• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.473-491
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• 2022

The research investigates experimentally the effect of confinement on structural behavior at the ends of beam-column in reinforced concrete (RC) frames. In the experimental study, five specimens consisting of 1/3-scaled RC frames having single-bay, representing the traditional deficiencies of existing buildings constructed without receiving proper engineering service is investigated. The RC frame specimens were produced to represent most of the existing buildings in Turkey that have damage potential. To decrease the probable damage to the existing buildings exposed to earthquakes, the carbon Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) strengthening technique (fully wrapping) was used on the ends of the RC frame elements to increase the energy dissipation and deformation capacity. The specimens were tested under reversed cyclic lateral loading with constant axial loads. They were constructed satisfying the weak column-strong beam condition and consisting of low-strength concrete, such as compressive strength of 15 MPa. The test results were compared and evaluated considering stiffness, strength, energy dissipation capacity, structural damping, ductility, and damage propagation in detail. Comprehensive investigations of these experimental results reveal that the strengthening of a brittle frame with fully-TRM wrapping with non-anchored was effective in increasing the stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation capacities of RC bare frames. It was also observed that the frame-only-retrofitting with an infill wall is not enough to increase the ductility capacity. In this case, both the frame and infill wall must be retrofitted with TRM composite to increase the stiffness, lateral load carrying, ductility and energy dissipation capacities of RC frames. The presented strengthening method can be an alternative strengthening technique to enhance the seismic performance of existing or moderately damaged RC buildings.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.279-295
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• 2016

A new innovative composite material is textile reinforced cementitious composite (TRCC). To achieve high flexural performance researchers suggest polymer modification of TRCC matrices. In this study, nine ready mix repair mortars commonly used in construction industry and the production of TRCC elements were examined. Mechanical properties such as compressive and flexural strength, drying shrinkage were studied. Being a significant durability concern, alkali silica reaction tests were performed according to related standards. Results showed that, some ready repair mortar mixes are potentially reactive due to the alkali silica reaction. Two of the ready mortar mixes labelled as non-shrinkage in their technical data sheets showed the highest shrinkage. In this experiment, researchers designed new matrices. These matrices were fine grained concretes modified with polymer additives; latexes and redispersible powders. Two latexes and six redispersible powder polymers were used in the study. Mechanical properties of fine grained concretes such as compressive and flexural strengths were determined. Results showed that some of the fine grained concretes cast with redispersible powders had higher flexural strength than ready mix repair mortars at 28 days. Matrix composition has to be designed for a suitable consistency for planned production processes of TRCC and mechanical properties for load-carrying capacity.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.411-425
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• 2020

Unreinforced masonry (URM) walls present low shear strength and are prone to brittle failure when subjected to inplane seismic overloads. This paper discusses the shear strengthening of URM walls with Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) jackets. The available literature is thoroughly reviewed and an extended database is developed including available brick, concrete and stone URM walls retrofitted and subjected to shear tests to assess their strength. Further, the experimental results of the database are compared against the available shear strength design models from ACI 549.4R-13, CNR DT 215 2018, CNR DT 200 R1/2013, Eurocode 6 and Eurocode 8 guidelines as well as Triantafillou and Antonopoulos 2000, Triantafillou 1998, Triantafillou 2016. The performance of the available models is investigated and the prediction average absolute error (AAE) is as high as 40%. A new model is proposed that takes into account the additional contribution of the reinforcing mortar layer of the TRM jacket that is usually neglected. Further, the approach identifies the plethora of different block materials, joint mortars and TRM mortars and grids and introduces rational calibration of their variable contributions on the shear strength. The proposed model provides more accurate shear strength predictions than the existing models for all different types of the URM substrates, with a low AAE equal to 22.95%.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2024

The paper presents the experimental investigation of RC beams retrofitted with Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM), featuring enhanced bond capacity. Anchoring systems, including an extension of retrofitting length and the use of chemical anchors, are newly employed to improve the structural performance of the RC beam retrofitted with TRM. For the experimental investigation, a total of seven shear-critical RC beams, with and without stirrups, were designed and constructed. The structural behaviors of specimens retrofitted with the proposed TRM methods were compared to those of non-retrofitted specimens or specimens strengthened with conventional TRM methods. Crack pattern, force-displacement relationship, and absorbed energy were evaluated for each specimen. The experimental results indicate a significant improvement in the shear capacity of the RC beam with the proposed retrofitting method. Therefore, it is concluded that the application of an extended retrofitting length and chemical anchors to the TRM retrofitting method can effectively enhance the bond capacity of TRM, thereby improving the shear performance of RC beams.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.625-639
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• 2019

The concept of the combined seismic and energy retrofitting of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings was examined in this paper through a number of case studies conducted on model buildings (simulating buildings of the '60s-'80s in southern Europe) constructed according to outdated design standards. Specifically, seismic and thermal analyses have been conducted prior to and after the application of selected retrofitting schemes, in order to quantify the positive effect that retrofitting could provide to RC buildings both in terms of their structural and energy performance. Advanced materials, namely the textile reinforced mortars (TRM), were used for providing seismic retrofitting by means of jacketing of masonry infills in RC frames. Moreover, following the application of the TRM jackets, thermal insulation materials were simultaneously provided to the RC building envelope, exploiting the fresh mortar used to bind the TRM jackets. In addition to the externally applied insulation material, all the fenestration elements (windows and doors) were replaced with new high energy efficiency ones. Afterwards, an economic measure, namely the expected annual loss (EAL) was used to evaluate the efficiency of each retrofitting method, but also to assess whether the combined seismic and energy retrofitting is economically feasible. From the results of this preliminary study, it was concluded that the selected seismic retrofitting technique can indeed enhance significantly the structural behaviour of an existing RC building and lower its EAL related to earthquake risks. Finally, it was found that the combined seismic and energy upgrading is economically more efficient than a sole energy or seismic retrofitting scenario for seismic areas of south Europe.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.137-160
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• 2015

The one-way (two-way) flexural strength of RCC prisms (circular slabs) reinforced with glass fiber textiles is addressed. To this end, alkaline-resistant glass fiber textiles with three surface weights were used in the composite, the matrix concrete was designed with zero/nonzero slump, and the textiles were used with/without an intermediate layer provided by epoxy resin and sand mortar. Prisms were tested under a four-point loading apparatus and circular slabs were placed on simple supports under a central load. Effects of the amount and geometry of reinforcement, matrix workability, and the intermediate layer on the ultimate load and deflection were investigated. Results revealed that, with a specific reinforcement amount, there is an optimum textile tex for each case, depending on the matrix mix design and the presence of intermediate layer. Similar results were obtained in one-way and two-way bending tests.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.355-372
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• 2022

The study is part of an experimental program on full-scale Un-Reinforced Masonry (URM) wall panels strengthened with Textile reinforced mortars (TRM). Eight brick walls (two with and five without central opening), were tested under the diagonal tension (shear) test method in order to investigate the strengthening system effectiveness on the in-plane behaviour of the walls. All the URM panels consist of the innovative components, named "Orthoblock K300 bricks" with vertical holes and a thin layer mortar. Both of them have great capacity and easy application and can be constructed much more rapidly than the traditional bricks and mortars, increasing productivity, as well as the compressive strength of the masonry walls. Several parameters pertaining to the in-plane shear behaviour of the retrofitted panels were investigated, including shear capacity, failure modes, the number of layers of the external TRM jacket, and the existence of the central opening of the wall. For both the control and retrofitted panels, the experimental shear capacity and failure mode were compared with the predictions of existing prediction models (ACI 2013, TA 2000, Triantafillou 1998, Triantafillou 2016, CNR 2018, CNR 2013, Eurocode 6, Eurocode 8, Thomoglou et al. 2020). The experimental work allowed an evaluation of the shear performance in the case of the bidirectional textile (TRM) system applied on the URM walls. The results have shown that some analytical models present a better accuracy in predicting the shear resistance of all the strengthened masonry walls with TRM systems which can be used in design guidelines for reliable predictions.