Rehabilitation of historic masonry dome of Imam Al-Abbas Bin Ali shrine using CFRP systems

This paper describes the engineering procedures involved in the rehabilitation of the masonry dome of the Al-Abbas bin Ali shrine, located in Karbala city in Iraq. Severe cracks appeared in the dome as a result of blast action and direct tank hits in 1991, exacerbating the already existing cracks due to foundation settlement and inappropriate strengthening methods used to stabilise the dome in the past. This paper reports on the carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthening system adopted to repair the dome. Both laminate and fabric systems were used in this project. Following the completion of the repair project, inspection and monitoring are performed periodically to evaluate the effectiveness of the repair system.