The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) as externally bonded reinforcement for retrofitting existing concrete and masonry structures has become very popular technique over the last two decades, thanks to the favourable properties offered by these materials.
However, FRPs entails a few drawbacks which are associated with the epoxy resins used to bind the fibers, i.e. poor behaviour of at high temperature; high costs; incompatibility with substrate materials.
To address such problems, a new structural material, the so-called Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) has been recently developed.
TRM combines advanced fibers in form of textiles (with open-mesh configuration) with inorganic matrices, such as cement-based mortars. Nevertheless, due to granularity of cement used, the bond between TRM and concrete has become an issue. This PhD study aims to investigate the bond between TRM and concrete substrates using double lap shear test.
Key investigated parameters include:
the number of layers,
the bond length
the concrete surface preparation
the concrete compressive strength
the textile surface condition (i.e. coated and uncoated)
the anchoring of TRM through wrapping
PhD Student:
Raoof, Saad Mahmood Raoof
Supervisor:
Dr Dionysios Bournas