Abstract:
An Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) with a tensile strain-hardening capacity of 2% was shotcreted to unreinforced masonry (URM) to assess the feasibility of using ECC as the retrofitting material for seismic strengthening of URM buildings. In-plane testing of 1.2 m × 1.2 m masonry wallettes retrofitted with ECC showed that ECC reinforcement provided a 0.15 MPa increase in shear strength for every 10 mm of ECC. Two 4.1 m high × 1.2 m long walls with 30 mm of ECC on a single side of each wall were subjected to out-of-plane loading to simulate face-load earthquake response. Results showed an increase in maximum strength of 1.6 times the as-built wall when ECC reinforcement was applied on the compression surface and an increase of 13.2 times when ECC reinforcement was applied on the tension surface. From the results of this laboratory study it was concluded that ECC is a suitable material for seismic retrofitting of URM buildings, and based upon these experimental findings, ECC shotcrete was subsequently used as a seismic retrofit solution for a two-storey URM building case study, which is presented.