Adhesion between SRP and masonry: Influence of moist condition of specimens and presence of salts in the substrate

In recent years, steel reinforced polymer (SRP) composites have emerged as a new technology for structural reinforcement, and several researches have validated the effectiveness of SRP for masonry strengthening. Research has been carried out to study the bond behavior of SRP composites applied to a masonry substrate. However, how the moist and salt on masonry surface will affect bond, which is the weak link in real strengthening applications, is little known yet. This study aims at investigating the bond behavior of SRP composites applied to moist and salt-laden masonry blocks that were subjected to an artificial weathering protocol. Single-lap shear tests were conducted to determine the bond behavior, while ion chromatography provided the salts distribution of weathered specimens to interpret the results of the shear tests.