Experimental study of bond strength between titanium bar and lime-based mortar

In the last decades, a number of technical solutions for the improvement of structural connections using new materials between masonry wall panels have been the subject of several studies. In this context, the increasing interest in titanium could be attributed to its high specific resistances and chemical stability. The emphasis of this study is therefore the understanding of the bond behavior between lime-based mortars and titanium-based reinforcing rods. Experimental results showed that the titanium-lime bond is characterized by low bond strength. With the aim of increasing bond stresses, different surface treatments were investigated based on chemical and mechanical interlocking. The effect of these treatments, and the general problems related to masonry reinforcing techniques have been discussed.