Seismic In-plane performance of retrofitted masonry walls

Retrofitting of masonry to improve its seismic performance is the focus of research community all around the globe. In the present work, a new masonry retrofitting technique using externally anchored steel strips mesh is presented. An extensive experimental programme was carried out to study the effects of proposed technique on masonry lateral strength, ductility, energy dissipation, response and damping factor under lateral cyclic loading. A total of twenty tests were carried out; 1) twelve were lateral cyclic tests, 2) four monotonic lateral tests and 3) four pure compression tests. The test results were analysed in five separate groups and this paper presents the analysis of group 3, which deals with the effect of steel retrofitting of un-reinforced masonry wall panels on its seismic performance. Six single leaf panels with aspect ratio of 0.67 were constructed using same type of material and workmanship. It was observed that amount of steel reinforcement and meshing pattern of steel strips had significant effect on seismic performance and failure modes. The simplicity, cost effectiveness and efficacy of this proposed technique could help the local designers and engineers to enhance seismic performance of existing masonry structures.