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Fiber-reinforced composite (FRP) materials have gained an increasing success, mostly for strengthening, retrofitting and repair of existing historic masonry structures and may cause a significant enhancement of the mechanical properties of the reinforced members. This article summarizes the results of previous experimental activities aimed at investigating the effectiveness of GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers) grids embedded into an inorganic mortar to reinforce historic masonry. The paper also presents innovative results on the relationship between the durability and the governing material properties of GFRP grids. Measurements of the tensile strength were made using specimens cut off from GFRP grids before and after ageing in aqueous solution. The tensile strength of a commercially available GFRP grid has been tested after up 450 days of storage in deionized water and NaCl solution. A degradation in tensile strength and Young’s modulus up to 30.2% and 13.2% was recorded, respectively. This degradation indicated that extended storage in a wet environment may cause a decrease in the mechanical properties.

The work presented in this paper aims to find the relationship between the types of coarse aggregates used in asphalt mixes and the long-term skid resistance capacity of the resulting pavements. It builds on previous work which proposed a relationship between the mineralogical composition of aggregates and the skid resistance of asphalt surfacings in the long-term. Here, the focus of the inquiry is shifted from an asphalt surface of one type of aggregate to a mix of several types of aggregates. Polishing tests and friction measurements were performed in the laboratory on different pavement samples, followed by a mineralogical analysis of the coarse aggregates of these samples to define a new parameter termed "Averaged Aggregate Hardness Parameter". The results found that this parameter correlates well with the long-term skid resistance. Finally for practical use, the paper proposes analytical formulas to link the new pavement hardness parameter with the long-term skid resistance of pavements.