The results of an experimental investigation into the behavior of fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites made of basalt textile coupled to different inorganic matrices are presented and compared. Single- and double-lap shear tests have been carried out to assess the bond behavior of the FRCM systems adopting four different inorganic matrices: a commercial lime mortar, specifically designed for the basalt textile, and three conventional mortars mixed in the laboratory. Experimental tests on the four types of FRCM systems confirmed that the debonding mechanism always occurs at the textile-matrix interface, and single-lap shear test, easier to be carried out, provides results with low variability. Moreover, in the framework of Mode-II fracture mechanics, analytical modeling was carried out exploiting four different local laws that were calibrated to the experimental results. Good agreement was found between some of the adopted local laws and experimental tests.

The research provides an innovative contribution to the interpretation of three-point and four-point bending tests on mortars by employing a bi-modulus material model, which assumes an asymmetric constitutive law, i.e., different elastic moduli in tension and in compression. To this aim, Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko bi-modulus beam models are defined, and the related displacement fields are reported for three-point loading, and provided for the first time for the four-point bending layout. A wide experimental campaign, including uni-axial tensile and compressive tests, three-point and four-point bending tests, and on notched specimens three-point tests for mode-I fracture energy, has been carried out on lime mortar specimens exploiting traditional contact (CE-DT) and contactless (DIC) measurement systems. Experimental results provided the values of tensile and compressive mechanical characteristics, which are employed to validate estimations of the analytical model. The tension-to-compression moduli ratio experimentally observed is on average 0.52. Experimental outcomes of the DIC analysis proved the bi-modulus behaviour during the four-point bending tests showing visible shifting of the neutral axis. The bi-modulus analytical model provides closer results to the experimental ones for the slender specimens subjected to four-point bending.