Retrofitting masonry infill walls with novel fibrous structures

Abstract

The present work reports the development of novel retrofitting materials based on braided fibrous structures for the non-load bearing masonry walls. Three different types of braided structure were produced namely (1) simple braids made of polyester yarns, (2) braids made of polyester yarns and axially reinforced with glass fibres and (3) braids made of polyester yarns and axially reinforced with carbon fibres. Three masonry wall specimens were built with traditional perforated clay bricks, embedding these braided structures within the mortar paste in specific mesh like configuration. Besides that, another wall containing glass/epoxy laminates was also fabricated in order to compare the performance of braided structures with the commonly used glass/epoxy laminates. The masonry wall specimens were characterized for flexural properties using four point load configuration and the experimental results showed that the best ductile behaviour was achieved with the braided structure having carbon fibre core. This demonstrates the suitability of this type of retrofitting material in sustaining the structure of masonry walls after occurrence of a seismic event, preventing sudden collapse and incurred losses. Moreover, the present research also demonstrates that the ductility of these novel materials can be further enhanced through use of a hybrid core containing a mixture of glass and carbon fibres. According to the experimental results, a hybrid core containing 25% glass and 75% carbon fibre results in better mechanical behaviour than 100% carbon core and therefore, can be advantageously used for strengthening of masonry walls.