Past earthquakes showed that structures composed of reinforced concrete frames infilled with masonry walls are often not able to meet adequate safety margins during increased seismic activities. Only in 2023, two high-magnitude earthquakes (Turkey-Syria and Marrakesh-Safi) devastated the two countries with large stock of masonry structures, killing more than sixty thousands of people and causing massive damage to the households and infrastructure, with the repair costs still being estimated.
Past earthquakes showed that structures composed of reinforced concrete frames infilled with masonry walls are often not able to meet adequate safety margins during increased seismic activities. Only in 2023, two high-magnitude earthquakes (Turkey-Syria and Marrakesh-Safi) devastated the two countries with large stock of masonry structures, killing more than sixty thousands of people and causing massive damage to the households and infrastructure, with the repair costs still being estimated.
Owing to the poor seismic design and the absence of strict energy performance regulations, the vast majority of the existing old building stock in seismic-prone areas is not only highly vulnerable to earthquakes, but also energy demanding. The current global challenges to reduce CO2 emissions, which of large part comes from construction industry, require development of new construction materials, which are not only robust and effective but can also mitigate this impact.Currently, structural and energy retrofitting of buildings is treated separately with no established holistic approach.
Owing to the poor seismic design and the absence of strict energy performance regulations, the vast majority of the existing old building stock in seismic-prone areas is not only highly vulnerable to earthquakes, but also energy demanding. The current global challenges to reduce CO2 emissions, which of large part comes from construction industry, require development of new construction materials, which are not only robust and effective but can also mitigate this impact.Currently, structural and energy retrofitting of buildings is treated separately with no established holistic approach.
The main objective of THORAX was to develop the next generation of advanced composite materials for retrofitting of substandard structures such as masonry infilled reinforced concrete buildings – structures, which have shown to have not adequate margins of safety, especially during seismic actions. The new composite material aimed to combine sustainable textile reinforced mortars (TRM) and standard expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation, thus offering a retrofitting system, which can tackle the structural problems, and, at the same time, deal with energy deficiencies of such buildings.
The main objective of THORAX was to develop the next generation of advanced composite materials for retrofitting of substandard structures such as masonry infilled reinforced concrete buildings – structures, which have shown to have not adequate margins of safety, especially during seismic actions. The new composite material aimed to combine sustainable textile reinforced mortars (TRM) and standard expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation, thus offering a retrofitting system, which can tackle the structural problems, and, at the same time, deal with energy deficiencies of such buildings.