Retrofitting of unreinforced masonry walls using glass fiber reinforced polymer laminates

الملخص EN

The paper compares the structural response of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls with and without retrofit on one side using glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates.

Six walls are experimentally investigated using ASTM diagonal tension (shear) standard test procedure.

The objectives of the study included : (1) to compare between the improvements in performance provided by retrofitting a singlewy the wall versus that provided by retrofitting a triple-Wythe wall, and (2) to compare the performance enhancement provided by the GFRP for two mortar-to-brick strength ration.

The results from the tests are compared with current codes for evaluating the design strength of URM walls.

The strength enhancement provided by the GFRP in the experiments is also compared with current standard for estimating the design strength contribution of GFRP.

The study shows that the application of GFRP on only one side of a triple-Wythe wall prevents brittle catastrophic failure and may potentially improve the in-plane seismic response of a URM wall.