Page 14 - Design of Reinforced Masonry Structures

PREFACE TO THE

SECOND EDITION

Why write?
“I hear, I forget;
I see, I remember;
I write, I understand.”
A Chinese proverb

The writing of this book was motivated by a professional need to update changes in the
reinforced masonry design philosophy that have occurred as a result of incorporation
of strength design philosophy in the 2008 Building Code Requirements for Masonry
Structures reported by the Masonry Standards Joint Committee (referred to in this book as
the MSJC-08 Code) and corresponding requirements of the 2009 International Building
Code (2009 IBC), and to update changes brought out by the ASCE/SEI 7-05 Standard,
Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (referred to in this book as
ASCE 7-05 Standard). While the fundamental principles of designing reinforced masonry
structures discussed in the first edition (2001) of this book remain valid, revisions in
codes, specifications, and reference standards applicable to design and construction of
masonry structures that have since occurred required updating that book in the form of this
second edition.
The allowable stress design (ASD) method of designing reinforced masonry structures
presented in the first edition of this book is still acceptable, and is expected to remain so for
the foreseeable future. However, the general trend in the structural engineering profession
is to move toward using the strength design philosophy for the design of concrete structures,
and load and resistance factor design (LRFD) for the design of steel structures. Readers of
the first edition of this book will note that the topic of strength design of reinforced masonry
was briefly covered in App. D. This second edition is a natural, follow-up publication that
focuses exclusively on strength design philosophy for reinforced masonry structures. In
addition, a new chapter on anchorage to masonry (Chap. 10) has been introduced.
Consistent with the first edition, this edition of the book is written in a stand-alone
format and independent of the ASD philosophy. While knowledge of and familiarity with

the strength design principles for design of reinforced concrete structures would enable
readers to quickly grasp the fundamentals of strength design of reinforced masonry, neither
that knowledge nor that of allowable stress design of masonry are considered prerequisites
for understanding the discussion presented herein. Each chapter of the book presents the
theory based on first principles and is supported by references and followed by numerous
examples that illustrate its application.
Like the first edition of this book, this edition is written for use by students and profes-
sionals of reinforced masonry design and construction. It is written in a simple, practical,
and logical manner, and is styled to suit as a text for teaching reinforced masonry design
and construction in a classroom environment at senior/graduate level. Frequent references
to the MSJC-08 Code and ASCE/SEI 7-05 Standard are made throughout all discussions
and examples in this book to acquaint readers with the design and specification requirements

xiii