Intertwining bricks, a system that was granted a new patent

When dealing with brick, low-height division walls or structures, it is worrisome to think that in the event of an earthquake, those structures might crack or even collapse because of the weakness of the cement they were adhered with. This issue now has a solution, thanks to a 20-year research project by Juan Diego Jaramillo Fernández, professor of civil engineering at EAFIT, together with other allies. It was patented through resolution 3434 on the 5th of February 2020 by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce of Colombia.

According to the EAFIT researcher, this invention, number 55 for Universidad EAFIT, called Tongue-and-groove Joint System with Mechanical Lock, consists of a geometric shape obtained for a brick which is possible to hook through a tongue and a groove part to avoid the use of  bonding material or mortar. “In this way, the bricks stay stacked, locked, held and bonded”, points out the professor.

The Colombian Construction Chamber (Camacol) also contributed to this invention.  Universidad de Medellín, Suramericana S.A., Seguros Generales Suramericana S.A., San Cristóbal Brick Factory and Víctor Manuel Aristizábal Gil, as a natural person, all joined the research process as allies.

“At the beginning, we intended to understand the masonry, to get to know how to build more efficient brick walls for seismic loads and we came up with the idea that a more appropriate way was to eliminate the cement because it is the factor that is responsible for the most irregularities. In this way, the patent covers the new design of those parts to join them together, as if they were parts of a puzzle. We made sure to keep the clay material and the conventional brick”, explains Juan Diego, who adds that in the production process, it would only be necessary to change the mold the brick is made with.

While there are several attempts to achieve similar objectives all around the world, Víctor Aristizábal Gil, director of the Asociación de Ladrilleras Unidas de Antioquia, thinks that what is important is to provide more alternatives in order to increase the benefits for the users. Also, that the industry sectors have more possibilities for development.

“The ongoing innovation of a product as millenary as a brick and the fact that it remains valid, shows that clay masonry is still interesting and that it has great influence in construction” points out the geologist engineer.  

From his point of view, with inventions like this not only costs will tend to diminish, but it will allow walls to be built in less time, with less waste to support environmental solutions by avoiding the use of cement, which is one of the materials that impacts the high rates of tracking greenhouse gases.

Marcela Morales Londoño, professor of the School of Engineering at Universidad de Medellín, specifies that conventional masonry, despite being one of the oldest, most flexible, lowest-cost and the most world-wide accepted construction systems, has implementing limitations in some areas and countries. High seismic activity and restriction for constructions from certain heights, for example, are some reasons why its use is legally restricted.

“In Antioquia, approximately 60 percent of the households are built in an informal way with a non-reinforced masonry system. From this need, we are developing a research program that allows us to understand the masonry behavior and its limitations so that we can find alternatives to potentiate the structural and constructive performance of this construction technique”.  

She also adds that as a result of this interinstitutional effort, the tongue and groove joint system was created. Several tests have been made to prove its seismic resistance capacity in realistic scenarios. “We have obtained the industrial design registry from the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, and recently, the invention patent”.

The synergy of various actors 

For professor Juan Diego, this has been a long-term project that has required trials and errors, research on the correct formula and joined efforts so that the final part had all the qualities it required. “Our goal was to find an attractive product for the market, that is useful, that is an option among the traditional ones and that offers a competitive advantage. It is there where the efforts and the sharing of knowledge from each entity involved take on greater relevance”, adds the professor.

César Augusto Zambrano Osorio, coordinator of the Entrepreneurial Innovation and Development Center at Universidad de Medellín, points out that this is a new way to make part of the leading edge in science, technology, and innovation worldwide through the development of the invention patent.

“All the research work, the doctoral training and the innovation work articulated between the University and the company, together with the strategic allies for the development, is of the utmost importance,” states César.  He adds that the challenge that follows is to generate a process of transference for constructing, and a pilot to implement this idea in housing projects in Colombia. Currently, they are working on this initiative in the city of Cúcuta.

For more information contact:

Alejandro Gómez Valencia

EAFIT Information and Press Divition

Telephone: 574 2619500 ext. 9931

E-mail: jgomez97@eafit.edu.co