Quasi-Static Testing of Unreinforced Masonry Walls Using Different Styles of Basalt Fiber Mortar Surface Reinforcements

To investigate the reinforcement effects of different reinforcement methods including basalt fibers on unreinforced masonry walls (UMWs), this study examined three reinforcement methods: ordinary mortar, basalt fiber mortar, and basalt fiber mesh mortar. Three masonry wall specimens were designed: ordinary mortar surface-strengthened masonry wall (O-MW), basalt fiber mortar surface-strengthened masonry wall (BF-MW), and basalt fiber mesh mortar surface-strengthened masonry wall (BFM-MW). Quasi-static tests were conducted to analyze the failure phenomena, hysteresis curves, backbone curves, energy dissipation capacity, and stiffness degradation. The results show that, compared to O-MW, BF-MW exhibited a 10.3%, 1.5%, and 28.1% increase in cracking load, peak load, and energy dissipation capacity, respectively. Meanwhile, BFM-MW showed more pronounced improvements, with cracking load and peak load increasing by 41.6% and 3.9%, respectively, and initial stiffness rising by 32.8%. However, this method shifted the failure mode of masonry walls from flexural failure to shear failure. Both basalt fiber mortar reinforcement methods outperformed ordinary mortar, each demonstrating distinct characteristics that can be selected based on practical application requirements.