Experimental assessment of an innovative strengthening material for brick masonry infills

2015-01-01

Martins, Andreia Piedade Gomes; Vasconcelos, Graça; Fangueiro, Raúl; Cunha, Fernando Eduardo Macedo

Carbon and glass fibres; Mechanical properties; Braiding; Masonry infills; Retrofitting

The vulnerability of masonry infill walls has been highlighted in recent earthquakes in which severe inplanedamage and out-of-plane collapse developed, justifying the investment in the proposal ofstrengthening solutions aiming to improve the seismic performance of these construction elements.Therefore, this work presents an innovative strengthening solution to be applied in masonry infill walls,in order to avoid brittle failure and thus minimize the material damage and human losses. The textilereinforcedmortar technique (TRM) has been shown to improve the out-of-plane resistance of masonryand to enhance its ductility, and here an innovative reinforcing mesh composed of braidedcomposite rods is proposed. The external part of the rod is composed of braided polyester whosestructure is defined so that the bond adherence with mortar is optimized. The mechanical performanceof the strengthening technique to improve the out-of-plane behaviour of brick masonry is assessed basedon experimental bending tests. Additionally, a comparison of the mechanical behaviour of the proposedmeshes with commercial meshes is provided. The idea is that the proposed meshes are efficient inavoiding brittle collapse and premature disintegration of brick masonry during seismic events.