Strengthening of Masonry Structures by Sisal-Reinforced Geopolymers

Luigi Palizzolo (), Carmelo Sanfilippo, Sana Ullah and Salvatore Benfratello
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Luigi Palizzolo: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Bd 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Carmelo Sanfilippo: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Bd 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Sana Ullah: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Bd 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Salvatore Benfratello: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Bd 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: The development of alternative environmentally friendly and sustainable materials in the construction industry has become a fundamental area of research. The current cementitious materials used in existing retrofitting techniques for masonry structures are unsustainable from an environmental point of view. The geopolymer, as a suitable alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), has attracted interest in the last 20 years due to its environmental sustainability and improved properties compared to conventional concrete. To improve the ductile behavior of geopolymers, the adoption of fibers has been widely proposed in the scientific literature for a broad range of applications. The adoption of natural fibers can make geopolymers more advantageous based on their intrinsic environmental sustainability. The aim of this paper is to validate the performance of sisal fiber-reinforced geopolymer plaster as a strengthening material for masonry structures, which will be achieved by modeling the mechanical behavior of geopolymer samples in two different phases. The first phase accounts for the experimental results suitably obtained in the laboratory, while the second phase models the behavior of a masonry panel reinforced with geopolymer plaster using a suitable FEM model in Abaqus.

Keywords: ordinary Portland cement; geopolymer; sisal fiber; strengthening; masonry structures; FEM modeling; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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