New Technologies for the Seismic Protection of Stone Masonry in Earthquake-Prone Regions

The seismic protection of historic stone masonry buildings has become one of the most challenging issues due to the systematic heavy damage suffered by stone buildings during earthquakes. The challenges lie in the need to improve their structural behavior while preserving the main features of the architectural heritage. To this purpose, two strengthening solutions and briefly presented in this paper and the main results of a full-scale shaking table campaign are shown. The first reinforcement solution involves the use of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer connectors installed from the outside by perforating the natural stone elements, combined with grout injections. The connectors cover 3⁄4 of the thickness of the masonry, leaving the internal wall surface undisturbed. The second strengthening solution uses stainless steel strands that are installed into the mortar joints and connected with transverse bars to the Textile Reinforced Mortar on the internal face of the wall.