An investigation on the flexural behaviour of RC beams wrapped with CFRP

Abstract

In addition to conventional retrofitting of constructions, new technologies are rapidly being developed to withstand the external effects while sustaining an acceptable level of damage. Reinforced concrete structures strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer composite materials are becoming more and more widespread in structural applications due to their better mechanical properties, resistance to environmental influences, ease of application and light weight, as well as conventional methods of strengthening. In this study, strengthening technique as a methodology for externally bonded with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to increase the flexural resistance of reinforced concrete beams has been investigated. For this purpose, eight reinforced concrete beams were produced considering different types of CFRP configuration and tested under four-point bending loading. The dimensions of the beams are 150×250×2600 mm and concrete cover of the first and second group of test beam are 20 mm and 40 mm, respectively. Finally, load-deflection behavior with the failure mechanism of the tested beams have been discussed and the effect of different schemes of strengthening on the flexural behavior has been evaluated.