Preliminary investigation on FRP profiles for the structural retrofit of masonry structures

The paper explores the perspectives of pultruded FRP (PFRP) profiles in the field of masonry building preservation, for ancillary structures or strengthening techniques. The available knowledge about interfaces is briefly summarized; recent experimental results about bolted PFRP-to-masonry joints are cited. A numeric predictive analysis, aimed at evaluating the shear interface behaviour of adhesive PFRP-to-masonry joints, is shown in view of foreseen laboratory tests. The numeric results enlighten a clear influence of compressive loading on the peak shear displacement at varying transfer length. The model, which relies on the assumption of frictional joint behaviour, appears to represent the joint sliding in a satisfactory way.