Study of the seismic performance of damaged confined brick masonry walls reinforced with FRCM

Abstract

Masonry walls, the main load-bearing elements, are susceptible to shear damage due to seismic action. Currently, most masonry structures have various degrees of damage and must be strengthened in a timely manner to enhance their performance during earthquakes. This study presents pseudostatic test results for the use of FRCMs to strengthen damaged confined brick masonry walls. Tests were conducted on five walls, and performance indicators were compared for one unreinforced masonry wall and four masonry walls that were damaged and reinforced with various retrofit measures. Reinforcement by FRCM improved the integrity and increased the deformation of damaged walls. The study also examined the damage mechanism, hysteresis characteristics, deformation capacity, and energy dissipation. This study demonstrated the value of using FRCMs to repair damaged masonry walls to improve their seismic performance. The skeletal curves of the walls reinforced on both sides exhibited better postpeak behavior, and the seismic performance indices of the damaged walls strengthened by FRCM were better than those of the unreinforced wall. In accordance with the results of these experiments and previous studies by other scholars, the damage severity and limit state of the FRCM-strengthened walls were determined on the basis of displacement drift. Furthermore, the calculated shear capacities of the FRCM-reinforced walls agreed well with the experimental values.