Seismic Strengthening of Unreinforced Masonry Structures with Fiber Composite Fabrics

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This project is supported under the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER, Brochure NSF-89-85) Program. Due to their high tensile strength, durability, and superior fatigue behavior, composite materials have been increasingly applied in civil engineering constructions. One of such applications involves the use of fiber-glass reinforcement, sheets, or wires for seismic repair or strengthening of existing structures. Some success of such techniques has been demonstrated in several case applications around the world. The use of glass-fiber reinforced techniques have been successfully tested in strengthening of reinforced concrete structural members such as beams and bridge-column piers. However, the feasibility of such similar applications to unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings--one of the nation's most vulnerable existing building stocks to seismic hazard--has not been seriously explored. This project ventures into such a new research area where there is a potential to develop a technically-sound and cost-effective engineering measure to strengthen existing URM buildings in the nation's seismic regions. The objective of this exploratory research project is to demonstrate the feasibility of seismic strengthening of URM structures by epoxy-bonding composite fibers to the exterior surfaces of the structure. The focus of the study are: (a) to determine the bond behavior of composite fabrics to masonry, and (b) to study the effectiveness of glass fibers as low- cost reinforcement materials.