IN SITU DIAGONAL COMPRESSION TESTS ON MASONRY PANELS STRENGTHENED BY FRP AND FRCM

In this paper, the results of a research project carried out on existing masonry walls belonging to the barn of a rural building struck by the 2012 Emilia earthquake are presented. The aims of the experimental campaign performed in situ were: to evaluate the actual shear capacity of existing double-leaf masonry walls, to quantify the improvements obtained by reinforcing the existing walls through FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers) or FRCM (Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix) and to compare the effectiveness of the strengthening solutions in terms of structural performances. In particular, scrupulous attention was made on the selection of the masonry walls to be tested in order to consider the same masonry typologies with a similar level of material degradation. The specimens were isolated from the remaining masonry walls, in order to leave the panels undisturbed, and subjected to diagonal compression test, which allowed to characterize the mechanical properties of some typical masonry walls of the area and to evaluate the contribution of the proposed reinforcements. The experimental work allowed an evaluation of the shear strength and the failure mode in case of unidirectional (FRP) or bidirectional fiber (FRCM) reinforcements applied on masonry panels. The results of the tests on the reinforced panels showed a less brittle failure and a significant increase of shear strength and displacements with respect to the unreinforced masonry wall.