The aim of this studyis to evaluate the mechanical behavior of hollow clay block masonry beams reinforced with horizontal reinforcement truss, with or without vertical stirrups. Intheexperimental program,three types of beams were tested: a course of grouted blockswith reinforcement; beams with hollowblocks with plane truss reinforcement; and beams with plane truss with vertical stirrups. The test results indicated that most of the failures occur due toshear with inclined cracks and crushing of the blocks. The use of beams with grout demonstrated high levels of strength, when compared with the other models. The use of horizontal joint reinforcement with vertical stirrups led to higher failure values when compared to the beams with only joint reinforcement. The ultimate shear force measured on the tests of the beams was lower than the theoretical value calculated with NBR 15812-1 (ABNT, 2010) and NBR 15961-1 (ABNT, 2011). The expected failure loads of the beams with plane truss and plane truss with vertical stirrups, admitting the same limits of shear strength as the grouted beams, led to the conclusion that special provisions must be made to calculate the shear strength of masonry beams.
Structural Masonry; Lintel; Murfor reinforcement masonry; Clay Block
