HOLLOW BLOCKS

1. Description
 Concrete masonry block is made from Portland
cement, water & mineral aggregates with or
without inclusion of other materials
 2 Types of Hollow Blocks
- Load Bearing, capable of carrying super-
imposed load which is used in exterior
wall below grade & for unplastered
exterior wall above grade that may be
exposed to weather
- Non-Load Bearing, not capable of
carrying super-imposed load; for general
use in walls not exposed to weather

2. Sampling & Testing

 The delivered units shall be inspected & should be
sound & free of cracks & other defects
 For strength, moisture & absorption determinations,
6 units shall be selected from each lot of more than
10,000 units or fraction thereof and 12 units from
each lot of more than 10,000 units
 For lots of more than 10,000 units, 6 units shall be
selected from each 50,000 units or fraction thereof
contained in the lot shall be submitted for testing
 Physical Requirements

CONCRETE HOLLOW BLOCKS

Governing Standard
Philippine National Standard ASTM
Type I (Load Bearing)

Class A Class B Load Bearing NonLoad Bearing

Exterior Wall Below
Grade, General Use ASTM-C-90 ASTM-C-129
Unplastered Exterior Wall Above Not Exposed to
Properties Grade Weather Type II (Non Load Bearing)

Compressive Strength
(psi), min.
Average of 3 993 695 355 1000 600
Individual 794 596 298 800 500

Absorption, kg/cum 240 240 240 240 240

% MC Average of 3 40 40 40 45 45
Note: Dimension has a tolerance of 1/8" (3.18mm) formula Load
length 4 positions Gross Area
width 7 positions
height 6 positions #4, psi Load, kg
64 sq in

#6, psi Load, kg

96 sq in
 GABIONS

1. Description
 used to control landslide or erosion
 it is free-draining, heavy monolithic gravity structure
consisting of wire baskets filled with coarse non-
degradable rock
 is made of zinc-coated steel
 each basket is loaded in place with rock
 are flexible enough to cope with different settlement;
they have excellent permeability to drain the
restrained material

2. General Requirements
 lengths shall be multiples of 2, 3 and 4 times the
width of the gabion
 heights shall be equal to ½ or 1/3 of the horizontal
width
 horizontal width shall not be less than one meter
 gabions furnished shall be of uniform width
 dimensions are subject to a tolerance limit of +/-
3% manufacturer’s stated sizes

3. Wire Mesh
 shall be made of galvanized steel having a
minimum size of 2.7mm (0.106 inch) diameter (US
w\Wire Gauge No. 12)
 tensile strength of the wire shall be in the range of
413.7 to 586.1 Mpa (60,000 – 85,000 psi)
 minimum zinc coating of the wire shall be 22.7
grams per 0.0929 cum (0.80 oz/sqft) of uncoated
wire surfaces
4. Rock Fill
 shall consist of hard, durable rock pieces that will
not deteriorate when submerge in water or exposed
to severe weather conditions
 rock pieces shall be generally uniformly graded in
sizes ranging from 100 mm to 200 mm
 filled gabions shall have a minimum density of
1,400 kg/cum
 voids shall be evenly distributed
 METALLIC MATERIALS

1. Some examples of metallic materials

- sheet metals
- steel plate girder
- purlins
- angle bars
2. Tests
Metallic materials are subjected to different tests in order
to obtain quantitative measurements of their mechanical
properties

Physical Tests are

 Tension tests
- provide information on the strength and
ductility of material which is useful in
comparison of materials, alloy development,
quality control and design under certain
circumstances
- the procedure for this test is the same as in
testing of reinforcing steel bar except for the
test specimen as shown in the figure
 Ductility
- also evaluated in the tension test, by
determination of the percent elongation and
sometimes the percent reduction in area
 Hardness
- is determined by measuring the resistance to
indention by he use of a hardened steel ball or
diamond conical penetrator
- types are
a. Brinell Hardness
b. Rockwell Hardness

 Impact
- made to determine the resistance to failure
due to brittleness by a suddenly applied load
-