Sustainable Textile Reinforced mortar for strengthenIng and rePair Existing masonry Structures

About
The strengthening and repair of deteriorated and substandard structures has become one of the most important challenges for civil engineering, especially in European seismic areas, where a vast number of old concrete and historical masonry buildings require urgent intervention.
In this context, both mortars and textile reinforced (TR) composites are particularly suitable for seismic retrofitting due to several advantages respect to traditional solutions (steel/concrete), among which their high mechanical performance, lightness and increasingly competitive costs. In spite of these benefits, there are well-founded concerns about the environmental impact of these solutions owing to the inherent properties of their constituent materials. Indeed, the increasing demand for cement-based mortars, is leading to a detrimental impact on the environment and sustainability in the construction industry mainly due to the high energy and raw material consumption involved in the manufacturing process. Therefore, the need of developing eco-friendly materials and systems, in a virtuous life cycle to meet the green revolution and ecological transition, represents a challenge in the research field, with a significant impact in practical applications. In fact, several international scientific committees have unanimously recognized the development of eco-friendly materials and strengthening systems as one of the most critical research needs. The project STRIPES provides a contribution in this direction by promoting the development of eco-mortars and eco-strengthening systems and investigating their suitability in the seismic protection and strengthening of masonry structures. To this end, eco-friendly mortars made by activating reactive powders obtained from natural sources and/or industrial by-products either as a standalone material or combined with natural textiles will be studied. These highly durable and lightweight solutions can be particularly attractive for structural applications as they do not increase the seismic mass improving the mechanical properties of the building members thus contributing to a reduction on the demand for natural resources and raw materials. In addition, the use of these eco-friendly solutions will contribute for a reduction of the CO 2 emissions, improving the sustainability of the construction industry.
PURPOSE
The aim of the project is to develop and promote sustainable composite material systems for repairing and strengthening masonry constructions, by means of intermediate, progressive important challenges which will allow for a significant knowledge advance with respect to the current state of the art. The results of the project will contribute to the fundamental understanding of the performance of innovative eco-friendly materials and will pave the way to a new generation of sustainable strengthening systems. These established goals are fully in line with what is required to all the communities in the joint effort of giving rise to a “more sustainable world”.
expected results
The development of these eco-friendly materials and systems will enables better control of the natural durability, preservation and treatment, which are crucial to develop maintenance plans. In addition, when used for structural purposes, these materials are ease of handling, thus allowing to reduce production and installation time, and as a consequence, leading to cost saving and reduced energy consumption. The commitment of the project will be also to create a circular economy based on the use of natural materials as well as the re-use of waste or recycled materials. Certainly, the applicability of the proposed systems, both for repairing and strengthening masonry structures, will improve the performance of existing degraded buildings, minimizing the risk of damages and structural collapse.
Unit
Contact
Contact us
  • +39.0984496922
  • francesco.bencardino@unical.it
  • Ponte P.Bucci, Cubo 39C, Arcavacata di Rende (CS)
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