A Novel Shear Strengthening of Existing RC Shear Walls Using Steel Wire Mesh and Polymer Mortar

Abstract

A new type of strengthening technique for existing reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls was proposed using steel wire mesh (SWM) and polymer mortar. The experimental campaign consists of testing one conventional RC shear wall specimen and four specimens strengthened using different configurations of steel wire mesh ratios and wrapping methods under cyclic lateral loading. The experimental results showed that the application of steel wire meshes and polymer mortar not only delayed the shear cracks formation but also effectively controlled the crack propagation. The average increase in cracking load of strengthened specimens was about 79%. The lateral load-carrying capacity of the strengthened specimens increased (about 55%) with the increase in the considered steel wire mesh reinforcement ratio compared to the control specimen. Wrapping of steel wire meshes around the shear wall surface prevented debonding of polymer mortar layers, and enhanced the performance compared to wrapping only on exposed surfaces. A theoretical expression to estimate the capacity of the strengthened shear walls was proposed based on the softened strut-and-tie model. The proposed expression fairly predicted the capacity of the strengthened specimens for the present and previous study.

Keywords

• RC shear walls
• shear strengthening
• steel wire mesh (SWM)
• strut-and-tie model (STM)
• shear capacity
• polymer mortar