Title: A new non-invasive method for the seismic retrofit of rubble masonry using composite connectors

Authors: Gianmarco de Felice; Stefano De Santis; Omar AlShawa; Domenico Liberatore; Luigi Sorrentino; Ivan Roselli; Marialuigia Sangirardi

Addresses: Roma Tre University, Department of Engineering, Via Vito Volterra 62, 00146 Rome, Italy ' Roma Tre University, Department of Engineering, Via Vito Volterra 62, 00146 Rome, Italy ' Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Via Antonio Gramsci 53, 00197 Rome, Italy ' Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Via Antonio Gramsci 53, 00197 Rome, Italy ' Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Via Antonio Gramsci 53, 00197 Rome, Italy ' ENEA Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Laboratorio Tecnologie per la, Dinamica delle Strutture e la, Prevenzione del rischio sismico e idrogeologico, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy ' Roma Tre University, Department of Engineering, Via Vito Volterra 62, 00146 Rome, Italy; University of Oxford, Department of Engineering Science, Parks Road, OX1 3PJ Oxford, UK

Abstract: With the aim of developing a new method for enhancing the seismic performance of historic rubble stone masonry, a shake table investigation was carried out on a full-scale wall retrofitted with non-crossing carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) connectors inserted through the stones of the façade. The wall was built with the stones collected in a small village struck by the 2016-2017 seismic sequence in Central Italy and subject to natural earthquake records, applied in vertical and horizontal directions with increasing intensity up to collapse. The novel non-invasive system effectively prevented masonry disintegration and leaf separation, entailing a significant improvement of its seismic capacity with respect to an unstrengthened specimen tested for reference. The impact of the retrofitting work is minimised because the fair face of the masonry is preserved and the installation of CFRP connectors is performed only from outside.

Keywords: fair faced masonry; leaf separation; masonry disintegration; shake table investigation; stone masonry; vertical bending.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2024.135238

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2024 Vol.9 No.1/2, pp.3 - 14

Received: 26 Jun 2022
Accepted: 25 Sep 2022
Published online: 03 Dec 2023 *

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