Design Guidelines for Masonry Structures: Out of Plane Loads

Synopsis: Unreinforced masonry (URM) walls are prone to failure when subjected to out-of-plane loads caused by seismic loads or high wind pressure. Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in the form of laminates or grids adhesively bonded to the masonry surface with epoxy or polyurea based resins; or FRP bars used as Near Surface Mounted (NSM) reinforcement bonded to the masonry using epoxy or latex modified cementitious pastes, have been successfully used to increase flexural and/or shear capacity of URM walls. However, the practical application of FRPs to strengthen masonry structures is only limited to few research projects due to the limited presence of specific design guidelines. This paper describes provisional design guidelines for the FRP strengthening of masonry walls subject to out of plane loads. The proposed design methodology offers a first rational attempt for consideration by engineers interested in out-of-plane upgrade of masonry walls with externally bonded FRP systems.