The behaviour of various brickwork elements under static load and ambient conditions provide the basis of an on-going research programme within the Department of Civil Engineering at Plymouth Polytechnic, England. The most recent investigation is into the performance of cross-bonded reinforced brickwork beams and an 'H' shaped portal frame contained within a new Squash Courts buildings. To monitor the performance of the beams and portal frame it was necessary to measure both internal and external deformations.

Reinforced brickwork is a composite material employing the use of bricks, mortar, concrete grout and reinforcing steel in its make up. Each of the above materials has different mechanical properties and as such it was necessary to monitor the performance of each material separately.

The Department had successfully developed the use of three different strain measuring systems, one for each of the three different materials (bricks and mortar are classed together). Electrical Resistance Strain Gauges, bonded within slots cut into the rebar had been used to monitor strains within the longitudinal reinforcement. Embedment style Vibrating Wire Gauges set within the concrete grout provided data on the behaviour of the infill material. Surface strains were obtained using Demountable Mechanical Strain Gauges mounted on the surface of the brickwork. External deformations were measured using Dial Test Indicators, Linear Voltage Displacement Transducers and Thermocouples.

Each of the above systems having worked well in the laboratory were selected for the beams and portal frame in the Squash Courts building. The testing required large numbers of gauges and a great number of test readings. The strain measuring devices within the laboratory were found to be inadequate. On this basis it was decided to update and computerise the facility. Initial investigations showed the cost of specialised proprietary data-logging systems to be prohibitively expensive. The restrictions of a limited budget meant that a different method had to be considered. This paper is primarily concerned with this method and the reasons for making certain decisions.

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