Modelling the nonlinear behaviour of masonry walls strengthened with textile reinforced mortars

Textile Reinforced Mortars (TRMs) have found extensive attention for externally bonded reinforcement of masonry and historical structures. However, only few information is available regarding their mechanical properties and effectiveness in improving the seismic performance of strengthened structures. This paper presents an extensive numerical investigation on the effect of TRM composites on the nonlinear response and failure modes of masonry walls. The effect of boundary conditions and the TRM type on the performance of strengthened walls are critically discussed and presented. It is shown that the performance and failure mode of the walls can significantly change after strengthening, an important issue that should be considered at the design stage. Finally, the effect of TRM application on the nonlinear response of a large historical masonry facade in Macau is investigated and presented.
The first author is grateful to the SAHC Master Programme for the grant awarded. The second author acknowledges the financial support of the Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, FCT, Portugal, under the grant SFRH/BPD/92614/2013 as well as the financial support of the European Union's Marie Curie Individual Fellowship program under REA grant agreement No. 701531.
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