Bulletin of the Polytechnic Institute of Jassy: Constructions, Architechture Section (Jan 2007)
Structural Behaviour of Strengthened Composite Materials. Experimental Studies
Abstract
Masonry represents one of the earliest structural materials used by mankind. A lot of the ancient building structures were made using masonry. A large number of these buildings have been stated historical monuments. Most commonly masonry elements which are able to cover large spans was masonry arches. The paper makes a detailed presentation on structural behaviour and failure mechanisms of a horizontally loaded masonry arch. The arch model was built at a 1 : 1 scale using solid bricks and M10Z mortar. It was firstly loaded with vertically acting dead loads and with horizontal load acting in its plane. In this loading hypothesis, a plastic hinge occurred leading to the failure of the arch and loss of load bearing capacity. In the next stage of the experimental program, the arch was strengthened using a composite material membrane at the upper face. The membrane consisted in a continuous, glass-fiber fabric and epoxy resin. After proper curing, the same loading hypothesis was used. The failure mechanisms changed and a larger horizontal loading level was noticed. Further on, the arch was rehabilitated using a different composite material layout, the membrane was applied both on upper and bottom faces as well as partially on the lateral faces of the arch. This new rehabilitation layout leads to a significant increase in the load bearing capacity of the arch. The failure mechanisms were changed causing a significantly better overall structural behaviour of the arch.
