In-plane Shear Behavior of FRP Strengthened Masonry Walls

Abstract

Using Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is one of the recently developed techniques for structural retrofitting that includes various kinds of fibers such as Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), GFRP and AFRP which are included in continuous polymer matrix. Using FRPs can increase the ratio of strength and stiffness to weight, enhance the durability at various situations and convenience in installation.

A finite element method is introduced to model unreinforced masonry (URM) walls by using software, ANSYS. The masonry walls are strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer sheets (CFRPs) and two different strengthening methods have been used with various thicknesses. The strengthened walls are affected by vertical loads and in-plane shear which can be found that the critical loads, the critical displacement, the ultimate loads, the ultimate displacements and the ductile coefficients of the masonry walls strengthened with CFRPs are improved remarkably.