Cyclic Tests on Masonry-Infilled RC Frames Retrofitted with Textile-Reinforced Mortars Combined with Thermal Insulation

Abstract

The current European building stock is both earthquake-prone and heavily energy-consuming since the vast majority of buildings have been designed before the introduction of modern energy and seismic codes, having almost exhausted their initially intended service life and high operational energy consumption. Taking into consideration the seismic vulnerability of older buildings and the increasing need to reduce their energy consumption, there is an urgent need for sustainable seismic and energy upgrading of existing buildings. The concept of the combined seismic and energy retrofitting of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings using textile-reinforced mortars (TRM) and thermal insulation was examined in this study through an experimental campaign in the SupERB project. Five large-scale tests were carried out on masonry-infilled RC frames as built and retrofitted with different schemes of TRM combined with thermal insulation materials under in-plane cyclic loading. The results of testing are presented and compared in terms of the efficiency of the proposed different schemes of TRM combined with thermal insulation materials to enhance the strength and deformation capacity of masonry-infilled RC frames. From the results obtained in this study, it was concluded that the TRM can be combined effectively with thermal insulation materials to increase the overall strength, deformation capacity, ductility and energy efficiency of the masonry-infilled RC frame buildings.