This procedure provides results for the masonry units within the elastic range. The second aim is to compare the dynamic Modulus of Elasticity results to the Modulus of Elasticity obtained using quasi-static methods from the same population of masonry units. A test rig has been developed for measuring the elastic properties of masonry units under uniaxial loading.