Measurement of Solid Brick Compressive Strength and Anisotropy on Non-standard Small Cubic Specimens

An experimental research has been carried out on the possibility of measuring the compressive strength of ceramic solid bricks by testing in laboratory non-standardized cubic samples measuring 40 × 40 × 40 mm3. The viability of such approach has been confirmed through a systematic comparison, for a variety of brick types, with compression strength values obtained for the standard prismatic 100 × 100 × 40 mm3 specimen. The comparison has allowed the derivation of a reliable correlation to estimate an equivalent compressive strength based on the 40 × 40 × 40 mm3 specimen. The proposed cubic specimen is largely advantageous in the characterization of the compressive strength of existing masonries built with moderately thin bricks (with thickness in the order or 4 or 5 cm). It can be also used to accurately characterize the anisotropy that the manufacturing process can induce in the bricks and its influence on the strength. Taking advantage of this possibility, the paper also presents a detailed investigation on the anisotropy of different brick types.