Modelling of masonry arches strengthened at extrados with FRCM

Abstract

Masonry arches are amongst the most fascinating structures of the World's historical and architectural heritage. Their vulnerability to earthquakes pointed out the necessity of their preservation. Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Mortar (FRCM) composites have been recently used as a more sustainable alternative to FRPs in the strengthening of masonry structures, since they can overcome the limits FRP show as strengthening systems: poor behavior to high temperature, delamination with significant loss of material at the bonded surface, lack of vapor permeability, impossibility of application on humid surfaces, incompatibility of resins with masonry, high cost and reduced reversibility of the installation. These aspects have a critical relevance in the case of historical structures, whose features have to be preserved, and motivate researches about the use of FRCM on masonry structures, from both experimental and analytical points of view. In this paper, the results of numerical analyses performed on arches unstrengthened and strengthened at the extrados with PBO-FRCM composites are presented, taking as reference the experimental tests published in [1] and [2]. The aim of this research is to further investigate the benefits that the use of FRCM composites have on the mechanical performance of masonry. The used model, implemented in the finite element code DIANA FEA, succeeded in reproducing the mechanical behavior of the considered arches in terms of collapse mechanism, load carrying capacity and ductility.