This paper examines the fundamental mechanical properties of masonry elements incorporating fired-clay bricks and hydraulic lime mortars under ambient-dry and wet conditions, corresponding to 48 h submersion in water. In addition to complementary material characterisation assessments, two types of specimens are tested: cylindrical cores in compression, and wall elements in compression. Overall, a detailed account of more than 50 tests is given. Apart from conventional measurements, the use of digital image correlation techniques enables a detailed assessment of the influence of moisture on the constitutive response, confinement effects and mechanical properties of masonry components. The uniaxial compressive strengths of wet brick elements and brick–mortar components, resulting from tests on cylindrical cores with height-to-depth ratios of around two, are shown to be 13–18% lower than those in ambient-dry conditions. The tests also show that enhanced confinement levels in brick units mobilise 67–92% higher strengths than in the corresponding unconfined cylinders. Moreover, experimental observations indicate that the presence of significant confinement reduces the influence of moisture on the mechanical properties as a function of the brick and mortar joint thickness and their relative stiffness. As a result, the failure of wet masonry walls in compression is found to be only marginally lower than those in ambient-dry conditions. Based on the test results, the influence of moisture on the constitutive response and mechanical properties of masonry components is discussed, and considerations for practical application are highlighted.

中文翻译：

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干湿条件下耐火粘土砖和石灰砂浆砌体构件的压缩行为

本文研究了在环境干燥和潮湿条件下（对应于浸入水中 48 小时）结合烧制粘土砖和水硬石灰砂浆的砌体元件的基本机械性能。除了补充材料特性评估外，还测试了两种类型的样本：压缩中的圆柱芯和压缩中的壁元件。总的来说，给出了 50 多个测试的详细说明。除了常规测量外，使用数字图像相关技术可以详细评估水分对砌体部件的本构响应、限制效应和机械性能的影响。湿砖构件和砖-砂浆构件的单轴抗压强度，对高深比约为 2 的圆柱形岩心进行的测试表明，其结果比环境干燥条件下的低 13-18%。测试还表明，与相应的无约束圆柱体相比，砖单元中增强的约束水平可调动 67-92% 的强度。此外，实验观察表明，显着限制的存在降低了水分对作为砖和砂浆接缝厚度及其相对刚度的函数的机械性能的影响。结果，发现湿砌体墙在压缩中的失效仅略低于环境干燥条件下的失效。根据试验结果，讨论了水分对砌体构件本构响应和力学性能的影响，