Pullout behavior of FRP anchors in masonry

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) anchors made from rolled or folded fibers have been shown to be effective for delaying or even preventing premature debonding failure in FRP strengthened concrete structures through externally bonding. This study explores the application of FRP anchors in the FRP strengthening of brick masonry structures. One of the features of such a system is that the brick unit has smaller dimensions compared to common concrete specimens. This paper reports an experimental study on these FRP anchors under pull-off loading. Test parameters include anchor construction, the geometry of pre-drilled holes and FRP anchor itself. The experimental results indicate that FRP anchors can be designed to achieve higher loading capacities and hence is expected to effectively prevent or delay FRP debonding failure. The results also indicate that the geometry of the pre-drilled hole has significant effects on the anchorage strength.