Based on the results of tests at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and numerical considerations at the Technical University of Darmstadt, ZRS Ingenieure has developed a draft standard for the design, construction and execution of load-bearing clay masonry, the future DIN 18940. The design concept is closely based on the design rules for other types of masonry according to DIN EN 1996-3 and takes into account the specific properties of clay masonry, e.g. the moisture-dependent compressive strength, by introducing special factors.
The draft is currently being discussed and further elaborated in the DIN committee NA oo5-06-08 AA Lehmbau under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christof Ziegert. Publication of the draft is planned for 2022. The final version is then to be adopted in 2023. After the introduction of the standard, it will be possible to construct buildings up to 13 metres high (up to building class 4) in Germany using load-bearing clay masonry.
From the point of view of the Dachverband Lehm e.V., the federal association of earth building in Germany, earth brick construction has the greatest potential among the load-bearing earth building methods to replace energy-intensive solid building techniques in the segment of buildings up to four storeys high.
