Experimental behaviour of damaged masonry arches strengthened with steel fiber reinforced mortar (SFRM)

摘要

In this paper, the results of an experimental campaign aimed to study the behavior of damaged solid clay brick masonry arches strengthened with steel fiber reinforced mortar (SFRM) are presented. Conditions of damage studied included preloading, horizontal displacement of one of the supports, or a combination of both. After damage was produced, the arches were strengthened with one layer of SFRM at the intrados and retested. The performance of the strengthened arches is discussed in terms of failure mode, and variation in the load carrying capacity, ductility and stiffnesses with respect to unstrengthened undamaged condition. The results show that the SFRM strengthening was able to increase significantly the strength and stiffness of the arches, although in some cases such increase was accompanied by a reduction in the specimens' ductility. In addition, an analytical formulation for the design and assessment of the capacity of masonry arches strengthened with SFRM was developed. Comparison between predicted and experimental values show good agreement, which allowed validating the analytical method.