Performance of Axially Compressed Reinforced Concrete Walls with Openings Strengthened Using Glass Fiber and Welded Wire Mesh Reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites

Abstract This study explores the structural behavior of axially loaded reinforced concrete (RC) walls with openings strengthened using glass fiber (GF) or welded wire mesh (WWM) reinforced engineered cementitious composites (ECC). Eleven instrumented specimens were constructed, prepared, and tested up to collapse. The primary factors investigated included opening size and shape, wall slenderness ratio, and the type of reinforcement employed for strengthening. Both square and circular openings were introduced, while the sizes were 0.25 and 0.20 of the wall’s width. Two wall heights were designed leading to slenderness ratios of 7.5 and 9.4. Both GF and WWM were employed to reinforce the ECC layer for strengthening the walls around the openings. Finite-element modeling (FEM) was conducted using Abaqus to simulate the load–displacement response, employing validated material models for concrete, reinforcements, and ECC layers. Experimental and numerical results confirmed that walls with ECC strengthening demonstrated significant enhancements in ultimate load capacity and stiffness compared to unstrengthened samples. Among the strengthening techniques, WWM embedded in the ECC layer yielded the highest ultimate load and energy absorption. A parametric study was performed to assess the influence of ECC layer thickness, indicating that increased thickness improved load capacity, with diminishing returns observed beyond 25 mm. The relationship between ECC thickness and ultimate load was represented by a third-degree polynomial equation with high accuracy. This study features the potential of ECC with embedded WWM as an efficient strengthening solution for reinforced concrete walls with openings.