Shear performance of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC)-strengthened brick masonry walls

Abstract

Masonry structures are a crucial component of existing building structures. Masonry walls are the main load-carrying component of masonry structures, and their failure is mainly attributed to insufficient shear capacity under extreme loading states such as during earthquakes. Strengthening is an effective measure for improving the shear performance of masonry walls. In this study, the shear performance of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC)-strengthened brick masonry walls was experimentally investigated. The TRC-strengthened brick masonry walls had better integrity and ductile behavior during the failure mode, compared with unreinforced walls. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used to characterize the failure process of the TRC-strengthened walls, and the stress transfer path was characterized. Shear stress-strain curves of the TRC-strengthened walls exhibited good post-peak behavior, and they had higher shear strength, ductility factor, and energy dissipation, compared with unreinforced walls. For different strengthening methods, compared with unreinforced walls, the shear strength, ductility factor, energy dissipation increased by 1.4–3.6, 2.6–11.5, and 10.0–54.0 times, respectively. Based on the experimental results, the shear capacity of the TRC-strengthened brick masonry walls was further calculated and analyzed according to the contemporary methods.