GAMS MATIJA1, KWIECIEŃ ARKADIUSZ2, ZAJĄC BOGUSŁAW3, TOMAŽEVIČ MIHA4

1 Researcher, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Section for Building Structures, matija.gams@zag.si

2 Associate Professor, Cracow University of Technology, Institute of Structural Mechanics, akwiecie@pk.edu.pl

3 Assistant Professor, Cracow University of Technology, Institute of Structural Mechanics, boguslaw8zajac@gmail.com

4 Professor, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Section for Building Structures, miha.tomazevic@zag.si

The paper presents the results of an experimental study aimed at improving seismic resistance of brick masonry walls by the use of highly flexible polymer coatings and GFRP grids. Within the preliminary testing campaign, four walls were tested by cyclic shear, namely a reference wall in the original state and three strengthened walls. Among the strengthened walls, one was first tested in the original state and damaged, then repaired using the fast curing polymer coating, and retested. The last two walls were tested after strengthening without previous damage and repair. Results show that the application of the coating as a repair solution, or as a method of strengthening improves the seismic performance of the walls significantly, maintaining its integrity and load bearing capacity beyond the capacities of a reference wall.

Keywords: Masonry, seismic strengthening, flexible polymers, flexible coating