FRP strengthening of masonry arches towards an enhanced behaviour

Abstract

This paper deals with the experimental behaviour of brick masonry arches strengthened with glass composite materials (GFRP). Eight 1:2 scale models of 1.5 m span arches were tested under a monotonic vertical load applied at the quarter span. The FRP strengthening was applied either at the extrados or at the intrados of the specimens. The experimental results presented in this paper show that the adopted GFRP strengthening provides an enhanced arch behaviour, with respect to the unstrengthened specimens. The ultimate strength was considerably increased and also a noticeable improvement in ductility was possible. The collapse mechanism of the strengthened arches was no longer related to the formation of a classical four-hinge mechanism, but it was characterized by the occurrence of new failure modes at some critical sections instead.