Emerson Cuadros-Rojas (a) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4148-848X
Larisa Garcia-Ramonda (a) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5438-6314
Pere Roca (a) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5400-5817
Luca Pelà (a) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7760-8290
a Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC-BarcelonaTech), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Barcelona, Spain
ABSTRACT
This paper presents an experimental program aimed at assessing the out-of-plane bending behaviour of brick masonry walls reinforced with a novel reinforcement system, consisting of high-strength steel cord mesh held together by an interwoven fiberglass roving. This experimental study evaluates a modern alternative to traditional ladder or truss-type bed-joint steel reinforcements. The investigated system offers significant environmental and logistical advantages. Supplied in lightweight 30-meter rolls, it reduces material waste by minimizing overlaps up to tenfold, lowers transport-related carbon emissions due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, and improves site safety through simplified, grinder-free installation. The experimental research involved execution of out-of-plane bending tests on eleven single-leaf masonry walls following the EN 1052-2 standard. The study compared unreinforced control specimens against reinforced masonry walls with varying joint spacings of 0.60 m and 0.40 m. Advanced 3D Digital Image Correlation was employed to monitor crack propagation and full-field deformation. Results indicate that the reinforcement transforms the brittle URM response into a ductile mechanism. The peak load capacity increased by 24% for walls with 0.60 m spacing and 61% for those with 0.40 m spacing. Furthermore, the overstrength ratio reached 1.90 and ductility factors rose to 13.05 in the most reinforced specimens. The mesh configuration promoted a diffuse cracking pattern, enhancing energy dissipation. The outcomes demonstrate that sustainable bed joint reinforcement provides a high-performance, sustainable solution for masonry strengthening, bridging the gap between innovative material efficiency and structural resilience.
Keywords: reinforced masonry, high-strength steel, cord mesh reinforcement, out-of-plane bending test, digital image correlation, cracking.