Experimental verification of finite element model to predict the shear behaviour of NSM FRP strengthened masonry walls

A finite element (FE) model was developed to predict the behaviour of an unreinforced masonry (URM) shear wall strengthened with near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) strips. The FE model was verified by conducting diagonal tension/shear tests on three unreinforced and one reinforced wall with the FRP strips aligned vertically. The results of both the FE model and experimental tests were similar and showed that vertically aligned NSM FRP reinforcement was able to prevent sliding along the masonry bed joints. The load-displacement behaviour, failure modes, and the evolution of strain distributions in the NSM FRP reinforcement was determined for the specimens from the tests and the FE model and are presented herein.