CONFINEMENT OF MASONRY COLUMNS WITH FIBER REINFORCED POLYMERS, EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH WORK: A STATE OF THE ART

The purpose of this paper is to provide the state of the art and the critical issues and observations on confinement of masonry columns using fiber reinforced polymers (FRP). The use of FRP material for strengthening of reinforced concrete members is well established. As compared to concrete less work has been done on masonry although masonry structures have been strengthened using FRP for walls, columns and arches. This paper provides the detailed review and background on the confinement of masonry columns using FRP. Experimental work on columns carried out by many researchers has been presented considering various parameters studied; such as type of masonry units, types of mortars, types of FRP used for strengthening, amount of FRP reinforcement and strengthening techniques; followed by detailed discussion on results obtained. The paper concludes with the recommendations for work in the strengthening of masonry columns using FRP.