Experimental and Analytical Evaluation of Masonry Walls Retrofitted with FRP Reinforcement in Out of Plane Bending for Cyclic Loading

Download or read book Experimental and Analytical Evaluation of Masonry Walls Retrofitted with FRP Reinforcement in Out of Plane Bending for Cyclic Loading written by Jeremy Keith Wallace and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During recent years, near surface mounted (NSM) fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have displayed exceptional results when used to retrofit un-reinforced masonry walls for flexural out-of-plane strengthening. This process involves cutting a shallow groove into the masonry wall, which is less than the thickness of the face shell. FRP bars are then placed into the groove and embedded in an epoxy paste, which transfers stresses from the masonry wall to the reinforcing bar. Although this retrofitting technique is advantageous for most structural applications, the nature of the bar location introduces an inherent restriction. By locating the bar at a depth no greater than the thickness of the face shell, the flexural strength is only increased in one direction. This limitation introduced an opportunity to develop a novel approach to flexural out-of-plane strengthening of masonry walls for cyclic loading, which was the overall objective of this research project. The retrofitting technique is similar to that of NSM rods; but the FRP bars are placed at the centerline of the wall analogous to traditional steel rebars for two directional reinforcing. Test results confirmed that FRP bars can be used to drastically increase flexural capacity of masonry walls subjected to cyclic loading, while remaining practical and beneficial in terms of field construction. Standard working stress equations were also used to conservatively predict the structural responses of the masonry walls within 9 to 15.8 percent.