Structural Behavior of Small Scale Masonry Elements Strengthened with Engineered Cementitious Composites

This experimental study aims at investigating the behavior of masonry elements strengthened by engineered cementitious composites (ECC). ECC is a special class of fiber-reinforced cement-based composite materials (FRCC) micromechanically designed to achieve strain-hardening and multiple cracking in tension.

A version of ECC suitable for troweling on masonry was developed and material tests were carried out to assess its distinctive mechanical properties. Furthermore, different experiments were performed on masonry elements to investigate the influence of ECC overlay on the masonry behavior. The effect of the thickness of ECC layer on the shear bond strength between ECC and masonry was investigated by a series of triplet tests.

Also, direct tension tests using pull-off method were carried out to determine the tensile bond strength between ECC overlay and brick units. The obtained results indicate that the proposed ECC-strengthening technique can effectively increase the shear capacity of masonry elements, improve their ductility, enhance their energy absorption capacity, and prevent the brittle failure mode.