Strengthening of unreinforced masonry using welded wire mesh and micro-concrete – Behaviour under in-plane action

Unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings constitute a significant part of existing building inventory worldwide. Past earthquakes have shown that these buildings are highly vulnerable to earthquakes. Application of of Ferro-cement (welded wire mesh with micro-concrete/mortar) is one of the commonly used techniques for seismic retrofitting of such buildings. The present experimental study performed on unreinforced brick masonry panels strengthened by Welded Wire Mesh (WWM) and micro-concrete, aims to investigate the efficacy of this technique in enhancing the shear and ductility capacity of masonry. A set of six unreinforced and twelve strengthened panels are subjected to diagonal compression tests. Two different reinforcement configurations, simulating field application, are evaluated. The effect of strengthening on in-plane shear behaviour of URM walls, including failure modes, modulus of rigidity, shear strength, maximum drift, and pseudo ductility, are investigated. The results show that the strengthening using Ferro-cement results in significant enhancement in shear strength and ductility of unreinforced masonry.