Strengthening of Masonry Beam with ECC as Bed Joint

Abstract

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is a cement based composite with pseudo-strain-hardening behavior and excellent crack control. Substitution of cement mortar with ECC can increase the tensile and bond strength of the masonry. In this paper, masonry beams were made with ECC as a bed joint. Fifteen masonry beams of 150 x 230 mm cross-section and 1300 mm length were fabricated. These masonry beams were tested for four point bending. Out of 15 beams, three were tested as control beam and remaining were externally strengthened with FRP sheets in different pattern to examine the flexural response. This study investigates the effectiveness of using ECC mortar as bed joint in masonry beam with external carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP) strengthening. The experimental results showed that applying FRP sheets increased the load carrying capacity and ductility.