Bond behaviour of FRP-to-clay brick masonry joints

The out-of-plane bending and in-plane shear response of unreinforced modern clay brick masonry walls retrofitted with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) strips is often governed by debonding failure mechanisms. Hence, it is necessary to quantify the fundamental interface bond–slip model, which describes the debonding behaviour of the FRP-to-masonry interface. This paper presents the results of a series of 29 pull tests investigating the use of externally bonded (EB) and near surface mounted (NSM) retrofitting techniques. Test variables included: surface preparation; geometric properties; location of FRP (relative to perpend joints and cores); bonding agent of bed joints (mortar and quick drying paste); bonding method for glass fibre sheets (plate bonding and dry lay-up); and FRP material. A discussion of the test results and preliminary practical recommendations are also provided. A model used to predict the intermediate crack debonding resistance was verified against the test data. The model is generic in that it is applicable to both the EB and NSM retrofitting techniques. This generic model was shown to give very good ultimate strength predictions for the series of 29 pull tests conducted as part of this research.