TOUCHLESS CONFINEMENT OF HISTORICAL MASONRY COLUMNS WITH FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER SHEETS

FRP-confinement is one of the quickest and effective techniques in order to preserve the structural integrity of historical masonry columns after damage due to seismic events or cracking due to overloads. In this scenario, the present research focused on new touch-less confinement techniques in which the FRP can be easily removed. An experimental program was run, by testing half-scale masonry columns with square cross-section under compression loads, confined with carbon-FRP. Unconfined columns were tested as control series, then FRP-confined columns with traditional wet lay-up were tested in addition to touch-less FRP-confined columns. Results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed techniques, at different levels. The full removability of the FRP sheets was evidenced by removing the jacket when the compression tests ended.