Static Cyclic Response of Masonry Walls Retrofitted with Fiber-Reinforced Polymers

Abstract

The behavior of seven one-half scale masonry specimens before and after retrofitting using fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) is investigated. Four walls were built using one-half scale hollow clay masonry units and weak mortar to simulate walls built in central Europe in the mid-20th century. Three walls were first tested as unreinforced masonry walls; then, the seismically damaged specimens were retrofitted using FRPs. The fourth wall was directly upgraded after construction using FRP. Each specimen was retrofitted on the entire surface of a single side. All the specimens were tested under constant gravity load and incrementally increasing in-plane loading cycles. The tested specimens had two effective moment/shear ratio, namely, 0.5 and 0.7. The key parameter was the amount of FRP axial rigidity, which is defined as the amount of FRP reinforcement ratio times its