Innovative and Eco-friendly Solutions for the Seismic Retrofitting of Natural Stone Masonry Walls with Textile Reinforced Mortar: In- and Out-of-Plane Behavior

Abstract

The application of textile-reinforced mortars (TRM) on masonry walls constructed with natural stones was studied through a set of medium-scale experiments. Fourteen experiments were carried out in total, including in- and out-of-plane cyclic tests as well as two different strengthening configurations. The first consisted of a TRM made of a natural hydraulic lime (NHL) mortar, combined with a natural flax-fiber textile, while for the latter, a novel alkali-activated material (AAM) geopolymer mortar combined with basalt textile was employed. The use of such low-carbon footprint materials instead of conventional ones makes these systems environmentally friendlier, in line with the modern requirements for lowering CO2 emissions. Both solutions led to a substantial increase of the load-bearing capacity, up to 70% for both in- and out-of-plane experiments. Stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics of the masonry elements were improved as well. If some durability related issues of both configurations and feasibility ones of AAMs are addressed, they could provide good candidates for application in real-life structures.