PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF MASONRY WALL WITH JUTE FIBER SHEET REINFORCED FERRO-CEMENT

Unreinforced masonry walls have a low tensile strength, making them susceptible to failure and eventually causing masonry buildings to collapse during earthquakes. Among existing techniques to strengthen existing masonry walls, few studies have demonstrated the use of fiber-reinforced polymer strips. Even though this technique shows the improved performance of masonry, the use of costly fiber and polymer can be uneconomical. The present study explores the use of natural fiber sheets such as jute in combination with ferro-cement to strengthen the masonry walls. Further, to reduce the cost, this technique explores the various patterns of applying the jute fiber sheets with ferrocement in horizontal strips, vertical strips, and cross-strip patterns. Initially, an experimentally tested masonry wall without and with fiber sheet reinforced ferrocement is numerically validated in ABAQUS software. After validation, the jute fiber with ferro-cement is numerically modeled to the existing wall, and non-linear static pushover analysis is carried out. The performance of masonry wall with various jute fiber patterns are evaluated, and a comparison is presented. An arrangement of fiber patterns that greatly enhance strength and deformability is identified.