Thermal bowing



Masonry walls made from clay and concrete units have a low thermal conductivity and so the temperature gradient across the section will be markedly steep when the walls are subjected to one side heating. The thermal bowing resulting from the differential thermal expansion will have a detrimental effect on the stability of the walls, in particular for tall walls not fixed at the top. As a rule of thumb, if the wall deflection is less the wall thickness, the resulting eccentricity is unlikely to promote failure.