Experimental investigation on FRCM strengthened tuff masonry walls

An experimental investigation on the shear-compression behaviour of tuff masonry walls strengthened with fibre-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) systems incorporating basalt fibres is presented in this study. Five in-plane quasi-static shear-compression tests (SC) were carried out on unreinforced and FRCM-strengthened tuff masonry walls, with different configurations, in order to evaluate the in-plane nonlinear response and the effectiveness of the FRCM reinforcement in enhancing the global strength of the walls. Bond tests were also carried out to investigate the bond performance of the same FRCM reinforcement-tuff masonry coupling adopted for the walls. The experimental results demonstrated that the application of FRCM significantly improved the structural performance, since the strengthened specimens showed increased shear strength and ductility compared to the unreinforced counterparts. The potential of FRCM systems as a viable solution for retrofitting masonry structures prone to seismic activity is particularly evidenced when the FRCM reinforcement is applied on both sides, since it was observed a more favourable failure mode compared to what observed in the ‘reference’ URM and in the one-side strengthened specimens.