Enhancing the efficiency of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) for strengthened reinforced concrete beams: a study on crack development and material bonding

Abstract

Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) is a type of fine-grained concrete that is reinforced with carbon fibers, glass fibers, and other materials in the form of lattice nets. TRC can significantly increase the load-bearing capacity of reinforced concrete beams, especially under dynamic loading conditions. In addition, TRC possibly limits cracks on the beams and the environmental penetrations effects. This study aims to improve the reinforcement efficiency of TRC on reinforced concrete beams for two cases: new structures and retrofitted structures. It has been considered the changes in the strength of the reinforcement layer and the bond between the two layers of materials, namely the reinforced concrete of the beam and the TRC. The results obtained have shown that to strengthen effectively reinforced concrete beams by using TRC, two following factors need to be simultaneously ensured: enhancing the connection between TRC and the concrete in the reinforced concrete beam and TRC must have high strength. Then, TRC helps distribute stress evenly in the reinforced concrete beam, reduces stress in the steel reinforcement, strengthens stress in TRC, and reduces the likelihood of cracks in concrete, thereby improving the load-bearing capacity of the beam.