IOP CONFERENCE SERIES: MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Abstract
The paper investigates the effectiveness of a modern reinforcement technique based
on a Glass Fiber-Reinforced Mortar (GFRM) for the enhancement of the performances of
existing masonry vaults subjected to horizontal seismic actions. In fact, the authors recently
evidenced, through numerical simulations, that the typical simplified loading patterns generally
adopted in the literature for the experimental tests, based on concentrated vertical loads at 1/4 of
the span, are not reliable for such a purpose, due to an unrealistic stress distribution. Thus,
experimental quasi-static cyclic tests on full-scale masonry vaults based on a specific setup,
designed to apply a horizontal load pattern proportional to the mass, were performed. Three
samples were tested: an unreinforced vault, a vault reinforced at the extrados and a vault
reinforced at the intrados. The experimental results demonstrated the technique effectiveness in
both strength and ductility. Moreover, numerical simulations were performed by adopting a
simplified FE, smear-crack model, evidencing the good reliability of the prediction by
comparison with the experimental results.
