Strengthening brick walls with composite materials / Il rinforzo di murature in laterizio con materiali compositi

The use of composite materials (FRP – fibre-reinforced polymer, SRG/P – steel reinforced grout/polymer) in brickwork has increased considerably in the past decade, particularly in the field of reinforcing and repairing existing structures and their components after damage from earthquakes. The most commonly used technique consists in applying strips of fibre-reinforced material with organic-base (epoxy resin) matrix or, more recently, an inorganic matrix. Versatile, easy to apply, able to considerably enhance the performance of the wall (improving its pulling strength), and corrosion-proof, this type of strengthening has numerous advantages. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of the technique is greatly influenced by the adherence of the composite material to the masonry which must allow the forces acting on the brickwork to be transferred to the reinforcement. Research has so far not identified standardized test procedures for adherence, nor has it clarified some critical aspects of the phenomenon relating to the processing of data (constituent laws and models of behaviour), so there are no consistent design rules.