TY - EJOU AU - Olivito, R.S. AU - Zuccarello, F.A. TI - Experimental Analysis on Durability of Brick-Masonry Panels Subjected to Cyclic Loads T2 - Structural Durability \& Health Monitoring PY - 2006 VL - 2 IS - 1 SN - 1930-2991 AB - During the last decades FRP materials have been utilized in many civil engineering applications for their good performances in substituting traditional restoration techniques, especially in reinforcing and restoring damaged structures. At present, the use of composite materials is greatly increasing as a consequence of the fact that conservation and restoration of existing historic heritage are becoming key issues for civil engineers and architects. This paper deals with the behavior of brick masonry models subjected to cyclic loads with the aim of studying their performances and durability. Firstly the models were damaged by imposing a strain history until they reached a fixed damage level, then they were strengthened with carbon fiber strips and tested again following the same experimental procedure. The experimental results show that the strengthened models reached a higher number of cycles and consequently increased their durability and strength with respect to cyclic loads. KW - Masonry KW - Cyclic loads KW - FRP-Composite materials KW - Durability DO - 10.3970/sdhm.2006.002.019