Out-of-plane behaviour of masonry walls strengthened with a GFRP reinforced mortar coating

A strengthening technique for masonry walls based on the application of a mortar coating reinforced with GFRP meshes was considered in the study, so to evidence its effectiveness for out-of-plane actions. The results of four point bending tests carried out on full scale masonry elements (1000 mm width, 3000 mm height) were presented and discussed. The specimens are made with three different masonry types (solid bricks, rubble stones, and cobblestones) and using lime and cement plaster. URM specimens were also tested as reference. The out-of-plane bending resistance was significantly increased (almost 5 times) and the mid-span deflection reached considerable values before the wall collapse (from 1/200 to 1/100 of the wall height). Results of plain specimens permitted the estimation of the flexural strengths of unreinforced masonry. The application of simplified analytical relations for uncracked and cracked sections lead to quite good predictions of first cracking and maximum resistances of RM.