Investigation on application of a typical mortar for clinker in prefabricated façade panels - test’s results

Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Structural Engineering, Akademicka 5, 44-100 Gliwice

^* Corresponding author: marta.kaluza@polsl.pl

Abstract

In the last period, openwork facades have become very fashionable and commonly used in modern public buildings. They are characterised by an outstanding design and proper lighting of the interior spaces, while providing lightweight solution of the façade. The typical erecting method of an openwork façade - often made of ceramic components - is in-situ bricklaying using specific mortar dedicated to clinker elements. Unfortunately, ensuring proper executive conditions and preparation of the ceramic elements is not always possible. Hence, together with the development of architectural requirements, there has appeared a natural need to create prefabricated elements, which reflect the real bricklaying wall and ensure the safety of the solution. The paper presents a laboratory study on untypical application of a mortar for clinker, used to prefabrication of an elevation panel. The tests of mortar and solution of openwork prefabricated panel made using this mortar and special-shaped clinker components are presented and discussed. The material tests include determination of the strength properties of three types of mortar mixture, differing of each other by water content. The second part of this paper presents the laboratory tests of prefabricated panels, made using previously tested mortars, supported and loaded similar to the real working conditions.