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<br />PART II: BLOCK-WALL TESTS <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />9. Houses or buildings should not be made resistant to the penetration <br /> <br /> <br />of floodwaters above a safe water height; i.e., it is better to allow water to <br /> <br /> <br />enter a building than subject it to a water load that will structurally damage <br /> <br /> <br />or collapse the walls. After the floodwaters recede, the building may be <br /> <br /> <br />reusable once it has been cleaned and the water damages repaired. Thus, <br /> <br /> <br />before an attempt is made to make buildings in an area flood resistant, the <br /> <br /> <br />flood risk must be carefully evaluated, and a flood-resistant design level <br /> <br /> <br />established for various types of building construction. Conversely, houses or <br /> <br /> <br />buildings which will experience floodwaters only to a height below that which <br /> <br /> <br />would cause structural damage or collapse should be protected by materials or <br /> <br /> <br />systems to prevent penetration of the floodwaters. <br /> <br /> <br />10. A previous study* conducted to evaluate the structural integrity of <br /> <br /> <br />brick-veneer walls subjected to floodwaters demonstrated that, in general, <br /> <br />brick-veneer test walls could safely withstand the load applied by a water <br /> <br /> <br />height of approximately 2 ft.** However, with approximately 2.5 ft of water <br /> <br /> <br />height, the brick-veneer test wall experienced structural damage. Prototype <br /> <br /> <br />tests performed later demonstrated that the walls of a house are stronger than <br /> <br /> <br />the test walls and can withstand about 3 ft of water head. Another study <br /> <br /> <br />was also conducted to determine materials or systems that could be used to <br /> <br /> <br />prevent floodwaters from penetrating the walls of a brick-veneer building.t <br /> <br />Objective <br /> <br />11. Since many homes and buildings are constructed of concrete block, <br /> <br />it was decided that two concrete block test walls should be constructed and <br /> <br />* C. E. Pace and R. L. Campbell. 1978. "Structural Integrity of Brick- <br />Veneer Buildings," Technical Report C-78-3, US Army Engineer Waterways <br />Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss. <br />** A table of factors for converting non-SI units of measurement to SI <br />(metric) units is presented on page 4. <br />t C. E. Pace. 1978. "Tests of Brick-Veneer Walls and Closures for <br />Resistance to Floodwaters," Miscellaneous Paper C-78-16, US Army Engineer <br />Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss. <br /> <br />7 <br />