Seismic behavior of a masonry chimney retrofitted with composite materials: A preliminary approach

Abstract

This paper presents a structural analysis of a masonry chimney, which is being catalogued as local interest heritage, according Eurocode 8. The chimney, located in Alicante (Spain), is severely damaged, and it shows several longitudinal cracks, and mortar loss between bricks. In order to guarantee the structural safety under seismic forces, the chimney was retrofitted with composite materials. This reinforcement comprised an internal textile reinforced mortar (TRM) layer, i.e. glass fiber mesh and cement matrix, and local reinforcement with longitudinal carbon fiber bands. This study consisted of two stages: first, numerical and experimental analyses of the original chimney were done. Second, design of an internal reinforcement scheme was done. The experimental text includes acceleration measures under ambient vibration for an operational modal analysis. And laboratory test for bricks and mortar to study the mineralogical composition and mechanical properties. The numerical analysis includes, preliminary pushover analysis before and after the reinforcement was done, and second, linear response spectrum analysis to evaluate the structural stability under the seismic demand.