Tensile behavior of textile-reinforced mortar: Influence of test setup and layer arrangement: Fid-Bau Portal

Tensile behavior of textile-reinforced mortar: Influence of test setup and layer arrangement

Azimi, Nima / Dalalbashi, Ali / Oliveira, Daniel V. / Ghiassi, Bahman / Lourenço, Paulo B.

Highlights • Study of thirteen TRM composites with glass and high-strength steel fabrics, examining their tensile behavior. • Comparison of gripping methods: gripping of mortar vs. gripping of textiles, to assess TRM performance on tensile test. • Investigation of the effects of textile layers, arrangement, and mortar thickness in different setups. • Use of digital image correlation (DIC) to analyze cracking patterns and failure phenomena. • Valuable insights for designing and testing TRMs, improving their tensile behavior.

Abstract Textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) systems are a popular solution for strengthening existing masonry structures these days. The vast application of these materials requires a thorough study of their properties and performance. The tensile behavior of TRMs has a significant role in their mechanical properties and requires a reliable setup to record their performance. Studies in the past focused on different gripping systems and setups for characterizing tensile behavior, but harmonization is still lacking. The present study aims at presenting a suitable setup for tensile testing. To this aim, two different TRM systems were utilized. Four different setups for the clamping of coupons were used: three of them were based on gripping textiles directly, while the other one was based on gripping the mortar. Also, the effect of the textile-to-mortar strength ratio variation was studied for different setups, and using a different number of plies and different mortar thicknesses. Furthermore, digital image correlation was used for all specimens to track cracking patterns and failure modes. Finally, a comprehensive discussion of the results is presented, and the most suitable testing setup is recommended.