Out-of-plane flexural behavior of brick masonry walls reinforced with different fiber-reinforced materials

Abstract

Masonry walls, as the primary load-bearing elements of masonry structures, are susceptible to out-of-plane loading during earthquakes. To compare the out-of-plane flexural behavior of masonry walls strengthened with different fiber-reinforced materials, 27 masonry beams with a span of 870 mm were subjected to monotonic loading until failure under four-point bending tests. The test variables included material type, highly ductile fiber-reinforced concrete (HDC) thickness, number of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) layers and number of textile reinforced mortar (TRM) mesh layers. The failure modes, mid-span load-displacement curve, initial flexural stiffness, ductility coefficient and energy absorption capacity of each group of materials were analyzed and discussed. The results showed that CFRP, HDC and TRM reinforcement could significantly enhance the load-bearing capacity, deformability and ductility of masonry beams. Among them, TRM demonstrated the most pronounced improvement in load-bearing capacity and deformability, attributed to the high tensile strength of carbon fibers and the strain-hardening characteristics of matrix. Additionally, the thickness of the reinforcement layer was observed to significantly influence the out-of-plane flexural behavior of masonry beams. Furthermore, a predictive model for load-bearing capacity was developed. The accuracy and reliability of models were validated through theoretical analyses and experimental results, providing reference for masonry structure reinforcement.