FRP Confinement of Stone Specimens Subjected to Moisture and Preload

ABSTRACT

There are many available studies on the reinforcement of columns by confinement with composite materials. However, in the particular case of stone elements, there is a lack of information regarding the performance of this solution under adverse conditions, which may occur during the life service of the structure. In this research, the confinement of calcarenite samples with a Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) jacket has been studied in different scenarios, which simulate real conditions of structural retrofitting works. Specifically, the FRP’s efficiency was assessed in water saturation specimens, in damaged samples due to previous load, or the FRP jacket was casted directly in preloaded stone columns. As a general conclusion, FRP could improve notably the compressive strength of the unconfined material. In addition, the mechanical behavior seemed to depend on the FRP properties rather than the actual damage suffered by the rock core.

KEYWORDS:

• Confinement
• FRP
• masonry
• moisture
• preload
• stone
• water

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Mapei Spain S.A. for the materials supplied to make this research.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, grant number [RTI2018-101148-B-I00].