Problematic issues in the development of norms for masonry structures

Introduction. In recent years, important connections between the regulatory documents on masonry structures, which were based on a system established many years ago, have been destroyed. Aim. To identify the key issues and to outline approaches to their solution. This primarily concerns the inconsistency of State Standards on brick and mortar testing methods, as well as codes of practice for the design of masonry structures. Results. It is shown that the strength of brick and mortar are conditional values, which depend largely on the methods of their testing, shape and size of specimens, exposure conditions prior to testing. In SP 15.13330.2012 “Masonry and reinforced masonry structures”, which is an updated version of SNiP II-22-81*, the design resistance of masonry brick and mortar grades were assigned according to the results of tests in accordance with the State Standards in force at that time. In order to restore connections with State Standards, revisions concerning the design resistance of masonry structures were introduced in SP 15.13330. This was a compromise solution. An optimal solution would be to complement the State Standard for plastic molding bricks with transition coefficients from the strength of polished bricks to the strength of bricks with a mortar-levelled surface. The types of specimens in the State Standard for masonry testing in the form of walls are borrowed from European norms. Testing walls along with columns without taking the scale factor into account leads to incorrect results. Conclusions. Violation of the connections between State Standards for material testing methods and codes of practice for design occurs largely due to lobbying by material manufacturers, who seek to achieve the greatest benefit for themselves. Sometimes there is an unreasonable desire to interfere in the process of developing codes of practice. On the other hand, the development of high-quality regulatory documents is impossible without the involvement of a broader professional community, taking the interests of all parties into account. However, the balance of interests must not translate into the reduction of reliability of buildings and structures under construction.