Strengthening masonry vaults with organic and inorganic composites: An experimental approach

• Tensile strength of the steel composite mortar is 46% lower than the steel strips.
• The basalt composite and the basalt textile both show similar tensile strengths.
• Steel and basalt reinforced mortars are effective solutions for vault retrofitting.
• The structural response (load and deformability) of the vaults is greatly improved.

Polymer-reinforced fibers are now commonly applied to buildings for structural retrofitting purposes. These materials add greater tensile strength to structures, at the expense of a slight increase in weight. However, they also have other disadvantages such as brittle behavior and lack of water vapor permeability, which are not desired in the conservation of heritage buildings.Alternative composite materials embedded in an inorganic matrix are presented, which solve some of the drawbacks associated with organic matrices. Long steel fibers and basalt textiles are applied to the resistant core of the inorganic matrix to produce a steel-basalt reinforced mortar-based composite. Firstly, a mechanical characterization of the individual components and the resulting material was performed. Secondly, non-strengthened and strengthened real-scale (2.98 m span, 1.46 m high and 0.77 m deep) brick masonry vaults were tested up to failure, in order to demonstrate the mechanical effectiveness of these composite materials. Finally, a comparison between two mortar composite materials (steel-strips/basalt-textiles embedded in a polymer matrix) was performed, with the same real-scale brick-vault failure tests.The experimental campaign demonstrates that the steel/basalt composite mortar is a feasible alternative, which is physically compatible with masonry structures, easy to apply, and effective for the reinforcement of brick vaults.

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