In-plane shear cyclic behavior of windowed masonry walls reinforced with textile reinforced mortars

Abstract

The current experimental study is focused on the mechanical performance of masonry walls under in-plane cyclic shear forces. All specimens were fabricated with a central window, in which the geometry considered the recommendations of the Spanish structural seismic design code. Windows represent a weak area in the masonry structure, in which there are stress concentrations responsible for crack initiation. In order to improve the mechanical strength and ductility, a reinforcement with a Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) was used on both sides of the wall. The performance of the unreinforced and reinforced masonry has been discussed in terms of strength and ductility gain, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity. The experimental tests comprised an initial vertical preload, and shear cycles with increasing amplitude.All tests were monitored by means of traditional displacement transducers, and digital image correlation. The analysis of the images showed the time evolution of the overall crack distribution. The TRM effect could be observed as an increase of the mechanical strength (maximum shear from 120 kN to more than 300 kN), higher displacements (drift from 9 to 35 mm), and more energy dissipation (the cumulative energy loss from 2.7 to 12.7 kN•m). In addition, the TRM reinforcements were capable of controlling the crack initiation and growth. The widespread crack along mortar joints observed in the This is a previous version of the article published in Engineering Structures. 2021, 226: 111343.

Shear strengthening of masonry walls with Textile Reinforced Mortars (TRM) under high temperature exposure

“…Regarding the contribution of reinforcement, the formulations of ACI 549.6R-2020 and CNR-DT 215/2018 are presented respectively in Eqs. (7) and (8).…”

“…In the context of stone or masonry constructions, TRMs have significant advantages over Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP), due to their better compatibility with the substrates to be reinforced, their permeability to water vapor, their reversibility and their better fire performance, for example [4,5]. TRMs have demonstrated their effectiveness in a number of scenarios such as wall reinforcement [6][7][8], column confinement [9,10] or intervention in elements such as arches or vaults [11,12], just to name but a few successful applications.…”

Experimental cyclic behaviour of shear masonry walls reinforced with single and double layered Steel Reinforced Grout

“…The equivalent viscous damping ξ eq is a good indicator of the energy dissipation capacity and the stability of the hysteresis behaviour [29]. It can be computed as the ratio between the energy dissipated in each completed cycle E d and its corresponding elastic energy E So following Equations 4 and 5.…”

Textile reinforced mortars (TRM) for repairing and retrofitting masonry walls subjected to in-plane cyclic loads. An experimental approach

“…This steel base had 150 mm holes to anchor it to the one-meter-deep concrete reaction slab. This experimental setup had been previously checked in tests of masonry walls with windows also reinforced with TRM [35].…”