Experimental study of brick masonry walls strengthened with textile reinforced mortar

Abstract

The paper presents an experimental research on the use of Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) for the strengthening of brick load bearing masonry walls subjected to eccentric loading. Particular attention is given to the case of slender walls and to the ability of TRM reinforcement to enhance the response of such walls against buckling failure. The research has allowed the study of the influence of different mortar and fibre grid types and the possible benefit of using anchors to improve the connection between the walls and the external reinforcement. The experimental campaign has consisted of twelve tests on full scale wall specimens using a specific testing device designed to create a hinged boundary condition at the top and bottom wall ends. It has been observed that TRM reinforcement provides a significant increase of over 100% of the initial load bearing capacity under eccentric axial load. Moreover, a stiffer and more homogeneous behavior is noticed when TRM is applied. A simplified analytical method to calculate the ultimate axial-bending combination for TRM strengthened brick masonry walls, in agreement with the experiments, is also presented.