Capacity of innovative interlocking blocks under monotonic loading

For the majority of poor people in earthquake prone regions, construction techniques for affordable low-cost and earthquake-resistant buildings are needed. As a contribution to this requirement, innovative interlocking blocks, named as standard, bottom, top and half blocks, are invented. The blocks are fabricated with special interconnecting profiles so that they will interlock with the upper, lower and adjacent blocks to facilitate the construction of a wall. In this study, coconut fibre reinforced concrete is selected for block preparation because coconut fibre has the highest toughness amongst natural fibres. The relationship between compressive strength of individual and multiple standard blocks, and the in-plane and out-of-plane shear capacities of interlocking mechanism, are investigated. The compressive strength and total compressive toughness of bottom block are higher than that of other blocks. It is also found that the compressive capacity of the multiple blocks is less than that of the individual block. The out-of-plane shear capacity is 25% higher than that of the in-plane. However, the load required to cause in-plane shear is higher than that required for the out-of-plane shear. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.