Monte Carlo Simulation of Shear Capacity of URM Walls Retrofitted by Polyurea Reinforced GFRP Grids

Abstract

A model proposed in the literature for the evaluation of the in-plane shear capacity of unstrengthened and strengthened concrete and clay brick unreinforced masonry (URM) walls was modified and calibrated following the results from an experimental research program. The tested walls were strengthened with grids made from glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) embedded within a rapid-setting sprayed polyurea. Various GFRP grid reinforced polyurea layouts were investigated, and consisted of strips oriented in either the vertical or horizontal direction and installed on one or both faces. The prediction models proposed in this paper were subsequently evaluated using a probabilistic Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) by considering the uncertainty and variability of the independent variables, which were assumed to follow a truncated normal distribution. Corroborated by the MCS, test results clearly show that the failure modes of the strengthened URM walls were affected by the strengthening scheme. Experimental and simulation results are presented and discussed in this paper.