In-plane behavior of seismically damaged clay masonry walls repaired with external TRC

Abstract

Recently earthquakes with quite high magnitude have continuously occurred in the Vietnam territory which cause the dangerous to masonry buildings. The stringent seismic design requirements for masonry structure will be therefore considered in the construction field of Vietnam. The paper, which an exploratory study, focuses on the behavior of clay solid brick masonry walls, especially walls repaired on both sides with TRC (Textile Reinforced Concrete) composite under cyclic in-plane loading condition. This work is the first step towards defining the potentiality including both technical and scientific aspects of using TRC in seismic strengthening and repairing the masonry structure in Vietnam. Thus, an experimental program has been performed at laboratory scale. Two walls have been submitted for cyclic shear-compression tests in-plane solicitation: the first one (unreinforced wall) is tested to the pre-defined damage level and failure mode, and then repaired with TRC strips as the second one. A comparative study on global behavior and on mechanism of failure is performed and, although the limited number tests, highlights that, thanks to the contribution of TRC strips, the wall’s residual strength and deformation ability are upgraded. In addition, compared to the unreinforced specimen, the repaired one is more stable strength and stiffness change at later stages. Furthermore, the TRC strips help to reduce the risk of out-of plane failure. However, it seems to be that, the low reinforcement ratio and (or) the relatively unsuitable formulation of mortar, especially the grain size, in TRC limit its efficiency in reinforcing solutions.