ABSTRACT
Strengthening of masonry arches and vaults with composite materials has become a quite common strategy of intervention, especially in seismic area. In the last decades, fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) have been conveniently replaced with inorganic matrix-based composites (mostly known as FRCM, fibre reinforced cementitious matrix). Nowadays, several experimental works provide a significant dataset to characterize and interpret the mechanical behaviour under various strengthening configurations on different types of arches and vaults. From one hand, these studies contributed to the definition of design and assessment approaches, which have been only recently agreed in the scientific community for FRCM (e.g., ACI-Rilem recommendations, to be issued). From the other hand, design tools currently available for the design and assessment of curved structures in strengthened conditions need to be validated and/or upgraded according to the current scientific state-of-the-art. In this paper, based on the experimental results obtained in twenty-six literature cases, a comparative study among different conditions of masonry arches strengthened with FRCM systems is proposed. The main parameters affecting the structural behaviour of components in both plain and strengthened conditions are identified, and their influence in analytical procedures implemented in common software able to predict failure modes and bearing capacity (either limit state or rigid block analyses-based) are discussed. The pro and cons, as well as the strategies for representing at best the experimental outcomes are also presented. This paper is intended to support the choices required to professionals approaching the design and assessment issues of arches and vaults strengthened with the new generation of composites, in absence of recommendations and standards, and by using the simplified methods implemented in the available engineering tools.
