General Information on ASTM Specifications for Masonry Units

Definitions of terms are given in ASTM C1180 (Standard Terminology of Mortar and Grout for Unit Masonry) and in ASTM C1232 (Standard Terminology of Masonry).

General Information on ASTM Specifications for Clay or Shale Masonry Units

ASTM specifications for clay or shale masonry units are summarized below:
ASTM C62: Building Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale)
ASTM C216: Facing Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale)
ASTM C410: Industrial Floor Brick
ASTM C652: Hollow Brick (Hollow Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale)
ASTM C902: Pedestrian and Light Traffic Paving Brick
ASTM C1272: Heavy Vehicular Paving Brick
ASTM specifications for methods of sampling and testing clay or shale masonry units are given in ASTM C67 (Sampling and Testing Brick and Structural Clay Tile) and in ASTM C1006 (Splitting Tensile Strength of Masonry Units).

General Information on ASTM Specifications for Concrete Masonry Units

ASTM specifications for concrete masonry units are summarized below:
ASTM C55: Concrete Building Brick
ASTM C90: Hollow Load-Bearing Concrete Masonry Units
ASTM C129: Hollow Non-Load-Bearing Concrete Masonry Units
ASTM C139: Concrete Masonry Units for Construction of Catch Basins and Manholes
ASTM C744: Prefaced Concrete and Calcium Silicate Masonry Units
ASTM C936: Solid Concrete Interlocking Paving Units
ASTM C1319: Concrete Grid Paving Units
ASTM C1372: Dry-Cast Segmental Retaining Wall Units ASTM specifications for methods of sampling and testing concrete masonry units are given in ASTM C140, which references ASTM C426
(Drying Shrinkage).

General Information on ASTM Specifications for Masonry Assemblages

ASTM specifications for standard methods of test for masonry assemblages are summarized below:
ASTM E72: Strength Tests of Panels for Building Construction (lateral load by air bag)
ASTM E514: Water Permeance of Masonry
ASTM E518: Flexural Bond Strength of Masonry (modulus of rupture)
ASTM E519: Diagonal Tension (Shear) in Masonry Assemblages
ASTM C1072: Measurement of Masonry Flexural Bond Strength  (bond wrench)
ASTM C1314: Measurement of Compressive Strength of Masonry Prisms to Determine Compliance with fm²
ASTM C1357: Evaluating Masonry Bond Strength
ASTM C1717: Conducting Strength Tests of Masonry Wall Panels

Concluding Remarks on ASTM Specifications for Masonry

The above apparently bewildering list of applicable ASTM specifications covers almost every possible aspect of masonry mortar, units, and assemblages. While the ASTM specifications can help organize the field, they may have indirect rather than direct relationships with the performance of the finished masonry. To shed more light on this point, we must investigate the desired performance characteristics of masonry materials, and study the relation between those characteristics and the ASTM specifications.

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