Strengthening of Unreinforced Masonry Walls with Composite Materials

Unreinforced masonry (URM) is considered one of the oldest construction materials being until the end of XIXth century, the basic material for: foundations, walls, columns, volts, staircases, floor joints, roofs, retaining walls, drainage channels, barrages, etc. Construction with URM elements posses a series of advantages such as: fire resistance, thermal an acoustic insulations between interior and outside spaces, humidity resistance. However the URM elements have some significant inconveniences such as: large self weight (heaviness causes cracks in the other elements of structures), reduced mechanical strengths in comparison with other traditional materials (steel and concrete), low tenacity, great manual labor consumptions, and vulnerability to earthquakes. Various factors cause deteriorations which must be overcome by strengthening solutions. Some strengthening solutions based on fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) products applied directly on URM brick walls are presented in the paper

Teaching Polymeric Composites in Construction, a Joint Effort of Education, Research and Industry

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are currently finding a large use in many civil engineering areas. They are utilized in all composites structures with special electric and magnetic and corrosion resistance requirements, bridge decks, strengthening and rehabilitation of old structures of various destination and as reinforcement for concrete members. The authors present their experience with teaching of FRP composites as part of civil engineering curricula, some research associated projects and practical applications of these advanced materials. The teaching procedures, combined with national and international projects are presented and some demonstration projects implemented since 70s are discussed. Also the involvement of industry in teaching and understanding composites is underlined