In-plane shear strengthening of brick masonry panel with geogrid reinforcement embedded in bed and bed-head joints mortar

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the strengthening performance of brick masonry prisms and panels via geogrid reinforcement embedded in brick mortar. A compressive strength test was performed for brick prisms, while a diagonal compression test was performed for brick panel with two patterns, i.e., geogrid reinforcement at bed joints as well as at bed-head joints. The compressive strength of the geogrid embedded prisms was found to be 32.65% more than that of un-reinforced brick prisms. While, geogrid-reinforced brick panels exhibited better crushing load, in-plane shear strength, lateral strength, ductility, etc., than un-reinforced masonry with the highest in-case of bed joint reinforcement. Cost analysis showed that the unit costs of un-reinforced and reinforced walls are similar (within 6.5%). Thus strengthened walls can be valid alternative to un-strengthened walls for new constructions and a low-cost strengthening technique for earthquake disaster mitigation of brick masonry buildings.

Automated summary

Experimental investigation showed that geogrid reinforcement embedded in brick mortar can significantly enhance the strength and performance of brick masonry prisms and panels, with a cost-effective solution for earthquake disaster mitigation in brick masonry buildings.