FLOOD04190

• County: Statewide
• Community: State of Colorado
• Stream Name: All
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Flood Proofing Tests: Test of Materials and Systems for Flood Proofing Structures
• Date: 8/1/1988
• Prepared For: US Army Corps of Engineers
• Prepared By: US Army Corps of Engineers
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

of water depth versus brick wall deflection for Wall 3 are presented in

Figure 15. Because of the ceiling joist and roof rafter restraints, the nega-

tive movement along the top of the wall was less pronounced than that of

Wall 2.

For deflections of water depths greater than 1.5 ft, the wall began to

deflect drastically away from the applied loading for small increases in water

depth. At a 2-ft water depth, all deflections of the brick-veneer wall were

positive or away from the water loading.

The movement of portions of the support components of the brick-veneer

wall toward the applied loading was the result of the cord lengthening in the

brick wall, as previously discussed. This action was generally dominant over

relative movement of the total wall away from the applied hydrostatic loading

for water depths of 1.75 ft and below. For water depths greater than 1.75 ft

the relative movement of the total wall dominated.

Total collapse of the brick-veneer wall occurred at a depth of 57 in. and

at a total applied force of 18,300 lb. This failure was sudden and resulted

from the failure of the supporting studs. The remains of the brick-veneer

wall after failure are presented in Figures 16 and 17.

Results from the testing of Wall 3 indicated the following:

. In general, the roof rafter and ceiling joist restraints decrease the
movement of the wall toward the water loading.

o The roof rafter and ceiling joist restraints are sufficient to cause a
change in the failure mechanism from that which was experienced in
Walls 1 and 2. The failure mechanism for Walls 1 and 2 was deflection
and failure of the brick wall, while the failure mechanism for Wall 3
was beam failure of the studs and a resulting collapse of the brick
wall.

o The deflection of the brick wall began to increase rapidly with water
depth after about 1-1/2 ft, but the increase is not as great as was
experienced for Walls 1 and 2. This is indicated by the fact that the
wall did not collapse until approximately 57 in. of water loading.

o Even though the wall can withstand greater water depths, it fails
suddenly and totally when the stud wall fails.

Concrete-Block Wall Tests

Since many homes and buildings are constructed of concrete-blocks, it was
decided that two concrete-block wall tests should be constructed and tested to
determine structural integrity and to evaluate some of the materials and sys-
tems for preventing the penetration of floodwaters through such walls.

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