Experimental FRP/SRP–historic masonry delamination

The preservation of the architectural heritage presents one of the important challenges in civil engineering due to the complexity of the geometry of the structures, the variability of the materials used and the loading history of the buildings. This objective increases for existing constructions in the seismic area. External bonding of fiber or, more recently, steel reinforced polymer composites has become a popular technique for strengthening historic monumental masonry buildings. The performance of the interface between composites and masonry is one of the key factors affecting the behaviour of strengthened structures: shear walls, arches and vaults. This paper aims to present the results of an experimental study to evaluate the bond between fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) – glass and carbonFRP – and steel reinforced polymer (SRP) with historic masonry: pull–push shear tests on FRP/SRP-to-historic brick bonded joints specimens were carried out. Modes of failure are discussed in detail and analytical results are compared with experimental data. Experimental strains recorded on FRP/SRP strips were processed to evaluate shear–slip laws of tested specimens; energy fracture and failure load values are compared with theoretical values by simplified models for shear stress–slip. Finally, a simple model of FRP/SRP design suitable for practical application to historic masonry is proposed.