Out-of-Plane performance of masonry wallets strengthened with FRP-Reinforced prefabricated panels made from construction and demolition Waste-based mortars

This study investigated the out-of-plane performance of masonry wallets strengthened with prefabricated geopolymer panels produced using construction and demolition waste (CDW)-based mortars. The masonry wallets were constructed using three different types of masonry units: (a) aerated concrete blocks, (b) hollow bricks, and (c) clay bricks. Two geopolymer mortar mixtures were prepared using concrete waste, brick waste, and ground granulated blast furnace slag as precursor materials and recycled concrete aggregates as the primary aggregate source. The alkaline activators consisted of either sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution alone or a combination of NaOH solution and sodium silicate. The panels were reinforced with three different types of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) meshes: (a) carbon, (b) glass, and (c) basalt. A total of 27 specimens, including control and strengthened samples, were subjected to three-point bending tests. Structural performance was evaluated based on load-bearing capacity, stiffness, and energy dissipation. In addition, measurements were taken during the experiments using the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method, and the displacement and strain distributions of the specimens were determined. The results demonstrated significant improvements in the structural performance of the strengthened wallets, with load-bearing capacities increasing from 0.85 kN to 13.44 kN (an increase of approximately 1481%) for aerated concrete, from 1.03 kN to 17.93 kN (an increase of approximately 1641%) for hollow bricks, and from 0.62 kN to 21.04 kN (an increase of approximately 3293%) for clay bricks. Energy dissipation values also increased substantially for each type of masonry unit. Although there were some exceptions, the most favorable results were generally achieved with specimens strengthened with panels reinforced with carbon mesh and produced using sodium silicate.