Earthquake Resistant - Bricks

RESEARCHERS in Spain are developing an earthquake-resistant brick that they say could be incorporated into interior brick walls to stabilize them during seismic events. Dubbed Sisbrick by its creators at the Universitat Politècnica de València, the material is capable of absorbing greater horizontal movements than is the case with standard brick while still supporting vertical loads that can affect a building’s structural integrity.

The bricks are designed to be arranged in a pattern within partition walls made mostly of standard bricks, and the researchers say that Sisbrick would enable such a wall to absorb three times as much horizontal movement as a typical brick wall. The arrangement would essentially isolate the wall from the building’s structural frame during a seismic event, increasing its stability and preventing a potentially catastrophic load transfer from the wall to the frame.

Francisco J. Pallarés, Ph.D., the principal researcher on the project, explained that Sisbrick greatly reduces the structural effects of brick walls, which exhibit complex and sometimes unpredictable behavior during earthquakes. The new material would lead to more predictable building behavior and therefore a more accurate structural design.

“This is a product that is new and unique. There is nothing like it on the market,” Pallarés said in written responses to questions from Civil Engineering. “It must be seen as a security system that protects the building structure from the infill interaction and reduces the stresses in the masonry panels.” These Bricks may play a vital role in Seismic design of buildings.

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