Experimental Investigation of CFRP Strengthened Unreinforced Masonry Walls with Openings

Several conventional rehabilitations and strengthening techniques are available depending on the purpose required for unreinforced masonry (URM) walls. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) retrofitting is one of these techniques which increases the shear capacity and overall post-strengthening performance of the walls. This study aims to experimentally explore shear behavior of URM walls with openings that were strengthened by CFRP strips. For this purpose, five solid clay brick masonry wall specimens having a central opening with dimensions of 315 x 230 mm were fabricated and then strengthened using double-sided diagonal CFRP strips with different thickness and surface area. All these specimens were tested under combined in-plane monotonic lateral load and constant axial load. It was concluded that for a given FRP reinforcement amount, a single-layer four-strip configuration results in slightly higher shear strength when compared with a double-layer two-strip configuration. Furthermore, in-plane shear strength of CFRP strengthened URM walls with opening was also estimated by existing analytical models in the literature.