Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to assess the out-of-plane flexural performance of single-wythe concrete masonry walls that are reinforced with Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) rods, as an alternative for steel rebars. Eight Imx3m full-scale walls were constructed using hollow concrete masonry units and tested in four-point bending with an effective span of 2.4 m between the supports. The walls were tested when subjected to increasing monotonic loads up to failure. The applied loads would represent out-of-plane loads arising from wind, soil pressure, or inertia force during earthquakes. One wall is unreinforced, another wall is reinforced with customary steel rebars and the other six walls are reinforced with different amounts of GFRP reinforcement. Two of the GFRP-reinforced walls were grouted only in the cells where the rods were placed in order to investigate the effect of the extent of grouting on the performance of the walls. The force-deformation relationship of the walls and the associated strains in the reinforcement were monitored throughout the tests. The relative performance of different walls is assessed in order to quantify the effect of different design variables. The range of GFRP reinforcement ratios covered in the experiments was used to propose a capacity diagram for design of FRP-reinforced masonry walls similar to that of reinforced concrete elements. A comprehensive analytical study on the behaviour of the tested walls accompanies the experimental program, so that the outcome of the experiments could be quantified and theoretically predictable. Flexural capacity and out-of-plane lateral deflection of the walls are the major aspects that are tried to be evaluated using available models and methods of analysis. Furthermore, efforts are made to obtain finer predictions closer to results of the tested walls using new methods. Since the analyses carried out in this study showed pleasing agreements with the wall tests, a capacity diagram is developed based on the analyses and proposed to be used in designing concrete masonry walls reinforced with GFRP bars. Lastly, the ductility of the GFRP-reinforced walls has been inspected through different methods, the outcomes of which ensure that the GFRP-reinforced walls have exhibited sufficient deformability prior to failure.