Bond behaviour and sustainability of fibre reinforced cementitious matrix composites applied to masonry elements

Fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) have shown to be an effective solution for retrofitting and strengthening of existing masonry structures, although some drawbacks related with the use of organic resins have been found. A newly developed alternative to FRP, known as fibre reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites, may overcome the drawbacks. This paper provides a better insight into the bond behaviour of FRCM when applied to masonry substrates and highlights possible differences with the behaviour of FRP composites by means of push-pull single-lap direct-shear tests for two types of fibres (glass and basalt). Additionally, the sustainability of this strengthening system was evaluated by means of a life cycle assessment (LCA). The experimental data suggests that the effective bond length for basalt FRCM composites is lower than 260 mm and that for basalt and glass composites the initial response is highly dependent on the elastic behaviour of the fibres. The FRCM system provides environmental benefits in all the analysed categories with respect to the reference FRP technique, based on the analysis performed.