OPTIMAL FIBER-REINFORCEMENT OF MASONRY WALLS WITH NEGLIGIBLE TENSILE STRENGTH: A NUMERICAL STUDY

The optimal distribution of a prescribed amount of unidirectional fiber-reinforcement over in-plane loaded masonry walls is sought, in order to minimize the overall elastic energy of the strengthened elements. Masonry is modeled as a no-tension material, and is replaced by an equivalent linear elastic orthotropic material. The inability of the reinforcement to carry compressive stresses is also taken into account. A novel approach based on Topology Optimization is proposed, which simultaneously allows the optimal reinforcement layout and the distribution of the equivalent material to be obtained in a single, iterative, non-incremental analysis. The capabilities of the proposed approach are illustrated by a numerical example.