Shear strengthening of masonry walls with Textile Reinforced Mortars (TRM) under high temperature exposure

Abstract

The behavior of masonry walls strengthened with Textile Reinforced Mortars (TRM) is a topic that has received considerable attention from researchers in recent years. However, the response of such elements after exposure to high temperature is an issue that remains to be explored extensively. This study analyzes the behavior of TRM-strengthened brick masonry panels with glass and carbon fiber meshes subjected to temperatures up to 600 °C, and subsequently tested under diagonal compression. The reinforcements were applied before or after temperature exposure, to analyze the effectiveness of damaged or undamaged TRMs, thus simulating different scenarios that might occur in a real building under a fire event. In general terms, the results showed that TRMs with carbon fibers exhibited a better response in these conditions, restoring the walls to their original capacity and providing additional ductility, whilst reinforcements with glass fibers seemed to be more affected by temperature. Finally, the experimental results are here compared to predictions from available design guides, in order to assess the accuracy that these codes would provide in these circumstances.